§1Καὶ εῦξατο Ἱεμθάε τῷ Κυφίῳ. Εἰ Πνεῦμα Κυρίου ἐπ᾿ αὐτὸν, πῶς εὔχεται ἃ μὴ προσήκει;
'And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord.' If the Spirit of the Lord was upon him, how does he vow what is not fitting?
Ἐνῆν γὰρ καὶ κύνα ἀπαντῆσαι ἐπανιόντι τῷ Ἰεφθάε.
For it was possible that even a dog might meet Jephthah as he returned.
Ἆῤ οὖν ἐσφάλη τὸ Πνεῦμα;
Did the Spirit then err?
οὐδαμῶς· ἀλλὰ τὸ μὲν Πνεῦμα βοηθεῖν παραγέγονεν, οὐχ ὑποβάλλειν τὴν ἄτοπον εὐχήν· αὐτὸς δὲ σφάλλεται ἀπερισκέπτως ὑποσχόμενος.
By no means; rather, the Spirit came to help, not to suggest the absurd vow; but he himself errs by promising thoughtlessly.
§2Καὶ εἶπαν αὐτῷ· Εἰπὸν δὴ στάχυς. Οἱ δὲ ἔλεγον στάχυς· σημαίνει σέβηλα, ὅπερ ἐστὶν ἄσταχυς.
'And they said to him, "Say now, Stachys." But they said, "Stachys,"' which means 'sebela', which is 'astachys'.
Οἱ δὲ ἔλεγον σεβήλω καὶ οὐκ ἐδύναντο τρανῶς εἰπεῖν σέδηλα.
But they said 'sebelo' and were not able to pronounce 'sedela' clearly.
Εἰ γὰρ καὶ Ἑβραῖοι ἐτύγχανον, ἀλλὰ κατὰ συμμετρίαν βραχύτητι παρήλλασσον ἐν τῇ τῆς διαλέξεως προφορᾷ.
For even if they happened to be Hebrews, yet they differed slightly in the proportion in the pronunciation of their dialect.
Τὸ οὖν σύνθεμα ἦν σέβηλα, ὅπερ οἱ ἐπερωτώμενοι λέγοντες σεδήλω, ἠλέγχοντο οὐκ ὄντες τῶν οἰκείων τοῦ Ἰεφθάε, ἀλλὰ τῶν ἐπαναστάντων.
Thus the sign was 'sebela', which those questioned, by saying 'sedelo', were exposed as not being of the household of Jephthah, but of those who had rebelled.
§3Καὶ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ στεῖρα καὶ οὐκ ἔτεκεν. Οὐκ ἀπὸ τῆς φύσεως, ἀλλ᾿ ἀπὸ τῆς διακονίας ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος στείραν καλεῖ.
'And his wife was barren and did not bear.' He calls her barren not because of nature, but because of the ministry for the present time.
§4Σίδηρος οὐκ ἀνέβη ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλήν μου ὅτι Ναζιραῖος τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐγώ εἰμι. Δι᾿ ὅλης τῆς περὶ τὸν Σαμψὼν ἱστορίας αἱ τρίχες φαίνονται τὴν πᾶσαν αὐτῷ περιποιεῖν ἰσχύν.
'Razor has not come upon my head, for I am a Nazirite of God.' Throughout the whole story of Samson, the hair appears to secure for him all his strength.
§5Τοῦ αὐτοῦ.
By the same author.
Ναζιραῖον τὸ πεφυλαγμένον κατὰ τὴν Σύρων φωνὴν ὀνομάζει.
He calls 'Nazirite' the 'preserved one' according to the language of the Syrians.
Μὴ ἐξακολουθεῖν δὲ τῇ τάξει τῶν Ἰσραηλιτῶν τὸν Σαμψὼν ὁ Θεὸς προστάσσει, κατ᾿ ἐκεῖνο καιροῦ τὴν κεφαλὴν ξυρωμένων διὰ τὸ εὐσήμους εἶναι πρὸς πάντας.
And God commands Samson not to follow the order of the Israelites, who at that time shaved their heads in order to be easily recognized by everyone.
§6Καὶ ἐποίησεν Ἐφὼδ καὶ Θεραφείν. Ἐφὼδ ὕφασμα ἦν ἱερατικὸν, ὅπερ περικειμένῳ τῷ ἱερεῖ ἐφοίτα τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος ἡ χάρις.
'And he made an Ephod and Teraphim.' The Ephod was a priestly garment, through which, when put on by the priest, the grace of the Holy Spirit would come upon him.
Τὸ δὲ Θεραφεὶν τοιοῦτο μέντοι, οὐ θεῖκὸν δὲ, ἀλλʼ εἰδωλικὸν, ὡς ἐν ταῖς βασιλείαις δείκνυται.
But the Teraphim was indeed something of that kind, yet not divine, but idolatrous, as is shown in the Books of Kings.
§7Καὶ ἐξῆλθον οἱ υἱοὶ Βενιαμίν. Τίνος ἕνεκεν ἡττῶνται δικαίως ἐπελθόντες;
'And the sons of Benjamin went out.' For what reason are they defeated, having advanced justly?
Ἥ δῆλον ὅτι διὰ προλαβούσης αἰτίας.
Is it not clear that it was because of a pre-existing cause?
Καὶ ὁ ψαλμός φησιν· « Ὅταν λάβω καιρὸν, ἐγὼ εὐθύτητας κρινῶ. » Εἶτα καὶ μετὰ τὸ ἡττηθῆναι, καὶ μίαν καὶ δευτέραν, μετῆλθεν ὀργὴ ἐπὶ τοὺς ἠδικηκότας, καὶ νικῶσι δίκαιαν νίκην.
And the Psalm says: 'When I seize the appointed time, I will judge uprightly.' Then, even after being defeated once and twice, wrath came upon those who did wrong, and they win a just victory.