Teks -- Judges 15:1-4 (NET)

Samson Versus the Philistines

15:1 Sometime later, during the wheat harvest, Samson took a young goat as a gift and went to visit his bride. He said to her father, “I want to have sex with my bride in her bedroom!” But her father would not let him enter. 15:2 Her father said, “I really thought you absolutely despised her, so I gave her to your best man. Her younger sister is more attractive than she is. Take her instead!” 15:3 Samson said to them, “This time I am justified in doing the Philistines harm!” 15:4 Samson went and captured three hundred jackals and got some torches. He tied the jackals in pairs by their tails and then tied a torch to each pair.

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Kata/Frasa (per frasa)

Wesley: Jdg 15:1 - Wheat harvest

Which was the proper season for what follows.

Wesley: Jdg 15:1 - With a kid

As a token of reconciliation.

Wesley: Jdg 15:1 - Into the chamber

Into her chamber, which the women had separate from the mens.

Wesley: Jdg 15:2 - Hated her

Because thou didst desert her: but this was no sufficient cause; for he should have endeavored a reconciliation, and not have disposed of another man's wife without his consent.

Wesley: Jdg 15:3 - Now shall I, &c.

_Because they have first provoked me by an irreparable injury: but although this may look like an act of private revenge; yet it is plain Samson acted as a judge (for so he was) and as an avenger of the publick injuries of his people.

Wesley: Jdg 15:4 - Foxes

Of which there were great numbers in Canaan. But it is not said that Samson caught them all, either at one time, or by his own hands; for being so eminent a person, and the judge of Israel, he might require assistance of as many persons as he pleased. And it must be allowed, that the God who made the world, and by his singular providence watched over Israel, and intended them deliverance at this time, could easily dispose things so that they might be taken. He chose to do this not by his brethren, whom he would preserve from the hatred and mischief which it might have occasioned them, but by brute creatures, thereby to add scorn to their calamity, and particularly by foxes; partly, because they were fittest for the purpose, being creatures very fearful of fire; and having such tails as the fire - brands might most conveniently be tied to; and not going directly forward, but crookedly, whereby the fire would be dispersed in more places.

Wesley: Jdg 15:4 - Fire

brands - Made of such matter as would quickly take fire, and keep it for a long time; which was easy to procure.

Wesley: Jdg 15:4 - And put, &c.

That the foxes might not make too much haste, nor run into their holes, but one of them might delay another, and so continue longer in the places where they were to do execution.

JFB: Jdg 15:1 - in the time of wheat harvest

That is, about the end of our April, or the beginning of our May. The shocks of grain were then gathered into heaps, and lying on the field or on the threshing-floors. It was the dry season, dry far beyond our experience, and the grain in a most combustible state.

JFB: Jdg 15:1 - Samson visited his wife with a kid

It is usual for a visitor in the East to carry some present; in this case, it might be not only as a token of civility, but of reconciliation.

JFB: Jdg 15:1 - he said

That is, to himself. It was his secret purpose.

JFB: Jdg 15:1 - into the chamber

The female apartments or harem.

JFB: Jdg 15:2 - her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her

This allegation was a mere sham, a flimsy pretext to excuse his refusal of admittance. The proposal he made of a marriage with her younger sister was but an insult to Samson, and one which it was unlawful for an Israelite to accept (Lev 18:18).

JFB: Jdg 15:3 - Samson said . . ., Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines

This nefarious conduct provoked the hero's just indignation, and he resolved to take signal vengeance.

JFB: Jdg 15:4-5 - went and caught three hundred foxes

Rather, "jackals"; an animal between a wolf and a fox, which, unlike our fox, a solitary creature, prowls in large packs or herds and abounds in the mountains of Palestine. The collection of so great a number would require both time and assistance.

