And God split open the hollow place that is at Lehi: God does not give a verbal answer to Samson, but reacts immediately by providing water for him. The Hebrew waw conjunction rendered And introduces this result, so it may be translated “Then” (Good News Translation, New International Version) or “So” (New Revised Standard Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). God renders the generic Hebrew word ʾelohim. Throughout the Samson story, it is “the LORD” who interacts with Samson and gives him power to do great feats (see, for example, verse 13.25; verse 14.19; verse 15.14). The sudden appearance of the word God links this incident back to the beginning of the Samson story (see verse 13.5-9). Thus God serves as an inclusio around these units. Translators should respect the author’s choice of terms and use God here rather than “the LORD.”

Split open renders a Hebrew verb that has a variety of meanings, depending on the context. For example, it can refer to ripping open pregnant women (verse 2 Kgs 8.12) or to water bursting forth from clouds (Job 26.8). Here God opens a place from which water flows. This same verb is used when God provided water for the people of Israel in the wilderness (see Psalm 74.15; Isa 48.21). We could also say “opened [up]” (Good News Translation, New International Version).

The hollow place renders a rare Hebrew word meaning “mortar” or “bowl for grinding.” It can refer to an area or depression that is bowl-shaped. There was one such place near Jerusalem (Zeph 1.11). However, in this context it is hard to know exactly what this word means. It may refer to a “bowl-shaped rock” that God splits open. According to Good News Translation and New Jerusalem Bible, God creates a “hollow place in the ground,” but in Hebrew this word is definite, so it would seem to be a well-known place. Indeed, Revised English Bible considers the Hebrew expression rendered the hollow place that is at Lehi to be a name, so it says “the Hollow of Lehi.” In many languages this phrase may be translated “the big hole in the ground at Lehi” or “the bowl-shaped rock at Lehi.” Besides the name of the town having a meaning, this part of the story may be explaining the creation of a geographical formation well known to the readers or hearers.

And there came water from it: After God split open the rock, water flowed from it. The Hebrew verb rendered came (yatsaʾ) is the same one used in Exo 17.6. This verb occurs frequently in the book of Judges (see verse 1.24, where it is translated “coming out”). The Hebrew word for water is plural, but in most languages this word is a mass noun, with no singular or plural. The pronoun it refers to the hollow place. We might say “and water sprang up from the ground,” “and water gushed out of the rock,” or “and water flowed out of that place.”

And when he drank, his spirit returned, and he revived: These three clauses in quick succession describe what happened next.

And when he drank renders an independent clause in Hebrew, which is literally “and he drank.” If the verb drank needs an object in some languages, this clause may be translated “and he drank [some] water.”

His spirit returned renders the Hebrew literally, using two keywords from this book. The Hebrew word for spirit (ruach) is the same one used in the phrase “the spirit of the LORD” (see verse 3.10), but here it refers figuratively to Samson’s strength. The Hebrew verb rendered returned (shuv) has often appeared at high points in this book (see, for example, verse 7.3; verse 8.13; verse 11.39; verse 14.8). We might say “his strength returned” or “he felt strong again” (similarly Contemporary English Version).

He revived is literally “he was [alive],” which means he came back to life. Good News Translation combines this clause and the previous one, saying “and began to feel much better,” which seems too weak for what is happening here. Samson said he was dying of thirst, so it as if the water saved his life. We might say “he was renewed,” “he came alive,” or “he came back to himself.”

Therefore the name of it was called En-hakkore: An explanation of another place name is given here, as in verse 1.17 and verse 15.17. The connector Therefore (literally “Upon thus”) can be rendered “So” (Good News Translation) or “This is why” (Revised English Bible). The Hebrew expression rendered the name of it was called may be interpreted to read “he called its name,” so Contemporary English Version says “Samson named the place.” The pronoun it refers to the spring coming out of the rock or ground, and this may need to be made explicit. En-hakkore seems to mean “the Spring of the Partridge.” En transliterates the Hebrew word for “spring.” If there is not a word for “spring,” translators may say “water hole” or “water source.” Hakkore transliterates the Hebrew word for “partridge,” which is a species of wild bird. It looks like a chicken or guinea fowl. However, most scholars see a wordplay here, and think the word hakkore is really the Hebrew participle meaning “caller,” since Samson “called on the LORD” (verse 15.18). So Contemporary English Version renders En-hakkore as “Caller Spring,” and New Living Translation has “The Spring of the One Who Cried Out.” Translators should try to use the same expression for “call” as in the previous verse. As in verse 15.17, translators should try to somehow signal the meaning of this name, even if they choose to transliterate it. Good News Translation, New International Version, and Revised English Bible put the meaning in a footnote. We might also say “And so that place is called En-hakkore, which means ‘Spring of the One who Called.’ ”

It is at Lehi to this day, literally “which [is] in Lehi to this day,” refers to the spring. Translators can decide if they want to refer to Lehi by its name in Hebrew or by its meaning, that is, “Jawbone” (Contemporary English Version). To this day refers to the time that this story was committed to writing. Obviously, this statement does not hold for today’s readers. See the comments on verse 1.21.

Translation models for this verse are:

• Then God split open the hollow place at Lehi and water gushed out. Samson drank the water and was refreshed and revived. That’s why the spring in Lehi was called “Caller’s Spring” from that time onward.

• So God split open the bowl-shaped rock at Jawbone and water came out. Samson drank it and felt his strength return. He was renewed. From then on that spot was known as En-hakkore, which means “Caller’s Spring.”*
* This is where Samson “called” to the LORD.

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 .