TRV
Translation
King James Version
But God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name thereof Enhakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day.
KJV (with Strong's)
But God H430 clave H1234 an hollow place H4388 that was in the jaw H3895, and there came H3318 water H4325 thereout; and when he had drunk H8354, his spirit H7307 came again H7725, and he revived H2421: wherefore he called H7121 the name H8034 thereof Enhakkore H5875, which is in Lehi H3896 unto this day H3117.
Complete Jewish Bible
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.
Berean Standard Bible
So God opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When Samson drank, his strength returned, and he was revived. That is why he named it En-hakkore, and it remains in Lehi to this day.
American Standard Version
But God clave the hollow place that is in Lehi, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: wherefore the name thereof was called En-hakkore, which is in Lehi, unto this day.
World English Bible Messianic
But God split the hollow place that is in Lehi, and water came out of it. When he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: therefore its name was called En Hakkore, which is in Lehi, to this day.
Geneva Bible (1599)
Then God brake the cheeke tooth, that was in the iawe, and water came thereout: and when he had drunke, his Spirit came againe, and he was reuiued: wherefore the name therof is called, Enhakkore, which is in Lehi vnto this day.
Young's Literal Translation
And God cleaveth the hollow place which is in Lehi, and waters come out of it, and he drinketh, and his spirit cometh back, and he reviveth; therefore hath one called its name `The fountain of him who is calling,' which is in Lehi unto this day.
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Commentary on Judges 15 verses 18–20
18 ¶ And he was sore athirst, and called on the LORD, and said, Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant: and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?
19 But God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name thereof Enhakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day.
20 And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.
Here is, I. The distress which Samson was in after this great performance (Jdg 15:18): He was sore athirst. It was a natural effect of the great heat he had been in, and the great pains he had taken; his zeal consumed him, ate him up, and made him forget himself, till, when he had time to pause a little, he found himself reduced to the last extremity for want of water and ready to faint. Perhaps there was a special hand of God in it, as there was in the whole transaction; and God would hereby keep him from being proud of his great strength and great achievements, and let him know that he was but a man, and liable to the calamities that are common to men. And Josephus says, It was designed to chastise him for not making mention of God and his hand in his memorial of the victory he had obtained, but taking all the praise to himself: I have slain a thousand men; now that he is ready to die for thirst he is under a sensible conviction that his own arm could not have saved him, without God's right hand and arm. Samson had drunk largely of the blood of the Philistines, but blood will never quench any man's thirst. Providence so ordered it that there was no water near him, and he was so fatigued that he could not go far to seek it; the men of Judah, one would think, should have met him, now that he had come off a conqueror, with bread and wine, as Melchizedek did Abram, to atone for the injury they had done him; but so little notice did they take of their deliverer that he was ready to perish for want of a draught of water. Thus are the greatest slights often put upon those that do the greatest services. Christ on the cross, said, I thirst.
II. His prayer to God in this distress. Those that forget to attend God with their praises may perhaps be compelled to attend him with their prayers. Afflictions are often sent to bring unthankful people to God. Two things he pleads with God in this prayer, 1. His having experienced the power and goodness of God in his late success: Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant. He owns himself God's servant in what he had been doing: "Lord, wilt thou not own a poor servant of thine, that has spent himself in thy service? I am thine, save me." He calls his victory a deliverance, a great deliverance; for, if God had not helped him, he had not only not conquered the Philistines, but had been swallowed up by them. He owns it to come from God, and now corrects his former error in assuming it too much to himself; and this he pleads in his present strait. Note, Past experiences of God's power and goodness are excellent pleas in prayer for further mercy. "Lord, thou hast delivered often, wilt thou not deliver still? Co2 1:10. Thou hast begun, wilt thou not finish? Thou hast done the greater, wilt thou not do the less?" Psa 56:13. 2. His being now exposed to his enemies: "Lest I fall into the hands of the uncircumcised, and then they will triumph, will tell it in Gath, and in the streets of Ashkelon; and will it not redound to God's dishonour of his champion become so easy a prey to the uncircumcised?" The best pleas are those taken from God's glory.