JFB: Jdg 15:4-5 - took firebrands

Torches or matches which would burn slowly, retaining the fire, and blaze fiercely when blown by the wind. He put two jackals together, tail by tail, and fastened tightly a fire match between them. At nightfall he lighted the firebrand and sent each pair successively down from the hills, into the "Shefala," or plain of Philistia, lying on the borders of Dan and Judah, a rich and extensive corn district. The pain caused by the fire would make the animals toss about to a wide extent, kindling one great conflagration. But no one could render assistance to his neighbor: the devastation was so general, the panic would be so great.

Clarke: Jdg 15:1 - Visited his wife with a kid

Visited his wife with a kid - On her betraying him, he had, no doubt, left her in great disgust. After some time his affection appears to have returned; and, taking a kid, or perhaps a fawn, as a present, he goes to make reconciliation, and finds her given to his brideman; probably, the person to whom she betrayed his riddle.

Clarke: Jdg 15:2 - Thou hadst utterly hated her

Thou hadst utterly hated her - As he was conscious she had given him great cause so to do

Clarke: Jdg 15:2 - Her younger sister

Her younger sister - The father appears to have been perfectly sincere in this offer.

Clarke: Jdg 15:4 - Went and caught three hundred foxes

Went and caught three hundred foxes - There has been much controversy concerning the meaning of the term שועלים shualim , some supposing it to mean foxes or jackals, and others handfuls or sheaves of corn. Much of the force of the objections against the common version will be diminished by the following considerations: -

1.    Foxes, or jackals, are common and gregarious in that country

2.    It is not hinted that Samson collected them alone; he might have employed several hands in this work

3.    It is not said he collected them all in one day; he might have employed several days, as well as many persons, to furnish him with these means of vengeance

4.    In other countries, where ferocious beasts were less numerous, great multitudes have been exhibited at once

Sylla, in a public show to the Roman citizens, exhibited one hundred lions; Caesar, four hundred, and Pompey, nearly six hundred. The Emperor Probus let loose in the theater, at one time, one thousand ostriches, one thousand stags, one thousand wild boars, one thousand does, and a countless multitude of other wild animals; at another time he exhibited one hundred leopards from Libya, one hundred from Syria, and three hundred bears. - See Flavius Vopiscus in the Life of Probus, cap. xix., beginning with Dedit Romanis etiam voluptates , etc

That foxes, or the creature called shual , abounded in Judea, is evident from their frequent mention in Scripture, and from several places bearing their name. It appears they were so numerous that even their cubs ruined the vineyards; see Son 2:15 : Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil our vines. Jeremiah complains that the foxes had occupied the mountains of Judea, Lam 5:18. They are mentioned as making incursions into enclosures, etc., Neh 4:3. Ezekiel compares the numerous false prophets to these animals, Eze 13:4. In Jos 15:28 we find a place called Hazar Shual, "the court of the foxes:"and in Jos 19:42 a place called Shaal-abbin, "the foxes;"no doubt from the number of those animals in that district. And mention is made of the land of Shual, or of the fox, 1Sa 13:17

The creature called shual is represented by travelers and naturalists who have been in Judea as an animal between a wolf and a fox. Hasselquist, who was on the spot, and saw many of them, calls it the little Eastern fox. They are frequent in the East, and often destroy infirm persons and children

Dr. Kennicott, however, objects to the common interpretation; and gives reasons, some of which are far from being destitute of weight. "The three hundred foxes,"says he, "caught by Samson, have been so frequently the subject of banter and ridicule, that we should consider whether the words may not admit a more rational interpretation: for, besides the improbability arising here from the number of these foxes, the use made of them is also very strange. If these animals were tied tail to tail, they would probably pull contrary ways, and consequently stand still; whereas a firebrand tied to the tail of each fox singly would have been far more likely to answer the purpose here intended. To obviate these difficulties it has been well remarked, that the word שועלים shualim , here translated foxes, signifies also handfuls, Eze 13:19, handfuls of barley; if we leave out that one letter ו vau , which has been inserted or omitted elsewhere, almost at pleasure. No less than seven Hebrew MSS. want that letter here, and read שעלים shealim . Admitting this version, we see that Samson took three hundred handfuls or sheaves of corn, and one hundred and fifty firebrands; that he turned the sheaves end to end, and put a firebrand between the two ends in the midst; and then, setting the brands on fire, sent the fire into the standing corn of the Philistines. The same word is now used twice in one chapter, (Eze 13:4, Eze 13:19); in the former verse signifying foxes, in the latter handfuls: and in 1Ki 20:10, where we render it handfuls, it is αλωπεξι, foxes, in the Greek version."- Remarks on Select Passages

