Judges 15:9-19

9 Then the Philistines went up into the land of Judah, and they setted tents in the place, that was called afterward Lehi, that is, a cheek[bone], where their host was spread abroad. (Then the Philistines went up into the land of Judah, and they pitched their tents at the place, that later was called Lehi, that is, Jawbone, where their army was spread out over all the land.)
10 And men of the lineage of Judah said to them, Why have ye gone up against us? The which answered, We come that we bind Samson (And they answered, We have come so that we can bind up Samson), and yield to him (for) those things the which he [hath] wrought against us.
11 Therefore three thousand of men of Judah went down to the den of the flint of Etam; and they said to Samson, Knowest thou not, that [the] Philistines command to us, that is, they have lordship on us? (And so three thousand men of Judah went down to the cave in the Rock of Etam; and they said to Samson, Knowest thou not, that the Philistines command, or rule, over us?) Why wouldest thou do this thing to them? To whom he said, As they did to me, so I did to them.
12 They said, We come to bind thee, and to betake thee into the hands of Philistines. To whom Samson answered, Swear ye, and promise ye to me, that ye slay not me. (And they said to him, We have come to bind thee up, and to deliver thee into the hands of the Philistines. To whom Samson answered, Swear ye, and promise ye to me, that ye shall not kill me.)
13 And they said, We shall not slay thee, but we shall betake thee bound to them. And (so) they bound him with two new cords, and took him from the stone of Etam.
14 And when they had come to the place that is called Cheek[bone], and the Philistines crying high had run (out) to him, the spirit of the Lord felled into him, and as sticks be wont to be wasted at the hot tasting of fire, so and the bonds, with which he was bound, were scattered and loosed. (And when they had come to the place that now is called Lehi, or Jawbone, and the Philistines came running toward him, and shouting, the spirit of the Lord fell upon him, and as sticks be wont to be wasted with the hot tasting of the fire, so the bonds, with which he was bound, were scattered and loosed from off his hands.)
15 And when he had found a cheek[bone], that is, the nether cheekbone, of an ass, that there lay, he took it, and killed therewith a thousand men; (And when he had found a jawbone, that is, the lower jawbone, of a donkey, that lay there, he took it, and killed a thousand men with it;)
16 and he said, With the cheek[bone] of an ass, that is, with the nether cheek[bone] of a colt of she-asses, I have done away Philistines, and I have killed therewith a thousand men. (and he said, With the jawbone of a donkey, that is, with the lower jawbone of the colt of a female donkey, I have done away the Philistines, and I have killed a thousand men with it.)
17 And when he had high cried these words, and had fully ended them, he threw away from his hand the nether cheekbone; and he called the name of that place Ramathlehi, that is to say, the Raising (up) of a cheekbone. (And after that he had sung these words, and had finished them, he threw away the lower jawbone from his hand; and he named that place Ramathlehi, that is to say, the Raising up of a jawbone.)
18 And (then) he thirsted greatly, and cried to the Lord, and said, Thou, Lord, hast given into the hand of thy servant this greatest health and victory (Thou, Lord, hast given thy servant this great victory); and lo! I die for thirst, and I shall fall into the hands of uncircumcised men.
19 Therefore the Lord opened a wang tooth in the cheekbone of the ass, and waters went out thereof, and when he had drunken he refreshed his spirit, and received strengths; therefore the name of that place was called the Well of the inwardly caller of the cheekbone, unto this present day. (And so the Lord opened a molar tooth in the jawbone of the donkey, and water went out of it, and when he had drunk, it refreshed his spirit, and he received strength; and so the name of the spring there in Lehi is called Enhakkore, or the Spring of the Caller, unto this present day).

Judges 15:9-19 Meaning and Commentary

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.

Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.