III. The seasonable relief God sent him. God heard his prayer, and sent him water, either out of the bone or out of the earth through the bone, Jdg 15:19. That bone which he had made an instrument of God's service God, to recompense him, made an instrument of his supply. But I rather incline to our marginal reading: God clave a hollow place that was in Lehi: the place of this action was, from the jaw-bone, called Lehi; even before the action we find it so called, Jdg 15:9, Jdg 15:14. And there, in that field, or hill, or plain, or whatever it was, that was so called, God caused a fountain suddenly and seasonably to open just by him, and water to spring up out of it in abundance, which continued a well ever after. Of this fair water he drank, and his spirits revived. We should be more thankful for the mercy of water did we consider how ill we can spare it. And this instance of Samson's relief should encourage us to trust in God, and seek to him, for, when he pleases, he can open rivers in high places. See Isa 41:17, Isa 41:18.
IV. The memorial of this, in the name Samson gave to this upstart fountain, Enhakkore, the well of him that cried, thereby keeping in remembrance both his own distress, which occasioned him to cry, and God's favour to him, in answer to his cry. Many a spring of comfort God opens to his people, which may fitly be called by this name; it is the well of him that cried. Samson had given a name to the place which denoted him great and triumphant - Ramath-lehi, the lifting up of the jaw-bone; but here he gives it another name, which denotes him needy and dependent.
V. The continuance of Samson's government after these achievements, Jdg 15:20. At length Israel submitted to him whom they had betrayed. Now it was past dispute that God was with him, so that henceforward they all owned him and were directed by him as their judge. The stone which the builders refused became the head-stone. It intimates the low condition of Israel that the government was dated by the days of the Philistines; yet it was a mercy to Israel that, though they were oppressed by a foreign enemy, yet they had a judge that preserved order and kept them from ruining one another. Twenty years his government continued, according to the usages of the judges' administration; but of the particulars we have no account, save of the beginning of his government in this chapter and the end of it in the next.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 18–20. Public domain.
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Ambrose of MilanAD 397
Letter 19: To Vigilius
And now he began to burn with thirst, and there was no water, and yet he had great need of it. Wherefore perceiving that there is nothing so easy for human strength, as not to be rendered difficult by the absence of Divine aid, he besought God not to lay to his charge that he had ascribed ought to himself, giving Him all the glory of the victory, by the words, "Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of Thy servant," and now help me, for lo, "I die of thirst", and thirst gives me over into the hand of those over whom Thou hast given me so great a triumph. Wherefore God in His mercy clave a hollow place in the jaw bone which Samson had cast aside, and a stream of water flowed from it, and Samson drank, and his spirit revived, and he called the place 'the invoking of the spring,' because by his suppliant prayers he made amends for his boast of victory, and thus two judgements were opportunely declared, the one that arrogance soon incurs offence, the other that without any offence humility gains reconciliation.
Caesarius of ArlesAD 542
SERMON 119.4
Although we had been dried up because of lack of the dew of God’s grace, we merited to be changed into fountains and rivers. At that time Samson prayed and a fountain issued from the jawbone. This fact is clearly fulfilled in us, for the Lord himself said, “He who believes in me, from within him there shall flow rivers of living water.”
