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Judges Chapter
Fifteen
Judges 15
Outlines
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO JUDGES 15
This
chapter relates
that Samson being denied his wife
did by a strange stratagem
burn the corn fields
vineyards
and olives of the Philistines
Judges 15:1
and
that because of their burning her and her father
he made a great slaughter of
them
Judges 15:6
which
brought the Philistines against the men of Judah
who took Samson and bound
him
to deliver him to the Philistines
when he
loosing himself
slew a
thousand of them with the jaw bone of an ass
Judges 15:9 and
being athirst
God in a wonderful manner supplied him with water
Judges 15:18.
Judges 15:1 After
a while
in the time of wheat harvest
it happened that Samson visited his wife
with a young goat. And he said
“Let me go in to my wife
into her
room.” But her father would not permit him to go in.
YLT
1And it cometh to pass
after [some] days
in the days of wheat-harvest
that Samson looketh after his
wife
with a kid of the goats
and saith
`I go in unto my wife
to the inner
chamber;' and her father hath not permitted him to go in
But it came to pass within a while after
.... Or
"after days"
a year after
the same phrase as in Judges 14:8 in the
time of wheat harvest; which began at Pentecost
as barley harvest did at the
passover; this circumstance is mentioned for the sake of the following piece of
history:
that Samson visited his wife with a kid; by this time
his passion of anger subsided
and he "remembered" his wife
as the
Targum expresses it
and thought proper to return to her
and attempt a
reconciliation with her; and for that purpose took a kid with him to eat a meal
with her in her own apartment
which in those days was reckoned an elegant
entertainment
and was a present to a king
1 Samuel 16:20.
IsidoreF19Origin. l. 12. c. 1. p. 101. derives the Latin word for a
kid
"ab edendo"
from eating
as if it was food by way of eminency
as it is both savoury and wholesome:
and he said
I will go with my wife into the chamber; where she
was
as women had their chambers and apartments by themselves; this he said
within himself
or resolved in his own mind
and perhaps expressed it in her
father's hearing
or however moved that way
which plainly indicated his
design:
but her father would not suffer him to go in; placed himself
perhaps between him and the door
and parleyed with him
and declared he should
not go into his daughter's chamber; Samson
through his superior strength
could easily have pushed him away
and broke open the door
but he did not
choose to use such violent methods
and patiently heard what he had to say
and
submitted.
Judges 15:2 2 Her father said
“I really
thought that you thoroughly hated her; therefore I gave her to your companion. Is
not her younger sister better than she? Please
take her instead.”
YLT
2and her father saith
I
certainly said
that thou didst certainly hate her
and I give her to thy
companion; is not her sister -- the young one -- better than she? Let her be
I
pray thee
to thee
instead of her.'
And her father said
I verily thought that thou hadst utterly
hated her
.... Not only thought so
but said so
and had said it over and
over again; for the words are
"saying I said"F20אמר אמרתי "dicendo
dixi"
Pagninus
Montanus
Piscator.
affirmed it confidently and
constantly
that "in hating thou hast hated her"F21שנא שנאתה "odiendo odires
eam"
Pagninus
Montanus; so Piscator.
with an implacable hatred
that
there was no hope of any reconciliation:
therefore I gave her to thy companion; this he said
to excuse his daughter
and soften his resentment
that it was not his
daughter's doing
but his
and that he had disposed of her not to anybody
but
to a companion of Samson's; and what follows seems to be said with the same
view
for he might be in some fear of Samson
knowing him to be a man of spirit
and strength:
is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her
I pray thee
instead of her; that is
to wife; and two things he observes to recommend her
her youth and beauty
in which she was preferable to her sister. Such
incestuous marriages were common with the old Canaanites
and it seems still
continued; but were condemned by the law of God
and not allowed an Israelite
which
Samson knew full well
and therefore listened not to the proposal; see Leviticus 18:3.
Judges 15:3 3 And Samson said to them
“This time I shall be blameless regarding the Philistines if I harm them!”
YLT
3And Samson saith of them
`I am more innocent this time than the Philistines
though I am doing with them
evil.'
