וַיֹּֽאמְרוּ֙ אִ֣ישׁ יְהוּדָ֔ה לָמָ֖ה עֲלִיתֶ֣ם עָלֵ֑ינוּ וַיֹּאמְר֗וּ לֶאֱס֤וֹר אֶת־שִׁמְשׁוֹן֙ עָלִ֔ינוּ לַעֲשׂ֣וֹת ל֔וֹ כַּאֲשֶׁ֖ר עָ֥שָׂה לָֽנוּ׃
Those on Judah’s side asked, “Why have you come up against us?” They answered, “We have come to take Samson prisoner, and to do to him as he did to us.”
(The above rendering comes from the RJPS translation—an adaptation of the NJPS translation—showing a slight modification projected for October 2023. Before accounting for this rendering, I will analyze the plain sense of the Hebrew term containing אִישׁ.)
When a referring expression includes אִישׁ in construct with a group name, as here, our noun marks its referent’s defining participation in the depicted situation. Here, in the context of potential hostilities, it labels the assembled militia in terms of their role as a party to a parley. The militia’s members are construed as a unit—hence the singular noun. This usage regards them as one of the two sides, as parties facing each other. This is one of the instances where a “collective” usage of אִישׁ is clearly evident, from the mismatch in grammatical number (plural governing verb) in this clause. On the meaning of this conventional usage in the context of a parley, see further my comment at Josh 9:6.
As for rendering into English, see my comment at Josh 9:6. Meanwhile, the fact that women are not in view can go without saying, because it is self-evident from the military context.