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Texts -- Judges 15:1-18 (NET)

Context
Samson Versus the Philistines
15:1 Sometime later , during the wheat harvest , Samson took a young goat as a gift and went to visit his bride . He said to her father, “I want to have sex with my bride in her bedroom !” But her father would not let him enter . 15:2 Her father said , “I really thought you absolutely despised her, so I gave her to your best man . Her younger sister is more attractive than she is . Take her instead !” 15:3 Samson said to them, “This time I am justified in doing the Philistines harm !” 15:4 Samson went and captured three hundred jackals and got some torches . He tied the jackals in pairs by their tails and then tied a torch to each pair . 15:5 He lit the torches and set the jackals loose in the Philistines ’ standing grain . He burned up the grain heaps and the standing grain , as well as the vineyards and olive groves . 15:6 The Philistines asked , “Who did this ?” They were told , “Samson , the Timnite’s son-in-law , because the Timnite took Samson’s bride and gave her to his best man .” So the Philistines went up and burned her and her father . 15:7 Samson said to them, “Because you did this , I will get revenge against you before I quit fighting.” 15:8 He struck them down and defeated them. Then he went down and lived for a time in the cave in the cliff of Etam . 15:9 The Philistines went up and invaded Judah . They arrayed themselves for battle in Lehi . 15:10 The men of Judah said , “Why are you attacking us?” The Philistines said , “We have come up to take Samson prisoner so we can do to him what he has done to us.” 15:11 Three thousand men of Judah went down to the cave in the cliff of Etam and said to Samson , “Do you not know that the Philistines rule over us? Why have you done this to us?” He said to them, “I have only done to them what they have done to me.” 15:12 They said to him, “We have come down to take you prisoner so we can hand you over to the Philistines .” Samson said to them, “Promise me you will not kill me.” 15:13 They said to him, “We promise ! We will only take you prisoner and hand you over to them. We promise not to kill you.” They tied him up with two brand new ropes and led him up from the cliff . 15:14 When he arrived in Lehi , the Philistines shouted as they approached him. But the Lord’s spirit empowered him. The ropes around his arms were like flax dissolving in fire , and they melted away from his hands . 15:15 He happened to see a solid jawbone of a donkey . He grabbed it and struck down a thousand men . 15:16 Samson then said , “With the jawbone of a donkey I have left them in heaps ; with the jawbone of a donkey I have struck down a thousand men !” 15:17 When he finished speaking , he threw the jawbone down and named that place Ramath Lehi . 15:18 He was very thirsty , so he cried out to the Lord and said , “You have given your servant this great victory . But now must I die of thirst and fall into hands of the Philistines ?”

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Bible Dictionary

  • Samson

    [ebd] of the sun, the son of Manoah, born at Zorah. The narrative of his life is given in Judg. 13-16. He was a "Nazarite unto God" from his birth, the first Nazarite mentioned in Scripture (Judg. 13:3-5; comp. Num. 6:1-21). The f...
    [isbe] SAMSON - sam'-sun (shimshon. 1. Name: Derived probably from shemesh, "sun" with the diminutive ending -on, meaning "little sun" or "sunny," or perhaps "sun-man"; Sampson; Latin and English, Samson): His home was near Bethshe...
    [smith] (like the sun), son of Manoah, a man of the town of Zorah in the tribe of Dan, on the border of Judah. (Joshua 15:33; 19:41) (B.C. 1161). The miraculous circumstances of his birth are recorded in Judges 13; and the three foll...
    [nave] SAMSON A judge of Israel, Judg. 16:31. A Danite, son of Manoah; miraculous birth of; a Nazirite from his mother's womb; the mother forbidden to drink wine or strong drink, or to eat any unclean thing during gestation, Judg....

  • Philistines

    [ebd] (Gen. 10:14, R.V.; but in A.V., "Philistim"), a tribe allied to the Phoenicians. They were a branch of the primitive race which spread over the whole district of the Lebanon and the valley of the Jordan, and Crete and other ...
    [nave] PHILISTINES Descendants of Mizraim, Gen. 10:14; 1 Chr. 1:12; Jer. 47:4; Amos 9:7. Called Cherethites, 1 Sam. 30:14-16; Ezek. 25:16; Zeph. 2:5; Casluhim, Gen. 10:14; 1 Chr. 1:12; Caphtorim, Jer. 47:4; Amos 9:7. Territory of...

  • Judge

    [nave] JUDGE Appointed by Persians, Ezra 7:25. Kings and other rulers as, 2 Sam. 8:15; 15:2; 1 Kin. 3:16-28; 10:9; 2 Kin. 8:1-6; Psa. 72:1-4; Matt. 27:11-26; Acts 23:34, 35; 24; 25:11, 12. Priests and Levites as, Deut. 17:9; 2 Ch...