And Samson said concerning them
.... His wife's father
and other relations
and the citizens of Timnath; this
which is what follows
he said either within himself respecting them
or he said it to them openly and
publicly before them all:
now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines
though I do
them a displeasure; signifying
that if he did them an ill thing
or what might be
reckoned an injury to their persons or properties
and which would be
disagreeable and displeasing to them
they could not justly blame him for it
since they had given him such a provocation as to dispose of his wife to
another man; though Samson did not mean to act
nor did he act in the following
instances as a private person taking private revenge
but as a public person
and judge of Israel; and took occasion
from the private injuries done him
to
avenge the public ones of the children of Israel upon the Philistines; and they
might thank themselves for giving the opportunity
which they could not justly
condemn him for taking.
Judges 15:4 4 Then Samson went and
caught three hundred foxes; and he took torches
turned the foxes tail
to tail
and put a torch between each pair of tails.
YLT
4And Samson goeth and
catcheth three hundred foxes
and taketh torches
and turneth tail unto tail
and putteth a torch between the two tails
in the midst
And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes
.... Nor
should this be thought at all incredible
since Canaan and Palestine abounded
with foxes; hence several places therein had their names of Shual
which
signifies a fox
Joshua 15:28. A
travellerF23Morrison's Voyage
l. 2. c. 31. apud Calmet in the word
"Fox". in those parts says that foxes swarm there
and that there are
very great numbers of them in the hedges
and ruins of buildings: and these
creatures were very pernicious to vines
and so may reasonably be thought to be
about Timnath in great numbers
because of the vineyards there
Judges 14:5
besides
there is no necessity of supposing that Samson took all these himself
he might employ others in catching them for him
nor that he took them at the
same time
on one and the same day; he might be many days and weeks about it
and keep them up until he had got his number: to which may be added
there was
a creature in those parts very much like a fox
called Thoes
which
as
BelloniusF24L. 2. c. 11. apud Scheuchzer. Physic. Sacr. vol. 3. p.
476. says
were about Caesarea and Palestina
and go two hundred in company;
and so making use of proper means
which Samson was not unacquainted with
great numbers might be taken together; but
above all
it may be observed
that
as this was under the direction of the divine Providence
God could easily
cause such a number of creatures to be gathered together
and taken
as he
ordered all the living creatures
as by an instinct
to come into the ark to
Noah:
and he took fire brands; or rather torches
made
of oily and resinous matter
which were not easily extinguished:
and turned tail to tail; took two foxes
and tied
their tails together with a cord
giving them room enough to run about
as such
creatures do
not forward
but in a crooked
flexuous manner
here and there:
and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails: which torch
seems to have been fastened to the cord with which the tails were tied; he did
not put a firebrand or torch to the tail of every single fox
which then would
have made its way to its own den
but between two
which could not enter into
one hole
and would draw different ways
and stop each other
and so do greater
damage to the fields and vineyards into which they came.
Judges 15:5 5 When he had set the
torches on fire
he let the foxes go into the standing grain of the
Philistines
and burned up both the shocks and the standing grain
as well as
the vineyards and olive groves.
YLT
5and kindleth fire in the
torches
and sendeth [them] out into the standing corn of the Philistines
and
burneth [it] from heap even unto standing corn
even unto vineyard --
olive-yard.
And when he had set the brands on fire
.... Disposed
as before related; and foxes being naturally fearful of
and frightened with
fire
and especially so near them as at their tails
would run into the first
place they could for shelter:
he let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines; which being
ripe
as it was now wheat harvest
would soon take fire; and taking fire
this
would in course cause the foxes to run still further to other parts of standing
corn
and set fire to them also; besides
it is reasonable to suppose that
Samson did not let them go all at once on one spot
but disposed of them
some
here
and some there
to do the greater and more speedy execution:
and burnt up both the shocks
and also the standing corn
with the
vineyards and olives; for as it was in the time of harvest
in some places the corn
was standing
and in other places it was cut down
and put into shocks or
heaps; and to these the foxes would naturally run to shelter themselves
and so
set fire to them
as well as they would make their way to the vineyards or
oliveyards
either for shelter also
or for the sake of the grapes and olives
to satisfy their hunger
after having been detained long for this purpose; and
thus by one means or another they destroyed the corn
the vines
and olives of
the Philistines in those parts. Some would have it
in order to shun the
difficulties objected by the enemies of revelation
that the word for
"foxes" should be rendered "sheaves" or shocks of corn
set
end to endF25Observ. Halens. apud Stockium in voc. שעל
p. 1126. & Hardtius apud Marck. Dissertat.
