King James Version
Judges 15
20 verses with commentary
Samson's Revenge
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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's exploits of vengeance. Samson represents both the heights of God-empowered strength and the depths of h...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(1) **Within a while after.**—“After days” (Judges 11:4; Judges 14:8).
**In the time of wheat harvest.**—This, in the *Shephelah, *would be about the middle of May.
**Visited his wife with a kid.**—We find the same present given by Judah to Tamar in Genesis 38:17. We may compare the complaint of the elder brother of the prodigal, given him a kid (Luke 15:29).
**I will go in to my wife.**—Uxoriousn...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Jud 7:9-15. He Is Encouraged by the Dream and the Interpretation of the Barley Cake.
**9-10. Arise, get thee down unto the host ... But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant--**In ancient times it was reckoned no degradation for persons of the highest rank and character to act as spies on an enemy's camp; and so Gideon did on this occasion. But the secret errand was directed by...
Read full commentary →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. take: Heb. let her be thine
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's exploits of vengeance. Samson represents both the heights of God-empowered strength and the depths of human weakness throug...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **Verily thought . . . utterly hated.**—In the emphatic simplicity of the Hebrew style it is, *Saying I said that hating, thou hatest her. *As Samson had left his wife in anger immediately after the wedding feast, the father might have reasonably supposed that he meant finally to desert her.
**I gave her.**—This must mean *I have betrothed her, *for otherwise she would not have still been livi...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Jud 7:9-15. He Is Encouraged by the Dream and the Interpretation of the Barley Cake.
**9-10. Arise, get thee down unto the host ... But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant--**In ancient times it was reckoned no degradation for persons of the highest rank and character to act as spies on an enemy's camp; and so Gideon did on this occasion. But the secret errand was directed by...
Read full commentary →And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure. more: or, blameless from the Philistines though, etc
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure.</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's exploits of vengeance. Samson represents both the heights of God-empowered strength and the depths of human weakness through moral compromise. His Nazirite vow (Numbers 6:1-21) set him apart as holy t...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **Concerning them.**—There is no reason for this rendering. It should be *to them. *The Vulg. has *cui, *and the LXX. “to them,” or “to him.”
**Now***—i.e., *This time. He means that his second act of vengeance will at least have more excuse than his assault on the Askelonites.
**More blameless than the Philistines.**—Rather, *innocent as regards the Philistines. *The words are somewhat obscur...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**11. the outside of the armed men that were in the host--**"Armed," means embodied under the five officers established by the ordinary laws and usages of encampments. The camp seems to have been unprotected by any rampart, since Gideon had no difficulty in reaching and overhearing a conversation, so important to him.
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. firebrands: or, torches
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's exploits of vengeance. Samson represents both the heights of God-empowered strength and the depths of human weakness through moral compromise. His Nazirite vow (Numbers 6:...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **Caught three hundred foxes.**—Rather, *three hundred jackals. *The word *Shualim *is used for both; but it would be difficult to catch three hundred foxes, whereas the jackals are still heard howling in herds about these very regions at night. They must have been still more common in Palestine in ancient days, and hence we find such names as “the land of Shual” (1Samuel 13:17), Hazar-shual (...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**12. the Midianites and the Amalekites ... lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number--**a most graphic description of an Arab encampment. They lay wrapt in sleep, or resting from their day's plunder, while their innumerable camels were stretched round about them.
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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's exploits of vengeance. Samson represents both the heights of God-empowered strength and the depths of human weakness through moral...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **Into the standing corn of the Philistines.**—He probably did this at night, when his actions would be unobserved, and no one would be at hand to quench the flames. We may imagine him watching the trails of fire from his rocky fastness, and exulting as the conflagration reddened the night. The heat of a tropical country makes everything so dry that his plan would be certain to succeed. To bur...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**13. I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian--**This was a characteristic and very expressive dream for an Arab in the circumstances. The rolling down the hill, striking against the tents, and overturning them, naturally enough connected it in his mind with the position and meditated attack of the Israelitish leader. The circumstance of the cake, too, wa...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's exploits of vengeance. Samson represents both the heights of God-empowered stren...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **They answered.**—The phrase is impersonal; but Samson had quite openly threatened vengeance in speaking to the Timnites, and is not likely to have done his work unaided or to have been very reticent about it; nor would the poor oppressed Israelites be inclined to keep his secret when they were confronted with the fury of the Philistines.
