Judges 15, Jackass with a Jawbone

We continue the story of the impulsive Samson.  Samson has gotten the attention of the Philistines by killing thirty men and robbing them, all part of a need to pay a debt he created at his wedding feast.

Judges 15: 1-5, "I gave her to your friend"

Later on, at the time of wheat harvest, Samson took a young goat and went to visit his wife. He said, "I'm going to my wife's room." 

But her father would not let him go in. "I was so sure you thoroughly hated her," he said, "that I gave her to your friend. Isn't her younger sister more attractive? Take her instead."

Samson said to them, "This time I have a right to get even with the Philistines; I will really harm them."

So he went out and caught three hundred foxes and tied them tail to tail in pairs. He then fastened a torch to every pair of tails, lit the torches and let the foxes loose in the standing grain of the Philistines. He burned up the shocks and standing grain, together with the vineyards and olive groves.

Four months later, as if nothing has happened, Samson shows up at the woman's home and expects to go to her room. The stunned father says that he married her to someone else.  But the woman has a younger sister that is even more attractive.  Samson is insulted and, again, impulsively starts a fight with the Philistines. His revenge, like the events of the last chapter, include control over animals. This time Samson releases foxes with burning tails into the fields and storage sites of the Philistines.

Judges 15: 6-8, Revenge and more revenge

When the Philistines asked, "Who did this?" they were told, "Samson, the Timnite's son-in-law, because his wife was given to his friend." So the Philistines went up and burned her and her father to death.

Samson said to them, "Since you've acted like this, I won't stop until I get my revenge on you." He attacked them viciously and slaughtered many of them. Then he went down and stayed in a cave in the rock of Etam.

The story gets more brutal. Wife and father-in-law, who have attempted to appease Samson at every turn, are killed in revenge for Samson burning the fields. Responding to this escalation, Samson wades into a band of Philistines and kills many of them.  Then he retreats back to Israel. (The Old Testament town of Etam is in Judah, many miles east of Timnath.)

Although the Philistines are always the enemy here, I see no one -- Philistine or Samson -- who could claim to be good.

Judges 15: 9-13, Captured

The Philistines went up and camped in Judah, spreading out near Lehi. The men of Judah asked, "Why have you come to fight us?" 

"We have come to take Samson prisoner," they answered, "to do to him as he did to us."

Then three thousand men from Judah went down to the cave in the rock of Etam and said to Samson, "Don't you realize that the Philistines are rulers over us? What have you done to us?" 

He answered, "I merely did to them what they did to me."

They said to him, "We've come to tie you up and hand you over to the Philistines." 

Samson said, "Swear to me that you won't kill me yourselves."

"Agreed," they answered. "We will only tie you up and hand you over to them. We will not kill you." 

So they bound him with two new ropes and led him up from the rock.

Verse 11 is a mantra for many men (and women), "I merely did to them what they did to me." It never ends well.

The Israelites want to appease the Philistines and avoid violence, so they confront Samson. Samson agrees to be tied up.  The ropes are new, thus strong.

Throughout Samson's life, Israelites are forced to decide what they will do with Samson. Their desire to appease the more powerful Philistines will be in conflict with Samson's violent nature.

Judges 15: 14-17, Killing a thousand with a jawbone

As he approached Lehi, the Philistines came toward him shouting. The Spirit of the LORD came upon him in power. The ropes on his arms became like charred flax, and the bindings dropped from his hands. Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men.

Then Samson said, "With a donkey's jawbone I have made donkeys of them. With a donkey's jawbone I have killed a thousand men."

When he finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone; and the place was called Ramath Lehi.

Samson, tied up, finds that the bonds won't hold him. He has used a lion and foxes before. Here he grabs the fresh jawbone of a donkey and kills Philistines with that simple tool. 

There is wordplay in verse 16. According to the NIV footnotes, Samson's statement, "I have made donkeys of them" could be translated "I have made a heap or two" as the Hebrew for "donkey" sounds like the Hebrew for "heap".

Ramath Lehi means "Jawbone Hill." It is named for this slaughter.

Judges 15: 18-20, En Hakkore

Because he was very thirsty, he cried out to the LORD, "You have given your servant this great victory. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?"

Then God opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When Samson drank, his strength returned and he revived. So the spring was called En Hakkore, and it is still there in Lehi.

Samson led Israel for twenty years in the days of the Philistines.

Samson, after defeating the Philistines, begs for water and is given it. Prior to this, we have seen no indication that Samson acknowledges YHWH in any way.  He seems to be keeping with the Nazirite tradition, but, unlike previous judges, does not seek YHWH's guidance for his actions.

This spring, caused by God's respond in the "hollow" near Lehi, is named En Hakkore, which means "caller's spring". That spring persists at least until the time of the author of Judges.

This chapter ends by saying that Samson lead Israel for twenty years.  We hear no details about this leadership but presumably Samson's violence has forced the Philistines to back away for a time.