Philolog. Exercitat. 5. sect. 7. p. 196.
which the word for "tail"
is said to signify; and firebrands or torches being set on fire
communicated
it to standing corn
shocks of corn
vineyards
and oliveyards; but there is no
need to put such a sense upon the words
as already observed; nor is the word
translated "foxes" ever used in Scripture in any form for
"sheaves" or shocks of corn
but always others; nor in any Jewish
writings
nor in the sister dialects
Arabic
Chaldee
or Ethiopic; and in any
place of Scripture where it is translated "fox" or "foxes"
should the word "sheaves" or "shocks" be put
the sense
would appear most ridiculous; nor is the word for "tail" ever used in
Scripture
in a literal sense
but for the tail of a living creature; nor is
the word for "took" or "caught" ever used of taking
anything in common
but either of taking men or cities by force
or of
creatures in nets
traps
and snares: and the sense which such a version of the
words would give is not only contrary to the Hebrew text
and to the Chaldee
paraphrase
but to all the ancient versions
Arabic
Syriac
Septuagint
and
Vulgate Latin
and to Josephus. The memory of this great event was kept up
or
a custom borrowed from it
as some learned men have observed in the Vulpinaria
of the Romans
mentioned by OvidF26Fasti
l. 4. Vid. Alex. ab Alex.
Genial. Dier. l. 5. c. 26.
and others
which bore a great resemblance to
this
and which was observed at the same time of the year
about the middle of
April
or calends of May; which exactly agrees with the time of wheat harvest
in Palestine; when in the Circus they used to send out foxes with burning
torches fixed to their backs. Nor need this affair of Samson's seem more
strange or incredible than the great number of creatures brought into the
Circus at Rome
to be seen there together. Sylla first introduced one hundred
lions
after him Pompey the great three hundred
and Julius Caesar
when he was
dictator
four hundred
as PlinyF1Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 16. relates.
ProbusF2Vopiscus in Vita Probi. sent into the amphitheatre at one
time
which he made like a wood full of trees
1000 ostriches
a like number of
harts
does
boars
and other creatures each; and at another time one hundred lions
as many lionesses and leopards each
and three hundred bears; HeliogabalusF3Ib.
in "Vita ejus". got together 1000 weasels
10
000 mice
10
000 weight
of spiders and flies.
Judges 15:6 6 Then the Philistines said
“Who has done this?” And they answered
“Samson
the son-in-law of the Timnite
because he has taken his wife and given her to his companion.” So the
Philistines came up and burned her and her father with fire.
YLT
6And the Philistines say
`Who hath done this?' And they say
`Samson
son-in-law of the Timnite
because
he hath taken away his wife
and giveth her to his companion;' and the
Philistines go up
and burn her and her father with fire.
Then the Philistines said
who hath done this?.... They
asked and inquired one of another
who they thought could be the author of such
mischief:
and they answered
Samson
the son in law of the Timnite; this they
said either by conjecture
which might be the case of some; and others more
confidently asserted it
having heard what he said
Judges 15:3 and
they assign a very good reason for it:
because he had already taken away his wife
and given her to his
companion
which had provoked him to do such an action as this; and perhaps
the very same persons that were very well pleased before that Samson was so
served
yet now were full of wrath and indignation at the Timnite
having
suffered so much in their property on his account:
and the Philistines came up
and burnt her and her father with
fire; JosephusF4Antiqu. l. 5. c. 8. sect. 7. says
her and
her relations; they set fire to her father's house
where she was
and burnt
them both in it
whereby that evil came upon her she thought to avoid by
getting the secret of the riddle out of Samson
and telling it to his
companion
Judges 14:15 and
suffered the proper punishment for her adultery; the people that did this were
those that lived in the towns adjacent
from whence they came up to Timnath
whose fields
vineyards
and oliveyards
had been destroyed by the foxes with
their firebrands.
Judges 15:7 7 Samson said to them
“Since you would do a thing like this
I will surely take revenge on you
and
after that I will cease.”
YLT
7And Samson saith to them
`Though ye do thus
nevertheless I am avenged on you
and afterwards I cease!'