The reasoning of Dr. Kennicott in the first part of this criticism has already been answered; other parts shall be considered below. Though there are seven MSS., which agree in the reading contended for by Dr. Kennicott, yet all the versions are on the other side. I see no improbability in the common version

Clarke: Jdg 15:4 - Turned tail to tail

Turned tail to tail - Had he put a firebrand to each, which Dr. Kennicott thinks more reasonable, the creature, naturally terrified at fire, would have instantly taken to cover, and thus the design of Samson would have been frustrated. But, tying two of them together by their tails, they would frequently thwart each other in running, pull hither and thither, and thus make the greater devastation. Had he tied them all together, the confusion would have been so great that no execution could have been done.

Defender: Jdg 15:4 - three hundred foxes

These were probably jackals (same Hebrew word) which travel in packs, and thus could be more easily corralled than foxes."

TSK: Jdg 15:1 - a kid // I will go

a kid : Gen 38:17; Luk 15:29

I will go : Gen 6:4, Gen 29:21

TSK: Jdg 15:2 - I verily // I gave // take her

I verily : Jdg 14:16, Jdg 14:20; Act 26:9

I gave : Jdg 14:20; Gen 38:14

take her : Heb. let her be thine

TSK: Jdg 15:3 - Now shall // though

Now shall : etc. or, Now shall I be blameless from the Philistines

though : etc. Jdg 14:15

TSK: Jdg 15:4 - caught three // firebrands

caught three : Dr. Kennicott and others contend, that for shualim , ""foxes,""we should read shoalim , ""handfuls,""or sheaves of corn. But:

1.    The word lachad , rendered caught, never signifies simply to get or take but always to catch, seize, or take by assault or stratagem.

2.    Though the proposed alteration is sanctioned by seven manuscripts, yet all the versions are on the other side.

3.    Admitting this alteration, it will be difficult to prove that the word shoal means either a sheaf or a handful of corn in the ear, and straw. It occurs but thrice in Scriptures (1Ki 20:10. Isa 40:12. Eze 13:9): where it evidently means as much as can be contained in the hollow of the hand; but when handfuls of grain in the shock, or sheaves are intended, very different words are used. See note on Rth 2:15, Rth 2:16, etc.

4.    It is not hinted that Samson collected them alone, or in one day; he might have employed many hands and several days in the work.

5.    The word shual properly denotes the jackal, which travellers describe as an animal in size between the wolf and fox, gregarious, as many as 200 having been seen together, and the most numerous of any in eastern countries; so that Samson might have caught many of them together in nets. Psa 63:10; Son 2:15; Lam 5:18

firebrands : or, torches

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Kata/Frasa (per Ayat)

Poole: Jdg 15:1 - In the time of wheat harvest // Into the chamber

In the time of wheat harvest which circumstance is noted as the proper season for the following exploit.

Into the chamber into her proper chamber, which women had distinct and separate from the men’ s.

Poole: Jdg 15:2 - I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her

I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her because thou didst desert her in great wrath: but this was not sufficient cause; for he should have endeavoured a reconciliation, or waited for it; and not have disposed of another man’ s wife without his consent; which is not only against the law of God, but of nature also.

Poole: Jdg 15:3

Because they have first provoked me by an irreparable injury. But although this may look like an act of private revenge, yet it is plain enough that Samson acted as a judge, (for so he was,) and as an avenger of the public injuries and oppressions of his people; as plainly appears from hence, that Samson designed this very thing before he had received any personal injury, Jud 14:4 .

