Judges 15:16

16 Then Samson said: “With the jawbone of a donkey I have piled them into heaps. ^[a] With the jawbone of a donkey I have slain a thousand men.”

Judges 15:16 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 15:16

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 suggests ^F13, 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.

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FOOTNOTES:

F13 Antiqu. l. 5. c. 8. sect. 9.

Judges 15:16 In-Context

14 When Samson arrived in Lehi, the Philistines came out shouting against him. And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him. The ropes on his arms became like burnt flax, and the bonds broke loose from his hands.

15 He found the fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand and took it, and struck down a thousand men.

16 Then Samson said: “With the jawbone of a donkey I have piled them into heaps. With the jawbone of a donkey I have slain a thousand men.”

17 And when Samson had finished speaking, he cast the jawbone from his hand; and he named that place Ramath-lehi.

18 And being very thirsty, Samson cried out to the LORD, “You have accomplished this great deliverance through Your servant. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?”

Footnotes

• [a] Or I have made them into donkeys