Heb “the people”; the referent (the Shechemites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


Heb “And they told Abimelech.”


Heb “his people.”


Heb “And he saw and, look, the people were coming out of the city.”


Heb “he arose against them and struck them.”


Or possibly, “the unit that was with him.”


Heb “stood [at].”


Or “destroyed.”


Heb “sowed it with salt.” sn The spreading of salt over the city was probably a symbolic act designed to place the site under a curse, deprive it of fertility, and prevent any future habitation. The practice is referred to outside the Bible as well. For example, one of the curses in the Aramaic Sefire treaty states concerning Arpad: “May Hadad sow in them salt and weeds, and may it not be mentioned again!” See J. A. Fitzmyer, The Aramaic Inscriptions of Sefire (BibOr), 15, 53. Deut 29:23 , Jer 17:6 , and Zeph 2:9 associate salt flats or salty regions with infertility and divine judgment.


Apparently this rare word refers here to the most inaccessible area of the temple, perhaps the inner sanctuary or an underground chamber. It appears only here and in 1 Sam 13:6 , where it is paired with “cisterns” and refers to subterranean or cave-like hiding places.


Heb “and it was told to Abimelech.”


Heb “were assembled.”


Heb “Abimelech.” The proper name has been replaced with the pronoun (“he”) due to considerations of English style.


The Hebrew text has the plural here.


Heb “he lifted it and put [it].”


Heb “What you have seen me do, quickly do like me.”


The words “the branches” are supplied in the translation for clarification.


Heb “they kindled over them the stronghold with fire.”


Or “men,” but the word seems to have a more general sense here, as the conclusion to the sentence suggests.


Or “went.”


Heb “he camped near Thebez and captured it.”


Or “strong.”


Or “fortress.” The same Hebrew term occurs once more in this verse and twice in v. 52 .


Heb “Abimelech’s.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun “his” in the translation in keeping with conventions of English narrative style.


The Hebrew text adds, “and said to him.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.


The Hebrew text adds, “concerning me.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.


Heb “each to his own place.”


Heb “seventy brothers.”


Heb “came.”


The word “death” has been supplied in the translation for clarification.


Heb “son.”


Heb “a man of Issachar.”


Traditionally, “judged.”


Heb “they call them Havvoth Jair to this day – which are in the land of Gilead.”


Heb “in the eyes of the Lord .”


Or “served;” or “followed.”


For location see Map1-A1 ; JP3-F3 ; JP4-F3 .


Heb “the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines.”


Or “serve”; or “follow.”


Or “the Lord ’s anger burned [or “raged”] against Israel.”


Heb “sold them into the hands of.”


Heb “shattered and crushed.” The repetition of similar sounding synonyms ( רָעַץ [ ra ’ ats ] and רָצַץ [ ratsats ]) is for emphasis; רָצַץ appears in the Polel, adding further emphasis to the affirmation.


The phrase שְׁמֹנֶה עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה ( shemoneh ’ esreh shanah ) could be translated “eighteen years,” but this would be difficult after the reference to “that year.” It is possible that v. 8 b is parenthetical, referring to an eighteen year long period of oppression east of the Jordan which culminated in hostilities against all Israel (including Judah, see v. 9 ) in the eighteenth year. It is simpler to translate the phrase as an ordinal number, though the context does not provide the point of reference. (See Gen 14:4-5 and R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 191-92.) In this case, the following statement specifies which “Israelites” are in view.


Heb “the house of Ephraim.”


Or “Israel experienced great distress.” Perhaps here the verb has the nuance “hemmed in.”


Or “served”; or “followed.”


The translation follows the LXX which reads “Midian”; the Hebrew text has “Maon.”


The words “Did I not deliver you” are interpretive. The Hebrew text simply reads, “Is it not from Egypt…when they oppressed you?” Perhaps the incomplete sentence reflects the Lord ’s frustration.


Heb “hand.”


Heb “in your time of trouble.”


Heb “according to all whatever is good in your eyes.”


Heb “from their midst.”


Heb “And his spirit grew short [i.e., impatient] with the suffering of Israel.” The Hebrew noun נֶפֶשׁ ( nefesh ) also appears as the subject of the verb קָצַר ( qatsar ) in Num 21:4 (the Israelites grow impatient wandering in the wilderness), Judg 16:16 (Samson grows impatient with Delilah’s constant nagging), and Zech 11:8 (Zechariah grows impatient with the three negligent “shepherds”).


Or “were summoned;” or “were mustered.”


Heb “the people, the officers.”


Heb “Who is the man who will begin fighting.”


Heb “Now he was the son of a woman, a prostitute, and Gilead fathered Jephthah.”


Heb “bore.”


Heb “in the house of our father.”


Or “fled from.”


Heb “brothers.”


Heb “Empty men joined themselves to Jephthah and went out with him.”


Heb “When the Ammonites fought with Israel.”


Or “elders.”


Heb “went to take Jephthah.”


Heb “to Jephthah.”


Heb “Did you not hate me and make me leave?”


Heb “therefore”; “even so.” For MT לָכֵן ( lakhen , “therefore”) the LXX has an opposite reading, “not so,” which seems to be based on the Hebrew words לֹא כֵן ( lo ’ khen ).


Heb “we have returned to you.” For another example of שׁוּב אֶל ( shuv ’ el ) in the sense of “give allegiance to,” see 1 Kgs 12:27 b.


Heb “leader of us and all who live in Gilead.”


“All right” is supplied in the translation for clarification.


Heb “places them before me.”


Some translate the final statement as a question, “will I really be your leader?” An affirmative sentence is preferable. Jephthah is repeating the terms of the agreement in an official manner. In v. 10 the leaders legally agree to these terms.


Heb “The Lord will be the one who hears between us.” For the idiom שָׁמַע בַּיִן ( shama ’ bayin , “to hear between”), see Deut 1:16 .


Heb “spoke all his words.” This probably refers to the “words” recorded in v. 9 . Jephthah repeats the terms of the agreement at the Lord ’s sanctuary, perhaps to ratify the contract or to emphasize the Gileadites’ obligation to keep their part of the bargain. Another option is to translate, “Jephthah conducted business before the Lord in Mizpah.” In this case, the statement is a general reference to the way Jephthah ruled. He recognized the Lord ’s authority and made his decisions before the Lord .


Heb “What to me and to you that…?”


Or “took”; or “seized.”


Heb “he” (a collective singular).


Heb “from the Arnon to the Jabbok and to the Jordan.” The word “River” has been supplied in the translation with “Arnon” and “Jabbok,” because these are less familiar to modern readers than the Jordan.


The translation assumes a singular suffix (“[return] it”); the Hebrew text has a plural suffix (“[return] them”), which, if retained, might refer to the cities of the land.


Or “take”; or “seize.”


Heb “For when they went up from.”


Or “went.”


Heb “me.” (Collective Israel is the speaker.)


Heb “did not listen.”


Heb “Also to the king of Moab he sent, but he was unwilling.”


Heb “he”; the referent (Israel; the pronoun in the Hebrew text represents a collective singular) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.


Heb “to my place.”


Heb “Sihon.” The proper name (“Sihon”) has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“he”) because of English style; a repetition of the proper name here would be redundant in English.


Heb “all his people” (also in the following verse).


That is, took as its own possession.


Heb “from the Arnon to the Jabbok, and from the desert to the Jordan.” The word “River” has been supplied in the translation with “Arnon” and “Jabbok,” because these are less familiar to modern readers than the Jordan.


Heb “Now.”


Or “dispossessed.”


Heb “will you dispossess him [i.e., Israel; or possibly “it,” i.e., the territory]?” There is no interrogative marker in the Hebrew text.


Heb “Is it not so that what Chemosh your god causes you to possess, you possess, and all whom the Lord our God dispossesses before us we will possess?” Jephthah speaks of Chemosh as if he is on a par with the Lord God of Israel. This does not necessarily mean that Jephthah is polytheistic or that he recognizes the Lord as only a local deity. He may simply be assuming the Ammonite king’s perspective for the sake of argument. Other texts, as well as the extrabiblical Mesha inscription, associate Chemosh with Moab, while Milcom is identified as the god of the Ammonites. Why then does Jephthah refer to Chemosh as the Ammonite god? Ammon had likely conquered Moab and the Ammonite king probably regarded himself as heir of all territory formerly held by Moab. Originally Moab had owned the disputed territory (cf. Num 21:26-29 ), meaning that Chemosh was regarded as the god of the region (see R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 203-4). Jephthah argues that Chemosh had long ago relinquished claim to the area (by allowing Sihon to conquer it), while the Lord had long ago established jurisdiction over it (by taking it from Sihon and giving it to Israel). Both sides should abide by the decisions of the gods which had stood firm for three hundred years.


The Hebrew grammatical constructions of all three rhetorical questions indicate emphasis, which “really” and “dare to” are intended to express in the translation. sn Jephthah argues that the Ammonite king should follow the example of Balak , who, once thwarted in his attempt to bring a curse on Israel, refused to attack Israel and returned home ( Num 22-24 ).


Or “sinned against you.”


Or “evil.”


Heb “did not listen to.”


Heb “Jephthah’s words which he sent to him.”


Heb “was on.”


Heb “passed through.”


Heb “From Mizpah in Gilead he passed through [to] the Ammonites.”


Heb “the one coming out, who comes out from.” The text uses a masculine singular participle with prefixed article, followed by a relative pronoun and third masculine singular verb. The substantival masculine singular participle הַיּוֹצֵא ( hayyotse ’, “the one coming out”) is used elsewhere of inanimate objects (such as a desert [ Num 21:13 ] or a word [ Num 32:24 ]) or persons ( Jer 5:6; 21:9; 38:2 ). In each case context must determine the referent. Jephthah may have envisioned an animal meeting him, since the construction of Iron Age houses would allow for an animal coming through the doors of a house (see R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 208). But the fact that he actually does offer up his daughter indicates the language of the vow is fluid enough to encompass human beings, including women. He probably intended such an offering from the very beginning, but he obviously did not expect his daughter to meet him first.


The language is fluid enough to include women and perhaps even animals, but the translation uses the masculine pronoun because the Hebrew form is grammatically masculine.


Some translate “or,” suggesting that Jephthah makes a distinction between humans and animals. According to this view, if a human comes through the door, then Jephthah will commit him/her to the Lord ’s service, but if an animal comes through the doors, he will offer it up as a sacrifice. However, it is far more likely that the Hebrew construction ( vav [ ו ] + perfect) specifies how the subject will become the Lord ’s, that is, by being offered up as a sacrifice. For similar constructions, where the apodosis of a conditional sentence has at least two perfects (each with vav ) in sequence, see Gen 34:15-16 ; Exod 18:16 .


Heb “passed over to.”


Heb “with a very great slaughter.”


Heb “The Ammonites were humbled before the Israelites.”


Heb “Look! His daughter was coming out.”


Heb “with tambourines and dancing.”


Heb “you have brought me very low,” or “you have knocked me to my knees.” The infinitive absolute precedes the verb for emphasis.


Heb “You are among [or “like”] those who trouble me.”


Heb “I opened my mouth to the Lord and I am not able to return.”


The conjunction “since” is supplied in the translation for clarification.


Heb “you opened your mouth to the Lord , do to me according to [what] went out from your mouth.”


Or “has given you vengeance against.”


Heb “Let this thing be done for me.”


Heb “Leave me alone for two months so I can go and go down on the hills and weep over my virginity – I and my friends.”


Heb “he sent her.”


Heb “on the hills.” The words “as she walked” are supplied.


Heb “She had never known a man.” Some understand this to mean that her father committed her to a life of celibacy, but the disjunctive clause (note the vav + subject + verb pattern) more likely describes her condition at the time the vow was fulfilled. (See G. F. Moore, Judges [ICC], 302-3; C. F. Burney, Judges , 324.) She died a virgin and never experienced the joys of marriage and motherhood.


