Translations
Original
Notes
Like other warrior-heroes such as Moses, Deborah, and David, Samson celebrated his victory with poetry. He used a short couplet that combined colorful speech with wordplay. The Hebrew word "lekhi" means both "Lehi" (Judges 15:9) and "jawbone." Similarly, "heaps" and "donkey" share the Hebrew word "khamor."
piled them into heaps: Or made donkeys of them.
Samson's decision to marry a Philistine woman was the Lord's way (Judges 14:4) of starting to address the Philistine threat (see 13:5). One event led to another, marked by three times when the Spirit came strongly upon him (Judges 14:6, 19; 15:14). During these events, Samson was a strong but imperfect hero.
Samson, who gets more attention in the book of Judges than any other judge, is more mysterious than Jephthah. Samson shows great inspiration as a leader. He also represents the unstoppable move toward chaos, which shows the need for a more organized society under a godly ruler.
People
Samson: Israelite judge with great strength from God
Glossary
Topics
Donkey: Domesticated: Jawbone of, Used by Samson with Which to Kill Philistines Lehi: A District of Judah, where Samson Killed a Thousand Philistines with the Jawbone of a Donkey Samson: Kills One-Thousand Philistines with the Jawbone of a Donkey The Philistines: Samson: Slew a Thousand with the Jawbone of an Ass