And Samson said unto them
.... After they had burnt
his wife and her father in their dwelling house
by which they thought to
appease him
being afraid of him:
though ye have done this
yet will I be avenged of you; not for
burning his wife and father-in-law; his sense is
that though they had done
this
in order to ingratiate themselves with him
yet he should not stop on
this account
but be avenged on them
not for private injuries done to him
or
any that had been in connection with him
but for public injuries done to
Israel
and their oppression of them:
and after that I will cease; when he had taken full
vengeance on them
and not before.
Judges 15:8 8 So he attacked them hip
and thigh with a great slaughter; then he went down and dwelt in the cleft of
the rock of Etam.
YLT
8And he smiteth them hip and
thigh -- a great smiting
and goeth down and dwelleth in the cleft of the rock
Etam.
And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter
.... Either
smote them on their hips and thighs with his hands (for it does not appear he
had any weapon of war)
so that they were sadly bruised
and maimed
and lamed
that they could not stir
and of which blows and bruises multitudes died: or he
smote them with his legs on their thighs
kicked them about at pleasure
which
kicks numbers of them never got over; or the meaning of the proverbial
expression is
he laid on them at a great rate
and smote them here and there
and any where
which issued in the death of many of them: the Targum
is
"he smote them horse and foot
'their cavalry and infantry
destroyed
them both; but it does not appear that they came out in an hostile manner unto
him
and much less in the form of a regular army:
and he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam. Josephus saysF5Ibid.
(Antiqu. l. 5. c. 8.) sect. 8.
that Samson having slain many in the fields of
the Philistines
went and dwelt at Etam
a strong rock in the tribe of Judah;
and which agrees with 2 Chronicles 11:6
where mention is made of the city Etam
along with Bethlehem and Tekoah
cities
in that tribe
which had its name either from this rock
or the rock from that.
The Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions read
"in a cave of the rock of
Etam;'and the Syriac and Arabic versions
in Sahaph
which is on the rock of
Etam
as if Sahaph was the name of a city there; hither Samson went
not
through fear
or for safety
but to wait for another opportunity of further
avenging the injuries of Israel on the Philistines.
Judges 15:9 9 Now the Philistines went
up
encamped in Judah
and deployed themselves against Lehi.
YLT
9And the Philistines go up
and encamp in Judah
and are spread out in Lehi
Then the Philistines went up
.... From Palestine
which lay low on the shore of the Mediterranean sea:
and pitched in Judah; in the laud of Judea
which lay higher
particularly in the tribe of Judah
whither they came with an
army
and encamped there:
and spread themselves in Lehi; their forces were so
many
that they extended a considerable way
and particularly reached to Lehi
that is
which was afterwards so called; for it has its name by anticipation
from the jaw bone
which it signifies
with which Samson slew many in this
place
as after related.
Judges 15:10 10 And the men of Judah said
“Why have you come up against us?” So they answered
“We have come up to arrest
Samson
to do to him as he has done to us.”
YLT
10and 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.'
And the men of Judah said
.... To the Philistines
very probably by a deputation
which they sent unto them
to know the reason of
this formidable appearance:
why are ye come up against us? in this hostile manner
with such a number of forces
since they were not conscious to themselves that
they had done anything to offend them; they had not attempted to cast off their
yoke
they quietly submitted to their government
and had paid their whole
tribute
as JosephusF6Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 5. c. 8. sect. 8.)
represents them saying; they could not imagine what should be the meaning of
all this:
and they answered
to bind Samson are we come up; that is
to
oblige them to bind him
and deliver him into their hands:
to do to him as he hath done to us: to put him to death
as
he had slain many of their people in the last rencounter with them.
Judges 15:11 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 rule over us? What is this you have done
to us?” And he said to them
“As they did to me
so I have done to them.”
YLT
11And 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.'
Then three thousand of Judah went up to the top of the rock of
Etam
.... Or "went down"F7וירדו
"et descenderunt"
Pagninus
Montanus; "descenderunt ergo"
V. L. Tigurine version. ; that is
into the cave of the rock of Etam
as the
Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions; and so it is taken by David de PomisF8Tzemach
David
fol. 112. 3. for a cave dug in the rock: this was a large number that
went to take one man; the reason is
they knew his great strength:
and said to Samson
knowest thou not that the Philistines are
rulers over us? and therefore it must be a very unwise thing to disoblige and
provoke them
when it lay in their power to oppress them yet more and more
to
increase their tribute
and make their burdens heavier
and even take away
their lives:
what is this that thou hast done unto us? they ask not
what he had done to them
but unto us; though they mean that
but express
themselves thus
because what he had done to the Philistines was the occasion
of their coming up against them
and so eventually it was doing them ill:
and he said unto them
as they did unto me
so have I done to them; they had done
him ill
and therefore he did ill to them; they had burnt his wife and her
father with fire
and he had slain many of them; at least this was what he
thought fit to say in his own vindication; otherwise what he did was not in a
way of private revenge
but on account of the injury done to the people of
Israel
he taking what was done to them as done to himself
the chief
magistrate and judge of Israel.
Judges 15:12 12 But they said to him
“We
have come down to arrest you
that we may deliver you into the hand of the
Philistines.” Then Samson said to them
“Swear to me that you will not kill me
yourselves.”
YLT
12And 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.'
And they said unto him
we are come down to bind thee
.... That is
they were come down into the cave where he was; otherwise more properly they
were come up to the top of the rock:
that we may deliver thee into the hands of the Philistines; they own what
was their intention in binding him
and what put them upon it was not ill will
to him
but fear of the Philistines:
and Samson said unto them
swear unto me that ye will not fall
upon me yourselves; which shows he did not fear them
though they were 3000; and
that if they attempted to take away his life
he should defend himself
but he
chose not to shed the blood of any of them; and rather than they should come
into any distress through the Philistines
consented to be bound by them
and
delivered into their hands; which he was a type of Christ
who was betrayed by
the Jews
and delivered by them into the hands of the Romans; and though he
could have delivered himself by his great strength
would not
but suffered
himself to be taken and bound
and given into the hands of his enemies
that
his own people might go free; see John 18:4.
Judges 15:13 13 So they spoke to him
saying
“No
but we will tie you securely and deliver you into their hand; but
we will surely not kill you.” And they bound him with two new ropes and brought
him up from the rock.
YLT
13And they speak to him
saying
No
but we certainly bind thee
and have given thee into their hand
and we certainly do not put thee to death;' and they bind him with two thick
bands
new ones
and bring him up from the rock.
And they spake unto him
saying
no
.... They declared they
would not fall upon him themselves and slay him; nor would the Jews put Christ
to death themselves
though they were virtually his betrayers and murderers
John 18:31.
but we will bind thee fast and deliver thee into their hands; as the Jews
did Christ
and not only delivered him bound to the high priest
but also to
the Roman governor
Matthew 27:2.
but surely we will not kill thee: not with their own
hands
but then they proposed to deliver him into the hands of the Philistines
from whence nothing but death could be expected; so that had they put him to
death
they would have been accessory to it
as the Jews were to the death of
Christ by delivering him to the Gentiles
and are charged with it
Acts 2:23.
and they bound him with two new cords; not with one
only
lest it should not be sufficient to hold him
knowing his strength
but
with two
and these not old worn out ones
but new ones just made
and very
strong; and
as Joseph Kimchi
noted by Ben Melech
were trebled
or made of
three cords or thongs
for greater security; and of flax
as the following
verse intimates
and such are most firm and strongest to hold anything; hence
nets were made of flax to hold creatures in
fish
fowl
or beastsF9Vid.
Plin Nat. Hist. l. 19. 1. :
and brought him up from the rock; the place
as Kimchi
says
where the men of Judah dwelt
being higher than the rock; though rather
the true sense is
they brought him up out of the cave in the rock.
Judges 15:14 14 When he came to Lehi
the
Philistines came shouting against him. Then the Spirit of the Lord came mightily
upon him; and the ropes that were on his arms became like flax that is
burned with fire
and his bonds broke loose from his hands.
