Judges · Chapter 15

V. 1. Wheat harvest-Which was the proper season for what follows. With a kid-As a token of reconciliation. Into the chamber-Into her chamber, which the women had separate from the mens.

Verse 1. Visited his wife with a kid] On her betraying him, he had, no doubt, left her in great disgust. After some time his affection appears to have returned; and, taking a kid, or perhaps a fawn, as a present, he goes to make reconciliation, and finds her given to his brideman; probably, the person to whom she betrayed his riddle.

Verse 1. In the time of the wheat harvest — Which was the proper season for what follows. With a kid — As a token of reconciliation. Into the chamber — Into her chamber, which the women had separate from the men’s.

BURNING OF THE PHILISTINES’ CORN, 1-5.

“Samson’s disposition was too noble to cherish anger long. Only small souls bear grudges; but great natures measure others by themselves. Because they have forgotten the wrong that was done them, they think that others are no longer mindful of the wrong they have done. Kindly disposed as ever he comes to visit his wife, but this leads to the disclosure of how he has been treated.” — Cassel.

1. The time of wheat harvest — Dr. Robinson saw the peasants in the Philistine plain, not far from Timnath, beginning their wheat harvest on the 19th of May. The harvest time is here mentioned in view of the facts about to be told of Samson’s burning both the standing corn and shocks. Verse 5. Visited his wife with a kid — Samson’s nuptials had not been fully consummated, and the rage and disgust with which he broke them off hindered his visiting his wife as an ordinary husband. He proposed, therefore, to visit her as one would visit a strange woman, and took the customary present. Compare Genesis 38:17. Into the chamber — The apartment of the women; the harem.

V. 2. Hated her-Because thou didst desert her: but this was no sufficient cause; for he should have endeavored a reconciliation, and not have disposed of another man’s wife without his consent.

Verse 2. Thou hadst utterly hated her] As he was conscious she had given him great cause so to do.

Her younger sister] The father appears to have been perfectly sincere in this offer.

Verse 2. That thou hadst utterly hated her — Because thou didst desert her: but this was no sufficient cause; for he should have endeavoured to effect a reconciliation, and not have disposed of another man’s wife without his consent. Is not her younger sister fairer than she? — The marrying of a sister while the other was alive was expressly forbidden by the law of Moses: see Leviticus 18:18. And therefore this offer might probably irritate Samson the more.

2. Utterly hated her — He surely had reason for so thinking, but to give her to that treacherous companion, who had so basely misused the confidence and responsibility reposed in him as friend of the bridegroom, was only to make matters worse, and to drive Samson to some other fearful act of retaliation. Under such circumstances, to propose to him her younger sister was to add insult to abuse, and render Samson more blameless than the Philistines (verse 3) in the fiery destruction which speedily visited their fields and vineyards.

V. 3. Now shall I, &c.-Because they have first provoked me by an irreparable injury: but although this may look like an act of private revenge; yet it is plain Samson acted as a judge (for so he was) and as an avenger of the publick injuries of his people.

Verse 3. Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines — Or rather, blameless from the Philistines, because they have first provoked me by an irreparable injury. It seems probable from this, that the people of the place, in general, had approved of, and perhaps advised, the giving of Samson’s wife to another man. Though I do them a displeasure — Although this may look like an act of private revenge, yet it is plain, Samson acted as a judge (for such he was) and as an avenger of the public injuries which his people had suffered from the Philistines.

BURNING OF THE PHILISTINES’ CORN, 1-5.

“Samson’s disposition was too noble to cherish anger long. Only small souls bear grudges; but great natures measure others by themselves. Because they have forgotten the wrong that was done them, they think that others are no longer mindful of the wrong they have done. Kindly disposed as ever he comes to visit his wife, but this leads to the disclosure of how he has been treated.” — Cassel.

1. The time of wheat harvest — Dr. Robinson saw the peasants in the Philistine plain, not far from Timnath, beginning their wheat harvest on the 19th of May. The harvest time is here mentioned in view of the facts about to be told of Samson’s burning both the standing corn and shocks. Verse 5. Visited his wife with a kid — Samson’s nuptials had not been fully consummated, and the rage and disgust with which he broke them off hindered his visiting his wife as an ordinary husband. He proposed, therefore, to visit her as one would visit a strange woman, and took the customary present. Compare Genesis 38:17. Into the chamber — The apartment of the women; the harem.

V. 4. Foxes-Of which there were great numbers in Canaan. But it is not said that Samson caught them all, either at one time, or by his own hands; for being so eminent a person, and the judge of Israel, he might require assistance of as many persons as he pleased. And it must be allowed, that the God who made the world, and by his singular providence watched over Israel, and intended them deliverance at this time, could easily dispose things so that they might be taken. He chose to do this not by his brethren, whom he would preserve from the hatred and mischief which it might have occasioned them, but by brute creatures, thereby to add scorn to their calamity, and particularly by foxes; partly, because they were fittest for the purpose, being creatures very fearful of fire; and having such tails as the fire-brands might most conveniently be tied to; and not going directly forward, but crookedly, whereby the fire would be dispersed in more places. Fire-brands-Made of such matter as would quickly take fire, and keep it for a long time; which was easy to procure. And put, &c.-That the foxes might not make too much haste, nor run into their holes, but one of them might delay another, and so continue longer in the places where they were to do execution.

Verse 4. Went and caught three hundred foxes] There has been much controversy concerning the meaning of the term שועלים shualim, some supposing it to mean foxes or jackals, and others handfuls or sheaves of corn. Much of the force of the objections against the common version will be diminished by the following considerations:—

1. Foxes, or jackals, are common and gregarious in that country.

2. It is not hinted that Samson collected them alone; he might have employed several hands in this work.

3. It is not said he collected them all in one day; he might have employed several days, as well as many persons, to furnish him with these means of vengeance.

