Samson discovers his wife has been given to another man. He ties torches to foxes' tails and burns the Philistine grain fields. The Philistines retaliate by burning his wife. Samson slaughters them, then kills a thousand with a donkey's jawbone and is miraculously given water from the rock.
What Makes This Chapter Remarkable
The escalation is relentless: personal grievance becomes agricultural terrorism becomes mass slaughter. The jawbone of a donkey (lechi hachamor, v. 15) — the most contemptible weapon imaginable — becomes an instrument of divine deliverance. Samson's naming of the site Ramath-lehi ('Jawbone Height,' v. 17) and his desperate prayer for water (v. 18) are his only recorded prayer until his death — and God answers by splitting open the hollow place, producing water from the very jawbone.
Translation Friction
The three hundred foxes (or jackals — shualim can mean either) tied tail-to-tail with torches (v. 4) strain modern credibility, but the text presents it without qualification. We rendered it as the Hebrew gives it. The place name En-haqore (v. 19, 'spring of the one who called') commemorates Samson's prayer — the name preserves his moment of dependence on God in a life characterized by self-reliance.
Connections
Water from rock echoes Moses at Meribah (Exodus 17:6, Numbers 20:11). The jawbone weapon anticipates David's unconventional sling against Goliath (1 Samuel 17). The Philistine-burning-his-wife motif (v. 6) inverts: the Philistines destroy the very person whose betrayal they exploited. The 'he judged Israel twenty years' (v. 20) places Samson in the institutional framework despite his personal chaos.
Some time later, during the wheat harvest, Samson went to visit his wife, bringing a young goat. He said, "Let me go in to my wife in her room." But her father would not let him enter.
KJV But it came to pass within a while after, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he said, I will go in to my wife into the chamber. But her father would not suffer him to go in.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Bi-yemei qetsir chittim ('in the days of the wheat harvest') — the timing is significant for two reasons: the dry, ripe grain fields will soon become the target of Samson's fiery revenge (vv. 4-5), and the wheat harvest was a time of celebration and movement. Samson brings a gedi izzim ('a young goat') — a gift intended to reconcile. He expects to resume the marriage as though nothing happened. The father's refusal reveals what occurred during Samson's absence: his wife has been given to another man (14:20). Samson does not yet know this.
Her father said, "I was sure you completely despised her, so I gave her to your companion. But isn't her younger sister more attractive? Take her instead."
KJV And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion: is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Amor amarti ki sano senetah ('saying I said that hating you hated her') — double infinitive absolutes in both clauses intensify the father's certainty. He genuinely believed Samson had permanently rejected his daughter. The offer of the younger sister — ha-lo achotah ha-qetannah tovah mimmennah ('isn't her younger sister better/more beautiful than she?') — is meant to placate but instead enrages. The substitution of one daughter for another echoes Laban's swap of Leah for Rachel (Genesis 29:26). For Samson, the insult is compounded: his wife was given to his mere'a ('companion, best man'), and now he is offered a consolation prize.
Samson said to them, "This time I am justified in what I do to the Philistines — when I bring harm upon them."
KJV And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Niqqeiti ha-pa'am mi-Pelishtim ('I am innocent/free of blame this time from the Philistines') — Samson claims moral justification. The verb naqah ('to be clean, innocent, free of guilt') is a legal term — he is declaring himself not liable for what follows. The phrase ki oseh ani immam ra'ah ('when I do them harm/evil') frankly announces his intention to retaliate. Samson operates on a personal code of proportional justice: they wronged him, so he has the right to wrong them. The narrator neither endorses nor condemns this reasoning — the events simply unfold.
Samson went out and caught three hundred foxes. He took torches and tied the foxes tail to tail, placing one torch between every pair of tails.
KJV And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Shelosh me'ot shu'alim ('three hundred foxes') — the word shu'al can mean either 'fox' or 'jackal.' Jackals are more likely since they travel in packs (foxes are solitary), making mass capture more feasible. The number three hundred may be symbolic (Gideon's three hundred warriors, 7:7) or literal. The engineering is deliberate: va-yefen zanav el zanav ('he turned tail to tail') — pairs of animals tied together with a lappid ('torch, firebrand') between them. The panicked animals would run erratically through the fields, spreading fire in unpredictable directions — a devastating incendiary tactic.