John DamasceneAD 749
ORTHODOX FAITH 4.15
In the relics of the saints the Lord Christ has provided us with saving fountains which in many ways pour out benefactions and gush with fragrant ointment. And let no one disbelieve. For, if by the will of God water poured out of the precipitous living rock in the desert, and for the thirsty Samson from the jawbone of an ass, is it unbelievable that fragrant ointment should flow from the relics of the martyrs? Certainly not, at least for such as know the power of God and the honor which the saints have from him.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
Judges 15:19 recounts a pivotal moment of divine intervention following Samson's monumental victory over the Philistines. Exhausted and facing imminent death from extreme thirst, Samson cried out to God. In a miraculous display of power and provision, God split open a hollow place within the very jawbone that Samson had used as a weapon, causing life-giving water to gush forth. Samson drank, was immediately revived, and named the spring Enhakkore, "the spring of him who called," establishing a lasting memorial to God's faithful response to his desperate plea.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Judges 15:19 is rich with Irony, perhaps its most striking literary device. The jawbone of a donkey, an instrument of death and destruction in Samson's hands, is miraculously transformed by God into a source of life-giving water. This subversion of expectation powerfully highlights God's sovereign power to use ordinary, even macabre, objects for extraordinary, redemptive purposes. The narrative also employs Etiology, explaining the origin of the place name "Enhakkore" and its connection to Samson's desperate cry and God's response, thereby embedding the miracle within the geographical and historical memory of Israel. Symbolism is evident in the water itself, which universally represents life, purification, and refreshment, here signifying divine provision and spiritual renewal. The entire event is a profound Miracle, a direct divine intervention that defies natural laws, serving to underscore God's active involvement in the lives of His people and His ability to provide in impossible circumstances.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
This miraculous provision of water for Samson profoundly illustrates God's sovereign care and responsive nature, even towards His flawed servants. It teaches that God is not limited by human weakness or the scarcity of resources; He can bring forth life and provision from the most unexpected and seemingly impossible sources. The event serves as a powerful reminder that true strength and survival ultimately come from acknowledging one's utter dependence on God and crying out to Him in humility. God's faithfulness to His promises and His willingness to sustain His chosen instruments for His purposes, despite their personal failings, demonstrates that His grace often extends beyond human merit. The naming of the spring ensures that this act of divine provision becomes a permanent testimony, a "stone of help" reminding future generations of God's power to hear and answer.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Judges 15:19 offers profound encouragement for believers facing their own moments of exhaustion and desperation. Just as Samson, after a mighty victory, found himself utterly depleted and on the verge of death, so too can we, even after significant spiritual or personal triumphs, encounter profound weakness and need. This verse reminds us that our greatest moments of vulnerability are often precisely when God desires to demonstrate His power and provision most clearly. It calls us to emulate Samson's desperate, humble cry to God, recognizing that our ultimate source of strength, refreshment, and revival is not found in our own abilities or resources, but solely in Him. God delights in turning our impossible situations into testimonies of His miraculous intervention, providing "water" from the most unlikely "jawbones" of our lives, transforming despair into renewed hope and vitality. We are invited to trust that when we are parched and depleted, God is able to open up springs of life in our wilderness.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Why did God choose to provide water from the jawbone specifically, rather than another source?
Answer: God's choice to provide water from the very jawbone Samson had just used to defeat the Philistines (Judges 15:15) is a powerful demonstration of divine irony and sovereignty. It emphasizes that God is not bound by conventional means; He can use anything—even an instrument of death—to bring forth life. This act underscores His complete control and His ability to turn the most unlikely circumstances into a display of His power and provision. It also serves as a direct, undeniable sign to Samson that this was indeed God's doing, directly linked to his recent miraculous victory.
What is the significance of the name "Enhakkore" and its lasting presence "unto this day"?
Answer: The name "Enhakkore" (meaning "fountain of him that called" or "spring of the caller") is highly significant because it permanently links the miraculous provision of water to Samson's desperate prayer in Judges 15:18. It serves as an etiological marker, explaining the origin of a geographical feature and ensuring that the memory of God's responsive faithfulness would endure. The phrase "unto this day" indicates that the spring was still known by this name when the book of Judges was written, testifying to the historical reality and lasting impact of God's intervention for generations of Israelites. It became a tangible memorial of God hearing and answering the cry of His servant.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
The miraculous provision of water for Samson in Judges 15:19 offers a profound foreshadowing of Christ, the ultimate source of living water. Samson's physical thirst and desperate cry for life-giving water, provided supernaturally from an unlikely source, mirrors humanity's deeper spiritual thirst for salvation and renewal. Jesus, as the true Rock from which living water flows, declares in John 7:37-38 that "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink." He is the one who offers water that, once drunk, will cause a person "never to thirst again" (John 4:14). Just as Samson's spirit was revived by physical water, believers are spiritually revived and given new life by the Holy Spirit, which Jesus pours out. The jawbone, an instrument of death, becoming a source of life points to Christ's death on the cross, which, though an instrument of suffering, became the ultimate source of eternal life and spiritual refreshment for all who believe. In Christ, our deepest spiritual thirst is quenched, and our spirits are eternally revived.