Judges 15

1 Later on [after a while, at a later time], at the time of the wheat [grain] harvest, Samson [meaning like the sun, a Danite and judge of Israel] took a young goat [kid, a juvenile goat] and went to visit his wife [female companion, spouse]. “I want to go to my wife [woman, female partner] in her room [chamber, private quarters],” he said. But her father [male parent, patriarch] would not let him enter [go in, come into]. word study 2 “I was sure [certainly thought, verily believed] that you thoroughly [utterly, completely] hated [felt intense dislike for] her,” said her father [parent, guardian], “so I gave [put, set] her to one of the men [companions, friends] who accompanied [went with, followed] you. Is not [is it not the case that] her younger [smaller, lesser] sister [biological sibling, close relative] more beautiful [pleasant, good] than she? Please [I pray, I ask] take her instead [in place of, as a substitute].” word study 3 Samson said to them, “This time [now, from this day forward] I will be blameless [innocent, free from guilt] in doing harm [evil, a displeasure] to the Philistines [the enemies of Israel, a non-Hebrew people].” word study 4 Then Samson [the strong judge, like the sun] went out and caught three hundred [a multitude of] foxes [burrowers, possibly jackals]. And he took torches [firebrands, burning flames], turned the foxes tail-to-tail [facing each other, in pairs], and fastened a torch [a lamp] between each pair of tails [in the midst, between two]. word study 5 Then he lit the torches [burning flames, fire] and released the foxes into the standing grain [mature crops, unharvested fields] of the Philistines, burning up [consuming with fire, destroying] the piles of grain [stacks of sheaves, harvested crops] and the standing grain [uncut fields, growing crops], as well as the vineyards [gardens for growing vines, orchards] and olive groves [places for olive trees, orchards]. word study 6 “Who [what person, which one] did this?” the Philistines [inhabitants of Philistia, a neighboring region] demanded. “It was Samson [like the sun, a judge of Israel], the son-in-law [husband of a woman from Timnah] of the Timnite [a person from Timnah],” they were told. “For [because, as a result] his wife [woman, female companion] was given [handed over, entrusted] to his companion [close friend, best man].” So the Philistines [enemies of the Israelites] went up [ascended, rose] and burned [set on fire, destroyed] her and her father [male parent, ancestor] to death [until they died, by fire]. word study 7 And Samson [the strong judge, like the sun] told them, “Because you have done [committed, carried out] this, I will not rest [cease, stop] until I have taken [executed, fulfilled] vengeance [punishment, revenge] upon you [against you, on your account].” word study 8 And he struck [smote, attacked] them ruthlessly [hip and thigh, with great force] with a great [large, abundant] slaughter [wound, carnage], and then went down [descended, fell] and stayed [dwelt, remained] in the cave [cleft, branch] at the rock [crag, strong place] of Etam [lair, stronghold]. word study 9 Then the Philistines [a non-Semitic, immigrant people] went up [to ascend, as if to a higher place], camped [pitched their tents, encamped] in Judah [the tribe and region descended from Judah, son of Jacob], and deployed themselves [spread themselves, were spread out] near the town of Lehi [named after the Hebrew word for jaw, a place of significance]. word study 10 “Why [for what reason, on what account] have you attacked [invaded, come up against] us?” said the men [individuals, people] of Judah [the tribe descended from Judah]. The Philistines replied, “We have come [to ascend, to rise up] to arrest [bind, take captive] Samson [meaning like the sun, a Danite and judge of Israel] and pay him back [to do to him as he has done, to requite] for what [the things, the actions] he has done [made, performed] to us [against us, unto us].” word study 11 In response [as a consequence, in reaction], three thousand [a multitude of, a large number] men of Judah [the tribe of Judah, descendants of Judah] went to the cave [a hollowed-out rock, a place of hiding] at the rock [crag, strong and secure place] of Etam [a fortified town, a place of strength], and they asked Samson [the strong one, a Nazarite], “Do you not realize [are you not aware, do you not know] that the Philistines [a neighboring nation, a people of foreign origin] rule [have power, govern] over us [as our overlords, in authority]? What have you done [what action have you taken, what is this that you have done] to us [against us, to our harm]?” “I have done [I have acted, I have taken action] to them [in response to them, as they did to me] what they did [as they had done, in the same manner] to me [in return, as a reciprocal action],” he replied [he said, he answered]. word study 12 But they said to him, “We have come down [to descend, to go to a lower place] to arrest [to bind, to tie up] you and hand [to give, to deliver] you over to the Philistines [the inhabitants of Philistia, a non-Israelite people].” Samson [the strong judge, like the sun] replied, “Swear [to make an oath, to promise] to me that you will not kill [to fall upon, to attack] me yourselves [personally, by your own hands].” word study 13 “No [certainly not],” they answered, “we will not kill you [put you to death], but we will tie you up [bind you fast] securely and hand you over [deliver you] to them [the Philistines].” So they bound him with two [a pair of] new [fresh, recently created] ropes [cords] and led him up [ascended with him] from the rock [the crag, a strong and secure place]. word study 14 When Samson arrived in Lehi [the place of the jawbone], the Philistines [a people from the region of Philistia] came out shouting [with loud cries, triumphantly] against him. And the Spirit [the breath of life] of the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] came mightily [powerfully, with great strength] upon him. The ropes [cords, chains] on his arms [the arm as stretched out; strength, might, power] became like burnt [consumed by fire] flax [a plant used to make linen thread], and the bonds [chains, shackles] broke loose [melted away, wasted] from his hands [an open hand; strength, a side or share]. word study 15 He found [by chance, stumbled upon] the fresh [new, recently made] jawbone [of an animal, a donkey’s cheek] of a donkey [a male donkey], reached out his hand [his open hand] and took it [got, grasped], and struck down [smote, hit] a thousand [a large number, a company of] men [male persons, individuals]. word study 16 Then Samson [the strong judge] said: “With the jawbone [of an ass] of a donkey [a male ass] I have piled them [the Philistines] into heaps [collections, piles]. With the jawbone [the jaw or cheek] of a donkey I have slain [struck, smitten] a thousand [a large number, company] men [male persons, individuals].” word study 17 And when Samson had finished [completed, ended] speaking [communicating, declaring], he cast [threw away, discarded] the jawbone [the jaw, a bone used as a weapon] from his hand [his power, his strength]; and he named [called, designated] that place [location, region] Ramath-lehi [the height of the jawbone]. word study 18 And being very thirsty [sorely athirst, exceedingly dry], Samson cried out to the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God], “You have accomplished this great [large, mighty] deliverance [salvation, rescue] through Your servant [faithful attendant, bondslave]. Must I now [at this time, in this moment] die of thirst [perish from dryness, succumb to dehydration] and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised [those who are unclean, heathen, without covenant]?” word study 19 So God [Elohim, the supreme Being] opened up the hollow place [a depression, a low area] in Lehi, and water [a source of refreshment, spiritual revitalization] came out of it. When Samson drank [received nourishment, was revitalized], his strength [physical and spiritual power] returned, and he was revived [restored to life, renewed]. That is why he named it En-hakkore [the spring of the one who calls out, a place of divine provision], and it remains in Lehi to this day [until the present time, as a lasting testimony]. word study 20 And Samson [led, governed] judged [to vindicate, govern] Israel [the descendants of Jacob] for twenty [a period of two decades] years in the days [a literal 24-hour period or a figurative space of time] of the Philistines [inhabitants of Philistia, a neighboring region]. word study