YLT
14He hath come unto Lehi --
and the Philistines have shouted at meeting him -- and the Spirit of Jehovah
prospereth over him
and the thick bands which [are] on his arms are as flax
which they burn with fire
and his bands are wasted from off his hands
And when he came unto Lehi
.... The place which was
afterwards so called
from what happened there at this time
and where the
Philistines were spread
Judges 15:9 this
according to BuntingF11Travels
p. 116.
was six miles from Etam:
the Philistines shouted against him: for joy that they had
got him into their hands
and in the circumstances he was
being bound
so that
they had nothing to fear from him:
and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him: as it at
times did
and had done before; the Targum is
"the Spirit of might from
the Lord
'which gave him courage and resolution of mind
and great strength of
body
even while he was speaking
as a token of the wonders God more than he
had at other times:
and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was
burnt with fire; as easily parted as the flax when fire takes it
which is
consumed at once:
and his bonds loosed off from his hands; by which it
appears that both arms and hands were bound with the cords; his arms were
pinioned close to his body
as well as his hands were tied together; and these
as in the original
"melted away"F12ימסו
"diffuxerunt"
Tigurine version; "liquefacta sunt"
Piscator.
like wax before the fire
or snow before the sun
so easily were
these bands separated from him; this may be an emblem of Christ's loosing
himself from the cords of death
Acts 2:24.
Judges 15:15 15 He found a fresh jawbone of
a donkey
reached out his hand and took it
and killed a thousand men with it.
YLT
15and he findeth a fresh
jaw-bone of an ass
and putteth forth his hand and taketh it
and smiteth with
it -- a thousand men.
And he found a new jawbone of an ass
.... That is
the jawbone of an ass lately killed
which perhaps had some of the flesh upon
it
the blood or purulent matter on it; for Jarchi says
he had read in the
books of physicians
that the word here used signifies the sanies or purulent
matter of a wound; however
it was moist
and fresh
and so tough and strong
and would bear to strike with
and give hard blows with
when an old jawbone
would have been dry and brittle; and perhaps the asses of those countries were
larger than ours
and so their jawbones bigger and stronger:
and put forth his hand and took it; it lay near him
being
so disposed by the providence of God at the time and place where his cords were
loosed from him
and he reached and took it up:
and slew one thousand men therewith
such was his great
strength
that every blow he gave in all probability killed a man; there have
been wonderful things done by mighty warriors
but none like this; they have by
the use of warlike weapons destroyed many
as with the sword or spear
but not
with such an instrument. One of David's worthies slew three hundred men at one
time with his spear
1 Chronicles 11:11
and Scanderbeg with his sword slew great numbers of the Turks with his own hand
at different times; what comes nearest to this is Shamgar's killing six hundred
Philistines with an ox goad
Judges 3:31
this
may be an emblem of the weak and contemptible means of the Gospel
the
foolishness of preaching
by which Christ has conquered and subdued multitudes
to himself.
Judges 15:16 16 Then Samson said: “With
the jawbone of a donkey
Heaps upon heaps
With the jawbone of a donkey I have
slain a thousand men!”
YLT
16And Samson saith
`With a
jaw-bone of the ass -- an ass upon asses -- with a jaw-bone of the ass I have
smitten a thousand men.'
And Samson said
.... In a kind of triumphant song:
with the jawbone of an ass
heaps upon heaps; that is
with
such an instrument he had slain heaps of men
who lay dead in heaps upon one
another; in the words for an "ass"
and for an "heap"
is
an elegant "paronomosia"
not easy to be expressed in our language:
with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men: this he said
not in a proud and haughty manner
ascribing it to himself
as Josephus
suggestsF13Antiqu. l. 5. c. 8. sect. 9.
since he takes notice of
the mean instrument he used; which showed that he was sensible it was not done
by his own power
but by the power of God
which enabled him by such weak means
to do such wonderful things.
Judges 15:17 17 And so it was
when he had
finished speaking
that he threw the jawbone from his hand
and called that place
Ramath Lehi.[a]
And it came to pass
when he had made an end of speaking
.... Of
delivering out the above song
which very probably consisted of much more than
what is here expressed:
that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand; which he held
in his hand had wrought by him through the means of it
and so served to
animate him to praise and thankfulness; but having no further use for it
he
threw it away:
and called the place Ramathlehi; that is
the casting
away the jawbone
so Kimchi; but Ben Gersom thinks it was an high place where
it was thrown
and so signifies the elevation or lifting up of the
"jawbone"
as the Septuagint version renders it.
Judges 15:18 18 Then he became very
thirsty; so he cried out to the Lord and said
“You have given
this great deliverance by the hand of Your servant; and now shall I die of
thirst and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?”
YLT
18and he thirsteth
exceedingly
and calleth unto Jehovah
and saith
`Thou -- Thou hast given by
the hand of Thy servant this great salvation; and now
I die with thirst
and
have fallen into the hand of the uncircumcised.'