4. In other countries, where ferocious beasts were less numerous, great multitudes have been exhibited at once. Sylla, in a public show to the Roman citizens, exhibited one hundred lions; Cæsar, four hundred, and Pompey, nearly six hundred. The Emperor Probus let loose in the theatre, at one time, one thousand ostriches, one thousand stags, one thousand wild boars, one thousand does, and a countless multitude of other wild animals; at another time he exhibited one hundred leopards from Libya, one hundred from Syria, and three hundred bears.-See Flavius Vopiscus in the Life of Probus, cap. xix., beginning with Dedit Romanis etiam voluptates, &c.

That foxes, or the creature called shual, abounded in Judea, is evident from their frequent mention in Scripture, and from several places bearing their name. 1. It appears they were so numerous that even their cubs ruined the vineyards; see Canticles: Song of Solomon 2:15: Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil our vines. Jeremiah complains that the foxes had occupied the mountains of Judea, Lamentations 5:18. They are mentioned as making incursions into enclosures, &c., Nehemiah 4:3. Ezekiel compares the numerous false prophets to these animals, Ezekiel 13:4. In Joshua 15:28 we find a place called Hazar Shual, “the court of the foxes:” and in Joshua 19:42 a place called Shaal-abbin, “the foxes;” no doubt from the number of those animals in that district. And mention is made of the land of Shual, or of the fox, 1 Samuel 13:17.

The creature called shual is represented by travellers and naturalists who have been in Judea as an animal between a wolf and a fox. Hasselquist, who was on the spot, and saw many of them, calls it the little Eastern fox. They are frequent in the East, and often destroy infirm persons and children.

Dr. Kennicott, however, objects to the common interpretation; and gives reasons, some of which are far from being destitute of weight. “The three hundred foxes,” says he, “caught by Samson, have been so frequently the subject of banter and ridicule, that we should consider whether the words may not admit a more rational interpretation: for, besides the improbability arising here from the number of these foxes, the use made of them is also very strange. If these animals were tied tail to tail, they would probably pull contrary ways, and consequently stand still; whereas a firebrand tied to the tail of each fox singly would have been far more likely to answer the purpose here intended. To obviate these difficulties it has been well remarked, that the word שועלים shualim, here translated foxes, signifies also handfuls, Ezekiel 13:19, handfuls of barley; if we leave out that one letter w vau, which has been inserted or omitted elsewhere, almost at pleasure. No less than seven Hebrew MSS. want that letter here, and read שעלים shealim. Admitting this version, we see that Samson took three hundred handfuls or sheaves of corn, and one hundred and fifty firebrands; that he turned the sheaves end to end, and put a firebrand between the two ends in the midst; and then, setting the brands on fire, sent the fire into the standing corn of the Philistines. The same word is now used twice in one chapter, (Ezekiel 13:4, 19;) in the former verse signifying foxes, in the latter handfuls: and in 1 Kings 20:10, where we render it handfuls, it is alwpexi, foxes, in the Greek version.”-Remarks on Select Passages.

The reasoning of Dr. Kennicott in the first part of this criticism has already been answered; other parts shall be considered below. Though there are seven MSS., which agree in the reading contended for by Dr. Kennicott, yet all the versions are on the other side. I see no improbability in the common version.

Turned tail to tail] Had he put a firebrand to each, which Dr. Kennicott thinks more reasonable, the creature, naturally terrified at fire, would have instantly taken to cover, and thus the design of Samson would have been frustrated. But, tying two of them together by their tails, they would frequently thwart each other in running, pull hither and thither, and thus make the greater devastation. Had he tied them all together, the confusion would have been so great that no execution could have been done.

Verse 4. Samson went and caught three hundred foxes — Foxes were extremely numerous in Canaan, and several places received their name from them, as Hazar-shual, or, the gate of the fox, in the tribe of Judah; and Shaalbim, or Shaalabbim, in the tribe of Dan, Joshua 19:42; Judges 1:35. They are accordingly frequently spoken of in Scripture as numerous: see Song of Solomon 2:15; Psalm 63:10. Under this name foxes, likewise, as Bishop Patrick observes, may be comprehended a species of creatures called thoes, and by the Hebrews, ijim, which go together in large herds, so that, as authors of undoubted veracity have asserted, two hundred have been seen in a company. The Hebrew word, lw[v, shual, a fox, will likewise comprehend other animals of the same size. It must be further observed, that it is not said that Samson caught all these foxes at one time, or by his own hands. There might be a week, or even a month’s time allowed for the accomplishment of his design, in which his servants and friends may be supposed to have assisted him. Again, they were not caught, as some imagine, only by hunting, but in snares and nets, as Bochart has shown in his Hierozoicon, in which he treats of the animals mentioned in the Scriptures: see lib. 3. cap. 13., where, in answer to those who inquire why Samson chose foxes rather than dogs, or some other creatures, that learned man thinks it sufficient to say, that Samson accomplished two ends by this proceeding, both freeing the country from a large number of obnoxious animals, and making them instrumental in executing his revenge on the Philistines. And took firebrands — Made of such matter as would quickly take fire, and keep it for a long time. This he might easily procure. And turned tail to tail, &c. — It was an artful contrivance of Samson to fix the brands to the foxes in pairs, because their efforts to run different ways, or not directly in the same track, would lessen their speed, and keep them longer in the places where they were to do execution. It would also prevent the foxes from running into their holes, and from expatiating further than he intended: for his design was to consume only the corn of the Philistines, and not that of the Israelites, which was secured by this precaution.

