And he smote them hip and thigh: Samson immediately seeks revenge by attacking the Philistines. And is a good rendering of the Hebrew waw conjunction here, since it conveys immediate action. He smote them hip and thigh is literally “he struck them leg upon thigh,” which is an idiomatic expression that seems to communicate the intensity of a fierce battle. So Good News Translation says “He attacked them fiercely,” and New International Version has “He attacked them viciously.” Contemporary English Version seems to take the expression literally by saying “Samson started hacking them to pieces with his sword,” but this may say more than the text. The Hebrew word for hip refers to the part of the leg from the knee down, so “calf” might be a better rendering. Thigh refers to the top part of the leg. In most languages this figurative language will not be understood, so translators should look for an idiomatic expression in their own language.

With great slaughter: This phrase further defines Samson’s attack, and seems to indicate that he killed many Philistines. The preposition with does not occur in Hebrew, suggesting that this phrase is a comment without a verb. Boling separates it from the previous clause with a long dash, saying “So he struck them leg on thigh—a tremendous slaughter.” This is a forceful rendering. Great slaughter is literally “great beating,” which can imply a great defeat. Good News Translation says “killed many of them,” while some versions imply that Samson simply injured them. For example, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says “thorough thrashing,” and New Jerusalem Bible has “caused great havoc.” Translators will have to decide if actual killing was involved, and translate accordingly.

And he went down …: Following this slaughter, Samson escaped to a place where there were caves, presumably to hide from the Philistines and their reprisals. Once again the key verb went down appears in a context of extreme conflict (see verse 1.9). However, here it may refer to actual movement downward since Samson descended into a cave.

And stayed in the cleft of the rock of Etam: Stayed renders the Hebrew verb yashab meaning “inhabit” or “reside,” so Samson spent some time in this place. Cleft is an old English word for “cave” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version), which is a hollow place either in the earth, in the side of a mountain, or inside a large rock. Many caves are big enough to provide shelter and living space for one or several persons. If a word for “cave” does not exist, we might speak of “a hole in the side of the mountain at Etam.” The Hebrew word for rock refers to a huge stone. This is a word that is often used in Psalms to describe the LORD (see, for example, Psalm 40.2). Etam was a town between Tekoa and Bethlehem in northwest Judah (see verse 2 Chr 11.6).

Translation models for this verse are:

• And Samson attacked them viciously—a huge slaughter! Then he went down and lived in a cave at the rock at Etam.

• Samson struck them hard and killed many of them. And then he went and lived in a cave at a place called Etam Rock.

Quoted with permission from Zogbo, Lynell and Ogden, Graham S. A Handbook on Judges. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .