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Judges 15
1But it happened after a while, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a young goat; and he said, "I will go in to my wife into the room." But her father wouldn't allow him to go in.
2Her father said, "I most certainly thought that you had utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to your companion. Isn't her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please take her, instead."
3Samson said to them, "This time I will be blameless in regard of the Philistines, when I harm them."
4Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took torches, and turned tail to tail, and put a torch in the midst between every two tails.
5When he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing grain of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks and the standing grain, and also the olive groves.
6Then the Philistines said, "Who has done this?" They said, "Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken his wife, and given her to his companion." The Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire.
7Samson said to them, "If you behave like this, surely I will be avenged of you, and after that I will cease."
8He struck them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and lived in the cleft of the rock of Etam.
9Then the Philistines went up, and encamped in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi.
10The men of Judah said, "Why have you come up against us?" They said, "We have come up to bind Samson, to do to him as he has done to us."
11Then three thousand men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and said to Samson, "Don't you know that the Philistines are rulers over us? What then is this that you have done to us?" He said to them, "As they did to me, so have I done to them."
12They said to him, "We have come down to bind you, that we may deliver you into the hand of the Philistines." Samson said to them, "Swear to me that you will not fall on me yourselves."
13They spoke to him, saying, "No; but we will bind you fast, and deliver you into their hand; but surely we will not kill you." They bound him with two new ropes, and brought him up from the rock.
14When he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they met him: and the Spirit of Yahweh came mightily on him, and the ropes that were on his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands dropped from off his hands.
15He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, and put forth his hand, and took it, and struck a thousand men therewith.
16Samson said, "With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps on heaps; with the jawbone of a donkey I have struck a thousand men."
17It happened, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand; and that place was called Ramath Lehi.
18He was very thirsty, and called on Yahweh, and said, "You have given this great deliverance by the hand of your servant; and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?"
19But God split the hollow place that is in Lehi, and water came out of it. When he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: therefore its name was called En Hakkore, which is in Lehi, to this day.
20He judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.
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Answers To Prayer: Samson Judges 15:18, 19
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?” / So God opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When Samson drank, his strength returned, and he was revived. That is why he named it En-hakkore, and it remains in Lehi to this day.
Arson by Samson Judges 15:4, 5
Then Samson went out and caught three hundred foxes. And he took torches, turned the foxes tail-to-tail, and fastened a torch between each pair of tails. / Then he lit the torches and released the foxes into the standing grain of the Philistines, burning up the piles of grain and the standing grain, as well as the vineyards and olive groves.
Cord: Ancient Uses of Binding Prisoners Judges 15:13
“No,” they answered, “we will not kill you, but we will tie you up securely and hand you over to them.” So they bound him with two new ropes and led him up from the rock.
Corn: Shocks of, Burnt Judges 15:5
Then he lit the torches and released the foxes into the standing grain of the Philistines, burning up the piles of grain and the standing grain, as well as the vineyards and olive groves.
Donkey: Domesticated: Jawbone of, Used by Samson with Which to Kill Philistines Judges 15:15–17
He found the fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand and took it, and struck down a thousand men. / 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.” / And when Samson had finished speaking, he cast the jawbone from his hand; and he named that place Ramath-lehi.
En-Hakkore: A Spring, Miraculously Supplied to Samson Judges 15:19
So God opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When Samson drank, his strength returned, and he was revived. That is why he named it En-hakkore, and it remains in Lehi to this day.
Etam: A Rock where Samson Was Bound and Delivered to the Philistines Judges 15:8
And he struck them ruthlessly with a great slaughter, and then went down and stayed in the cave at the rock of Etam.
Fire: Consuming Judges 15:4, 5
Then Samson went out and caught three hundred foxes. And he took torches, turned the foxes tail-to-tail, and fastened a torch between each pair of tails. / Then he lit the torches and released the foxes into the standing grain of the Philistines, burning up the piles of grain and the standing grain, as well as the vineyards and olive groves.
Firebrand used by Samson Judges 15:4
Then Samson went out and caught three hundred foxes. And he took torches, turned the foxes tail-to-tail, and fastened a torch between each pair of tails.