Verse 4. Caught three hundred foxes. The task of collecting these animals was not at all impossible; the country very much abounded with foxes, as appears from many passages of scripture. Nehemiah 4:3. Psalm 62:11, 15. Ezekiel 13:4. These, dragging the firebrands, would occasion a dreadful conflagration among the wheat now ripe, and among the dry grass. To us, where foxes are scarce, the difficulty seems very great. But persons acquainted with large continents know how to make allowance for extraordinary things. Besides, all travellers in Asia and Africa allow of jackalls, wild-dogs, &c. running in vast packs at night to seek their food. Vaillant, the accredited Dutch traveller in South Africa, 1780, several times saw about two hundred wild dogs. The foxes might therefore be taken in the penns. Samson’s design, according to a collection of thoughts in Stackhouse, will neither appear romantic, nor perhaps novel, if we consider that vast collections of wild animals were often made. Lucius Sylla, when prætor, ordered a hundred lions to be shown in the amphitheatre at Rome; and Julius Cæsar, while dictator, four hundred. The emperor Probus exposed at one show a thousand ostriches, a thousand stags, a hundred Lybian and a hundred Syrian leopards. Why then should it be thought a thing incredible, that Samson and his friends should collect three hundred foxes; especially when the collecting of them would clear his own country, and prove injurious to Philistia.

Many critics solve the difficulty, (though to the Israelites near Samson’s time no difficulty was so much as thought of in this passage) by affirming that the word schualim rendered foxes, should be written schoalim, sheaves or shocks of corn. And the word zanah, rendered tail, may be rendered the extreme or exterior part. Then the sense will be, that Samson set fire to three hundred shocks of corn, which yet remained in the field; and that the fire spread to the dry grass, the vineyards, &c. See examples of conflagrations in Harmer, vol. 4. obser. 144.

4. Caught three hundred foxes — We are not to suppose that he caught them alone, or in a single day, nor that foxes were as scarce in Palestine then as they are now. The Hebrew word for foxes, shualim, is also used of jackals, and these latter are, doubtless, the animals which Samson caught for his purpose. They are gregarious in their habits, and may be easily taken in large numbers by means of traps and pitfalls. Dr. Kennicott felt that this narrative was so improbable that he sought out what he thought a more rational explanation, and, on the authority of seven Hebrew MSS., he read µyl[v, handfuls, instead of µyl[wv, foxes, and supposed that Samson “took three hundred handfuls, or sheaves, of corn, and one hundred and fifty firebrands; that he turned the sheaves end to end, and put a firebrand between the two ends,” and so accomplished his work of destruction. To this, however, it is replied: 1. Even granting the proposed reading handfuls, the word cannot mean sheaves. 2. The verb dkl, rendered caught, is never used of taking handfuls or sheaves of grain, but always of seizing something by violence or stratagem, and is specially used of catching animals. 3. Then the task of bringing three hundred sheaves together in the open field, and using them as Kennicott supposes, would have been a difficulty as great as the one he seeks to explain away, and would have exposed Samson to detection and opposition before he could well have accomplished his purpose. We abide, therefore, by the common reading, and on the supposed difficulty of catching three hundred foxes we give Dr. Thomson’s very comprehensive statement: “It is probable that by foxes jackals are intended; and these are even now extremely numerous. I have had more than one race after them, and over the very theatre of Samson’s exploit. When encamped out in the plain with a part of Ibrahim Pasha’s army, in 1834, we were serenaded all night long by troops of these hideous howlers. But if we must limit Samson to the ordinary fox, even these are to be found here. I started up and chased one when I passed over that part of the plain where Timnath is believed to have been situated. In those days this country was infested with all sorts of wild animals to an extent which seems to us incredible. This is evident from the almost numberless incidental allusions in the Bible; but the use of firearms for so many centuries has either totally exterminated whole classes, or obliged them to retire into the remote and unfrequented deserts.… Not having firearms, the ancients were much more skilful than the moderns in the use of snares, nets, and pits for capturing wild animals. A large class of biblical figures and allusions necessarily presuppose this state of things. Job and David, and all the poets and prophets, continually refer in their complaints to snares, nets, pits, etc. We are justified, therefore, in believing that, at the time in question, the commander of Israel could, with no great difficulty, collect even three hundred foxes. We want no correction of the text to render the whole account credible, nor need we call in the aid of miracles. It was merely a cunning device of Israel’s champion to inflict a terrible chastisement upon his enemies.” Firebrands — Or, torches. The Hebrew word is the same as that rendered lamps in Judges 7:16. These torches, one hundred and fifty in number, and made of material that would probably long hold fire and burn, were what Samson set on fire, not the tails of the foxes. Turned tail to tail — The sense obviously is that two foxes were fastened together by a cord tied to their tails — a cord perhaps several yards long — and when he put a firebrand in the midst between two tails, they would probably at first pull in opposite directions; but when they saw the brands on fire, and themselves freed from the hands of their captors, they would be likely to learn very soon to run in parallel lines, and would thus scatter the fire with most disastrous effect through the neighbouring corn-fields. “On this and on many other matters,” says Dr. Kitto, “people write large dissertations to prove or disprove points which might be determined in five minutes by a simple experiment. We happened lately to see two dogs somewhat similarly attached, and paused to see how they would act. They wasted some minutes in rather awkward movements, but, finding the futility of their efforts, they inclined their heads to each other, and, after a hasty consultation, turned round so as to bring their bodies parallel to each other, and then ran off with considerable speed. Now foxes have not the reputation of being duller than dogs.”

V. 5. Let them go-Successively at several times; and in divers places, so that they might not hinder one another, nor all run into the same field; but being dispersed in all parts, might spread the plague farther; and withal might be kept at a distance from the fields and vineyards of the Israelites.

Verse 5. He let them go, &c. — Successively at several times, and in divers places, so that they might not hinder one another, nor all run into the same field; but, being dispersed in all parts, might spread the plague further. But it will be asked, Why did he not employ some of the Israelites to set their corn on fire? The answer is easy: Because he wished to preserve them from the hatred and mischief to which this would have exposed them, and also to mortify the pride of the Philistines by making brute creatures, and particularly foxes, the instruments of bringing this calamity upon them.

Ver. 5. Set the brands on fire. As our Latin critics make a reference to Ovid, Fastor. 4., I have carefully referred to the passage in that work. Ed. Paris, 1804. As the ancients burned a fox every anniversary of Ceres, goddess of the ripening corn, the origin of the story is thus told. “The naughty boy of a cottager, having caught a fox, and out of revenge for being bit with the animal, tied a large wisp of hay and straw to his tail, and setting the straw on fire, let the fox loose, which, taking his affrighted course through the fields of ripe corn, did so much harm to the goddess, that she required the above sacrifice.” This custom was no doubt more ancient than the time of Samson, and might therefore be known to him.

5. Let them go — Hebrew, jlvy, sent them. A hundred and fifty pairs, starting forth from different points and running in different directions, each pair carrying a firebrand, would rapidly spread destruction far and wide. The standing corn — Wheat yet uncut. This often, in the East, as on our western prairies, extends as far as eye can reach in one apparently unbroken field. Shocks — Not carefully arranged shocks of bound sheaves, as with us, but heaps of the grain, either bound or unbound, loosely piled up for temporary convenience. Vineyards and olives — Rather, gardens of olives. Large olive groves still abound in the plain of Philistia. “The cornfields of Philistia,” says Stanley, “then as now interspersed with olive groves, lay stretched in one unbroken expanse before him, to invite his facetious outrage. The mischievousness of the conflagration of the cornfields by means of the jackals is subordinate to the ludicrousness of the sight, as, from the hill of Zorah, the contriver of the scheme must have watched the streams of fire spreading through corn-fields and orchards in the plain below.”

V. 6. Burnt her-For the mischief which she had occasioned them; thus she brought upon herself that mischief which she studied to avoid. The Philistines had threatened to burn her and her father’s house with fire. To avoid this she betrayed her husband. And now the very thing she feared comes upon her!

Verse 6. Burnt her and her father] This was probably done to appease Samson: as they saw he had been unjustly treated both by his wife and her father; therefore they destroyed them both, that they might cause his wrath to cease from them. And this indeed seems intimated in the following verse: And Samson said-Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you; that is, I am not yet satisfied: ye have done me great wrongs, I must have proportionate redress; then I shall rest satisfied.

Verse 6. The Philistines came up and burned her — For the mischief which she had occasioned them; thus she brought upon herself that mischief which she studied to avoid. The Philistines had threatened to burn her and her father’s house with fire. To avoid this, she betrayed her husband. And now the very thing she feared comes upon her! And her father — Whom they looked upon as one chief cause of the mischief done, by his giving his daughter, Samson’s wife, to another man. Punishing or revenging by fire seems to have been a usual practice in those days: see Judges 14:15.

SAMSON’S REVENGE OF HIS WIFE’S DEATH, 6-8.

6. Burnt her and her father with fire — This was the first outburst of popular indignation and fury. Not finding at hand the perpetrators of the deed, they wreak vengeance on those who had been the occasion of it. And so that weak and deceitful woman, who had sought to save herself and her father by teasing Samson’s secret from him and telling it to his rival, meets at length the very doom she thought to turn away.

Ver. 7. Yet will I be avenged. They were privy to the insults offered to Samson; by consequence, the vengeance inflicted on the family was no punishment of their own sins.

SAMSON’S REVENGE OF HIS WIFE’S DEATH, 6-8.

6. Burnt her and her father with fire — This was the first outburst of popular indignation and fury. Not finding at hand the perpetrators of the deed, they wreak vengeance on those who had been the occasion of it. And so that weak and deceitful woman, who had sought to save herself and her father by teasing Samson’s secret from him and telling it to his rival, meets at length the very doom she thought to turn away.

V. 8. Hip and thigh-It seems to be a phrase, to express a desperate attack, attended with the utmost hurry and confusion: and perhaps intimates, that they all fled before him. So he smote them in the hinder parts. Rock Etam-A natural fortress, where he waited to see what steps the Philistines would take.

Verse 8. He smote them hip and thigh] This also is variously understood; but the general meaning seems plain; he appears to have had no kind of defensive weapon, therefore he was obliged to grapple with them, and, according to the custom of wrestlers, trip up their feet, and then bruise them to death. Some translate heaps upon heaps; others, he smote horsemen and footmen; others, he wounded them from their legs to their thighs, &c., &c. See the different versions. Some think in their running away from him he kicked them down, and then trod them to death: thus his leg or thigh was against their hip; hence the expression. The top of the rock Etam.] It is very likely that this is the same place as that mentioned 1 Chronicles 4:32; it was in the tribe of Simeon, and on the borders of Dan, and probably a fortified place.

Verse 8. He smote them hip and thigh — This seems to be merely a proverbial expression to denote a desperate attack and total overthrow. And he went down, or, rather, went and dwelt — For it is an idiom of the Hebrew language, to speak of going up, or going down, to a place without having any reference to the situation of it, whether it lay high or low. The place here spoken of, the top of the rock Etam, undoubtedly lay high, being, as Josephus informs us, a strong place in the tribe of Judah, to the summit of which only one man could ascend in front. Here Samson waited to see what steps the Philistines would take. It appears that Samson had no commission from God to raise an army and make open war, like Gideon, Jephthah, and others, for the deliverance of Israel from the yoke of the Philistines; but was only authorized to weaken them and keep them in awe, that their dread of him might cause them to lessen their cruelty.

Ver. 8. The rock Etam. The Vulgate reads, the cave of the rock of Etam. Jerome might have local knowledge of the existence of that cave.

8. Smote them hip and thigh — Rather, leg upon thigh. A proverbial expression that seems most naturally to denote a ferocious and indiscriminate slaughter, as when we say of slaughtered troops, “They were utterly cut to pieces.” Gesenius explains that he smote them so that the scattered limbs fell one upon another. It was a great slaughter, and convinced the Philistines, if they knew it not before, that Samson was their great national enemy. Top of the rock — Better, cleft of the rock. Some deep and wild gorge or cleft, such as abound in the hill country of Judea. Etam — This many have been inclined to identify with Etam of 2 Chronicles 11:6, a city which Rehoboam fortified, and which Dr. Robinson and others have supposed to be the modern Urtas, about a mile south of Bethlehem. But to this place, which is located on high ground, Samson could hardly have been said to go down, and hence the Etam of the tribe of Simeon, mentioned 1 Chronicles 4:32, is more probably intended here. Its exact location has not been certainly identified.

SAMSON’S EXPLOIT WITH THE JAWBONE OF AN ASS, 9-20.

9. Philistines went up — At least a thousand strong. Verse 15. The territory of Judah lies higher than the Philistine plain; hence the Philistines went up. Spread themselves — Scattered about in small companies to hunt for Samson. Lehi — This word means a jawbone; and Gesenius thinks might have been so called from a chain of steep, craggy rocks, which resembled a jawbone, just as some single rocks are for a like reason called teeth. 1 Samuel 7:12. The place, however, may have derived its name from Samson’s exploit. See verse 17.

Verse 10. To bind Samson are we come up] It seems they did not wish to come to an open rupture with the Israelites, provided they would deliver up him who was the cause of their disasters.

10. Why are ye come up against us — Judah was at peace and submissive to his Philistine masters, and demanded reason for any show of further oppression.

V. 11. Unto us-Thou hast by these actions punished not them only, but us, who are sure to smart for it.

Verse 11. Three thousand men of Judah went] It appears evidently from this that Samson was strongly posted, and they thought that no less than three thousand men were necessary to reduce him.

Verses 11, 12. What hast thou done unto us? — Thou hast by these actions punished, not them only, but us, who are sure to smart for it. We are come down to bind thee — Why not rather to fight under thy banner? Because sin dispirits men, nay, infatuates them, and hides from their eyes the things that belong to their peace. That we may deliver thee to the Philistines — This shows how dastardly the tribe of Judah was grown, and how much they stood in fear of the Philistines, that they should so readily give up a person of such extraordinary strength and courage, and who was so capable of annoying their enemies. But they seem not to have considered him as a judge or deliverer appointed for them by God, but as a mere private man, who acted of his own will, and who had rashly stirred up the anger of the Philistines, with whom they were afraid to contend: and Samson, to make them easy, and that no damage might come upon them, consented that they should deliver him bound to the Philistines; knowing that his strength would be sufficient to break whatever cords they should bind him with. Swear unto me — Not that he feared them, or could not as easily have conquered them as he did the host of the Philistines: but because he would be free from all temptation of doing them harm, though it were in his own defence.

11. Went to the top of the rock — Hebrew, went down, that is, from the higher hill country of Judah. Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us — The lion of Judah was cowed by the presence of the enemy; and so utterly humbled and subdued by the Philistines were the leaders of this tribe that they readily became instruments in their hands to capture and deliver up to them their nation’s great champion.

V. 12. Bind thee-Why not rather, to fight under thy banner? Because sin dispirits men, nay, it infatuates them, and hides from their eyes the things that belong to their peace. Swear-Not that he feared them, or could not as easily have conquered them, as he did the host of the Philistines; but because he would be free from all temptation of doing them harm, though it were in his own defence.

Verse 12. That ye will not fall upon me yourselves.] He could not bear the thought of contending with and slaying his own countrymen; for there is no doubt that he could have as easily rescued himself from their hands as from those of the Philistines.

Verses 11, 12. What hast thou done unto us? — Thou hast by these actions punished, not them only, but us, who are sure to smart for it. We are come down to bind thee — Why not rather to fight under thy banner? Because sin dispirits men, nay, infatuates them, and hides from their eyes the things that belong to their peace. That we may deliver thee to the Philistines — This shows how dastardly the tribe of Judah was grown, and how much they stood in fear of the Philistines, that they should so readily give up a person of such extraordinary strength and courage, and who was so capable of annoying their enemies. But they seem not to have considered him as a judge or deliverer appointed for them by God, but as a mere private man, who acted of his own will, and who had rashly stirred up the anger of the Philistines, with whom they were afraid to contend: and Samson, to make them easy, and that no damage might come upon them, consented that they should deliver him bound to the Philistines; knowing that his strength would be sufficient to break whatever cords they should bind him with. Swear unto me — Not that he feared them, or could not as easily have conquered them as he did the host of the Philistines: but because he would be free from all temptation of doing them harm, though it were in his own defence.

12. Swear unto me — He is willing to risk a combat singlehanded with the Philistines, but would not fight or injure his own countrymen. His work was to smite Philistines, not Israelites.

V. 13. And they bound him-Thus was he a type of Christ, who yielded himself to be bound, yea and led as a lamb to the slaughter. Never were men so besotted as these men of Judah, except those who thus treated our blessed Saviour. The rock-That is, from the cave in the rock, in which he had secured himself, out of which he was first brought up, and then carried down from the rock to the plain.

Verse 13. They bound him with two new cords] Probably his hands with one and his legs with the other.

Verse 13. And they bound him — Thus was he a type of Christ, who yielded himself to be bound, yea, and led as a lamb to the slaughter. Never were men so infatuated as these men of Judah, except those who thus treated our blessed Saviour. Up from the rock — That is, from the cave in the rock, in which he had secured himself, out of which he was first brought up, and then carried down from the rock to the plain.

13. Brought him up from the rock — Led him a prisoner out of the cleft which he had made his stronghold.

V. 14. Shouted-Because they had now their enemy, as they supposed, in their hands. Loosed-Heb. were melted; that is, were dissolved, as things which are melted in the fire. This typified the resurrection of Christ, by the power of the Spirit of holiness. In this he loosed the bands of death, it being impossible he should be holden of them. And thus he triumphed over the powers of darkness, which had shouted against him.

Verse 14. When he came unto Lehi] This was the name of the place to which they brought him, either to put him to death, or keep him in perpetual confinement.

Shouted against him] His capture was a matter of public rejoicing.

Verse 14. The Philistines shouted against him — Because they had now, as they supposed, their enemy in their hands. The cords became as flax, &c. — As easily broken by him. His bands loosed from off his hands — Hebrew, were melted; that is, were dissolved as things which are melted in the fire. “This,” says Henry, “typified the resurrection of Christ, by the power of the Spirit of holiness. In this he loosed the bands of death, it being impossible he should be holden of them. And thus he triumphed over the power of darkness, which had shouted against him.”

14. Shouted against him — Raised a joyful shout of triumph to meet him as a bound captive and prisoner. They exulted as if their victory was now complete. The cords… his bands — “The description rises,” says Keil, “to a poetical parallelism, to depict the triumph which Samson celebrated over the Philistines in the power of the Spirit of Jehovah.”

V. 15. New jaw-bone-And therefore the more tough and strong.

Verse 15. He found a new jaw-bone of an ass] I rather think that the word hyrc teriyah, which we translate new, and the margin moist, should be understood as signifying the tabia or putrid state of the ass from which this jawbone was taken. He found there a dead ass in a state of putrefaction; on which account he could the more easily separate the jaw from its integuments; this was a circumstance proper to be recorded by the historian, and a mark of the providence of God. But were we to understand it of a fresh jaw-bone, very lately separated from the head of an ass, the circumstance does not seem worthy of being recorded.

With the jaw-bore of an ass, heaps upon heaps] I cannot see the propriety of this rendering of the Hebrew words חמרתים rwmj החמור בלחי bilchi hachamor, chemor chamorathayim; I believe they should be translated thus:—

“With the jaw-bone of this ass,

an ass (the foal) of two asses;

“With the jaw-bone of this ass

I have slain a thousand men.”

This appears to have been a triumphal song on the occasion; and the words are variously rendered both by the versions, and by expositors.

Verse 15. He found a new jaw-bone of an ass — New, and therefore more tough and strong; and slew a thousand men therewith — Some, to account partly for this wonderful achievement, have observed that these Philistines were, probably, unarmed, and that they were struck with a great panic, thinking that the three thousand men of Judah would aid Samson. But doubtless it is chiefly to be ascribed to the power and providence of God, who thus fulfilled his promise to his people, that one of them should chase a thousand, and that no one should be able to stand before them, Leviticus 26:8; Joshua 23:10.

15. New jawbone — Moist or fresh, as would be the case if the animal had recently died. Such a bone would be less liable to break than one old and thoroughly dried. A thousand men — The host was, doubtless, more numerous, but many escaped. They probably became panicstricken when they saw this fearful foe suddenly break his bands, as with miraculous power, and rush upon them, smiting to the earth every Philistine that he encountered.

V. 16. Slain a thousand men-What could be too hard for him to do, on whom the Spirit of the Lord came mightily? It was strange the men of Judah did now at least come in to his assistance. But he was to be a type of him, who trod the wine-press alone.

Verse 16. Heaps upon heaps, &c. — Hebrew, a heap, two heaps. As much as to say, I have not only slain enow to make one heap, but two or more. I have slain a thousand men — What could be too hard for him to do, on whom the Spirit of the Lord came mightily? This seems like a short hymn or song of triumph, which Samson uttered after he had routed the Philistines. It is strange that the men of Judah did not now, at least, come to his assistance. But he was to be a type of him who trod the wine-press alone.

16. Samson said — Samson’s words form a short poetical distich, and contain, in the Hebrew, a noticeable paronomasia, which may be thus presented in English:

With a jawbone of the ass, a mass, two masses;

With a jawbone of the ass have I slain a thousand men.

It deserves notice, also, that the Hebrew word for mass or heaps is the same as that for ass and the word for thousand means also an ox; so that a further idea of Samson’s pun may be given by rendering:

With a jawbone of the ass, an ass, two asses;

With a jawbone of the ass have I slain an ox of men.

This saying, like the method devised to burn the Philistines’ corn, shows us the extent of Samson’s humour. “His most valiant, his most cruel actions, are done with a smile on his face and a jest in his mouth. It relieves his character from the sternness of Phenician fanaticism. As a peal of hearty laughter often breaks in upon the despondency of individual sorrow, so the joviality of Samson becomes a pledge of the revival of the greatness of his nation. The whole point of the massacre of the thousand Philistines lies in the cleverness with which their clumsy triumph is suddenly turned into discomfiture; and their discomfiture is celebrated by the punning turn of the hero, not forgotten even in the exultation or the weariness of victory.” — Stanley.

V. 17. Ramath-Lehi-That is, the lifting up of the jaw-bone; by contraction Lehi, ver. 14, as Salem is put for Jerusalem.

Verse 17. Ramath-lehi.] The lifting up or casting away of the jaw-bone. Lehi was the name of the place before, Ramath was now added to it here; he lifted up the jaw-bone against his enemies, and slew them.

Verses 17, 18. He called that place Ramath-lehi — That is, The lifting up, or, casting away of the jaw-bone. He gave it this name in order to perpetuate the memory of this action. And he was sore athirst — A natural effect of the great labour he had used. And perhaps there was the hand of God therein, to chastise him for not making mention of God in his song, and to keep him from being proud of his strength. One would have thought that the men of Judah would have met him with bread and wine; but they so little regarded him that he is fainting for want of a draught of water! Thus are the greatest slights often put upon those that do the greatest services! Shall I die — Wilt thou not finish what thou hast begun? Wilt thou undo what thou hast done?

17. Called that place Ramath-lehi — The name means hill or height of the jawbone, and seems to have originated with this triumph of Samson. In this case the name Lehi is used proleptically in verse 9.

V. 18. Sore a thirst-A natural effect of the great pains he had taken. And perhaps there was the hand of God therein, to chastise him for not making mention of God in his song, and to keep him from being proud of his strength. One would have thought that the men of Judah would have met him with bread and wine: but they so little regarded him, that he is fainting for want of a draught of water! Thus are the greatest slights often put upon those that do the greatest services! Shall I die-Wilt thou not finish what thou hast begun? Wilt thou undo what thou hast done.

Verse 18. I die for thirst] The natural consequence of the excessive fatigue he had gone through in this encounter.

Verses 17, 18. He called that place Ramath-lehi — That is, The lifting up, or, casting away of the jaw-bone. He gave it this name in order to perpetuate the memory of this action. And he was sore athirst — A natural effect of the great labour he had used. And perhaps there was the hand of God therein, to chastise him for not making mention of God in his song, and to keep him from being proud of his strength. One would have thought that the men of Judah would have met him with bread and wine; but they so little regarded him that he is fainting for want of a draught of water! Thus are the greatest slights often put upon those that do the greatest services! Shall I die — Wilt thou not finish what thou hast begun? Wilt thou undo what thou hast done?

18. Sore athirst — Having become exhausted by his fierce conflict with the enemy. Called on the Lord — With all his wit and humour he did not forget the source of his strength, nor fail to understand that he was fighting for Jehovah.

V. 19. In the Jaw-Either causing the jaw-bone to send forth water, as the rock formerly did, causing a spring to break forth in that Lehi, mentioned ver. 14, for Lehi is both the name of a place, and a jaw-bone. En-hakkore-That is, the fountain of him that cried for thirst; or, that called upon God for deliverance; that is, the fountain which was given in answer to my prayer. In Lehi-According to this translation, Lehi is the name of a place.

Verse 19. God clave a hollow place that was in the jaw] yjlb rva asher ballechi, that was in Lehi; that is, there was a hollow place in this Lehi, and God caused a fountain to spring up in it. Because the place was hollow it was capable of containing the water that rose up in it, and thus of becoming a well.

En-hakkore] The well of the implorer; this name he gave to the spot where the water rose, in order to perpetuate the bounty of God in affording him this miraculous supply.

Which is in Lehi unto this day.] Consequently not IN the jaw-bone of the ass, a most unfortunate rendering.

Verse 19. God clave a hollow place in the jaw — Or rather, a cavity that was in Lehi, as he had just named the place, verse 17, and as the same word is rendered in the latter part of this verse. “It is very evident,” says Dr. Dodd, “from what follows, that our translation” (namely, in the former part of the verse) “is erroneous; since, if God had caused water to come from the jaw, only for the present satisfying of Samson’s necessities, it is reasonable to suppose that Samson would have given it the name of a well, or fountain, or that the sacred historian would have told us that it remained in Lehi unto this day. The rendering, therefore, of the margin, which is followed by Dr. Waterland, is far the best. Houbigant observes, very properly, that the word rendered hollow place (vtkm, miktesh,) signifies a rock; and he renders the verse thus: ‘Then God clave the rock which was in Lehi, and there came water from thence; which when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived; therefore Samson called the fountain, the fountain of the implorer, which fountain is in Lehi unto this day.’ Modern travellers inform us, that in the suburbs of Eleutheropolis, (in all probability the ancient Lehi,) the fountain which flowed upon this occasion is still remaining, and called to this day the fountain of the jaw; an observation which abundantly confirms the interpretation we have given.” He called the name thereof En-hakkore; that is, the fountain of him that cried for thirst; or, that called on God for deliverance; or, the fountain that was given in answer to prayer. Which is in Lehi — So that our translators take Lehi here to be the name of a place.

Ver. 19. God clave a hollow place that was in the jaw. According to the Vulgate, this hollow place was a socket of the tooth. But how shall we harmonize it with what follows? He called the name thereof En-hakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day. The Chaldee, which is now much followed, takes Lehi, that is, the jaw bone, for the place where Samson slew the thousand men; and En-hakkore, or the well of him that cried, for the rock in which God clave a hollow place to revive the exhausted warrior. Poole thinks this an error in the Chaldee; but Mons. Dubden on visiting the spot, was fully confirmed in opinion, that God had opened a stream from the adjacent grotto, which still flowed at the time when the book of Judges was written. See Harmer, vol. 4:228.