**Burnt her and her father with fire.**—Was this meant...
Read full commentary →And Samson said unto them, Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Samson said unto them, Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease.</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's exploits of vengeance. Samson represents both the heights of God-empowered strength and the depths of human weakness through moral compromise. His Nazirite vow (Numbers 6:1-21) set him apart as holy to God...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **Though ye have done this.**—The rendering of these words is involved in the same obscurity as other details of the narrative. They may mean, “If ye act thus, then will I be avenged on you before I have done;” and perhaps the verse implies, “as long as you avenge yourselves, I mean to retaliate.”
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**15. when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation ... he worshipped--**The incident originated in the secret overruling providence of God, and Gideon, from his expression of pious gratitude, regarded it as such. On his mind, as well as that of his followers, it produced the intended effect--that of imparting new animation and impulse to their patriotism.
And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam.</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's exploits of vengeance. Samson represents both the heights of God-empowered strength and the depths of human weakness through moral compromise. His Nazirite vow (Numbers 6:1-21) set him apart as holy to God...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **Hip and thigh.**—There is no doubt that the expression intensifies the words “with a great slaughter;” but the origin of the phrase is a matter of conjecture. It may be purely general, like the German expression “*Arm und Bein,” *or “*er hieb den Feind in die Pfanne,” *or “in *Kochstücke*” (“A blow strikes a fugitive on the hip, and that would be enough; another blow on the thigh ends him”)....
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Jud 7:16-24. His Stratagem against Midian.
**16-22. he divided the three hundred men into three companies--**The object of dividing his forces was, that they might seem to be surrounding the enemy. The pitchers were empty to conceal the torches, and made of earthenware, so as to be easily broken; and the sudden blaze of the held-up lights--the loud echo of the trumpets, and the shouts of Israel, ...
Read full commentary →Samson Defeats the Philistines
Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi.</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's exploits of vengeance. Samson represents both the heights of God-empowered strength and the depths of human weakness through moral compromise. His Nazirite vow (Numbers 6:1-21) set him apart as holy to God, yet his persistent violatio...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **Then the Philistines went up.**—They “went up” in hostile array against the hill-country of Judea to take vengeance for the dreadful injury which Samson had inflicted on them.
**Spread themselves in Lehi.**—The use of the name before the incident from which a place is said to have received the name is found also in the case of Hormah (Numbers 14:45; Numbers 21:3). It was called in full Ramat...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Jud 7:16-24. His Stratagem against Midian.
**16-22. he divided the three hundred men into three companies--**The object of dividing his forces was, that they might seem to be surrounding the enemy. The pitchers were empty to conceal the torches, and made of earthenware, so as to be easily broken; and the sudden blaze of the held-up lights--the loud echo of the trumpets, and the shouts of Israel, ...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's exploits of vengeance. Samson represents both the heights of God-empowered strength and the depths of human weakness through moral compromise. His Nazirite vow (Numbers 6:1-...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **Why are ye come up against us?**—Samson was not of the tribe of Judah, which seems to have been living in contented servitude.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Jud 7:16-24. His Stratagem against Midian.
**16-22. he divided the three hundred men into three companies--**The object of dividing his forces was, that they might seem to be surrounding the enemy. The pitchers were empty to conceal the torches, and made of earthenware, so as to be easily broken; and the sudden blaze of the held-up lights--the loud echo of the trumpets, and the shouts of Israel, ...
Read full commentary →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. went: Heb. went down
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's exploits of vengeance. Samson represents both the heights of...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **Went to the top of the rock Etam.**—Rather, *went down to the cave of the rock Etam. *They would easily gain information as to Samson’s hiding-place.