  • Israel

    [nave] ISRAEL 1. A name given to Jacob, Gen. 32:24-32; 2 Kin. 17:34; Hos. 12:3, 4. 2. A name of the Christ in prophecy, Isa. 49:3. 3. A name given to the descendants of Jacob, a nation. Called also Israelites, and Hebrews, Gen. 4...

  • Lehi

    [ebd] a jawbone, a place in the tribe of Judah where Samson achieved a victory over the Philistines (Judg. 15:9, 14, 16), slaying a thousand of them with the jawbone of an ass. The words in 15:19, "a hollow place that was in the j...
    [smith] (jaw bone), a place in Judah, probably on the confines of the Philistines? country, between it and the cliff Etam; the scene of Samson?s well-known exploit with the jaw bone. (Judges 15:9,14,19) It may perhaps be identified w...
    [nave] LEHI, a district of Judah, where Samson killed a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of an donkey, Judg. 15:9-19.

  • Etam

    [ebd] eyrie. (1.) A village of the tribe of Simeon (1 Chr. 4:32). Into some cleft ("top," A.V.,; R.V., "cleft") of a rock here Samson retired after his slaughter of the Philistines (Judg. 15:8, 11). It was a natural stronghold. It...
    [isbe] ETAM - e'-tam `eTam; Codex Alexandrinus, Apan, Codex Vaticanus, Aitan): (1) Mentioned in Septuagint along with Tekoa, Bethlehem and Phagor (Josh 15:59). In 2 Ch 11:6 it occurs, between Bethlehem and Tekoa, as one of the citi...
    [nave] ETAM 1. A village of Simeon, 1 Chr. 4:32. 2. A city in Judah, 2 Chr. 11:6. 3. A name in list of Judah's descendants, but probably referring to No. 2, 1 Chr. 4:3. 4. A rock where Samson was bound and delivered to the Phili...

  • Ramath-lehi

    [ebd] elevation of Lehi, or the jawbone height; i.e., the Ramah of Lehi (Judg. 15:15-17). The phrase "in the jaw," ver. 19, Authorized Version, is in the margin, also in the Revised Version, "in Lehi." Here Samson slew a thousand ...
    [isbe] RAMATH-LEHI - ra'-math-le'-hi (ramath lechi, "the hill" or "height of Lehi"; Anairesis siagonos): So the place is said to have been called where Samson threw away the jaw-bone of an ass, with which he had slain 1,000 Philist...
    [nave] RAMATH-LEHI, place where Samson killed a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey, Judg. 15:17.

  • Fox

    [ebd] (Heb. shu'al, a name derived from its digging or burrowing under ground), the Vulpes thaleb, or Syrian fox, the only species of this animal indigenous to Palestine. It burrows, is silent and solitary in its habits, is destru...
    [isbe] FOX - (shu`al; compare Arabic tha`lab (Jdg 15:4; Neh 4:3; Ps 63:10; Song 2:15; Lam 5:18; Ezek 13:4); alopex (Mt 8:20; Lk 9:58; 13:32)): The foxes of different parts of Europe and Western Asia differ more or less from each ot...
    [smith] (Heb. shu?al). Probably the jackal is the animal signified in almost all the passages in the Old Testament where the Hebrew term occurs. Though both foxes and jackals abound in Palestine, the shu?alim (foxes) of (Judges 15:4)...
    [nave] FOX Dens of, Matt. 8:20; Luke 9:58. Samson uses, to burn the field of the Philistines, Judg. 15:4. Depredations of, Psa. 63:10; Song 2:15. Figurative Of unfaithful prophets, Ezek. 13:4. Of craftiness, Luke 13:32. Of he...

  • ETAM, THE ROCK

    [smith] a cliff or lofty rock, into a cleft or chasm of which Samson retired after his slaughter of the Philistines. (Judges 15:8,11) This natural stronghold was in the tribe of Judah; and near it, probably at its foot, were Lehi and...

  • PALESTINE, 2

    [isbe] PALESTINE, 2 - III. Palestine in the Historic Books of the Old Testament. 1. Book of Joshua: Joshua is the great geographical book of the Old Testament; and the large majority of the 600 names of places, rivers and mountains...