Heb “There was a custom in Israel.”


Heb “From days to days,” a Hebrew idiom for “annually.”


Heb “go to commemorate.” The rare Hebrew verb תָּנָה ( tanah , “to tell; to repeat; to recount”) occurs only here and in 5:11 .


The Hebrew text adds, “in the year.” This is redundant (note “every year” at the beginning of the verse) and has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.


Heb “the men of Ephraim were summoned [or “were mustered”].”


Heb “cross over to fight.”


Or “calling”; or “summoning.”


Heb “Your house we will burn over you with fire.”


Heb A man of great strife I was and my people and the Ammonites.”


Heb “hand.”


Heb “you were no deliverer.” Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the LXX has “no one was helping.”


Heb “I put my life in my hand.”


Heb “crossed over to.”


The Hebrew adds “against me” here. This is redundant in English and has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.


Heb “because they said.”


Heb “Refugees of Ephraim are you, O Gilead, in the midst of Ephraim and in the midst of Manasseh.” The LXX omits the entire second half of the verse (beginning with “because”). The words כִּי אָמְרוּ פְּלִיטֵי אֶפְרַיִם ( ki ’ amru pÿlitey ’ efrayim , “because they said, ‘Refugees of Ephraim’”) may have been accidentally copied from the next verse (cf. כִּי יֹאמְרוּ פְּלִיטֵי אֶפְרַיִם , ki yo ’ mÿru pelitey ’ efrayim ) and the following words (“you, O Gilead…Manasseh”) then added in an attempt to make sense of the verse. See G. F. Moore, Judges (ICC), 307-8, and C. F. Burney, Judges , 327. If the Hebrew text is retained, then the Ephraimites appear to be insulting the Gileadites by describing them as refugees who are squatting on Ephraim’s and Manasseh’s land. The present translation assumes that “Ephraim” is a genitive of location after “refugees.”


The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification.


Or “against Ephraim,” that is, so as to prevent Ephraim from crossing.


The Hebrew text has a plural form here.


Heb “say to.”


Heb “and could not prepare to speak.” The precise meaning of יָכִין ( yakhin ) is unclear. Some understand it to mean “was not careful [to say it correctly]”; others emend to יָכֹל ( yakhol , “was not able [to say it correctly]”) or יָבִין ( yavin , “did not understand [that he should say it correctly]”), which is read by a few Hebrew mss .


Traditionally, “judged.”


Heb “Jephthah the Gileadite.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.


The Hebrew text has “in the cities of Gilead.” The present translation has support from some ancient Greek textual witnesses.


For location see Map5-B1 ; Map7-E2 ; Map8-E2 ; Map10-B4 .


Heb “thirty daughters he sent off outside.” Another option is to translate, “He arranged for his thirty daughters…” It is not clear if he had more than the “thirty daughters” mentioned in the text.


Heb “and thirty daughters he brought for his sons from the outside.”


Heb “He”; the referent (Ibzan) has been specified in the translation for clarity and for English stylistic reasons.


Heb “Ibzan.” The pronoun “he” is used in the translation in keeping with English style, which tends to use a proper name first in a sentence followed by a pronoun rather than vice versa.


Heb “…led Israel. He led Israel for ten years.”


Heb “in the eyes of.”


Heb “and had not given birth.”


The adjective “angelic” is interpretive (also in vv. 6, 9 ).


Heb “Look, you.”


Heb “eat anything unclean.” Certain foods were regarded as ritually “unclean” (see ). Eating such food made one ritually “contaminated.”


Another option is to translate, “you are already pregnant and will have a son.” The earlier reference to her being infertile (v. 3 ) suggests that her conception is still future, but it is possible that the earlier statement only reflects her perspective (as far as she is concerned, she is infertile). According to this interpretation, in v. 5 the angel reveals the truth to her – actually she has recently conceived and is now pregnant (see the translation in R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 217). Usage favors this interpretation. The predicate adjective הָרָה ( harah , “[be/become] pregnant”) elsewhere has a past ( 1 Sam 4:19 ) or present ( Gen 16:11; 38:25 ; 2 Sam 11:5 ) translation value. (The usage in Isa 7:14 is debated, but a present translation is definitely possible there.) A final, but less likely possibility, is that she miraculously conceived during the angel’s speech, sometime between his statements recorded in vv. 3 and 5 .


Heb “a razor should not go up on his head.”


Or “set apart to God.” Traditionally the Hebrew term נָזִיר ( nazir ) has been translated “Nazirite.” The word is derived from the verb נָזַר ( nazar , “to dedicate; to consecrate; to set apart”).


Heb “hand.”


Heb “The man of God.”


Heb “His appearance was like the appearance of the messenger of God, very awesome.”


See the note on the word “son” in 13:5 , where this same statement occurs.


Traditionally “a Nazirite.”


The Hebrew text adds “and said.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.


Heb “the man of God.”


Heb “come to.”


The LXX has “enlighten,” understanding the Hebrew to read וִיאִירֵנוּ ( vi ’ irenu , “to give light”) rather than the reading of the MT, וְיוֹרֵנוּ ( vÿyorenu , “to teach”).


Heb “what we should do for.”


Heb “God listened to the voice of Manoah.”


Heb “came to.”


Heb “and said to him.” This phrase has not been translated for stylistic reasons.


Heb “Look.”


Heb “the woman.”


Heb “I [am].”


Heb “Now, [when] your word comes [to pass].”


Heb “what will be the child’s rule [i.e., way of life] and his work?”


Or “said to.”


Heb “To everything I said to the woman she should pay attention.” The Hebrew word order emphasizes “to everything,” probably because Manoah’s wife did not tell her husband everything the angel had said to her (cf. vv. 3-5 with v. 7 ). If she had, Manoah probably would not have been so confused about the child’s mission.


Heb “eat.”


Heb “Please allow us to detain you.”


Heb “so we can prepare before you a young goat of the goats.”


Heb “If you detain me.”


The words “he said this” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Manoah should have known from these words that the messenger represented the Lord . In the preceding narrative the narrator has informed the reader that the visitor is the Lord ’s messenger, but Manoah and his wife did not perceive this. In vv. 5 and 7 the angel refers to “God” ( אֱלֹהִים , ’ elohim ), not the Lord ( יְהוַה , yÿhvah ). Manoah’s wife calls the visitor “a man sent from God” and “God’s messenger” (v. 6 ), while Manoah prays to the “Lord” ( אֲדוֹנָי , ’ adonay ) and calls the visitor “a man sent from God” (v. 8 ).


Heb “Who your name? For [when] your word comes [to pass], we will honor you.” Manoah apparently gets tongue-tied and uses the wrong pronoun (“who” instead of “what”). He starts to say, “Who are you?” But then he switches to “your name” as if he began the sentence with “what.” See R. G. Boling, Judges (AB), 222.


Heb “Why do you ask for my name, for it is incomprehensible?” The Hebrew adjective פִּלְאִי ( pile ’ iy , “wonderful, incomprehensible”) refers to what is in a category of its own and is beyond full human understanding. Note the use of this word in Ps 139:6 , where God’s knowledge is described as incomprehensible and unattainable.


Heb “Doing an extraordinary deed while Manoah and his wife were watching.” The subject of the participle is missing. The translation assumes that the phrase “the Lord ’s messenger” was lost by homoioteleuton. If the text originally read לַיהוָה מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה ( layhavah mal ’ akh yÿhvah ), the scribe’s eye could have jumped from the first יְהוָה to the second, accidentally omitting two of the three words. Later the conjunction וּ ( shureq ) would have been added to the following מַפְלִא ( mafli ’) for syntactical reasons. Another possibility is that a pronominal subject ( הוּא , hu ’) has been lost in the MT due to haplography.


Heb “in the flame from the altar.”


Heb “on their faces.”


Or “seen God.” Some take the Hebrew term אֱלֹהִים (’ elohim ) as the divine name (“God”) here, but this seems unlikely since v. 21 informs us that Manoah realized this was the Lord ’s messenger, not God himself. Of course, he may be exaggerating for the sake of emphasis. Another option, the one followed in the translation, understands Manoah to be referring to a lesser deity. The term אֱלֹהִים (’ elohim ) is sometimes used of an individual deity other than the Lord (see BDB 43 s.v. 2 .a). One cannot assume that Manoah was a theologically sophisticated monotheist.


Heb “our hand.”


Heb “the woman.” For clarity this has been specified in the translation as “Manoah’s wife.”


The name appears to mean “sun-like” or “solar.”


Traditionally, “blessed.”


Or “move him to action”; or “stir him.”


Heb “and he saw a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines.”


Heb “and he went up.”


Heb “I have seen a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines.”


Heb “my.” The singular may seem strange, since the introduction to the quotation attributes the words to his father and mother. But Samson’s father apparently speaks for both himself and his wife. However, the Lucianic recension of the LXX and the Syriac Peshitta have a second person pronoun here (“you”), and this may represent the original reading.


Heb “Is there not among the daughters of your brothers or among all my people a woman that you have to go to get a wife among the uncircumcised Philistines?”


“Her” is first in the Hebrew word order for emphasis. Samson wanted this Philistine girl, no one else. See C. F. Burney, Judges , 357.


Heb “because she is right in my eyes.”


Heb “this was from the LORD.”


Heb “for an opportunity he was seeking from the Philistines.”


The MT reads, “Samson went down with his father and mother to Timnah. When they approached…” Verse 6 b states that Samson did not tell his parents about his encounter with the lion (vv. 5 b-6a), but v. 5 a gives the impression they would have seen the entire episode. One could assume that Samson separated from his parents prior to the lion’s attack, but the Hebrew text does not indicate this. It seems more likely that the words “with his father and his mother” were accidentally copied into the text, perhaps under the influence of v. 4 a, where the same phrase appears. An original singular verb (“he approached”) may have been changed to the plural form (“they approached”) after the words “his father and his mother” were accidentally added to the text.


Heb “and look, a young lion of the lions was roaring to meet him.”


Heb “rushed on.”


Heb “him” or “it”; the referent (the lion) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


Heb “and there was nothing in his hand.”


Heb “He went down.”


Heb “She was the right one in the eyes of Samson.”


Heb “get.”


Heb “and look, a swarm of bees…”


Heb “went.” Samson apparently went home to his parents before going to Timnah for the marriage. Seeing and tasting the honey appears to encourage Manoah to go with his son to Timnah. Perhaps both Samson and his father viewed the honey as a good omen of future blessing. Possibly Samson considered it a symbol of sexual pleasure or an aphrodisiac. Note the use of honey imagery in Song 4:11 and 5:1 .


Heb “And his father went down to the woman.”


Or “[wedding] feast.”


Heb “the young men.”


Heb “When they saw him, they gave him thirty companions and they were with him.” Instead of כִּרְאוֹתָם ( kir ’ otam , “when they saw”) some ancient witnesses (e.g., some mss of the LXX) assume the reading בְּיִרְאָתָם ( bÿyir ’ atam , “because they feared”).


Heb “If you really can tell it to me [during] the seven days of the feast and you find [its answer].”


Heb “changes.”


Heb “you are unable to tell me.”


Heb “Give your riddle so we can hear it.”


The MT reads “seventh.” In Hebrew there is a difference of only one letter between the words רְבִיעִי ( rÿvi ’ i , “fourth”) and שְׁבִיעִי ( shÿvi ’ i , “seventh”). Some ancient textual witnesses (e.g., LXX and the Syriac Peshitta) read “fourth,” here, which certainly harmonizes better with the preceding verse (cf. “for three days”) and with v. 17 . Another option is to change שְׁלֹשֶׁת ( shÿloshet , “three”) at the end of v. 14 to שֵׁשֶׁת ( sheshet , “six”), but the resulting scenario does not account as well for v. 17 , which implies the bride had been hounding Samson for more than one day.


