Shofetim 15

1 5 But it came to pass within a while after, in the time of katzir chittim, that Shimshon visited his isha with a young goat; and he said, I will go in to my isha into the cheder. But her av would not allow him to go in.

2 And her av said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion; is not her younger achot fairer than she? Take her now, instead of her.

3 And Shimshon said concerning them, Now shall I be more blameless than the Pelishtim, though I do them ra’ah.

4 And Shimshon went and caught three hundred foxes, and took torches, and turned them tail to tail, and put a torch in the midst between two tails.

5 And when he lit eish to the torches, he let them go into the standing grain of the Pelishtim, and burned up both the harvested grain and also the standing grain, and also olive orchards.

6 Then the Pelishtim said, Who hath done this? And they answered, Shimshon, the choson of the Timni, because he had taken his isha, and given her to his companion. And the Pelishtim came up, and burned her and her av with eish.

7 And Shimshon said unto them, Since ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you and after that I will cease.

8 And he struck them hip and thigh with a makkah gedolah; and he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam.

9 Then the Pelishtim went up and encamped in Yehudah, and spread themselves out in Lechi.

10 And the ish Yehudah said, Why are ye come up against us? And they answered, To bind Shimshon are we come up, to do to him as he hath done to us.

11 Then three thousand men of Yehudah went to the top of the rock Etam and said to Shimshon, Knowest thou not that the Pelishtim 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 yad Pelishtim. And Shimshon said unto them, Swear unto me, that ye will not fall upon me yourselves.

13 And they spoke unto him, saying, No; but we will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their yad; but surely we will not kill thee. And they bound him with two avotim chadashim (new ropes), and brought him up from the rock.

14 And when he came unto Lechi, the Pelishtim shouted against him; and the Ruach of Hashem came mightily upon him, and the avotim that were upon his arms became as flax that was burned with eish, and his binding loosed from off his hands.

15 And he found a new jawbone of a chamor, and put forth his yad and took it and slaughtered a thousand men therewith.

16 And Shimshon said, With the lechi (jawbone) of a chamor heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of a chamor have I slain a thousand men.

17 And it came to pass when he had made an end of speaking that he cast away the jawbone out of his yad, and called that place Ramat Lechi (Jawbone Hill).

18 And he was very thirsty, and called on Hashem, and said, Thou hast given this teshu’ah hagedolah (great victory, rescue, salvation) into the yad of thy eved; and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the yad of the arelim?

19 But Elohim split open the hollow place that is at Lechi, and there came mayim thereout; and when he had drunk, his ruach came again, and he revived; wherefore he called the shem thereof En HaKorei (Spring of the Caller), which is in Lechi unto this day.

20 And he judged Yisroel in the days of the Pelishtim esrim shanah.

Shofetim 15 Commentary

Chapter 15

Samson is denied his wife, He smites the Philistines. (1-8) Samson kills a thousand of the Philistines with a jaw-bone. (9-17) His distress from thirst. (18-20)

Verses 1-8 When there are differences between relations, let those be reckoned the wisest and best, who are most forward to forgive or forget, and most willing to stoop and yield for the sake of peace. In the means which Samson employed, we must look at the power of God supplying them, and making them successful, to mortify the pride and punish the wickedness of the Philistines. The Philistines threatened Samson's wife that they would burn her and her father's house. She, to save herself and oblige her countrymen, betrayed her husband; and the very thing that she feared, and by sin sought to avoid, came upon her! She, and her father's house, were burnt with fire, and by her countrymen, whom she thought to oblige by the wrong she did to her husband. The mischief we seek to escape by any unlawful practices, we often pull down upon our own heads.

Verses 9-17 Sin dispirits men, it hides from their eyes the things that belong to their peace. The Israelites blamed Samson for what he had done against the Philistines, as if he had done them a great injury. Thus our Lord Jesus did many good works, and for those the Jews were ready to stone him. When the Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson, his cords were loosed: where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty, and those are free indeed who are thus set free. Thus Christ triumphed over the powers of darkness that shouted against him, as if they had him in their power. Samson made great destruction among the Philistines. To take the bone of an ass for this, was to do wonders by the foolish things of the world, that the excellency of the power might be of God, not of man. This victory was not in the weapon, was not in the arm; but it was in the Spirit of God, which moved the weapon by the arm. We can do all things through Him that strengtheneth us. Seest thou a poor Christian, who is enabled to overcome a temptation by weak, feeble counsel, there is the Philistine vanquished by a sorry jaw-bone.

Verses 18-20 So little notice did the men of Judah 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 who do the greatest services. Samson prayed to God in this distress. Those that forget to attend God their praises, may be compelled to attend him with their prayers. Past experiences of God's power and goodness, are excellent pleas in prayer for further mercy. He pleads his being exposed to God's enemies; our best pleas are taken from God's glory. The Lord sent him seasonable relief. The place of this action was, from the jaw-bone, called Lehi. And in the place thus called, God caused a fountain suddenly and seasonably to open, close by Samson. We should be more thankful for the mercy of water, did we consider how ill we can spare it. Israel submitted to him whom they had betrayed. God was with him; henceforward they were directed by him as their judge.

Chapter Summary

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, Jud 15:1-5, and that because of their burning her and her father, he made a great slaughter of them, Jud 15:6-8, 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, Jud 15:9-17 and being athirst, God in a wonderful manner supplied him with water, Jud 15:18-20.