The Judges & Ruth

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.

Shimshon said to them, "I will certainly have my revenge on you for doing such a thing; but after I do, I'll stop."

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.

The P'lishtim went up, pitched camp in Y'hudah and attacked Lechi.

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."

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."

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."

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.

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.

He found a fresh donkey jawbone, took it in his hand, and with it he struck down a thousand men.

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!"

After he finished speaking he threw the jawbone away, and the place came to be called Ramat-Lechi [jawbone heights].

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?"

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.

He judged Isra'el in the period of the P'lishtim for twenty years.

Shimshon went to 'Azah, where he saw a prostitute and went in to spend the night with her.

The people in 'Azah were told that Shimshon had come, so they surrounded the place where he was and also set an ambush for him all night at the city gate. Their plan was to do nothing at night, but to wait until morning and then kill him.

However, Shimshon stayed in bed until midnight; then he got up, took hold of the doors of the city gate and the two posts as well, pulled them up, bar and all, hoisted them on his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of the hill overlooking Hevron.

After this, he fell in love with a woman who lived in the Sorek Valley, whose name was D'lilah.

The chiefs of the P'lishtim went up to her and said, "Coax him into telling you where his great strength comes from and how we can overcome him, so that we can tie him up and subdue him. If you do, each of us will give you 1,100 pieces of silver."

D'lilah said to Shimshon, "Please tell me what it is that makes you so strong, and how someone could tie you up and subdue you."

Shimshon replied, "If they tie me up with seven fresh bowstrings that have never been dried, I will become as weak as any other man."

The chiefs of the P'lishtim brought up to her seven fresh bowstrings which had not been dried, and she tied him up with them.

Now she had people lying in wait in the inside room. So she said to him, "Shimshon! The P'lishtim have come for you!" But he snapped the bowstrings as easily as a piece of straw breaks when it touches fire, and the source of his strength remained unknown.

D'lilah said to Shimshon, "You're making fun of me, telling me lies. Now, come on, tell me what it takes to tie you up."