Poole: Jdg 15:4 - Fire-brands // Between two tails

There were great numbers of foxes in Canaan, as appears from Neh 4:3 Psa 63:10 Son 2:15 Lam 5:18 Eze 13:4 . So that divers places there have their names from the foxes which abounded there; as Jos 15:28 19:42 1Sa 13:17 . Add to this, that some learned men conceive that the Hebrew name schual is more general, and contains not only the foxes, but another sort of creature very like to them, called thoes , whereof there were so many, there, that sometimes two hundred of them have been met together in one company, its some who have lived in those parts have left upon record. But infidels are much scandalized at this history, and pretend it incredible that Samson should catch so many foxes together; so nice and delicate is the faith of these men in things concerning God and Scripture, that can devour things ten times more difficult and absurd, concerning the production of the world, and of men, &c. But there is no cause of wonder here, for any man that is tolerably wise; for it is not said that Samson caught them all, either at one time, or by his own hands; for being so eminent a person, and the judge of Israel, he might require assistance of as many persons as he pleased, and all his people would readily assist him; nor can it at all perplex any man’ s reason or faith, if it be allowed that the God who made the world, and by his singular providence watched over Israel, and intended them deliverance at this time, could easily dispose things so that they might be taken. He chose to do this exploit, not by his brethren, whom he would preserve from the envy, and hatred, and mischief which that might have occasioned to them, but by brute creatures, thereby to add scorn and contempt to their calamity, and particularly by foxes; partly, because they were fittest for the purpose, being creatures very fearful of fire; and having such tails as the firebrands might most conveniently be tied to; and not going directly forward, trot crookedly and involvedly, whereby the fire was likely to be dispersed in more places.

Fire-brands made of such matter as would quickly take fire, and keep it for a long time; which was easy to procure.

Between two tails that the foxes might not make too much haste, nor run into their holes, but one of them might delay and stop another in his course, and so continue longer in the places where they were to do execution.

Haydock: Jdg 15:1 - Years

Years. Salien gathers from this remark being made here, that the Philistines still asserted their dominion over Israel, but with greater moderation than they had done before: and both nations acknowledged the judicial authority of Samson, who had now been giving them such proofs of his valour for two years, soon after he performed the feat at Gaza, in the year before Christ 1169, being on some business. (Haydock)

Haydock: Jdg 15:1 - After

After. The same term is used in the original as chap. xiv. 8, which may be rendered "a year after," as it is not probable that the wife of Samson should be married to another, nor that he should lay aside his resentment much sooner. (Calmet)

Haydock: Jdg 15:2 - Sister

Sister. Jacob married two sisters, and such marriages were not uncommon among the eastern nations. (Calmet) ---

Samson does not accept the offer, as it was now contrary to the law, Leviticus xviii. 18. (Menochius)

Haydock: Jdg 15:3 - Evils

Evils. This is a declaration of war, made by Samson in person, against a whole nation. (Haydock) ---

He does not wish to engage his countrymen in the quarrel, that they may not be more oppressed. God chose that he should weaken the Philistines by degrees. They had been apprised of the injustice done to Samson, and did not strive to hinder it, so that they all deserved to suffer. (Grotius; Estius; Calmet)

Haydock: Jdg 15:4 - Foxes // Qua fugit incendit vestitos messibus agros---Damnosis vires ignibus aura dabat // And olive

Foxes. Being judge of the people, he might have many to assist him to catch with nets or otherwise a number of these animals; of which there were great numbers in that country, (Challoner) as we may gather from Canticle of Canticles ii. 15., and Lamentations v. 15. (Menochius) ---

Hence many places received the name of Sual, Josue xv. 28., and xix. 42. Pompey exhibited 600 lions at Rome, and the Emperor Probus 5000 ostriches, and as many wild boars, &., in the theatre. (Vopisc.; Pliny [Natural History?] viii. 16.; Cornelius a Lapide) ---

Is it more incredible that Samson should collect 300 foxes? By this means he cleared his country of a pernicious animal, the most proper for carrying flambeaux, and spreading fire far and wide among the fields of the enemy. By tying the foxes together, he hindered them from retiring into their holes, and gave the fire time to take hold of the corn and vineyards. (Calmet) ---

Ovid mentions a Roman custom of burning foxes in the theatre, with torches tied upon their backs, in the month of April; which some have imagined was in memorial of this transaction. (Serarius, q. 7.) "Factum abiit, monumenta manent, nam vivere captam

Nunc quoque lex vulpem Carseolana vetat.