He set the torches on fire and released the foxes into the Philistines' standing grain. He burned up the harvested sheaves along with the standing grain, and even the vineyards and olive groves.
KJV And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and olives.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The destruction is comprehensive: gadish ('harvested sheaves' — grain already cut and stacked), qamah ('standing grain' — still in the field), kerem ('vineyard'), and zayit ('olive grove'). This represents the Philistines' entire agricultural economy — their present harvest, their future crop, their long-term investment in orchards and vineyards. Olive trees take decades to mature; their loss is generational devastation. The timing during wheat harvest (v. 1) means the grain is dry and burns easily. Samson's personal grievance has become an economic catastrophe for an entire region.
The Philistines asked, "Who did this?" They were told, "Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite — because the man took his wife and gave her to his companion." So the Philistines went up and burned her and her father alive.
KJV Then the Philistines said, Who hath done this? And they answered, Samson, the son in law of the Timnite, because he had taken his wife, and given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The cycle of violence escalates horribly. The Philistines identify Samson as the culprit (chatan ha-Timni, 'the son-in-law of the Timnite') and trace the cause to the wife's father giving her away. Their response — va-yisrefu otah ve-et avihah ba-esh ('they burned her and her father with fire') — fulfills the exact threat the thirty companions made in 14:15. The woman was caught between Samson and the Philistines, and now she dies the very death she was threatened with. The cruel irony: she betrayed Samson's riddle to save herself from burning, only to be burned anyway.
Samson said to them, "Since you have done this, I swear I will take revenge on you — and only then will I stop."
KJV And Samson said unto them, Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Im ta'asun kazot ki im niqqamti vakhem ('if you do this, I will surely take vengeance on you') — the conditional structure followed by the emphatic ki im creates an oath-like declaration. The verb naqam ('to take vengeance') is personal, not judicial — Samson acts as a one-man retaliatory force, not as a judge executing divine justice. His promise ve-achar echdal ('and after that I will stop') is ominously open-ended — how much violence satisfies the requirement of 'enough'? The spiral of violence shows no one willing to break the cycle.
He struck them down ruthlessly with a great slaughter. Then he went down and stayed in a cave in the rock of Etam.
KJV And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Va-yakh otam shoq al yarekh makkah gedolah ('he struck them leg upon thigh, a great blow') — the idiom shoq al yarekh ('hip and thigh' or 'leg upon thigh') suggests a thorough, devastating beating. The exact meaning is debated, but the sense is unmistakable: total, merciless violence. After the slaughter, Samson retreats to se'if sela Eitam ('the cleft/cave of the rock of Etam') — he becomes a fugitive hiding in the wilderness, ironically resembling the Israelites who hid from Midian in caves (6:2). The deliverer has become an outlaw.
The Philistines came up and camped in Judah, deploying their forces at Lehi.
KJV Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Va-ya'alu Felishtim va-yachanu bi-Yehudah ('the Philistines came up and camped in Judah') — the Philistine military response to Samson's raids now threatens all of Judah. The escalation has moved from personal vendetta to regional military crisis. Va-yinnatoshu ba-Lechi ('they spread themselves at Lehi') — the verb natash means 'to spread out' in military formation. Lechi, meaning 'jawbone,' foreshadows what will happen there (v. 15). The name is either pre-existing or given retroactively because of the coming events.
The men of Judah asked, "Why have you come up against us?" They answered, "We have come up to bind Samson — to do to him what he has done to us."
KJV And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against us? And they answered, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he hath done to us.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The men of Judah ask the question lamah alitem aleinu ('why have you come up against us?') — they view the Philistine incursion as an attack on themselves, not as a response to Samson. The Philistines' answer le-esor et Shimshon ('to bind Samson') makes clear: this is about one man. The phrase la'asot lo ka-asher asah lanu ('to do to him as he did to us') invokes proportional retaliation — the lex talionis. What is devastating here is that the men of Judah will cooperate with their oppressors to hand over their own judge.
Three thousand men of Judah went down to the cave in the rock of Etam and said to Samson, "Don't you realize that the Philistines are ruling over us? What have you done to us?" He said to them, "What they did to me, I did to them."