**What is this that thou hast done unto us?**—The abject condition into which the Lion Tribe had sunk can best be estimated by this *reproach *against the national hero, and still more by their baseness in betraying him. He finds no sympathy. ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Jud 7:16-24. His Stratagem against Midian.
**16-22. he divided the three hundred men into three companies--**The object of dividing his forces was, that they might seem to be surrounding the enemy. The pitchers were empty to conceal the torches, and made of earthenware, so as to be easily broken; and the sudden blaze of the held-up lights--the loud echo of the trumpets, and the shouts of Israel, ...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's exploits of vengeance. Samson represents both the heights of God-empowered strength and the depths of human weakness th...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **Swear unto me, that ye will not fall upon me yourselves.**—It seems as if Samson were parleying with them from some point of vantage which he could easily have defended for a time.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Jud 7:16-24. His Stratagem against Midian.
**16-22. he divided the three hundred men into three companies--**The object of dividing his forces was, that they might seem to be surrounding the enemy. The pitchers were empty to conceal the torches, and made of earthenware, so as to be easily broken; and the sudden blaze of the held-up lights--the loud echo of the trumpets, and the shouts of Israel, ...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's exploits of vengeance. Samson represents both the heights of God-empowered strength and the depths of human wea...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **Brought him up from the rock.**—Again the details are uncertain. Was Samson’s cave down the steep side of a cliff? Such caves are common in Palestine, and such a situation would explain these expressions. (See Josephus, *Antt. xiv.* 15, § 5, where he says that the brigands’ caves were inaccessible against a few defenders, either from below or from above, and that Herod could only attack the...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Jud 7:16-24. His Stratagem against Midian.
**16-22. he divided the three hundred men into three companies--**The object of dividing his forces was, that they might seem to be surrounding the enemy. The pitchers were empty to conceal the torches, and made of earthenware, so as to be easily broken; and the sudden blaze of the held-up lights--the loud echo of the trumpets, and the shouts of Israel, ...
Read full commentary →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. loosed: Heb. were melted
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's exploits of vengeance. Samson represents both the heights of God-empowered streng...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **Shouted against him.**—Rather, *cheered as they came to meet him *(LXX., ἠλάλαξαν εἰς συνάντησιν αὐτοῦ*; *Vulg., *cum vociferantes occurrissent ei*)*. *The verb *heerioo *is an onomatopœia, like our “hurrah.” This was not a war cry, as in 1Samuel 17:20, but a shout of
joy.
**The cords that were upon his arms became as flax.**—It seems clear that the poetical colour and rhythmic structure of...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Jud 7:16-24. His Stratagem against Midian.
**16-22. he divided the three hundred men into three companies--**The object of dividing his forces was, that they might seem to be surrounding the enemy. The pitchers were empty to conceal the torches, and made of earthenware, so as to be easily broken; and the sudden blaze of the held-up lights--the loud echo of the trumpets, and the shouts of Israel, ...
Read full commentary →And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith. new: Heb. moist
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith.</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's exploits of vengeance. Samson represents both the heights of God-empowered strength and the depths of human weakness through moral compromise. His Nazirite vow (Numbers 6:1-21) set him apart as holy to God, ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **A new jawbone.**—Literally, *a moist jawbone—i.e., *the jawbone of an animal recently dead, and before the bone had become brittle. In this instance, at any rate, Samson might feel himself absolved from the rule of ceremonial cleanness, which forbad him as a Nazarite to touch carcases. A jawbone is a mighty magic weapon in one of the Polynesian legends (Grey, *Polyn. Mythology, *p. 35), but...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**23. the men of Israel gathered themselves together--**These were evidently the parties dismissed, who having lingered at a little distance from the scene of contest, now eagerly joined in the pursuit southwestward through the valley.