Heb “Entice your husband so that he might tell us the riddle.”


Heb “lest.”


The Hebrew text expands the statement: “burn up with fire.” The words “with fire” are redundant in English and have been omitted from the translation for stylistic reasons.


Heb “house.”


The translation assumes the Hebrew form הֲלֹם ( halom , “here,” attested in five Hebrew mss and supported by the Targum), instead of the inexplicable הֲלֹא ( halo ’), a negative particle with interrogative particle prefixed to it.


For discussion of this difficult form, see C. F. Burney, Judges , 364.


Heb “on him.”


Heb “only”; or “simply.”


Heb “the sons of my people.”


Heb “Should I tell you?”


Heb “the seven days [during] which they held the party.” This does not mean she cried for the entire seven days; v. 15 indicates otherwise. She cried for the remainder of the seven day period, beginning on the fourth day.


Heb “because she forced him.”


Heb “she told the riddle to the sons of her people.”


Heb “equipment”; or “gear.”


Heb “changes [of clothes].”


Heb “he went up to his father’s house.”


Heb “to his companion who had been his attendant.”


Heb “Samson visited his wife with a young goat.”


The words “to her father” are supplied in the translation (see the end of the verse).


Heb “I will go to my wife in the bedroom.” The Hebrew idiom בּוֹא אֶל ( bo ’ ’ el , “to go to”) often has sexual connotations. The cohortative form used by Samson can be translated as indicating resolve (“I want to go”) or request (“let me go”).


Heb “saying, I said.” The first person form of אָמַר (’ amar , “to say”) sometimes indicates self-reflection. The girl’s father uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis.


Heb “hating, you hated.” Once again the girl’s father uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis.


Heb “Is her younger sister not better than her? Let her [i.e., the younger sister] be yours instead of her [i.e., Samson’s ‘bride’]).”


Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the (original) LXX has the singular “to him.”


Heb “I am innocent this time from the Philistines when I do with them harm.”


Traditionally, “foxes.”


Heb “He turned tail to tail and placed one torch between the two tails in the middle.”


Heb “He set fire to the torches.”


Or “said.”


Heb “and they said.” The subject of the plural verb is indefinite.


Heb “he”; the referent (the Timnite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


Heb “his”; the referent (Samson) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


The Hebrew text expands the statement with the additional phrase “burned with fire.” The words “with fire” are redundant in English and have been omitted from the translation for stylistic reasons. Some textual witnesses read “burned…her father’s house,” perhaps under the influence of 14:15 . On the other hand, the shorter text may have lost this phrase due to haplography.


The Niphal of נָקָם ( naqam , “to avenge, to take vengeance”) followed by the preposition ב ( bet ) has the force “to get revenge against.” See 1 Sam 18:25 ; Jer 50:15 ; Ezek 25:12 .


Heb “and afterward I will stop.”


Heb “He struck them, calf on thigh, [with] a great slaughter.” The precise meaning of the phrase “calf on thigh” is uncertain.


Or “camped in.”


Or “spread out.” The Niphal of נָטָשׁ ( natash ) has this same sense in 2 Sam 5:18, 22 .


Or “come up against.”


Heb “they”; the referent (the Philistines) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


Or “swear to me.”


Heb “meet [with hostility]”; “harm.” In light of v. 13 , “kill” is an appropriate translation.


Heb “No,” meaning that they will not harm him.


Heb “rushed on.”


Heb “burned with.”


Heb “his bonds.”


Heb “he found.”


Heb “fresh,” i.e., not decayed and brittle.


Heb “he reached out his hand and took it.”


The Hebrew text adds “with it.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.


The precise meaning of the second half of the line ( חֲמוֹר חֲמֹרָתָיִם , khamor khamoratayim ) is uncertain. The present translation assumes that the phrase means, “a heap, two heaps” and refers to the heaps of corpses littering the battlefield. Other options include: (a) “I have made donkeys of them” (cf. NIV; see C. F. Burney, Judges , 373, for a discussion of this view, which understands a denominative verb from the noun “donkey”); (b) “I have thoroughly skinned them” (see HALOT 330 s.v. IV cj. חמר , which appeals to an Arabic cognate for support); (c) “I have stormed mightily against them,” which assumes the verb חָמַר ( khamar , “to ferment; to foam; to boil up”).


Heb “from his hand.”


Heb “you have placed into the hand of your servant.”


Heb “the uncircumcised,” which in context refers to the Philistines.


The word translated “basin” refers to a circular-shaped depression in the land’s surface.


Heb “spirit.”


Heb “named it”; the referent (the spring) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


Traditionally, “judged.”


Heb “in the days of the Philistines.”


Heb “and he went in to her.” The idiom בּוֹא אֶל ( bo ’ ’ el , “to go to”) often has sexual connotations.


Heb “To the Gazites, saying.” A verb is missing from the MT; some ancient Greek witnesses add “it was reported.”


Heb “And they surrounded.” The rest of the verse suggests that “the town” is the object, not “the house.” Though the Gazites knew Samson was in the town, apparently they did not know exactly where he had gone. Otherwise, they would could have just gone into or surrounded the house and would not have needed to post guards at the city gate.


Heb “and they lay in wait for him all night in the city gate.”


Heb “were silent.”


Heb “saying.”


The words “He will not leave” are supplied in the translation for clarification.


Heb “until the light of the morning.”


Heb “And Samson lay until the middle of the night and arose in the middle of the night.”


Heb “with the bar.”


Heb “which is upon the face of Hebron.”


Heb “subdue him in order to humiliate him.”


Heb “how you can be subdued in order to be humiliated.”


Or “moist.”


The word refers to a bowstring, probably made from animal tendons. See Ps 11:2 ; Job 30:11 .


Heb “And the ones lying in wait were sitting for her.” The grammatically singular form וְהָאֹרֵב ( vÿha ’ orev ) is collective here, referring to the rulers as a group (so also in v. 16 ).


Heb “are upon you.”


Heb “when it smells fire.”


Heb “His strength was not known.”


See Gen 31:7 ; Exod 8:29 [ 8:25 HT]; Job 13:9 ; Isa 44:20 ; Jer 9:4 for other uses of this Hebrew word (II תָּלַל , talal ), which also occurs in v. 13 .


Heb “with which no work has been done.”


Heb “And the ones lying in wait were sitting in the bedroom.”


Heb “them”; the referent (the ropes) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


Heb “head” (also in the following verse). By metonymy the head is mentioned in the Hebrew text in place of the hair on it.


Heb “with the web.” For a discussion of how Delilah did this, see C. F. Burney, Judges , 381, and G. F. Moore, Judges (ICC), 353-54.


The MT of vv. 13 b-14a reads simply, “He said to her, ‘If you weave the seven braids of my head with the web.’ And she fastened with the pin and said to him.” The additional words in the translation, “and secure it with the pin, I will become weak and be like any other man.’ 16:14 So she made him go to sleep, wove the seven braids of his hair into the fabric on the loom,” which without doubt represent the original text, are supplied from the ancient Greek version. (In both vv. 13 b and 14a the Greek version has “to the wall” after “with the pin,” but this is an interpretive addition that reflects a misunderstanding of ancient weaving equipment. See G. F. Moore, Judges [ICC], 353-54.) The Hebrew textual tradition was accidentally shortened during the copying process. A scribe’s eye jumped from the first instance of “with the web” to the second, causing him to leave out inadvertently the intervening words.


The Hebrew adds, “from his sleep.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.


Heb “when your heart is not with me.”


Heb “forced him with her words.”


Heb “and his spirit was short [i.e., impatient] to the point of death.”


Heb “all his heart.”


Heb “a razor has not come upon my head.”


Or “set apart to God.” Traditionally the Hebrew term נָזִיר ( nazir ) has been translated “Nazirite.” The word is derived from the verb נָזַר ( nazar , “to dedicate; to consecrate; to set apart”).


Heb “from the womb of my mother.”


Heb “I.” The referent has been made more specific in the translation (“my head”).


Heb “she sent and summoned.”


The translation follows the Qere , לִי ( li , “to me”) rather than the Kethib , לָהּ ( lah , “to her”).


Heb “on her knees.” The expression is probably euphemistic for sexual intercourse. See HALOT 160-61 s.v. בֶּרֶךְ .


Heb “she called for a man and she shaved off.” The point seems to be that Delilah acted through the instrumentality of the man. See J. A. Soggin, Judges (OTL), 254.


Heb “head.” By metonymy the hair of his head is meant.


Heb “She began to humiliate him.” Rather than referring to some specific insulting action on Delilah’s part after Samson’s hair was shaved off, this statement probably means that she, through the devious actions just described, began the process of Samson’s humiliation which culminates in the following verses.


Heb “are upon you.”


Heb “and said.”


Heb “I will go out as before.”


Heb “the hair of his head.”


Most interpret this as a reference to Samson, but this seems premature, since v. 25 suggests he was not yet standing before them. Consequently some prefer to see this statement as displaced and move it to v. 25 (see C. F. Burney, Judges , 387). It seems more likely that the pronoun refers to an image of Dagon.


Heb “multiplied our dead.”


Heb “When their heart was good.”


Heb “before them.”


Heb “the pillars upon which the house is founded.”


Heb “house.”


The Hebrew has אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה (’ adonay yehovih , “Lord Yahweh”).


Heb “so I can get revenge with one act of vengeance.”


Heb “the pillars upon which the house was founded.”


Heb “he stretched out with strength.”


Heb “And the ones whom he killed in his death were many more than he killed in his life.”


Heb “and all the house of his father.”


Heb “and lifted him up and brought up.”


Traditionally, “judged.”


The words “You know” are supplied in the translation for clarification.


Heb “taken.”


Heb “took.”


In the Hebrew text the statement, “but now I am giving it back to you,” appears at the end of v. 3 and is spoken by the mother. But v. 4 indicates that she did not give the money back to her son. Unless the statement is spoken by the woman to the LORD, it appears to be misplaced and fits much better in v. 2 . It may have been accidentally omitted from a manuscript, written in the margin, and then later inserted in the wrong place in another manuscript.


Traditionally, “bless.”


Heb “dedicating, I dedicate.” In this case the emphatic infinitive absolute lends a mood of solemnity to the statement.


Heb “to the LORD from my hand for my son to make a carved image and cast metal image.” She cannot mean that she is now taking the money from her hand and giving it back to her son so he can make an image. Verses 4-6 indicate she took back the money and used a portion of it to hire a silversmith to make an idol for her son to use. The phrase “a carved image and cast metal image” is best taken as referring to two idols (see 18:17-18 ), even though the verb at the end of v. 4 , וַיְהִי ( vayÿhi , “and it was [in the house of Micah]”), is singular.


Heb “his mother.” The pronoun (“she”) has been substituted for the noun (“mother”) in the translation because of English style.


The Hebrew text has “and gave it.” The referent (the pieces of silver) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


Heb “and it was in Micah’s house.”


Heb “house of God.”


Heb “and he filled the hand of one of his sons and he became his priest.”


Heb “Each was doing what was right in his [own] eyes.”


For location see Map5-B1 ; Map7-E2 ; Map8-E2 ; Map10-B4 .


Heb “There was a young man from Bethlehem of Judah, from the tribe of Judah, and he was a Levite, and he was temporarily residing there.”


Heb “He came to the Ephraimite hill country, to Micah’s house, making his way.”


Heb “And I am going to reside in a place I can find.”


Heb “father.” “Father” is here a title of honor that suggests the priest will give advice and protect the interests of the family, primarily by divining God’s will in matters, perhaps through the use of the ephod. (See R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 257; also Gen 45:8 , where Joseph, who was a diviner and interpreter of dreams, is called Pharaoh’s “father,” and 2 Kgs 6:21; 13:14 , where a prophet is referred to as a “father.” Note also 2 Kgs 8:9 , where a king identifies himself as a prophet’s “son.” One of a prophet’s main functions was to communicate divine oracles. Cf. 2 Kgs 8:9 ff.; 13:14-19 ).