KJV Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? what is this that thou hast done unto us? And he said unto them, As they did unto me, so have I done unto them.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Sheloshet alafim ish mi-Yehudah ('three thousand men from Judah') — a massive delegation sent not to rescue Samson but to surrender him. Their accusation ha-lo yadata ki moshelim banu Pelishtim ('don't you know the Philistines rule over us?') reveals a people who have accepted subjugation as the status quo. They blame Samson for disrupting a manageable oppression. His response ka-asher asu li ken asiti lahem ('as they did to me, so I did to them') reduces the entire conflict to personal reciprocity. Neither Samson nor the men of Judah speak in terms of God's purposes, covenant, or deliverance. The theological vacuum is deafening.
They said to him, "We have come down to tie you up and hand you over to the Philistines." Samson said to them, "Swear to me that you yourselves will not attack me."
KJV And they said unto him, We are come down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said unto them, Swear unto me, that ye will not fall upon me yourselves.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Le-esorekha yaradnu letittekha ve-yad Pelishtim ('to bind you we came down to give you into the hand of the Philistines') — Judah's own men will deliver their judge to the enemy. The parallel with later events is unmistakable: Israel handing its deliverer to the ruling power. Samson's condition — hishave'u li pen tifge'un bi attem ('swear to me that you yourselves will not strike me') — reveals where the real danger lies. He does not fear the Philistines; he fears his own people. He will go willingly, bound, if Judah promises not to kill him directly.
They said to him, "No — we will only tie you up securely and hand you over to them. We certainly will not kill you." So they bound him with two new ropes and brought him up from the rock.
KJV And they spake unto him, saying, No; but we will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand: but surely we will not kill thee. And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the rock.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Asor ne'esorekha ('binding we will bind you') — the infinitive absolute emphasizes the thoroughness of the binding. The assurance hamet lo nemitekha ('killing we will not kill you') uses the same emphatic construction for the promise of safety. Two new ropes (shenayim avotot chadashot) — the newness implies maximum strength, ropes not weakened by prior use. The narrator builds tension: Samson is bound with fresh, strong rope, surrounded by three thousand of his own countrymen, about to be handed to the Philistines. Everything points to his doom — except the Spirit.
When he arrived at Lehi, the Philistines came shouting to meet him. The Spirit of the LORD rushed upon him, and the ropes on his arms became like flax burned by fire — his bonds melted off his hands.
KJV And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands.
"the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon him"—The sudden, forceful empowerment of the divine Spirit enabling superhuman action
This is the third and final time the Spirit 'rushes upon' Samson (14:6, 14:19, 15:14). After this, the Spirit's empowerment is never described again. The next time Samson's relationship with the LORD is mentioned, it will be to say that 'the LORD had departed from him' (16:20). The trajectory from 'the Spirit rushing upon' to 'the LORD departing from' is the arc of Samson's entire life.
Translator Notes
Va-titslach alav ruach YHWH — the third and final 'rushing' of the Spirit upon Samson (cf. 14:6, 14:19). Each occurrence triggers superhuman physical action. The ropes become ka-pishtim asher ba'aru va-esh ('like flax that has burned in fire') — flax (pishtim) is linen fiber, and when burned it disintegrates into nothing. Va-yimmassu essurav me-al yadav ('his bonds melted from his hands') — the verb masas ('to melt, dissolve') suggests the ropes did not break but dissolved, as if consumed by invisible fire. The Spirit's power is portrayed as an internal fire that destroys external restraints.
He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out and grabbed it, and struck down a thousand men with it.
KJV And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith.
Notes & Key Terms
1 term
Key Terms
לְחִי חֲמוֹרlechi chamor
"jawbone of a donkey"—The fresh jawbone of a donkey, used as an improvised weapon — also a source of Nazirite defilement through contact with the dead
The jawbone is simultaneously Samson's weapon and his violation. God's power flows through an object that represents the breaking of God's own law. This paradox encapsulates the Samson narrative: God achieves His purposes through a deeply compromised vessel. The choice of a donkey jawbone — the humblest and most degrading of weapons — also echoes the theme that God uses the foolish things to shame the strong.
Translator Notes
Lechi chamor teriyah ('a jawbone of a donkey, fresh/moist') — the jawbone is teriyah ('fresh, moist'), meaning it came from a recently dead animal. This constitutes yet another Nazirite violation: contact with a dead body (Numbers 6:6). The irony is devastating — the instrument of Samson's greatest military triumph is itself a source of ritual defilement. Elef ish ('a thousand men') — whether literal or a round number indicating a massive victory, the scale is extraordinary. A single man with an improvised weapon from a dead animal defeats an army. The Spirit empowers through the profane.
