This verse begins with the Hebrew waw conjunction, which Revised Standard Version omits. Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, and New International Version begin with the phrase “One day,” a helpful model for the start of this new scene. Here the narrator is brief and quite explicit.

Samson went to Gaza: The last episode leaves Samson at the town of Lehi. Now he goes off in another direction within Philistine territory. The name Samson helps to mark the beginning of this new episode and most languages will imitate this style. Went renders the common Hebrew verb meaning “go.” Here it may be translated “departed for” or “left for.” Gaza was one of the five major towns of the Philistine region (see verse 1.18). This place name forms an inclusio around the episodes of the two Philistine women in this subsection (verse 16.1, 21). We might say “One day Samson left for Gaza.” Contemporary English Version omits the move to Gaza, but casts this information as background: “One day while Samson was in Gaza.” However, in most languages it is important to include an explicit reference to his move to Gaza.

And there he saw a harlot is literally “and he saw there a woman, a prostitute.” As Samson travels, he meets a prostitute. The narrator uses the same verb saw as when Samson was attracted to the Philistine woman who became his wife (verse 14.1). Good News Translation and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh use the verb “met” instead of saw. Translators can use any verb that communicates the fact that Samson sees and is attracted to this woman. The Hebrew word rendered harlot (zonah) designates a woman who sells her sexual favors to make a living (see verse 11.1). In many languages “a woman, a prostitute” will be redundant, so the term “prostitute” can occur alone. While Revised Standard Version uses an old English word, harlot, most versions use a modern term such as “prostitute” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version) or “whore” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). Along with this purely commercial practice, in some ancient religions in Canaan there were also “temple prostitutes,” whose activities were linked to rituals ensuring fertility and prosperity. The text does not specify which kind of prostitution is in view here, so it is better to assume this woman was an ordinary prostitute. Most languages will have a term for “prostitute,” often a borrowed word from a major trade language. However, if this practice is unknown, we could speak of an “immoral woman.” Since this expression is needed elsewhere in the Old Testament, it might be included and explained in the glossary. Here this woman does not have a name, in contrast to Delilah (verse 16.4), a woman Samson clearly loved.

And he went in to her is a Hebrew euphemism that means Samson had sexual relations with her (see verse 15.1). However, several versions depict Samson going to the prostitute’s house. For example, Contemporary English Version says “and went to her house to spend the night.” But the Hebrew expression here is probably purposely abrupt, so translators should use a more direct expression, such as “went to bed with her” (Good News Translation), “lay with her” (Revised English Bible), or “slept with her.” Some languages will use their own euphemisms, for example, “shared the mat with her.”

Translation models for this verse are:

• One day Samson went to Gaza where he saw a prostitute, and he went with her and had sexual relations with her.

• After some time, Samson went to Gaza and a prostitute there caught his eye. So he slept with her.

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 .