The Hebrew text expands with the phrase: “and the Levite went.” This only makes sense if taken with “to live” in the next verse. Apparently “the Levite went” and “the Levite agreed” are alternative readings which have been juxtaposed in the text.


Heb “the young man became like one of his sons.”


Heb “filled the hand of.”


Heb “do good for me.”


Heb “an inheritance.”


Heb “because there had not fallen to them by that day in the midst of the tribes of Israel an inheritance.”


Heb “The Danites sent from their tribe five men, from their borders.”


Heb “men, sons of strength.”


Heb “They came to the Ephraimite hill country, to Micah’s house, and spent the night there.”


Or “When they were near.”


Heb “voice.” This probably means that “his speech was Judahite [i.e., southern] like their own, not Israelite [i.e., northern]” (R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 263).


Heb “turned aside.”


Heb “What [is there] to you here?”


Heb “He said to them, ‘Such and such Micah has done for me.’” Though the statement is introduced and presented, at least in part, as a direct quotation (note especially “for me”), the phrase “such and such” appears to be the narrator’s condensed version of what the Levite really said.


Heb “Ask God.”


Heb “so we can know if our way on which we are going will be successful.”


Heb “in peace.”


Heb “In front of the LORD is your way in which you are going.”


Or “went.”


Heb “who were in its midst.”


Heb “according to the custom of the Sidonians.”


Heb “and there was no one humiliating anything in the land, one taking possession [by] force.”


Heb “and a thing there was not to them with men.” Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the LXX and Symmachus read “Syria” here rather than the MT’s “men.” This reading presupposes a Hebrew Vorlage אֲרָם (’ aram , “Aram,” i.e., Arameans) rather than the MT reading אָדָם (’ adam ). This reading is possibly to be preferred over the MT.


Heb “They came to their brothers.”


Heb “brothers.”


Heb “What you?”


Heb “Arise, and let us go up against them.”


Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the LXX adds “we entered and walked around in the land as far as Laish and.”


Heb “But you are inactive.”


Or “be lazy.”


Heb “to go”; “to enter”; “to possess.”


Heb “When you enter.”


Heb “you will come to.”


Heb “broad of hands,” an idiom meaning “wide on both sides.”


Heb “a place where there is no lack of anything that is in the earth.”


Heb “They journeyed from there, from the tribe of the Danites, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, six hundred men, equipped with weapons of war.”


Or “Mahaneh Dan”; the Hebrew term “Mahaneh” means “camp [of].” Many English versions retain the transliterated Hebrew expression, but cf. CEV “Dan’s Camp.”


Heb “behind.”


Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the LXX lacks the phrase “of Laish.”


Heb “turned aside.”


Heb “Micah’s house.”


Heb “they asked him concerning peace.”


Heb “And the six hundred men, equipped with the weapons of war…from the sons of Dan.”


Heb “went up, went in there, took.”


Heb “six hundred men, equipped with the weapons of war.”


Heb “These went into Micah’s house and took.”


See the note on the word “adviser” in 17:10 .


Heb “Is it better for you to be priest for the house of one man or for you to be priest for a tribe, for a clan in Israel?”


Heb “and went into the midst of the people.”


Heb “They turned and went and put the children, the cattle, and the possessions in front of them.”


Heb “the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house.”


Heb “they”; the referent (the Danites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


Heb “What is this you say to me, ‘What to you?’”


Heb “bitter in spirit.” This phrase is used in 2 Sam 17:8 of David and his warriors, who are compared to a bear robbed of her cubs.


Heb “and you will gather up your life and the life of your house.”


Heb “saw.”


Heb “they were stronger than he.”


The Hebrew adds “with fire.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons, because it is redundant in English.


Heb “it.” The Hebrew pronoun is feminine singular here, referring to the “city” (a grammatically feminine singular noun) mentioned in v. 27 .


For location see Map1-A1 ; JP3-F3 ; JP4-F3 .


Heb “and a thing there was not to them with men.”


Heb “They”; the referent (the Danites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


Heb “They called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who had been born to Israel.”


Heb “erected for themselves.”


Heb “son.”


Several ancient textual witnesses, including some LXX mss and the Vulgate, support the reading “Moses” ( מֹשֶׁה , mosheh ) here. Many Hebrew mss have a nun ( נ ) suspended above the name between the first two letters ( מנשׁה ), suggesting the name Manasseh ( מְנַשֶּׁה , mÿnasheh ). This is probably a scribal attempt to protect Moses’ reputation. For discussion, see G. F. Moore, Judges (ICC), 401-2.


Heb “sons.”


Heb “they set up for themselves.”


Heb “the carved image that Micah had made.”


Heb “the house of God.”


Heb “a man, a Levite.”


For location see Map5-B1 ; Map7-E2 ; Map8-E2 ; Map10-B4 .


Heb “and his concubine.” The pronoun (“she”) has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.


Or “was unfaithful to him.” Many have understood the Hebrew verb וַתִּזְנֶה ( vattizneh ) as being from זָנָה ( zanah , “to be a prostitute”), but it may be derived from a root meaning “to be angry; to hate” attested in Akkadian (see HALOT 275 s.v. II זנה ).


Heb “went from him.”


Heb “arose and came.”


Heb “to speak to her heart to bring her back.”


Or “young man.”


Heb “he was happy to meet him.”


Heb “and he arose to go.”


Heb “Sustain your heart [with] a bit of food.”


Heb “And they sat and ate, the two of them together, and they drank.”


Heb “Be willing and spend the night so that your heart might be good.”


Heb “and the man arose to go.”


Heb “his father-in-law persuaded him and he again spent the night there.”


Heb “Sustain your heart.” He is once more inviting him to stay for a meal.


Heb “Wait until the declining of the day.”


Heb “the man arose to go.”


Heb “the day is sinking to become evening.”


Or “declining.”


Heb “for your way and go to your tent.”


Heb “and he arose and went.”


Heb “to the front of.”


For location see Map5-B1 ; Map6-F3 ; Map7-E2 ; Map8-F2 ; Map10-B3 ; JP1-F4 ; JP2-F4 ; JP3-F4 ; JP4-F4 .


Some ancient witnesses add “and his servant.”


Heb “and the day was descending greatly.”


Or “young man.”


Heb “turn aside” (also in the following verse).


Heb “who are not from the sons of Israel.”


Heb “we will enter one of the places.”


Heb “and they passed by and went.”


Heb “which belongs to Benjamin.”


Heb “they turned aside there to enter to spend the night.”


Heb “and he entered and sat down, and there was no one receiving them into the house to spend the night.”


Heb “And look, an old man was coming from his work, from the field in the evening.”


Heb “And the men of the place were Benjaminites.”


Heb “the man, the traveler.”


Heb “he”; the referent (the Levite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


For location see Map5-B1 ; Map7-E2 ; Map8-E2 ; Map10-B4 .


Heb “I went to Bethlehem in Judah, but [to] the house of the LORD I am going.” The Hebrew text has “house of the LORD,” which might refer to the shrine at Shiloh. The LXX reads “to my house.”


By calling his concubine the old man’s “female servant,” the Levite emphasizes their dependence on him for shelter.


Some Hebrew mss and ancient witnesses read the singular, “your servant,” which would refer to the Levite. If one retains the plural, then both the Levite and his wife are in view. In either case the pronominal suffix emphasizes their dependence on the old man for shelter.


Heb “Peace to you.”


Heb “ate and drank.”


Heb “they were making their heart good.”


Heb “and look.”


Heb “the men of the city, men, the sons of wickedness.” The phrases are in apposition; the last phrase specifies what type of men they were. It is not certain if all the men of the city are in view, or just a group of troublemakers. In 20:5 the town leaders are implicated in the crime, suggesting that all the men of the city were involved. If so, the implication is that the entire male population of the town were good-for-nothings.


The Hitpael verb form appears to have an iterative force here, indicating repeated action.


Heb “so we can know him.” On the surface one might think they simply wanted to meet the visitor and get to know him, but their hostile actions betray their double-talk. The old man, who has been living with them long enough to know what they are like, seems to have no doubts about the meaning of their words (see v. 23 ).


Heb “his”; the referent (the visiting Levite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


Heb “what is good in your eyes.”


Heb “and he caused [her] to go outside to them.”


Heb “knew,” in the sexual sense.


The Hebrew term here translated “master,” is plural. The plural indicates degree here and emphasizes the Levite’s absolute sovereignty over the woman.


Heb “The woman came at the turning of the morning and fell at the door of the house of the man where her master was until the light.”


Heb “And the man took her on the donkey and arose and went to his place.”


Heb “he carved her up by her bones into twelve pieces.”


Heb “and he sent her through all the territory of Israel.”


The words “the sight” are supplied in the translation for clarification.


Heb “from the day.”


Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the (original) LXX has the following additional words: “And he instructed the men whom he sent out, ‘Thus you will say to every male Israelite: “There has never been anything like this from the day the Israelites left Egypt till the present day.”’”


Heb “went out.”


Heb “and the assembly was convened as one man.”


Heb “the cornerstones”; or “the supports.” The word is used of leaders in only three other texts – 1 Sam 14:38 ; Isa 19:13 ; Zech 10:4 .


The words “which numbered” are supplied in the translation for clarification.


Heb “The man, the Levite.”


Heb “came to.”


Heb “which belongs to Benjamin.”


Heb “arose against me and surrounded against me the house at night.”


Heb “her”; the referent is more naturally stated in English as “the pieces.”


Heb “throughout all the territory of the inheritance of Israel.”


Heb “a wicked and disgraceful [thing].”


Heb “Look, all of you sons of Israel.”


Heb “give for yourselves a word and advice here.”


Heb “as one man.”


Heb “to his tent.”


Or “turn aside.”


Heb “against her by lot.” The verb “we will go up” ( נַעֲלֶה , na ’ aleh ) has probably been accidentally omitted before “against her” ( עָלֶיהָ , ’ aleha ). sn As the lot dictates . The Israelite soldiers intended to cast lots to determine which tribe would lead the battle charge (see v. 18 ).


Or “people.”


Heb “to do at their arrival in Geba of Benjamin according to all the disgraceful [thing] which he [collective = “Benjamin”] did in Israel.” Here “Geba” must be an error for “Gibeah.”


Heb “gathered at the city as one man, united.”


The MT reads the plural, but surely the singular (which is supported by the LXX and Vulgate) is preferable here.


Heb “What is this wicked thing which happened among you?”


Heb “the men, sons of wickedness.”


Heb “and burn away wickedness from Israel.”


Heb “assembled from the cities at Gibeah.”


Heb “besides from the ones living in Gibeah they mustered seven hundred choice men.”


Heb “And from all this people.”


Heb “seven hundred choice men, bound/restricted in the right hand.” On the significance of the idiom, “bound/restricted in the right hand,” see the translator’s note on 3:15 .


“at a single hair and not miss.”


Heb “a man of war.”


For location see Map4-G4 ; Map5-C1 ; Map6-E3 ; Map7-D1 ; Map8-G3 .


Heb “They arose and went up to Bethel and asked God, and the Israelites said.”


Heb “Who should go up for us first for battle against the sons of Benjamin?”


Heb “encamped.”


Heb “the men of Israel.” The noun phrase has been replaced by the pronoun (“they”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.


Heb “The sons of Benjamin came out of Gibeah and they struck down in Israel that day twenty-two thousand men to the ground.”


Heb “The people, the men of Israel.”


Or “encouraged one another.”


Heb “I” (collective singular).


Heb “approach for battle.”


Heb “my brother” (collective singular).


Heb “Go up against him” (collective singular).


Heb “drew near to.”