And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men. heaps upon: Heb. an heap, two heaps
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men.</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's exploits of vengeance. Samson represents both the heights of God-empowered strength and the depths of human weakness through moral compromise. His Nazirite vow (Numbers 6:1-21) set him apart as holy to ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass.**—Here we once more find ourselves in very primitive regions of poetry and paronomasia. Samson’s exultation over his extraordinary achievement finds vent in a sort of punning couplet, which turns entirely on the identity of sound between *chamor, *a heap, and *chamor, *an ass, and the play of *meaning *between *aleph, *a thousand, and *aleph, *an...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**24-25. Gideon sent messengers throughout all mount Ephraim--**The Ephraimites lay on the south and could render seasonable aid.
**Come ... take before them the waters unto Beth-barah--**(See on Jud 3:28). These were the northern fords of the Jordan, to the east-northeast of wady Maleh.
**the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together ... unto Beth-barah--**A **new conflict ensued, in which ...
Read full commentary →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. Ramathlehi: that is, the lifting up of the jawbone, or, casting away of the jawbone
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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 Ramath-lehi.</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's exploits of vengeance. Samson represents both the heights of God-empowered strength and the depths of human weakness through moral compromise. His Nazirite vow (Numbers 6:1-21) ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **Ramath-lehi.**—The marginal rendering, *“*the lifting up of the jawbone” is found in the LXX. and Vulg., and derives Ramath from the verb *rûm,*” to be high.” The more natural explanation is, “the hill of Lehi.” The other marginal rendering, “the casting away of the jawbone,” derives Ramath from the verb *ramah, *“he cast.” This would require the form R*emath.*
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**24-25. Gideon sent messengers throughout all mount Ephraim--**The Ephraimites lay on the south and could render seasonable aid.
**Come ... take before them the waters unto Beth-barah--**(See on Jud 3:28). These were the northern fords of the Jordan, to the east-northeast of wady Maleh.
**the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together ... unto Beth-barah--**A **new conflict ensued, in which ...
Read full commentary →Water from the Jawbone
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?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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?</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's exploits of vengeance. Samson represents both the heights of God-empowered strength and the depths of human weak...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) **He was sore athirst.**—It was in the heat of harvest time, and he had pursued the Philistines till he was exhausted.
**Into the hand.**—Rather, *by the hand.*
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. Enhakkore: that is, the well of him that called or, cried the jaw: or, Lehi
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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 En-hakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day.</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's exploits of vengeance. Samson represents both the heights of God-empowered strength and the ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **Clave an hollow place that was in the jaw.**—Rather, *the *(*fountain called the*)* “socket,” which is in Lehi. *The notion that God made a miraculous fountain in one of the tooth-sockets of the jawbone of the ass is one of the childish misinterpretations with which Scripture exegesis is constantly defaced. Lehi is here the name of the place, and if the fountain is said to have sprung up in...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 8 Jud 8:1-9. The Ephraimites Offended, but Pacified.
**1. the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou served us thus?--**Where this complaint was made, whether before or after the crossing of the Jordan, cannot be determined. By the overthrow of the national enemy, the Ephraimites were benefited as largely as any of the other neighboring tribes. But, piqued at not having been sharers ...
Read full commentary →And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's exploits of vengeance. Samson represents both the heights of God-empowered strength and the depths of human weakness through moral compromise. His Nazirite vow (Numbers 6:1-21) set him apart as holy to God, yet his persistent violations of this vow—co...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(20) **And he judged Israel.**—Probably, as Jephthah had done, with the sort of vague prerogatives of a military hero. Why the verse is found here, as though to close the narrative (comp. Judges 12:7, &c.), and is again repeated in Judges 16:31, we cannot say. The next chapter belongs mainly to Samson’s fall and humiliation. These twenty years probably fell within the contemporary judgeship of Eli...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2-3. he said unto them, What have I done now in comparison of you?--**His mild and truly modest answer breathes the spirit of a great as well as good man, who was calm, collected, and self-possessed in the midst of most exciting scenes. It succeeded in throwing oil on the troubled waters (Pr 16:1), and no wonder, for in the height of generous self-denial, it ascribes to his querulous brethren a ...
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