And he was sore athirst
.... Which JosephusF14Antiqu.
l. 5. c. 8. sect. 9. thinks came upon him as a rebuke unto him
for ascribing
the victory he had obtained to his own strength
and not to the Lord
whereby
he was shown his own weakness
and how easily his strength could be reduced;
but for this there seems to be no foundation; it is not to wondered at
in a
natural way
that he should be athirst after he had been bound with cords
after he had so exerted himself
and slain 1000 men with his own hand
and
after he had celebrated this victory with a triumphant song; and it may also be
observed
that it was so ordered in Providence
that he might in this be a type
of the Messiah
who on the cross
as he was spoiling principalities and powers
and triumphing over them in it
said
"I thirst"
John 19:28.
and called on the Lord
and said; in prayer to him:
thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy
servant; he owns the deliverance to be great
as indeed
it was
and that
it was of the Lord
and he only his servant and instrument in it:
and now shall I die for thirst; when my life has been
saved in so wonderful a manner
and so great a salvation has been wrought by my
hands
as an instrument:
and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised? which would
be matter of joy and triumph to them
and mar the glory of the deliverance
wrought.
Judges 15:19 19 So God split the hollow
place that is in Lehi
[b] and water
came out
and he drank; and his spirit returned
and he revived. Therefore he
called its name En Hakkore
[c] which is
in Lehi to this day.
YLT
19And 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.
And God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw
and there came
water thereout
.... A socket in which was fastened one of the teeth
and was in
the form of a mortar; so Jarchi and Ben Melech
as the word for an hollow place
signifies; one of the grinders was knocked out
and so the place where it had
been was left hollow
and out of that sprung a stream or flow of water; which
was very wonderful
since out of such a place rather blood
or purulent matter
would naturally have issued; the Targum is
"the Lord clave the rock which
was in the jaw;'which Kimchi interprets thus
the rock was under the jaw and
the rock was made as a hollow place
and therefore they call it
"mactes"
a mortar: the sense seems to be this
that the place on
which Samson cast the jawbone was a rock
and there God clave an hollow place
out of which water sprung
and which perhaps was under the jawbone
and sprung
under it
and through it; and so Josephus saysF15Ibid. (Antiqu. l.
5. c. 8. sect. 9.)
that God at his prayer brought a sweet and large fountain
out of a certain rock; and the words of the text will bear to be rendered
"and God clave
an hollow place
which is in Lehi"; that is
in the
place called Lehi
Judges 15:9 and not
in the jawbone itself:
and when he had drank
his spirit came again
and he revived; his spirit
was sunk and gone
as it were
but upon drinking a draught of this water he was
refreshed and cheered
recovered his spirits
and became brisk and lively:
wherefore he called the name thereof Enhakkore; that
is
"the fountain of him that was calling;'of Samson that called upon God
in prayer
and was heard
in memory of which he gave it this name; so the
Targum
"therefore its name was called the fountain that was given through
the prayer of Samson:"
which is in Lehi unto this day; or in the jawbone: not
that the jawbone continued unto the time of the writer of this book
but the
name of the place where this miracle was wrought
which was in Lehi
continued
to be called Enhakkore unto that time
and it may be the fountain itself
continued also; nay
GiycasF16Annal. par. 2. p. 164. apud Reland.
Palestin. Illustrat. p. 872. says
who lived but about six hundred years ago
that the fountain continued unto his time
and was to be seen in the suburbs of
Eleutheropolis
and was called the fountain of the jawbone.
Judges 15:20 20 And he judged Israel
twenty years in the days of the Philistines.
YLT
20And he judgeth Israel in
the days of the Philistines twenty years.
And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years. While they had
the power over the Israelites
who were not entirely delivered out of their
hands by Samson
he only began to deliver them
but did not completely do it;
though he got many advantages over them
and wrought many salvations and
deliverances
yet was not the author of perfect salvation
see Judges 13:5
however
he was a check upon the Philistines
and protected the Israelites from
heavier oppressions
which otherwise they would have come under; and no doubt
administered justice and judgment among them
and was an instrument of their
reformation
and of preserving them from idolatry; for in such things the work
of a judge chiefly lay: some from hence observe
that this shows the years of
servitude and bondage are included in the years of the judges.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)