Heb “And Benjamin went out to meet them from Gibeah the second day, and they struck down among the sons of Israel eighteen thousand men to the ground, all of these were wielding the sword.”


Heb “and all the people.”


Heb “went up and came [to].”


Traditionally, “fasted.”


Or “peace offerings.”


Heb “standing before him.”


Heb “him” (collective singular).


Heb “the third day.”


Heb “went out to meet.”


Heb “and they were drawn away from the city.”


Heb “from the army wounded ones.”


The words “they struck down” are supplied in the translation for clarification.


Or “run away.”


Heb “heavy”; or “severe.”


Heb “And they did not know that touching against them was disaster.”


Heb “And the sons of Israel struck down in Benjamin that day 25,100 men, all of these wielding the sword.”


Heb “gave place to.”


Heb “hurried and put off [their hiding place].”


Heb “the men hiding in ambush.”


Or “deployed.” The verb normally means “to lead” or “to draw.”


Heb “they”; the referent (the men hiding in ambush) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


Heb “turned in the battle.”


Heb “And Benjamin began to strike down wounded ones among the men of Israel.”


Heb “Benjamin turned after him and, look, the whole city went up toward the sky.”


Or “were terrified.”


Heb “disaster touched against them.”


Heb “clung to”; or “stuck close.”


Heb “and those from the cities were striking them down in their midst.”


The translation assumes the reading מִנּוֹחָה ( minnokhah , “from Nohah”; cf. 1 Chr 8:2 ) rather than the MT’s מְנוּחָה ( mÿnukhah , “resting place”).


Heb “tread down, walk on.”


Heb “unto the opposite of Gibeah toward the east.” Gibeah cannot be correct here, since the Benjaminites retreated from there toward the desert and Rimmon (see v. 45 ). A slight emendation yields the reading “Geba.”


Heb “they”; the referent (the rest [of the Benjaminites]) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


Heb “and they”; the referent (the Israelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


Heb “gleaned.” The word is an agricultural term which pictures Israelites picking off the Benjaminites as easily as one picks grapes from the vine.


Heb “stuck close after them.”


Heb “So all the ones who fell from Benjamin were twenty-five thousand men, wielding the sword, in that day, all of these men of strength.


Heb “to the sons of Benjamin.”


The translation is based on the reading מֵעִיר מְתִים ( me ’ ir mÿtim , “from a city of men,” i.e., “an inhabited city”), rather than the reading מֵעִיר מְתֹם ( me ’ ir mÿtom , “from a city of soundness”) found in the Leningrad Codex (L).


Heb “Also all the cities that were found they set on fire.”


For location see Map4-G4 ; Map5-C1 ; Map6-E3 ; Map7-D1 ; Map8-G3 .


Heb “and they lifted up their voice[s] and wept with great weeping.” Both the cognate accusative בְּכִי ( bekhi , “weeping”) and the attributive adjective גָדוֹל ( gadol , “great”) emphasize their degree of sorrow.


Heb “one.”


Or “peace offerings.”


Heb “A great oath there was concerning the one who did not go up before the Lord at Mizpah, saying, ‘He must surely be put to death.’”


Or “felt sorry for.”


Heb “cut off one.”


Heb “What should we do for them, for the remaining ones, concerning wives?”


Heb “Look, no one had come to the camp from Jabesh Gilead to the assembly.”


Or “when the people were mustered.”


Heb “and look.”


Heb “men, sons of strength.”


Heb “there.”


Heb “the edge of the sword.”


Heb “And this is the thing that you will do.”


Heb “every woman who is familiar with the bed of a male.”


Some Greek witnesses (notably Codex Vaticanus [B]) add the words, “‘But the virgins you should keep alive.’ And they did so.” These additional words, which probably represent the original Hebrew text, can be retroverted: וְאֶת־הַבְּתוּלוֹת תְּחַיּוּ וַיַּעֲשׂוּ כֵן ( ve ’ et-habbÿtulot tÿkhayyu vayya ’ asu khen ). It is likely that a scribe’s eye jumped from the vav ( ו ) on וְאֶת ( vÿ ’ et ) to the initial vav of v. 11 , accidentally leaving out the intervening letters. The present translation is based on this reconstruction.


Heb “who had not known a man with respect to the bed of a male.”


Heb “And all the assembly sent and spoke to the sons of Benjamin who were at the cliff of Rimmon and they proclaimed to them peace.”


Heb “they”; the referent (the Israelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


Heb “but they did not find for them enough.”


Heb “had made a gaping hole in.” The narrator uses imagery that compares Israel to a wall that has been breached.


Or “elders.”


Heb “What should we do for the remaining ones concerning wives?”


The Hebrew text has “and they said” at the beginning of the verse. For stylistic reasons the translation treats v. 17 as a continuation of the remarks of the leaders in v. 16 .


Heb “An inheritance for the remnant belonging to Benjamin, and a tribe from Israel will not be wiped away.” The first statement lacks a verb. Some prefer to emend the text to read, “How can an inheritance remain for the remnant of Benjamin?”


Heb “But we are not able to give to them wives from our daughters.”


Heb “is cursed.”


For location see Map4-G4 ; Map5-C1 ; Map6-E3 ; Map7-D1 ; Map8-G3 .


Heb “and look.”


Heb “and look, when.”


Heb “in the dances.”


The (original) LXX and Vulgate read “to you.”


The words “and let them be” are supplied in the translation for clarification.


Heb “for we did not take each his wife in battle.” sn Through battle . This probably refers to the battle against Jabesh Gilead, which only produced four hundred of the six hundred wives needed.


This sentence is not in the Hebrew text. It is supplied in the translation to clarify the logic of the statement.


Heb “You did not give to them, now you are guilty.” The MT as it stands makes little sense. It is preferable to emend לֹא ( lo ’, “not”) to לוּא ( lu ’, “if”). This particle introduces a purely hypothetical condition, “If you had given to them [but you didn’t].” See G. F. Moore, Judges (ICC), 453-54.


Heb “did so.”


Heb “And they took wives according to their number from the dancing girls whom they abducted.”


Heb “went and returned.”


Heb “inheritance.”


Heb “and lived in them.”


Heb “his inheritance.”


Heb “Each was doing what was right in his [own] eyes.” sn Each man did what he considered to be right . The Book of Judges closes with this note, which summarizes the situation of the Israelite tribes during this period.


Heb “in the days of the judging of the judges.” The LXX simply reads “when the judges judged,” and Syriac has “in the days of the judges.” Cf. NASB “in the days when the judges governed (ruled NRSV).” sn Many interpreters, reading this statement in the light of the Book of Judges which describes a morally corrupt period, assume that the narrator is painting a dark backdrop against which Ruth’s exemplary character and actions will shine even more brightly. However, others read this statement in the light of the book’s concluding epilogue which traces the full significance of the story to the time of David, the chosen king of Judah ( 4:18-22 ).


Heb “in the land.” The phrase “of Judah” is supplied in the translation to clarify the referent.


Or “to live temporarily.” The verb גּוּר ( gur , “sojourn”) may refer to (1) temporary dwelling in a location ( Deut 18:6 ; Judg 17:7 ) or (2) permanent dwelling in a location ( Judg 5:17 ; Ps 33:8 ). When used of a foreign land, it can refer to (1) temporary dwelling as a visiting foreigner ( Gen 12:10; 20:1; 21:34 ; 2 Kgs 8:1-2 ; Jer 44:14 ) or (2) permanent dwelling as a resident foreigner ( Gen 47:4 ; Exod 6:4 ; Num 15:14 ; Deut 26:5 ; 2 Sam 4:3 ; Jer 49:18,33; 50:40 ; Ezek 47:22-23 ). Although Naomi eventually returned to Judah, there is some ambiguity whether or not Elimelech intended the move to make them permanent resident foreigners. Cf. NASB “to sojourn” and NIV “to live for a while,” both of which imply the move was temporary, while “to live” (NCV, NRSV, NLT) is more neutral about the permanence of the relocation. sn Some interpreters view Elimelech’s departure from Judah to sojourn in Moab as lack of faith in the covenant God of Israel to provide for his family’s needs in the land of promise; therefore his death is consequently viewed as divine judgment. Others note that God never prohibited his people from seeking food in a foreign land during times of famine but actually sent his people to a foreign land during a famine in Canaan on at least one occasion as an act of deliverance ( Gen 37-50 ). In this case, Elimelech’s sojourn to Moab was an understandable act by a man concerned for the survival of his family, perhaps even under divine approval, so their death in Moab was simply a tragedy, a bad thing that happened to a godly person.


Heb “he and his wife and his two sons.” The LXX omits “two.”


Heb “and the name of his wife [was] Naomi.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons. sn The name Naomi ( נָעֳמִי , na ’ omi ) is from the adjective נֹעַם ( noam , “pleasant, lovely”) and literally means “my pleasant one” or “my lovely one.” Her name will become the subject of a wordplay in 1:20-21 when she laments that she is no longer “pleasant” but “bitter” because of the loss of her husband and two sons.


Heb “and the name[s] of his two sons [were] Mahlon and Kilion.” sn The name Mahlon ( מַחְלוֹן , makhlon ) is from מָלָה ( malah , “to be weak, sick”) and Kilion ( כִליוֹן , khilyon ) is from כָלָה ( khalah , “to be frail”). The rate of infant mortality was so high during the Iron Age that parents typically did not name children until they survived infancy and were weaned. Naomi and Elimelech might have named their two sons Mahlon and Kilion to reflect their weak condition in infancy due to famine – which eventually prompted the move to Moab where food was abundant.


Heb “[They were] Ephrathites.” Ephrathah is a small village ( Ps 132:6 ) in the vicinity of Bethlehem ( Gen 35:16 ), so close in proximity that it is often identified with the larger town of Bethlehem ( Gen 35:19; 48:7 ; Ruth 4:11 ; Mic 5:2 [ MT 5:1 ]; HALOT 81 s.v. אֶפְרָתָה ); see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC), 64. The designation “Ephrathites” might indicate that they were residents of Ephrathah. However, the adjectival form אֶפְרָתִים ( ephratim , “Ephrathites”) used here elsewhere refers to someone from the clan of Ephrath (cf. 1 Chr 4:4 ) which lived in the region of Bethlehem: “Now David was the son of an Ephrathite from Bethlehem in Judah whose name was Jesse” ( 1 Sam 17:12 ; cf. Mic 5:2 [ MT 5:1 ]). So it is more likely that the virtually identical expression here – “Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah” – refers to the clan of Ephrath in Bethlehem (see R. L. Hubbard, Jr., Ruth [NICOT], 91).


Heb “and were there”; KJV “continued there”; NRSV “remained there”; TEV “were living there.”


Heb “And Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died.” The vav ( ו ) functions in a consecutive sense (“then”), but the time-frame is not explicitly stated.


Heb “they.” The verb rd person masculine plural referring to Naomi’s sons, as the translation indicates.


Heb “and they lifted up for themselves Moabite wives.” When used with the noun “wife,” the verb נָשָׂא ( nasa ’, “to lift up, carry, take”) forms the idiom “to take a wife,” that is, to marry (BDB 673 s.v. Qal.3.d; 2 Chr 11:21; 13:21; 24:3 ; Ezra 9:2,12; 10:44 ; Neh 13:25 ).


Heb “the name of the one [was] Orpah and the name of the second [was] Ruth.” sn The name Orpah ( עָרְפָּה , ’ orpah ) is from the noun עֹרֶף (’ oref , “back of the neck”) and the related verb (“to turn one’s back”). The name Ruth ( רוּת , rut ) is from the noun רְעוּת ( rÿ ’ ut , “friendship”), derived from the root רֵעַ ( rea ’, “friend, companion”). Ironically, Orpah will eventually turn her back on Naomi, while Ruth will display extraordinary friendship as her life-long companion (see 1:14 ). Since they seem to mirror the most definitive action of these women, perhaps they designate character types (as is the case with the name Mara in 1:21 and Peloni Almoni in 4:2 ) rather than their original birth names.