Fox: Samson Uses, to Burn the Field of the Philistines Judges 15:4
Then Samson went out and caught three hundred foxes. And he took torches, turned the foxes tail-to-tail, and fastened a torch between each pair of tails.
Grape: Cultivated in Vineyards by the Philistines Judges 15:5
Then he lit the torches and released the foxes into the standing grain of the Philistines, burning up the piles of grain and the standing grain, as well as the vineyards and olive groves.
Israel: Under the Judges: Led by Samson for Twenty Years Judges 15:1
Later on, at the time of the wheat harvest, Samson took a young goat and went to visit his wife. “I want to go to my wife in her room,” he said. But her father would not let him enter.
Judge: Samson Judges 15:1
Later on, at the time of the wheat harvest, Samson took a young goat and went to visit his wife. “I want to go to my wife in her room,” he said. But her father would not let him enter.
Lehi: A District of Judah, where Samson Killed a Thousand Philistines with the Jawbone of a Donkey Judges 15:9–19
Then the Philistines went up, camped in Judah, and deployed themselves near the town of Lehi. / “Why have you attacked us?” said the men of Judah. The Philistines replied, “We have come to arrest Samson and pay him back for what he has done to us.” / In response, three thousand men of Judah went to the cave at the rock of Etam, and they asked Samson, “Do you not realize that the Philistines rule over us? What have you done to us?” “I have done to them what they did to me,” he replied.
Miracles Wrought Through Servants of God: Samson: Philistines Killed Judges 15:15
He found the fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand and took it, and struck down a thousand men.
Miracles: Catalogue of Samson Supplied with Water Judges 15:19
So God opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When Samson drank, his strength returned, and he was revived. That is why he named it En-hakkore, and it remains in Lehi to this day.
Philistines for Their History During the Leadership of Samson See Judges 15:1
Later on, at the time of the wheat harvest, Samson took a young goat and went to visit his wife. “I want to go to my wife in her room,” he said. But her father would not let him enter.
Ramath-Lehi: The Place where Samson Killed One-Thousand Philistines with the Jawbone of a Donkey Judges 15:17
And when Samson had finished speaking, he cast the jawbone from his hand; and he named that place Ramath-lehi.
Revenge by Samson Judges 15:7, 8
And Samson told them, “Because you have done this, I will not rest until I have taken vengeance upon you.” / And he struck them ruthlessly with a great slaughter, and then went down and stayed in the cave at the rock of Etam.
Revenge: Samson Judges 15:7, 8
And Samson told them, “Because you have done this, I will not rest until I have taken vengeance upon you.” / And he struck them ruthlessly with a great slaughter, and then went down and stayed in the cave at the rock of Etam.
Rocks: Etam Judges 15:8
And he struck them ruthlessly with a great slaughter, and then went down and stayed in the cave at the rock of Etam.
Samson is Avenged for the Estrangement of his Wife Judges 15:3–8
Samson said to them, “This time I will be blameless in doing harm to the Philistines.” / Then Samson went out and caught three hundred foxes. And he took torches, turned the foxes tail-to-tail, and fastened a torch between each pair of tails. / Then he lit the torches and released the foxes into the standing grain of the Philistines, burning up the piles of grain and the standing grain, as well as the vineyards and olive groves.
Samson: His Great Strength Judges 15:7–14
And Samson told them, “Because you have done this, I will not rest until I have taken vengeance upon you.” / And he struck them ruthlessly with a great slaughter, and then went down and stayed in the cave at the rock of Etam. / Then the Philistines went up, camped in Judah, and deployed themselves near the town of Lehi.
Samson: Kills One-Thousand Philistines with the Jawbone of a Donkey Judges 15:13–17
“No,” they answered, “we will not kill you, but we will tie you up securely and hand you over to them.” So they bound him with two new ropes and led him up from the rock. / 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. / He found the fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand and took it, and struck down a thousand men.
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Judges 15:1-8 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.
Judges 15:9-17 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.
Judges 15:18-20 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.