  • Cord

    [ebd] frequently used in its proper sense, for fastening a tent (Ex. 35:18; 39:40), yoking animals to a cart (Isa. 5:18), binding prisoners (Judg. 15:13; Ps. 2:3; 129:4), and measuring ground (2 Sam. 8;2; Ps. 78:55). Figuratively,...
    [isbe] CORD - kord (chebhet, yether, methar, `abhoth; schoinion): (1) The Arabic chab'l corresponds to the Hebrew chebhel and is still the common name for cord or rope throughout the East. Such ropes or cords are made of goat's or ...
    [nave] CORD Ancient uses of: In casting lots, Mic. 2:5; fastening tents, Ex. 35:18; 39:40; Isa. 54:2; leading or binding animals, Psa. 118:27; Hos. 11:4; hitching to cart or plough, Job 39:10; binding prisoners, Judg. 15:13; measur...

  • Donkey

    [nave] DONKEY Domesticated Herds of, Gen. 12:16; 24:35; 32:5; 34:28; Num. 31:34, 45; 1 Chr. 5:21; Ezra 2:67; Neh. 7:69. Used for riding, Gen. 22:3; Num. 22:21-33; Josh. 15:18; Judg. 1:14; 5:10; 1 Sam. 25:23; 2 Chr. 28:15; Zech. ...

  • Timnite

    [ebd] a man of Timnah. Samson's father-in-law is so styled (Judg. 15:6).
    [isbe] TIMNITE - tim'-nit (timni Thamnathaios): The father of Samson's wife, a native of Timnah (Jdg 15:6).
    [nave] TIMNITE Judg. 15:6

  • FIREBRAND

    [ebd] Isa. 7:4, Amos 4:11, Zech. 3:2, denotes the burnt end of a stick (Heb. 'ud); in Judg. 15:4, a lamp or torch, a flambeau (Heb. lappid); in Prov. 26:18 (comp. Eph. 6:16), burning darts or arrows (Heb. zikkim).
    [isbe] FIREBRAND - fir'-brand ('udh, used for a burning stick taken out of the fire): In Jdg 15:4,5 describing the "brands" (margin "torches") which Samson tied to the foxes' tails, the word is lappidh ("lamp"; see Jdg 7:16,20 the ...

  • RAMOTH-GILEAD

    [isbe] RAMOTH-GILEAD - ra'-moth-gil'-e-ad (ramoth gil'adh; Codex Vaticanus Rhemmath Galadd; Codex Alexandrinus Rhammoth, and other forms): A great and strong city East of the Jordan in the territory of Gad, which played an importan...

  • Arson

    [nave] ARSON. Psa. 74:7, 8. Law concerning, Ex. 22:6. Instances of By Samson, Judg. 15:4, 5; Absalom, 2 Sam. 14:30; Zimri, 1 Kin. 16:18.

  • BRAND

    [isbe] BRAND - In the double signification of an object on fire and of objects used to feed a fire. The first meaning is expressed by 'udh, "a bent stick" for stirring fire (Am 4:11; Zec 3:2; compare Isa 7:4); the second by lappidh...

  • OLIVE

    [ebd] the fruit of the olive-tree. This tree yielded oil which was highly valued. The best oil was from olives that were plucked before being fully ripe, and then beaten or squeezed (Deut. 24:20; Isa. 17:6; 24:13). It was called "...
    [smith] The olive was among the most abundant and characteristic vegetation of Judea. The olive tree grows freely almost everywhere on the shores of the Mediterranean, but it was peculiarly abundant in Palestine. See (6:11; 8:8; 28:4...

  • Revenge

    [nave] REVENGE Forbidden, Lev. 19:18; Prov. 24:29; Rom. 12:17, 19; 1 Thess. 5:15; 1 Pet. 3:9. Jesus an example of forbearing, 1 Pet. 2:23. Rebuked by Jesus, Luke 9:54, 55. Inconsistent with a Christian spirit, Luke 9:55. Procee...