Heb “and the two of them also died, Mahlon and Kilion.”


The term יֶלֶד ( yeled , “offspring”), from the verb יָלַד ( yalad , “to give birth to”), is used only here of a married man. By shifting to this word from the more common term בֵּן ( ben , “son”; see vv. 1-5 a) and then using it in an unusual manner, the author draws attention to Naomi’s loss and sets up a verbal link with the story’s conclusion (cf. 4:16 ). Although grown men, they were still her “babies” (see E. F. Campbell, Ruth [AB], 56; F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 66).


Heb “and she arose, along with her daughters-in-law, and she returned from the region of Moab.”


Heb “in the region of Moab”; KJV, NRSV “in the country of Moab.” Since this is a repetition of the phrase found earlier in the verse, it has been shortened to “in Moab” in the present translation for stylistic reasons.


Heb “had visited” or “taken note of.” The basic meaning of פָּקַד ( paqad ) is “observe, examine, take note of” (T. F. Williams, NIDOTTE 3:658), so it sometimes appears with זָכַר ( zakhar , “to remember”; Pss 8:4 []; 106:4 ; Jer 14:10; 15:15 ; Hos 8:13; 9:9 ) and רָאָה ( ra ’ ah , “to see”; Exod 4:31 ; Ps 80:14 []; NIDOTTE 3:659). It often emphasizes the cause/effect response to what is seen ( NIDOTTE 3:659). When God observes people in need, it is glossed “be concerned about, care for, attend to, help” ( Gen 21:1; 50:24, 25 ; Exod 4:31 ; Ruth 1:6 ; 1 Sam 2:21 ; Jer 15:15 ; Zeph 2:7 ; Zech 10:3 b; NIDOTTE 3:661). When humans are the subject, it sometimes means “to visit” needy people to bestow a gift ( Judg 15:1 ; 1 Sam 17:18 ). Because it has such a broad range of meanings, its use here has been translated variously: (1) “had visited” (KJV, ASV, NASV, RSV; so BDB 823-24 s.v. פָּקַד ); (2) “had considered” (NRSV) and “had taken note of” (TNK; so HALOT 955-57 s.v. פקד ); and (3) “had come to the aid of” (NIV), “had blessed” (TEV), and “had given” (CEV; so NIDOTTE 3:657). When God observed the plight of his people, he demonstrated his concern by benevolently giving them food.


Heb “by giving to them food.” The translation “reversing the famine and providing abundant crops” attempts to clarify the referent of לֶחֶם ( lekhem , “food”) as “crops” and highlights the reversal of the famine that began in v. 1 . The infinitive construct לָתֵת לָהֶם לָחֶם ( latet lahem lakhem ) may denote (1) purpose: “[he visited his people] to give them food” or (2) complementary sense explaining the action of the main verb: “[he visited his people] by giving them food.” The term לֶחֶם ( lakhem ) here refers to agricultural fertility, the reversal of the famine in v. 1 .


Heb “and she went out from the place she had been, and her two daughters-in-law with her, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah.”


Heb “each to the house of her mother.” Naomi’s words imply that it is more appropriate for the two widows to go home to their mothers, rather than stay with their mother-in-law (see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 75).


The MT ( Kethib ) has the imperfect יַעֲשֶׂה ( ya ’ aseh , “[the Lord ] will do”), but the marginal reading ( Qere ) has the shortened jussive form יַעַשׂ ( ya ’ as , “may [the Lord ] do”), which is more probable in this prayer of blessing. Most English versions adopt the jussive form (KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, JPS, TEV, CEV, NLT).


Heb “do with you”; NRSV “deal kindly with you”; NLT “reward you for your kindness.” The pronominal suffix “you” appears to be a masculine form, but this is likely a preservation of an archaic dual form (see E. F. Campbell, Ruth [AB], 65; F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 75-76).


Heb “the dead” (so KJV, NRSV); NLT “your husbands.” This refers to their deceased husbands.


Heb “devotion as you have done with the dead and with me.” The noun חֶסֶד ( khesed , “devotion”) is a key thematic term in the book of Ruth (see 2:20; 3:10 ). G. R. Clark suggests that חֶסֶד “is not merely an attitude or an emotion; it is an emotion that leads to an activity beneficial to the recipient”; an act of חֶסֶד is “a beneficent action performed, in the context of a deep and enduring commitment between two persons or parties, by one who is able to render assistance to the needy party who in the circumstances is unable to help him – or herself” ( The Word Hesed in the Hebrew Bible [JSOTSup], 267). HALOT 336-37 s.v. II חֶסֶד defines the word as “loyalty” or “faithfulness.” Other appropriate glosses might be “commitment” and “devotion.”


Heb “may the Lord give to you, and find rest, each [in] the house of her husband.” The syntax is unusual, but following the jussive (“may he give”), the imperative with vav ( ו ) conjunctive (“and find”) probably indicates the purpose or consequence of the preceding action: “May he enable you to find rest.”


Heb “rest.” While the basic meaning of מְנוּחָה ( mÿnukhah ) is “rest,” it often refers to “security,” such as provided in marriage (BDB 629-30 s.v.; HALOT 600 s.v.). Thus English versions render it in three different but related ways: (1) the basic sense: “rest” (KJV, ASV, NASV, NIV); (2) the metonymical cause/effect sense: “security” (NRSV, NJPS, REB, NLT, GW); and (3) the referential sense: “home” (RSV, TEV, CEV, NCV).


Heb “in the house of her husband” (so KJV, NASB); NRSV “your husband.”


Heb “they lifted their voice[s] and wept” (KJV, ASV, NASB all similar). This refers to loud weeping characteristic of those mourning a tragedy ( Judg 21:2 ; 2 Sam 13:36 ; Job 2:12 ).


The particle כִּי ( ki ) here has the force of “no, on the contrary” (see Gen 31:26 ; Ps 44:22 ; HALOT 470 s.v. II כִּי 3).


Or perhaps “we want to” (so NCV, CEV, NLT), if the imperfect is understood in a modal sense indicating desire.


Heb “Why would you want to come with me?” Naomi’s rhetorical question expects a negative answer. The phrase “to Judah” is added in the translation for clarification.


Heb “Do I still have sons in my inner parts that they might become your husbands?” Again Naomi’s rhetorical question expects a negative answer.


Verse 12 b contains the protasis (“if” clause) of a conditional sentence, which is completed by the rhetorical questions in v. 13 . For a detailed syntactical analysis, see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC), 78-79.


Heb “For them would you wait until they were grown?” Some understand הֲלָהֵן ( halahen ) as an interrogative he ( ה ) with an Aramaic particle meaning “therefore” (see GKC 301 §103. b .2 [n. 4]; cf. ASV, NASB), while others understand the form to consist of an interrogative he , the preposition ל ( lamed , “for”), and an apparent third person feminine plural pronominal suffix (CEV, NLT “for them”). The feminine suffix is problematic, for its antecedent is the hypothetical “sons” mentioned at the end of v. 12 . For this reason some emend the form to הלתם (“for them,” a third person masculine plural suffix). R. L. Hubbard raises the possibility that the nunated suffix is an archaic Moabite masculine dual form ( Ruth [NICOT], 111, n. 31). In any case, Naomi’s rhetorical question expects a negative answer.


Heb “For them would you hold yourselves back so as not to be for a man?” Again Naomi’s rhetorical question expects a negative answer. The verb עָגַן (’ agan , “hold back”; cf. KJV, ASV “stay”; NRSV “refrain”) occurs only here in the OT. For discussion of its etymology and meaning, see HALOT 785-86 s.v. עגן , and F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC), 79-80.


The negative is used here in an elliptical manner for emphasis (see HALOT 48 s.v. I אַל ; GKC 479-80 §152. g ).


Heb “No, my daughters.” Naomi is not answering the rhetorical questions she has just asked. In light of the explanatory clause that follows, it seems more likely that she is urging them to give up the idea of returning with her. In other words, the words “no, my daughters” complement the earlier exhortation to “go back.” To clarify this, the words “you must not return with me” are added in the translation.


Heb “bitterness to me.” The term מָרַר ( marar ) can refer to emotional bitterness: “to feel bitter” ( 1 Sam 30:6 ; 2 Kgs 4:27 ; Lam 1:4 ) or a grievous situation: “to be in bitter circumstances” ( Jer 4:18 ) (BDB 600 s.v.; HALOT 638 s.v. I מרר ). So the expression מַר־לִי ( mar-li ) can refer to emotional bitterness (KJV, NKJV, ASV, RSV, NASB, NIV, NJPS, CEV, NLT) or a grievous situation (cf. NRSV, NAB, NCV, CEV margin). Although Naomi and her daughters-in-law had reason for emotional grief, the issue at hand was Naomi’s lamentable situation, which she did not want them to experience: being a poor widow in a foreign land.


Heb “for there is bitterness to me exceedingly from you.” The clause כִּי־מַר־לִי מְאֹד מִכֶּם ( ki-mar-li me ’ od mikkem ) is notoriously difficult to interpret. It has been taken in three different ways: (1) “For I am very bitter for me because of you,” that is, because of your widowed condition (cf. KJV, NKJV, ASV, RSV, NJB, REB, JB, TEV). This does not fit well, however, with the following statement (“for the LORD has attacked me”) nor with the preceding statement (“You must not return with me”). (2) “For I am far more bitter than for you” (cf. NASB, NIV, NJPS, NEB, CEV, NLT). This does not provide an adequate basis, however, for the preceding statement (“You must not return with me”). (3) “For my bitterness is too much for you [to bear]” (cf. NAB, NRSV, NCV, CEV margin). This is preferable because it fits well with both the preceding and following statements. These three options reflect the three ways the preposition מן may be taken here: (1) causal: “because of, on account of” (BDB 580 s.v. מִן 2.f; HALOT 598 s.v. מִן 6), not that Orpah and Ruth were the cause of her calamity, but that Naomi was grieved because they had become widows; (2) comparative: “more [bitter] than you” (BDB 581 s.v. 6 .a; HALOT 598 s.v. 5 b), meaning that Naomi’s situation was more grievous than theirs – while they could remarry, her prospects were much more bleak; and (3) elative, describing a situation that is too much for a person to bear: “too [bitter] for you” (BDB 581 s.v. 6 .d; HALOT 598 s.v. 5 a; IBHS 267 §14.4f; e.g., Gen 4:13 ; Exod 18:18 ; Deut 17:8 ; 1 Kgs 19:17 ), meaning that Naomi’s plight was too bitter for her daughters-in-law to share. While all three options are viable, the meaning adopted must fit two criteria: (1) The meaning of this clause ( 1:13 b) must provide the grounds for Naomi’s emphatic rejection of the young women’s refusal to separate themselves from her ( 1:13 a); and (2) it must fit the following clause: “for the hand of the LORD has gone out against me” ( 1:13 c). The first and second options do not provide adequate reasons for sending her daughters-in-law back home, nor do they fit her lament that the LORD had attached her (not them); however, the third option (elative sense) fits both criteria. Naomi did not want her daughters-in-law to share her sad situation, that is, to be poor, childless widows in a foreign land with no prospect for marriage. If they accompanied her back to Judah, they would be in the same kind of situation in which she found herself in Moab. If they were to find the “rest” (security of home and husband) she wished for them, it would be in Moab, not in Judah. The Lord had already deprived her of husband and sons. She could do nothing for them in this regard because she had no more sons to give them as husbands, and she was past the age of child-bearing to raise up new husbands for them in the future – as if they could wait that long anyway ( 1:13 a). For a discussion of these three options and defense of the approach adopted here, see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC), 80-81.


Heb “for the hand of the Lord has gone out against me” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NIV all similar). The expression suggests opposition and hostility, perhaps picturing the Lord as the Divine Warrior who is bringing calamity upon Naomi. See R. L. Hubbard, Jr., Ruth (NICOT), 113.