19. God clave a hollow place that was in the jaw — So the ancient versions render, and so many expositors understand that God miraculously caused a stream of water to flow out of the jawbone with which Samson had wrought his massacre. But much more properly is the Hebrew rendered, God clave the hollow place which is in Lehi; and the remark at the end of the verse, that the place or fountain remains in Lehi unto this day, fully confirms our rendering. The meaning obviously is, that God caused a spring or fountain to break out in Lehi, which became permanent, and was existing in the historian’s day. His spirit came again — He was reinvigorated and restored from his exhaustion. He revived — He lived, did not perish from his extreme exhaustion. The whole passage shows that Samson’s effort on that occasion had well nigh exhausted all his bodily powers. Called the name thereof — That is, the name of the fountain in the hollow place — En-hakkore — which means, as the margin has it, the well or the fountain of him that called. It was long known as the fountain that burst forth in answer to Samson’s prayer, but its exact location is not at present known.

V. 20. He judged-That is, he pleaded their cause, and avenged them against the Philistines. Of the Philistines-That is, whilst the Philistines had the power and dominion, from which he was not fully to deliver, but only to begin to deliver them. From this place it is manifest, that in the computation of the times of the judges, the years of servitude or oppression are not to be separated from the years of the judges, but added to them, and are comprehended within them; which proposition is of great importance for clearing this difficult part of scripture-chronology.

Verse 20. He judged Israel-twenty years.] In the margin it is said, He seems to have judged southwest Israel during twenty years of their servitude of the Philistines, Judges 13:1. Instead of hnv µyrc[ esrim shanah, twenty years, the Jerusalem Talmud has שנה ארבעים arbaim shanah, forty years; but this reading is not acknowledged by any MS. or version. According to Calmet, the twenty years of the judicature of Samson began the eighteenth year of the subjection of Israel to the Philistines; and these twenty years are included in the judicature of the high priest Eli.

THE burning of the Philistines’ corn by the means of foxes and firebrands is a very remarkable circumstance; and there is a story told by Ovid, in the 4th book of his Fasti, that bears a striking similitude to this; and is supposed by some learned men to allude to Samson and his foxes. The poet is at a loss to account for this custom, but brings in an old man of Carseoli, with what must have appeared to himself a very unsatisfactory solution. The passage begins as follows:—

Tertia post Hyadas cum luxerit orta, remotas,

Carcere partitos Circus habebit equos

Cur igitur missæ vinctis ardentia tædis

Terga ferant vulpes, causa docenda mihi?

Vid. OVID, Fastor. lib. iv., ver. 679.

The substance of the whole account, which is too long to be transcribed, is this: It was a custom in Rome, celebrated in the month of April to let loose a number of foxes in the circus, with lighted flambeaux on their backs; and the Roman people took pleasure in seeing these animals run about till roasted to death by the flames with which they were enveloped. The poet wishes to know what the origin of this custom was, and is thus informed by an old man of the city of Carseoli: “A frolicksome young lad, about ten years of age, found, near a thicket, a fox that had stolen away many fowls from the neighbouring roosts. Having enveloped his body with hay and straw, he set it on fire, and let the fox loose. The animal, in order to avoid the flames, took to the standing corn which was then ready for the sickle; and the wind, driving the flames with double violence, the crops were everywhere consumed. Though this transaction is long since gone by, the commemoration of it still remains; for, by a law of this city, every fox that is taken is burnt to death. Thus the nation awards to the foxes the punishment of being burnt alive, for the destruction of the ripe corn formerly occasioned by one of these animals.”

Both Serrarius and Bochart reject this origin of the custom given by Ovid; and insist that the custom took its rise from the burning of the Philistines’ corn by Samson’s foxes. The origin ascribed to the custom by the Carseolian they consider as too frivolous and unimportant to be commemorated by a national festival. The time of the observation does not accord with the time of harvest about Rome and in Italy, but it perfectly accords with the time of harvest in Palestine, which was at least as early as April. Nor does the circumstance of the fox wrapped in hay and let loose, the hay being set on fire, bear any proper resemblance to the foxes let loose in the circus with burning brands on their backs.

These learned men therefore conclude that it is much more natural to suppose that the Romans derived the custom from Judea, where probably the burning of the Philistines’ corn might, for some time, have been annually commemorated.

The whole account is certainly very singular, and has not a very satisfactory solution in the old man’s tale, as related by the Roman poet. All public institutions have had their origin in facts; and if, through the lapse of time or loss of records, the original facts be lost, we may legitimately look for them in cases where there is so near a resemblance as in that above.

JUDGES

Verse 20. He judged Israel — That is, he pleaded their cause, and avenged them against the Philistines. In the days of the Philistines — That is, while the Philistines had the power and dominion, from which he was not able fully to deliver, but only to begin to deliver them. From this place it is manifest that, in the computation of the times of the judges, the years of servitude or oppression are not to be separated from the years of the judges, but are comprehended within them; which proposition is of great importance for clearing this difficult part of Scripture chronology.

20. Judged Israel… twenty years — The same statement is repeated at the close of Samson’s history, (Judges 16:31,) but seems to have been introduced here to indicate the time when he first became fully recognized as judge in Israel. His previous exploits had not gained him great influence or recognition as judge outside of the tribe of Dan, as Judah’s action (verse 12) shows. But we may believe when the three thousand men of Judah saw his slaughter of the thousand Philistines, they, too, acknowledged him as judge. He never succeeded, however, in delivering Israel, for his mission was only to begin to deliver them, (Judges 13:5;) so that the term of his office was wholly in the days of the Philistines. The days of the Philistines’ power extended on through the judgeship of Eli, and though at all times they may not have ruled and oppressed Israel, they were a constant source of trouble and fear. Complete deliverance was wrought by Samuel, the great Nazarite, to whom Samson was a sort of John Baptist. 1 Samuel 7:13.