  • TAIL

    [isbe] TAIL - tal ('alyah; zanabh; oura): The broad tail of the Syrian sheep, wrongly rendered "rump" (which see) in the King James Version, is mentioned as one of the portions of sacrifice which was burned on the altar as a sweet ...
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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • I. The reason for Israel's apostasy 1:1-3:6A. Hostilities between the Israelites and the Canaanites after Joshua's death 1:1-2:51. Initial successes and failures ch. 12. The announcement of God's discipline 2:1-5B. Israel's c...
  • The first major section in the book (1:1-3:6) explains very clearly why the period of the judges was a dark chapter in Israel's history. God revealed the reasons for Israel's apostasy and consequent national problems in terms...
  • Israel's JudgesJudgeScriptureIsrael's OppressorsLength in YearsNation(s)King(s)OppressionJudgeshipPeaceOthniel3:7-11MesopotamiaCushan-rishathaim8(ca. 1358-1350 B.C.)40(ca. 1350-1310 B.C.)Ehud3:12-30Moab (with Ammon & Amal...
  • The writer of Judges structured this book so the story of Gideon would be its focal center."Within the main body of the book, seven major narrative blocks can be noted. Moreover, there are certain parallel features between th...
  • The Israelites' return to apostasy brought discipline from two different directions at the same time. In the east the Ammonites oppressed Israel while in the west God raised up the Philistines."The acuter pressure at this sta...
  • Timnah was only about four miles southwest of Zorah. The word "woman"in verse 2 is in the emphatic position in the Hebrew text. Samson described her to his parents as the ideal woman from his viewpoint. Dating was unknown in ...
  • The writer called the Timnite Samson's wife even though the engaged couple had not yet consummated their marriage (v. 15)."The usual length of a [wedding] celebration was seven days and the marriage was not consummated until ...
  • Samson's weaknesses dominate chapter 14, but his strengths shine forth in chapter 15.
  • Wheat harvest took place in late May or early June in this part of Palestine.266Samson's anger had cooled, and he decided to return to Timnah and arrange for the completion of his marriage. Instead of flowers or candy he took...
  • The Philistines pursued Samson into the territory of Judah that they controlled (v. 9; cf. 14:4). The exact location of Lehi is still uncertain.We get a glimpse into the spiritual condition in Judah at this time from how the ...
  • Note again that the Spirit of God gave Samson his supernatural strength (v. 14). He slew 1,000 of the enemy (or one unit) on this occasion (v. 15). The unlikely instrument Samson used, a dead donkey's dentures, proved more th...
  • The first three verses present Samson sowing "wild oats."Verses 4-21 picture him reaping a bitter harvest (cf. Gal. 6:7).Samson allowed a woman to seduce him again. She lived in the Sorek Valley between Samson's home area of ...
  • A spark of hope flickered in the darkness of Samson's prison cell. His hair continued to grow (v. 22). In grace God permitted Samson's hair to return symbolizing the possibility of his renewed commitment to Yahweh. However, G...
  • The following two extended incidents (ch. 17-21) differ from the records of the judges just completed (chs. 3-16). They are not accounts of the activities of any of Israel's judges. They are the record of events that took pla...
  • God undoubtedly included the story of Micah and the Danites in the sacred record because it relates the establishment of image worship in Israel. This was a new and catastrophic departure from Yahweh for the Israelites. Image...
  • The Danites' defeat of the inhabitants of Laish appears cruel and unjustified (cf. 9:45-49). The town that seemed so desirable to the spies was really vulnerable and isolated. Its advantages proved to be weaknesses. Since God...
  • The phrase "from Dan to Beersheba"(v. 1) became a common expression during the united monarchy indicating the whole of Israel. Gilead refers to the part of Israel east of the Jordan River. The Mizpah referred to here (v. 1) w...
  • The Book of Joshua recorded Israel's victory over her enemies through trust in and obedience to God. The Book of Judges shows the defeat of the nation by its enemies from without and within due to refusal to trust and obey Go...
  • Aharoni, Yohanan. Land of the Bible. Phildelphia: Westminster Press, 1962.Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonah. The Macmillan Bible Atlas. Revised ed. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1977.Albright, William Foxwell. The...
  • The Philistines, as we have already seen in Judges, were Israel's primary enemy to the west at this time. Samson, too, fought the Philistines (Judg. 13-16).52There are about 150 references to the Philistines in 1 and 2 Samuel...
  • 12:1-2 The Lord came to Ezekiel with another message.190He told His servant that the people among whom he lived, the house of Israel, were rebellious against Him (cf. 2:3-8). Their blindness to the things that they saw and th...
  • 25:15-16 The Philistines to Judah's west had also scorned the Israelites and had sought to destroy them (cf. Judg. 13-16; 1 Sam. 4; 13; 31; 2 Sam. 5; 2 Kings 18:8; 2 Chron. 21:16-17; 28:18). Therefore the Lord would stretch o...
  • 4:6 The angel announced a word of explanation from Yahweh that Zechariah was to pass on to Zerubbabel, the descendant of David who was the leader of the first group of returnees from exile.88He was to tell him, "not by might ...
  • 12:1 "The burden . . . concerning Israel"introduces chapters 12-14 as "The burden . . . against the land of Hadrach"(9:1) did chapters 9-11. By describing Yahweh as the creator of the heavens, earth, and man, Zechariah remind...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • We have two sections in the context dealing with this, each introduced by that terrible phrase, which recurs so often in the subsequent parts of the book, The anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel.' That phrase is no s...
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