Heb “they lifted their voice[s] and wept” (so NASB; see v. 9 ). The expression refers to loud weeping employed in mourning tragedy ( Judg 21:2 ; 2 Sam 13:36 ; Job 2:12 ).


The LXX adds, “and she returned to her people” (cf. TEV “and went back home”). Translating the Greek of the LXX back to Hebrew would read a consonantal text of ותשׁב אל־עמה . Most dismiss this as a clarifying addition added under the influence of v. 15 , but this alternative reading should not be rejected too quickly. It is possible that a scribe’s eye jumped from the initial vav on ותשׁב (“and she returned”) to the initial vav on the final clause ( וְרוּת [ vÿrut ], “and Ruth”), inadvertently leaving out the intervening words, “and she returned to her people.” Or a scribe’s eye could have jumped from the final he on לַחֲמוֹתָהּ ( lakhamotah , “to her mother-in-law”) to the final he on עַמָּהּ (’ ammah , “her people”), leaving out the intervening words, “and she returned to her people.”


The clause is disjunctive. The word order is conjunction + subject + verb, highlighting the contrast between the actions of Orpah and Ruth. sn Orpah is a literary foil for Ruth. Orpah is a commendable and devoted person (see v. 8 ); after all she is willing to follow Naomi back to Judah. However, when Naomi bombards her with good reasons why she should return, she relents. But Ruth is special. Despite Naomi’s bitter tirade, she insists on staying. Orpah is a good person, but Ruth is beyond good – she possesses an extra measure of devotion and sacrificial love that is uncommon.


Heb “she”; the referent (Naomi) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


Or “gods” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, CEV, NLT), if the plural form is taken as a numerical plural. However, it is likely that Naomi, speaking from Orpah’s Moabite perspective, uses the plural of majesty of the Moabite god Chemosh. For examples of the plural of majesty being used of a pagan god, see BDB 43 s.v. אֱלֹהִים 1.d. Note especially 1 Kgs 11:33 , where the plural form is used of Chemosh.


Heb “do not urge me to abandon you to turn back from after you.” Most English versions, following the lead of the KJV, use “leave” here. The use of עזב (“abandon”) reflects Ruth’s perspective. To return to Moab would be to abandon Naomi and to leave her even more vulnerable than she already is.


Heb “Thus may the Lord do to me and thus may he add…” The construction וְכֹה יֹסִיף … כֹּה יַעֲשֶׂה ( koh ya ’ aseh...vÿkhoh yosif , “May he do thus…and may he do even more so…!”) is an oath formula of self-imprecation (e.g., 1 Sam 3:17; 14:44; 20:13; 25:22 ; 2 Sam 3:9,35; 19:14 ; 1 Kgs 2:23 ; 2 Kgs 6:31 ). In this formula the exact curse is understood but not expressed (GKC 472 §149. d ; BDB 462 s.v. כֹּה 1.b). In ancient Near Eastern imprecations, when the curse was so extreme, it was not uttered because it was unspeakably awful: “In the twelve uses of this formula, the calamity which the speaker invokes is never named, since OT culture (in keeping with the rest of the ancient Near East) accorded such power to the spoken word” (F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 82). Ruth here pronounces a curse upon herself, elevating the preceding promise to a formal, unconditional level. If she is not faithful to her promise, she agrees to become an object of divine judgment. As in other occurrences of this oath/curse formula, the specific punishment is not mentioned. As Bush explains, the particle כִּי ( ki ) here is probably asseverative (“indeed, certainly”) and the statement that follows expresses what underscores the seriousness of her promise by invoking divine judgment, as it were, if she does otherwise. Of course, the Lord would not have been obligated to judge her if she had abandoned Naomi – this is simply an ancient idiomatic way of expressing her commitment to her promise.


Heb “certainly death will separate me and you.” Ruth’s vow has been interpreted two ways: (1) Not even death will separate her from Naomi – because they will be buried next to one another (e.g., NRSV, NCV; see E. F. Campbell, Ruth [AB], 74-75). However, for the statement to mean, “Not even death will separate me and you,” it would probably need to be introduced by אִם (’ im , “if”) or negated by לֹא ( lo ’, “not”; see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 83). (2) Nothing except death will separate her from Naomi (e.g., KJV, ASV, RSV, NASB, NIV, TEV, NJPS, REB, NLT, GW; see Bush, 83). The particle כִּי introduces the content of the vow, which – if violated – would bring about the curse uttered in the preceding oath (BDB 472 s.v. כִּי 1.c; e.g., Gen 42:16 ; Num 14:22 ; 1 Sam 20:3; 26:16; 29:6 ; 2 Sam 3:35 ; 1 Kgs 2:23 ; Isa 49:18 ). Some suggest that כּי is functioning as an asseverative (“indeed, certainly”) to express what the speaker is determined will happen (Bush, 83; see 1 Sam 14:44 ; 2 Sam 3:9 ; 1 Kgs 2:23; 19:2 ). Here כִּי probably functions in a conditional sense: “if” or “if…except, unless” (BDB 473 s.v. כִּי 2.b). So her vow may essentially mean “if anything except death should separate me from you!” The most likely view is (2): Ruth is swearing that death alone will separate her from Naomi. sn Ruth’s devotion to Naomi is especially apparent here. Instead of receiving a sure blessing and going home (see v. 8 ), Ruth instead takes on a serious responsibility and subjects herself to potential divine punishment. Death, a power beyond Ruth’s control, will separate the two women, but until that time Ruth will stay by Naomi’s side and she will even be buried in the same place as Naomi.


Heb “she”; the referent (Ruth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


Heb “she ceased speaking to her.” This does not imply that Naomi was completely silent toward Ruth. It simply means that Naomi stopped trying to convince her to go back to Moab (see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 84-85).


The suffix “them” appears to be masculine, but it is probably an archaic dual form (E. F. Campbell, Ruth [AB], 65; F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 75-76).


For location see Map5-B1 ; Map7-E2 ; Map8-E2 ; Map10-B4 .


The temporal indicator וַיְהִי ( vayÿhi , “and it was”) here introduces a new scene.


Heb “because of them” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); CEV “excited to see them.”


Heb “they said,” but the verb form is third person feminine plural, indicating that the women of the village are the subject.


Heb “Is this Naomi?” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV). The question here expresses surprise and delight because of the way Naomi reacts to it (F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 92).


Heb “said.” For stylistic reasons the present translation employs “replied” here.


The third person feminine plural form of the pronominal suffix indicates the women of the village (see v. 19 ) are the addressees.


Heb “Shaddai”; traditionally “the Almighty.” The etymology and meaning of this divine name is uncertain. It may be derived from: (1) שָׁדַד ( shadad , “to be strong”), cognate to Arabic sdd , meaning “The Strong One” or “Almighty”; (2) שָׁדָה ( shadah , “mountain”), cognate to Akkadian shadu , meaning “The Mountain Dweller” or “God of the Mountains”; (3) שָׁדַד ( shadad , “to devastate”) and שַׁד ( shad , “destroyer”), Akkadian Shedum , meaning “The Destroyer” or “The Malevolent One”; or (4) שֶׁ ( she , “who”) plus דִּי ( diy , “sufficient”), meaning “The One Who is Sufficient” or “All-Sufficient One” ( HALOT 1420-22 s.v. שַׁדַּי , שַׁדָּי ). In terms of use, Shaddai (or El Shaddai) is presented as the sovereign king/judge of the world who grants life/blesses and kills/judges. In Genesis he blesses the patriarchs with fertility and promises numerous descendants. Outside Genesis he blesses/protects and also takes away life/happiness. In light of Naomi’s emphasis on God’s sovereign, malevolent deprivation of her family, one can understand her use of this name for God. For discussion of this divine name, see T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God , 69-72.


Or “caused me to be very bitter”; NAB “has made it very bitter for me.”


Heb “but empty the Lord has brought me back.” The disjunctive clause structure ( vav + adverb + verb + subject) highlights the contrast between her former condition and present situation. Cf. TEV “has brought me back without a thing.” sn Empty-handed. This statement is highly ironic, for ever-loyal Ruth stands by her side even as she speaks these words. These words reflect Naomi’s perspective, not the narrator’s, for Ruth will eventually prove to be the one who reverses Naomi’s plight and “fills” her “emptiness.” Naomi’s perspective will prove to be inaccurate and the women will later correct Naomi’s faulty view of Ruth’s value (see 4:15 ).


The disjunctive clause structure ( vav [ ו ] + subject + verb) here introduces either an attendant circumstance (“when the Lord has opposed me”) or an explanation (“seeing that the Lord has opposed me”).


The LXX reads “humbled me” here, apparently understanding the verb as a Piel ( עָנָה , ’ anah ) from a homonymic root meaning “afflict.” However, עָנָה (“afflict”) never introduces its object with בְּ ( bet ); when the preposition בְּ is used with this verb, it is always adverbial (“in, with, through”). To defend the LXX reading one would have to eliminate the preposition. tn Heb “has testified against me” (KJV, ASV both similar); NAB “has pronounced against me.” The idiom עָנַה בִי (’ anah viy , “testify against”) is well attested elsewhere in legal settings (see BDB 773 s.v. עָנָה Qal.3.a; HALOT 852 s.v. I ענה qal.2). Naomi uses a legal metaphor and depicts the Lord as testifying against her in court.


Or “brought disaster upon me”; NIV “brought misfortune (calamity NRSV) upon me”; NLT “has sent such tragedy.”


Heb “and Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with her, the one who returned from the region of Moab.” sn This summarizing statement provides closure to the first part of the story. By highlighting Ruth’s willingness to return with Naomi, it also contrasts sharply with Naomi’s remark about being empty-handed.


The pronoun appears to be third person masculine plural in form, but it is probably an archaic third person dual form (see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 94).


This statement, introduced with a disjunctive structure ( vav [ ו ] + subject + verb) provides closure for the previous scene, while at the same time making a transition to the next scene, which takes place in the barley field. The reference to the harvest also reminds the reader that God has been merciful to his people by replacing the famine with fertility. In the flow of the narrative the question is now, “Will he do the same for Naomi and Ruth?” sn The barley harvest began in late March. See O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel , 91.


The disjunctive clause (note the vav [ ו ] + prepositional phrase structure) provides background information essential to the following narrative.


The marginal reading ( Qere ) is מוֹדַע ( moda ’, “relative”), while the consonantal text ( Kethib ) has מְיֻדָּע ( miyudda ’, “friend”). The textual variant was probably caused by orthographic confusion between consonantal מְיֻדָּע and מוֹדַע . Virtually all English versions follow the marginal reading ( Qere ), e.g., KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV “kinsman”; NIV, NCV, NLT “relative.”


Heb “and [there was] to Naomi a relative, to her husband, a man mighty in substance, from the clan of Elimelech, and his name [was] Boaz.”


The cohortative here (“Let me go”) expresses Ruth’s request. Note Naomi’s response, in which she gives Ruth permission to go to the field.


Following the preceding cohortative, the cohortative with vav conjunctive indicates purpose/result.


Heb “anyone in whose eyes I may find favor” (ASV, NIV similar). The expression אֶמְצָא־חֵן בְּעֵינָיו (’ emtsa ’ -khen bÿ ’ enayv , “to find favor in the eyes of [someone]”) appears in Ruth 2:2, 10, 13 . It is most often used when a subordinate or servant requests permission for something from a superior (BDB 336 s.v. חֵן ). Ruth will play the role of the subordinate servant, seeking permission from a landowner, who then could show benevolence by granting her request to glean in his field behind the harvest workers.


Heb “she”; the referent (Naomi) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


Heb “she”; the referent (Ruth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


Heb “and she went and entered [a field] and gleaned in the field behind the harvesters.” Cf. KJV, NASB, NRSV “the reapers”; TEV “the workers.”


