10 And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against us? And they answered, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he hath done to us.
11 Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? what is this that thou hast done unto us? And he said unto them, As they did unto me, so have I done unto them.
12 And they said unto him, We are come down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said unto them, Swear unto me, that ye will not fall upon me yourselves.
10 And the men H376 of Judah H3063 said, H559 Why are ye come up H5927 against us? And they answered, H559 To bind H631 Samson H8123 are we come up, H5927 to do H6213 to him as he hath done H6213 to us.
11 Then three H7969 thousand H505 men H376 of Judah H3063 went H3381 to the top H5585 of the rock H5553 Etam, H5862 and said H559 to Samson, H8123 Knowest H3045 thou not that the Philistines H6430 are rulers H4910 over us? what is this that thou hast done H6213 unto us? And he said H559 unto them, As they did H6213 unto me, so have I done H6213 unto them.
12 And they said H559 unto him, We are come down H3381 to bind H631 thee, that we may deliver H5414 thee into the hand H3027 of the Philistines. H6430 And Samson H8123 said H559 unto them, Swear H7650 unto me, that ye will not fall upon H6293 me yourselves.
10 And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against us? And they said, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he hath done to us.
11 Then three thousand men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? what then is this that thou hast done unto us? And he said unto them, As they did unto me, so have I done unto them.
12 And they said unto him, We are come down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said unto them, Swear unto me, that ye will not fall upon me yourselves.
10 and the men of Judah say, `Why have ye come up against us?' and they say, `To bind Samson we have come up, to do to him as he hath done to us.'
11 And three thousand men of Judah go down unto the cleft of the rock Etam, and say to Samson, `Hast thou now known that the Philistines are rulers over us? and what `is' this thou hast done to us?' And he saith to them, `As they did to me, so I did to them.'
12 And they say to him, `To bind thee we have come down -- to give thee into the hand of the Philistines.' And Samson saith to them, `Swear to me, lest ye fall upon me yourselves.'
10 And the men of Judah said, "Why have you come up against us?" They said, "We have come up to bind Samson, to do to him as he did to us."
11 Then three thousand men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and said to Samson, "Do you not know that the Philistines are rulers over us? What then is this that you have done to us?" And he said to them, "As they did to me, so have I done to them."
12 And they said to him, "We have come down to bind you, that we may give you into the hands of the Philistines." And Samson said to them, "Swear to me that you will not fall upon me yourselves."
10 The men of Judah said, Why are you come up against us? They said, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he has done to us.
11 Then three thousand men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and said to Samson, "Don't you know that the Philistines are rulers over us? What then is this that you have done to us?" He said to them, As they did to me, so have I done to them.
12 They said to him, We have come down to bind you, that we may deliver you into the hand of the Philistines. Samson said to them, Swear to me that you will not fall on me yourselves.
10 And the men of Judah said, Why have you come up against us? And they said, We have come up to take Samson, and to do to him as he has done to us.
11 Then three thousand of the men of Judah went down to the crack of the rock of Etam, and said to Samson, Is it not clear to you that the Philistines are our rulers? What is this you have done to us? And he said to them, I only did to them as they did to me.
12 Then they said to him, We have come down to take you and give you up into the hands of the Philistines. And Samson said to them, Give me your oath that you will not make an attack on me yourselves.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Judges 15
Commentary on Judges 15 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 15
Jud 15:1, 2. Samson Is Denied His Wife.
1. in the time of wheat harvest—that is, about the end of our April, or the beginning of our May. The shocks of grain were then gathered into heaps, and lying on the field or on the threshing-floors. It was the dry season, dry far beyond our experience, and the grain in a most combustible state.
Samson visited his wife with a kid—It is usual for a visitor in the East to carry some present; in this case, it might be not only as a token of civility, but of reconciliation.
he said—that is, to himself. It was his secret purpose.
into the chamber—the female apartments or harem.
2. her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her—This allegation was a mere sham, a flimsy pretext to excuse his refusal of admittance. The proposal he made of a marriage with her younger sister was but an insult to Samson, and one which it was unlawful for an Israelite to accept (Le 18:18).
Jud 15:3-8. He Burns the Philistines' Corn.
3. Samson said …, Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines—This nefarious conduct provoked the hero's just indignation, and he resolved to take signal vengeance.
4, 5. went and caught three hundred foxes—rather, "jackals"; an animal between a wolf and a fox, which, unlike our fox, a solitary creature, prowls in large packs or herds and abounds in the mountains of Palestine. The collection of so great a number would require both time and assistance.
took firebrands—torches or matches which would burn slowly, retaining the fire, and blaze fiercely when blown by the wind. He put two jackals together, tail by tail, and fastened tightly a fire match between them. At nightfall he lighted the firebrand and sent each pair successively down from the hills, into the "Shefala," or plain of Philistia, lying on the borders of Dan and Judah, a rich and extensive corn district. The pain caused by the fire would make the animals toss about to a wide extent, kindling one great conflagration. But no one could render assistance to his neighbor: the devastation was so general, the panic would be so great.
6. Who hath done this—The author of this outrage, and the cause that provoked such an extraordinary retaliation, soon became known; and the sufferers, enraged by the destruction of their crops, rushing with tumultuous fury to the house of Samson's wife, "burnt her and her father with fire." This was a remarkable retribution. To avoid this menace, she had betrayed her husband; and by that unprincipled conduct, eventually exposed herself to the horrid doom which, at the sacrifice of conjugal fidelity, she had sought to escape [Jud 14:15].
7. Samson said …, Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you—By that act the husbandmen had been the instruments in avenging his private and personal wrongs. But as a judge, divinely appointed to deliver Israel, his work of retribution was not yet accomplished.
8. smote them hip and thigh—a proverbial expression for a merciless slaughter.
he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam—rather went down and dwelt in the cleft—that is, the cave or cavern of the cliff Etam.
Jud 15:9-13. He Is Bound by the Men of Judah, and Delivered to the Philistines.
9-17. Then the Philistines went up—to the high land of Judah.
and spread themselves in Lehi—now El-Lekieh, abounding with limestone cliffs; the sides of which are perforated with caves. The object of the Philistines in this expedition was to apprehend Samson, in revenge for the great slaughter he had committed on their people. With a view of freeing his own countrymen from all danger from the infuriated Philistines, he allowed himself to be bound and surrendered a fettered prisoner into their power. Exulting with joy at the near prospect of riddance from so formidable an enemy, they went to meet him. But he exerted his superhuman strength, and finding a new (or moist) jawbone of an ass, he laid hold of it, and with no other weapon, slew a thousand men at a place which he called Ramath-lehi—that is, "the hill of the jawbone."
16. With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men—The inadequacy of the weapon plainly shows this to have been a miraculous feat, "a case of supernatural strength," just as the gift of prophecy is a case of supernatural knowledge [Chalmers].
19. a hollow place … in the jaw—"in Lehi"—taking the word as a proper noun, marking the place.
there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again—His strength, exhausted by the violent and long-continued exertion, was recruited by the refreshing draft from the spring; and it was called
En-hakkore—the "supplication well," a name which records the piety of this heroic champion.