Samson said: "With the jawbone of a donkey — heaps upon heaps! With the jawbone of a donkey I have struck down a thousand men!"
KJV And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Samson's victory song uses elaborate wordplay: bi-lechi ha-chamor chamor chamoratayim ('with the jawbone of a donkey, a donkey, two donkey-loads' or 'a heap, two heaps'). The word chamor can mean both 'donkey' and 'heap' — Samson puns on the weapon's origin. The poetic structure is a brief victory hymn, similar to the Song of the Sea (Exodus 15) or Deborah's song (Judges 5), but with a critical difference: Samson credits himself, not God. Hikketi elef ish ('I struck down a thousand men') — the first person pronoun is emphatic. He attributes the victory to his own power, never mentioning the Spirit that enabled it.
When he finished speaking, he threw the jawbone aside, and that place was called Ramath-Lehi.
KJV And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place Ramathlehi.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Va-yashklekh ha-lechi mi-yado ('he threw the jawbone from his hand') — after the battle, Samson discards the weapon. The naming — Ramat Lechi ('Jawbone Hill' or 'the height of the jawbone') — follows the biblical pattern of memorial place-naming. The Hebrew ramat means 'height, hill,' and lechi means 'jawbone' or 'cheek.' The name preserves the memory of the event in the landscape itself. Such etiological naming is common in Judges (cf. Bochim, 2:5; YHWH-Shalom, 6:24).
He became desperately thirsty and called out to the LORD, saying, "You gave this great victory through your servant, and now am I going to die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?"
KJV And he was sore athirst, and called on the LORD, and said, Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant, and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Va-yitsma me'od va-yiqra el YHWH ('he was very thirsty and he called out to the LORD') — this is the only recorded prayer by Samson before his final prayer in 16:28. After boasting of his own achievement in verse 16, extreme thirst forces him to acknowledge God. Attah natatta be-yad avdekha ('You gave into the hand of your servant') — he now credits God for the victory, calling himself avdekha ('your servant'). The shift from 'I struck down' (v. 16) to 'You gave' (v. 18) is prompted by need, not worship. His concern is still self-preservation: pen efol be-yad ha-arelim ('lest I fall into the hand of the uncircumcised').
God split open the hollow place at Lehi, and water flowed from it. He drank, his strength returned, and he revived. That is why it was called En-Hakkore, which is at Lehi to this day.
KJV But God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name thereof Enhakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day.
Notes & Key Terms
1 term
Key Terms
עֵין הַקּוֹרֵאEin ha-Qore
"En-Hakkore"—'The spring of the one who calls out' — a memorial name for the water source God provided at Lehi
The name encodes two realities: Samson called out (qara) to God in desperation, and God answered with water. The spring becomes a permanent witness to both Samson's need and God's provision. That it exists 'to this day' (ad ha-yom ha-zeh) anchors the narrative in the readers' own geography — they could visit the place and see the evidence.
Translator Notes
Va-yivqa Elohim et ha-makhtesh asher ba-Lechi ('God split open the hollow place that is at Lehi') — the makhtesh is a mortar-shaped depression in rock. God provides water from stone, echoing Moses at Horeb (Exodus 17:6) and Meribah (Numbers 20:11). The water revives Samson: va-tashov rucho va-yechi ('his spirit returned and he lived'). The name Ein ha-Qore means either 'the spring of the one who calls' (commemorating Samson's prayer) or 'the spring of the partridge' (a bird associated with rocky terrain). The provision of water after military victory connects Samson's experience to Israel's wilderness narrative — God sustains His warrior even when that warrior is deeply flawed.
He judged Israel during the time of the Philistines for twenty years.
KJV And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Va-yishpot et Yisra'el bi-yemei Pelishtim esrim shanah ('he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years') — this formula usually closes a judge's narrative, but here it appears mid-story. Chapter 16 still lies ahead. The phrase bi-yemei Pelishtim ('in the days of the Philistines') is unique — it acknowledges that Philistine domination continued throughout Samson's judgeship. He judged during the oppression, not after ending it. The twenty years may represent a period of relative stability before the events of chapter 16, or it may be the narrator's way of distinguishing Samson's time as judge from the personal disasters that conclude his life.