Heb “and look”; NIV, NRSV “Just then.” The narrator invites the audience into the story, describing Boaz’s arrival as if it were witnessed by the audience.


For location see Map5-B1 ; Map7-E2 ; Map8-E2 ; Map10-B4 .


Heb “said to.” Context indicates that the following expression is a greeting, the first thing Boaz says to his workers.


Heb “said to him.” For stylistic reasons “replied” is used in the present translation.


Heb “said to.” Since what follows is a question, “asked” is appropriate in this context.


Heb “young man.” Cf. NAB “overseer”; NIV, NLT “foreman.”


Heb “said.” What follows is a question, so “asked” is used in the translation.


On the use of the perfect with vav consecutive after the cohortative, see IBHS 530 §32.2.2b.


Heb “May I glean and gather among the bundles behind the harvesters?” Others translate, “May I glean and gather [grain] in bundles behind the harvesters?” (cf. NAB; see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 117). For discussion of the terminology and process of harvesting, see O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel , 59-61.


Heb “and she came and she has persisted.” The construction וַתָּבוֹא וַתַעֲמוֹד ( vattavo ’ vata ’ amod ) forms a dependent temporal sequence: “since she came, she has persisted.” Because עָמַד (’ amad , “to stand, remain, persist”; BDB 764 s.v. עָמַד ; HALOT 840-42 s.v. עמד ) has a broad range of meanings, וַתַעֲמוֹד has been understood in various ways: (1) Ruth had stood all morning waiting to receive permission from Boaz to glean in his field: “she has stood (here waiting)”; (2) Ruth had remained in the field all morning: “she has remained here” (NAB, NASB, NCV); and (3) Ruth had worked hard all morning: “she has worked steadily” (REB), “she has been working” (TEV, CEV), “she has been on her feet (all morning)” (JPS, NJPS, NRSV). For discussion, see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC), 118-19.


Heb “and she came and she stood, from then, the morning, and until now, this, her sitting [in] the house a little.” The syntax of the Hebrew text is awkward and the meaning uncertain. For discussion see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC), 118-19.


Heb “except this.” The function and meaning of the demonstrative adjective זֶה ( zeh , “this”) is difficult: (1) MT accentuation joins זֶה with שִׁבְתָּהּ ( shivtah , “this her sitting”), suggesting that זֶה שִׁבְתָּהּ functions as subject complement (see BDB 261 s.v. זֶה 2.a and Josh 9:12 ). (2) Others suggest that זֶה functions as an emphasizing adverb of time (“just now”; BDB 261 s.v. 4 .h) and connect it with עַתָּה (’ attah , “now”) to form the idiom עַתָּה זֶה ( zeh ’ attah , “now, just now”; BDB 261 s.v. 4 .h; GKC 442-43 §136. d ; see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 118-19). The entire line is translated variously: KJV “until now, (+ save ASV) that she tarried a little in the house”; NASB “she has been sitting in the house for a little while”; NIV “except for a short rest in the shelter”; NJPS “she has rested but little in the hut”; “her sitting (= resting) in the house (has only been) for a moment.” A paraphrase would be: “She came and has kept at it (= gleaning) from this morning until now, except for this: She has been sitting in the hut only a little while.” The clause as a whole is an exceptive clause: “except for this….”


The MT vocalizes consonantal שבתה as שִׁבְתָּהּ ( shivtah , “her sitting”; Qal infinitive construct from יָשַׁב ( yashav ), “to sit” + 3rd person feminine singular suffix), apparently taking the 3rd person feminine singular suffix as a subjective genitive: “she sat [in the hut only a little while]” (so KJV, ASV, NASB, NIV, REB, TEV, NCV, NJPS). On the other hand, LXX κατέπαυσεν (“she rested”) reflects the vocalization שָׁבְתָה ( shavtah , “she rested”; Qal perfect 3rd person feminine singular from שָׁבַת ( shavat ), “to rest”): “she rested [in the hut only a little while]” (so RSV, NRSV, NAB, CEV, NJB, JPS). The MT reading is more difficult and is therefore probably original. tn Heb “and she came and she stood, from then, the morning, and until now, this, her sitting [in] the house a little.” The syntax of the Hebrew text is awkward here and the meaning uncertain. F. W. Bush ( Ruth, Esther [WBC], 118-19) takes עָמַד (’ amad , “to stand”) in the sense “to stay, remain,” connects זֶה ( zeh , “this”) with the preceding עַתָּה (’ attah , “now”) as an emphasizing adverb of time (“just now”), and emends שִׁבְתָּהּ הַבַּיִת ( shivtah habbayit , “her sitting [in] the house”) to שָׁבְתָה ( shavtah , “she rested”), omitting הַבַּיִת ( habbayit ) as dittographic. Another option is to translate, “She came and has stood here from this morning until now. She’s been sitting in the house for a short time.” According to this view the servant has made Ruth wait to get permission from Boaz. It is difficult, however, to envision a “house” being in the barley field.


Several English versions (NAB, NEB, RSV, NRSV, JB, CEV) suggest deleting MT הַבַּיִת ( habbayit , lit. “the house”) due to dittography with בתה in שִׁבְתָּהּ ( shivtah ) which precedes; however, several ancient textual witnesses support the MT (medieval Hebrew manuscripts, Syriac, Targum). The LXX reading ἐν τῷ ἀργῷ ( en tw argw , “in the field”) probably does not represent an alternate Hebrew textual tradition, but merely the translator’s attempt to smooth out a difficult Hebrew text. tn “[in] the house.” The noun הַבַּיִת (lit. “the house”) functions as an adverbial accusative of location, and probably refers to a “hut, shelter,” providing shade for workers in the field, such as those still used by harvesters in modern Israel (H. A. Hoffner, TDOT 2:111-15). This kind of structure is probably referred to using different terms in Isaiah 1:8 , “like a shelter ( כְּסֻכָּה , kÿsukkah ) in a vineyard, like a hut ( כִּמְלוּנָה , kimlunah ) in a field of melons.” Some translations render הַבַּיִת ( habbayit ) literally as “the house” (KJV, NKJV, NASB), while others nuance it as “the shelter” (NIV, NCV, TEV, NLT).


Heb “a little while.” The adjective מְעָט ( me ’ at ) functions in a temporal sense (“a little while”; e.g., Job 24:24 ) or a comparative sense (“a little bit”); see BDB 589-90 s.v. The foreman’s point is that Ruth was a hard worker who only rested a short time.


Heb “Have you not heard?” The idiomatic, negated rhetorical question is equivalent to an affirmation (see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 119, and GKC 474 §150. e ).


Heb “my daughter.” This form of address is a mild form of endearment, perhaps merely rhetorical. It might suggest that Boaz is older than Ruth, but not necessarily significantly so. A few English versions omit it entirely (e.g., TEV, CEV).


The switch from the negative particle אַל (’ al , see the preceding statement, “do not leave”) to לֹא ( lo ’) may make this statement more emphatic. It may indicate that the statement is a policy applicable for the rest of the harvest (see v. 21 ).


Heb “and thus you may stay close with.” The imperfect has a permissive nuance here.


Heb “let your eyes be upon” (KJV, NASB similar).


Heb “they.” The verb is masculine plural, indicating that the male workers are the subject here.


Heb “and go after them.” The pronominal suffix (“them”) is feminine plural, indicating that the female workers are referred to here.


Male servants are in view here, as the masculine plural form of the noun indicates (cf. KJV, NAB, NRSV “the young men”).


Heb “Have I not commanded the servants not to touch [i.e., “harm”] you?” The idiomatic, negated rhetorical question is equivalent to an affirmation (see v. 8 ). The perfect is either instantaneous, indicating completion of the action concurrent with the statement (see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 107, 121-22, who translates, “I am herewith ordering”) or emphatic/rhetorical, indicating the action is as good as done.


The juxtaposition of two perfects, each with vav consecutive, here indicates a conditional sentence (see GKC 337 §112. kk ).


Heb “vessels (so KJV, NAB, NRSV), receptacles”; NCV “water jugs.”


Heb “drink [some] of that which” (KJV similar); in the context “water” is implied.


The imperfect here either indicates characteristic or typical activity, or anterior future, referring to a future action (drawing water) which logically precedes another future action (drinking).


Heb “she”; the referent (Ruth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


Heb “she fell upon her face and bowed to the ground” (KJV, NASB similar).


Heb “Why do I find favor in your eyes…?” The expression מָצַא חֵן בְּעֵינֶי ( matsa ’ khen bÿ ’ eney , “to find favor in the eyes of [someone]”) is often characterized by the following features: (1) A subordinate or servant is requesting permission for something from a superior (master, owner, king). (2) The granting of the request is not a certainty but dependent on whether or not the superior is pleased with the subordinate to do so. (3) The granting of the request by the superior is an act of kindness or benevolence; however, it sometimes reciprocates loyalty previously shown by the subordinate to the superior (e.g., Gen 30:27; 32:6; 33:8, 10, 15; 34:11; 39:4; 47:25, 29; 50:4 ; Num 32:5 ; Deut 24:1 ; 1 Sam 1:18; 16:22; 20:3, 29; 27:3 ; 2 Sam 14:22; 16:4 ; 1 Kgs 11:19 ; Esth 5:8; 7:3 ; BDB 336 s.v. חֵן ). While Boaz had granted her request for permission to glean in his field, she is amazed at the degree of kindness he had shown – especially since she had done nothing, in her own mind, to merit such a display. However, Boaz explains that she had indeed shown kindness to him indirectly through her devotion to Naomi (v. 11 ).


Heb “Why do I find favor in your eyes by [you] recognizing me.” The infinitive construct with prefixed לְ ( lamed ) here indicates manner (“by”).


Heb “and I am a foreigner.” The disjunctive clause (note the pattern vav + subject + predicate nominative) here has a circumstantial (i.e., concessive) function (“even though”).


Heb “answered and said to her” (so NASB). For stylistic reasons this has been translated as “replied to her.”


Heb “it has been fully reported to me.” The infinitive absolute here emphasizes the following finite verb from the same root. Here it emphasizes either the clarity of the report or its completeness. See R. L. Hubbard, Jr., Ruth (NICOT), 153, n. 6. Most English versions tend toward the nuance of completeness (e.g., KJV “fully been shewed”; NAB “a complete account”; NASB, NRSV “All that you have done”).


The vav ( ו ) consecutive construction here has a specifying function. This and the following clause elaborate on the preceding general statement and explain more specifically what she did for her mother-in-law.


Heb “yesterday and the third day.” This Hebrew idiom means “previously, in the past” ( Exod 5:7,8,14 ; Exod 21:29,36 ; Deut 4:42; 19:4,6 ; Josh 3:4 ; 1 Sam 21:5 ; 2 Sam 3:17 ; 1 Chr 11:2 ).


Heb “repay your work”; KJV, ASV “recompense thy work.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive of prayer (note the jussive form in the next clause).


Heb “may your wages be complete”; NCV “May your wages be paid in full.” The prefixed verbal form is a distinct jussive form, indicating that this is a prayer for blessing.


Heb “under whose wings you have sought shelter”; NIV, NLT “have come to take refuge.”


Heb “I am finding favor in your eyes.” In v. 10 , where Ruth uses the perfect, she simply states the fact that Boaz is kind. Here the Hebrew text switches to the imperfect, thus emphasizing the ongoing attitude of kindness displayed by Boaz. Many English versions treat this as a request: KJV “Let me find favour in thy sight”; NAB “May I prove worthy of your kindness”; NIV “May I continue to find favor in your eyes.”


Heb “my master”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “my lord.”


Or “comforted” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV, NLT).


Heb “spoken to the heart of.” As F. W. Bush points out, the idiom here means “to reassure, encourage” ( Ruth, Esther [WBC], 124).