Judges15

Samson, finding his wife given to another, retaliated by burning Philistine crops with foxes. In response, the Philistines burned his wife and her father, prompting Samson to inflict a great slaughter upon them. When the men of Judah delivered Samson to the Philistines, the Spirit of the LORD empowered him to slay a thousand men with an ass's jawbone, after which God miraculously provided water for his thirst.

Samson's Wife Given to Another

1
But after a while, during the wheat-harvest season, Shimshon went to see his wife. He brought a young goat for her and said to her father, "I want to go to my wife in her room." But he wouldn't let him. ​
2
Her father said, "I really thought you hated her altogether, so I gave her to your best man. But her younger sister - isn't she even prettier? Why not take her instead?" ​
3
Shimshon said to them, "This time I'm through with the P'lishtim! I'm going to do something terrible to them!" ​

Samson Burns the Philistine Harvest

4
So Shimshon went and caught three hundred foxes. Then he took torches, tied pairs of foxes to each other by their tails, and put a torch in the knot of every pair of tails. ​
5
Then he set the torches on fire and let the foxes loose in wheat fields of the P'lishtim. In this way he burned up the harvested wheat along with the grain waiting to be harvested, and the olive orchards as well.
6
The P'lishtim asked, "Who did this?" They answered, "Shimshon the son-in-law of the man from Timnah, because he took Shimshon's wife and gave her to his best man." Then the P'lishtim came up and burned both her and her father to death. ​
7
Shimshon said to them, "I will certainly have my revenge on you for doing such a thing; but after I do, I'll stop."
8
Infuriated, he began killing them right and left; it was a massacre. Then he went down and stayed in the cave at the 'Eitam Rock. ​

Judah Delivers Samson to the Philistines

9
The P'lishtim went up, pitched camp in Y'hudah and attacked Lechi. ​
10
The men of Y'hudah said, "Why are you attacking us?" They replied, "To arrest Shimshon, that's why - to treat him the way he treated us." ​
11
Then 3,000 men from Y'hudah went down to the cave at the Eitam Rock and said to Shimshon, "Don't you know that the P'lishtim are our rulers? What are you doing to us?" He answered, "I've only treated them the way they treated me." ​
12
They said to him, "We've come down to arrest you and hand you over to the P'lishtim." Shimshon replied, "Swear to me that you won't fall on me yourselves." ​
13
They said to him, "No, but we will tie you up and hand you over to them. However, we promise not to kill you." So they tied him up with two new ropes and brought him up from the rock.

Samson's Victory at Lehi

14
When he got to Lechi, the P'lishtim came running and shouting at him; and the Spirit of ADONAI came on him powerfully. The ropes on his arms became as weak as burnt flax and fell from his arms. ​
15
He found a fresh donkey jawbone, took it in his hand, and with it he struck down a thousand men. ​
16
Shimshon said, "With the jawbone of a donkey I left heaps piled on heaps! With the jawbone of a donkey I killed a thousand men!" ​
17
After he finished speaking he threw the jawbone away, and the place came to be called Ramat-Lechi [jawbone heights].

God Provides Water for Samson

18
Then he felt very thirsty, so he called on ADONAI, saying, "You accomplished this great rescue through your servant. But am I now to die from thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?" ​
19
Then God made a gash in the crater at Lechi, and water came out. When he had drunk, his spirit came back; and he revived. This is why the place was called 'Ein-HaKorei [the spring of him who called], and it is there in Lechi until now. ​
20
He judged Isra'el in the period of the P'lishtim for twenty years. ​

Study Notes for Judges 15

Verse 1

Samson’s return during the wheat harvest (a time of plenty) contrasts sharply with the ensuing destruction and violence. His visit with a kid (a small gift) suggests a desire to reconcile, but his father-in-law had already broken the marriage covenant.

Verse 2

The father attempts to justify his action by claiming Samson hated his wife and by offering the younger sister. This highlights the practice of polygyny and the treatment of women as transferable property in this ancient culture.

Verse 3

Samson frames his coming revenge as righteous retaliation, claiming he is now 'blameless.' While his actions are driven by personal grievance, they serve God's ultimate purpose of harassing the Philistine oppressors (Judges 13:5).

Verse 4

The feat of catching 300 foxes (likely jackals, *shualim*) is immense, emphasizing Samson’s legendary power and resourcefulness. Tying them tail-to-tail with a firebrand ensured they ran erratically, maximizing the devastation to the crops.

Verse 6

The Philistines’ brutal retaliation against the father and daughter paradoxically confirms Samson’s earlier justification for revenge and escalates the feud. They destroyed the very people they had used to manipulate Samson.

Verse 8

The phrase 'smote them hip and thigh' is an idiom signifying a massive, unrestrained slaughter, implying that he completely defeated and dismembered them. Samson then retreated to the secure, high ground of the rock Etam.

Verse 9

The Philistine invasion into Judah demonstrates their dominance. They did not pursue Samson directly but put pressure on the tribe of Judah to deliver him, forcing the Israelites to choose between their kinsman and their oppressors.

Verse 10

The men of Judah readily identify themselves as subjects of the Philistines. Their primary concern is maintaining a compliant peace rather than seeking deliverance or standing with their appointed judge.

Verse 11

Three thousand men of Judah came, not to aid Samson, but to rebuke him for disturbing the status quo. This highlights the moral and spiritual decay of the Israelites, who viewed their deliverer as a threat.

Verse 12

Samson, fully aware of the danger posed by his own people, binds them to an oath. This agreement reveals the deep distrust and division existing between the supernaturally empowered judge and the fearful tribe he was meant to save.

Verse 14

The Philistines’ shout of triumph was premature. The immediate arrival of the 'Spirit of the LORD' is the key feature of Samson’s life, manifesting as a sudden, overwhelming physical strength that dissolved his bonds effortlessly.

Verse 15

A jawbone was a common, easily found object, but its use here emphasizes God's ability to achieve victory through the most humble means. The fact that it was 'new' (fresh) suggests it retained the necessary hardness for such a feat.

Verse 16

Samson’s poetic taunt relies on a Hebrew wordplay: 'ass' (*hamor*) sounds similar to 'heap' (*homer*). The boast celebrates not only the staggering number of casualties but also the sheer absurdity of the weapon chosen.

Verse 18

After his immense physical effort, the mighty warrior is humbled by human weakness. His prayer acknowledges that the power for 'this great deliverance' came from God, showing a moment of genuine dependence amidst his usual self-reliance.

Verse 19

God miraculously answers Samson’s prayer, providing water from a cleft in the ground (often associated with the place name Lehi, meaning 'jawbone'). The name Enhakkore, 'spring of the caller,' memorializes this divine provision.

Verse 20

This verse concludes the narrative of this period, confirming that despite Samson’s personal flaws and chaotic methods, his two decades of harassment served the divine purpose of initiating Israel’s deliverance from Philistine oppression.

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