Note: Words are shown in their original Hebrew order, which differs from English translations. This reflects the emphasis and structure of Scripture as originally written. Click any word to see its full lexicon entry.
1Later 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.
2“I was sure that you thoroughly hated her,” said her father, “so I gave her to one of the men who accompanied you. Is not her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please take her instead.”
4Then 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.
5Then 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.
6“Who did this?” the Philistines demanded. “It was Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite,” they were told. “For his wife was given to his companion.” So the Philistines went up and burned her and her father to death.
10“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.”
11In 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.
12But they said to him, “We have come down to arrest you and hand you over to the Philistines.” Samson replied, “Swear to me that you will not kill me yourselves.”
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.
14When 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.
18And 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?”
19So 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.
Judges 15 presents a tragic escalation of revenge and personal vendetta that reveals the dangerous consequences of unchecked anger and fleshly impulses. After Samson's wife is given to another man, he initiates a cycle of retaliation against the Philistines that leaves innocent lives destroyed and deepens Israel's oppression. Though God ultimately uses Samson's strength to deliver Israel from their enemies, this chapter illustrates how personal grievances—even when dressed in the language of justice—can cause widespread harm when pursued apart from God's wisdom and restraint.
Samson arrives during harvest with a gift for his wife, but her father refuses him entry, claiming he believed Samson hated her and therefore gave her to another man. Rather than seeking legal recourse or accepting the loss with grace, Samson erupts into rage. His statement in verse 3—that he will now be "blameless" though he does the Philistines "displeasure"—reveals how revenge can rationalize itself as justice. Samson then catches 300 foxes, ties firebrands between their tails, and releases them into the Philistine grain fields, destroying their crops, vineyards, and olives. This is calculated, methodical destruction born from personal hurt—not a spontaneous act of passion.
Application: Samson's response shows how wounded pride can escalate quickly into disproportionate harm. When we nurse grievances and plot retaliation, we deceive ourselves into thinking we are righteous.
The Philistines, learning that Samson caused the destruction, respond by burning his wife and her father to death. This horrific act—killing the very woman Samson sought to reconcile with—demonstrates the tragic reality that vengeance begets more violence and that innocent people suffer in cycles of retaliation. Samson's emotional reaction ("Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged") shows no repentance for his own actions; instead, he vows further bloodshed. He then strikes the Philistines "hip and thigh with a great slaughter" and retreats to the rock Etam. His wife, caught between her husband's pride and her people's rage, pays with her life.
Application: This passage teaches a sobering lesson: our sins and vengeful acts harm others, not just ourselves. Samson's personal vendetta resulted in his wife's death.
The Philistines move against Judah itself, camping at Lehi. When 3,000 men of Judah confront Samson, they express the people's desperation: "Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us?" (v. 11). Israel suffers because of Samson's unchecked actions. Though Samson agrees to be bound and delivered to the Philistines, he extracts a promise that the men of Judah will not kill him themselves, revealing his cunning even in submission.
As the Philistines shout against him, the Spirit of the LORD comes mightily upon Samson. The cords binding him snap like burned flax, and he seizes a donkey's jawbone, slaying 1,000 men. His triumphant song in verse 16 ("With the jawbone of an ass...I have slain a thousand men") celebrates the feat, yet contains an ironic humility: his victory weapon is an animal's bone—not a sword or spear. He names the place Ramathlehi ("Hill of the Jawbone").
Exhausted and dying of thirst, Samson cries out to God, acknowledging that the deliverance came from the LORD, not himself (v. 18). God responds with mercy, providing water from a hollow in the jawbone itself. Samson judges Israel for twenty years during the Philistine oppression—a long, partial victory marked by ongoing conflict.
Application for Today
Judges 15 warns us that personal vengeance, however justified it feels, corrupts our character and harms the innocent. Though God sustained Samson and used him to restrain Israel's oppressors, Samson's strength was constantly undermined by his lack of self-control and wisdom. We are called to leave vengeance to God (Romans 12:19) and to seek His justice and mercy rather than nursing our wounds through retaliation.tion of a cent per chapter.
Study Notes — Judges 15
6 sectionsJudges 15 presents a tragic escalation of revenge and personal vendetta that reveals the dangerous consequences of unchecked anger and fleshly impulses. After Samson's wife is given to another man, he initiates a cycle of retaliation against the Philistines that leaves innocent lives destroyed and deepens Israel's oppression. Though God ultimately uses Samson's strength to deliver Israel from their enemies, this chapter illustrates how personal grievances—even when dressed in the language of justice—can cause widespread harm when pursued apart from God's wisdom and restraint.
Samson arrives during harvest with a gift for his wife, but her father refuses him entry, claiming he believed Samson hated her and therefore gave her to another man. Rather than seeking legal recourse or accepting the loss with grace, Samson erupts into rage. His statement in verse 3—that he will now be "blameless" though he does the Philistines "displeasure"—reveals how revenge can rationalize itself as justice. Samson then catches 300 foxes, ties firebrands between their tails, and releases them into the Philistine grain fields, destroying their crops, vineyards, and olives. This is calculated, methodical destruction born from personal hurt—not a spontaneous act of passion.
Application: Samson's response shows how wounded pride can escalate quickly into disproportionate harm. When we nurse grievances and plot retaliation, we deceive ourselves into thinking we are righteous.
The Philistines, learning that Samson caused the destruction, respond by burning his wife and her father to death. This horrific act—killing the very woman Samson sought to reconcile with—demonstrates the tragic reality that vengeance begets more violence and that innocent people suffer in cycles of retaliation. Samson's emotional reaction ("Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged") shows no repentance for his own actions; instead, he vows further bloodshed. He then strikes the Philistines "hip and thigh with a great slaughter" and retreats to the rock Etam. His wife, caught between her husband's pride and her people's rage, pays with her life.
Application: This passage teaches a sobering lesson: our sins and vengeful acts harm others, not just ourselves. Samson's personal vendetta resulted in his wife's death.
The Philistines move against Judah itself, camping at Lehi. When 3,000 men of Judah confront Samson, they express the people's desperation: "Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us?" (v. 11). Israel suffers because of Samson's unchecked actions. Though Samson agrees to be bound and delivered to the Philistines, he extracts a promise that the men of Judah will not kill him themselves, revealing his cunning even in submission.
As the Philistines shout against him, the Spirit of the LORD comes mightily upon Samson. The cords binding him snap like burned flax, and he seizes a donkey's jawbone, slaying 1,000 men. His triumphant song in verse 16 ("With the jawbone of an ass...I have slain a thousand men") celebrates the feat, yet contains an ironic humility: his victory weapon is an animal's bone—not a sword or spear. He names the place Ramathlehi ("Hill of the Jawbone").
Exhausted and dying of thirst, Samson cries out to God, acknowledging that the deliverance came from the LORD, not himself (v. 18). God responds with mercy, providing water from a hollow in the jawbone itself. Samson judges Israel for twenty years during the Philistine oppression—a long, partial victory marked by ongoing conflict.
Judges 15 warns us that personal vengeance, however justified it feels, corrupts our character and harms the innocent. Though God sustained Samson and used him to restrain Israel's oppressors, Samson's strength was constantly undermined by his lack of self-control and wisdom. We are called to leave vengeance to God (Romans 12:19) and to seek His justice and mercy rather than nursing our wounds through retaliation.tion of a cent per chapter.