Utque luat pænas genus hoc cerealibus ardet,

Quoque modo segetes perdidit, illa perit." ----- Fast. iv.

--- Torches. Hebrew and Septuagint, "a torch or firebrand," (Haydock) made of resinous wood, such as the pine, olive, &c., which easily catch fire, and are extinguished with difficulty. (Calmet) ---

Qua fugit incendit vestitos messibus agros---Damnosis vires ignibus aura dabat. (Ovid)

"Where'er he flees, corn-fields in flames appear,

The fanning breeze brings devastation near."

A hundred and fifty firebrands, in different parts of the country, destroy the farmer's hopes. (Haydock) ---

And olive. The conjunction in now wanting in Hebrew and some translate, "the vineyards of olive-trees." (Kimchi) ---

But who ever heard of such an expression? It is better therefore to supply and, with the Septuagint (Calmet) as the Protestants also have done. (Haydock) ---

"The foxes signify the deceitful ensnares, and chiefly heretics." (St. Augustine in Psalm viii.) (Du Hamel)

Gill: Jdg 15:1 - But it came to pass within a while after // that Samson visited his wife with a kid // and he said, I will go with my wife into the chamber // but her father would not suffer him to go in

But it came to pass within a while after,.... Or "after days", a year after, the same phrase as in Jdg 14:8 in the time of wheat harvest; which began at Pentecost, as barley harvest did at the passover; this circumstance is mentioned for the sake of the following piece of history:

that Samson visited his wife with a kid; by this time his passion of anger subsided, and he "remembered" his wife, as the Targum expresses it, and thought proper to return to her, and attempt a reconciliation with her; and for that purpose took a kid with him to eat a meal with her in her own apartment, which in those days was reckoned an elegant entertainment, and was a present to a king, 1Sa 16:20. Isidore ^s derives the Latin word for a kid, "ab edendo", from eating, as if it was food by way of eminency, as it is both savoury and wholesome:

and he said, I will go with my wife into the chamber; where she was, as women had their chambers and apartments by themselves; this he said within himself, or resolved in his own mind, and perhaps expressed it in her father's hearing, or however moved that way, which plainly indicated his design:

but her father would not suffer him to go in; placed himself perhaps between him and the door, and parleyed with him, and declared he should not go into his daughter's chamber; Samson, through his superior strength, could easily have pushed him away, and broke open the door, but he did not choose to use such violent methods, and patiently heard what he had to say, and submitted.

Gill: Jdg 15:2 - 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

And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her,.... Not only thought so, but said so, and had said it over and over again; for the words are, "saying I said" ^t, affirmed it confidently and constantly, that "in hating thou hast hated her" ^u, with an implacable hatred, that there was no hope of any reconciliation:

therefore I gave her to thy companion; this he said to excuse his daughter, and soften his resentment, that it was not his daughter's doing, but his, and that he had disposed of her not to anybody, but to a companion of Samson's; and what follows seems to be said with the same view, for he might be in some fear of Samson, knowing him to be a man of spirit and strength:

is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her; that is, to wife; and two things he observes to recommend her, her youth and beauty, in which she was preferable to her sister. Such incestuous marriages were common with the old Canaanites, and it seems still continued; but were condemned by the law of God, and not allowed an Israelite, which Samson knew full well, and therefore listened not to the proposal; see Lev 18:3.

Gill: Jdg 15:3 - And Samson said concerning them // now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure

And Samson said concerning them,.... His wife's father, and other relations, and the citizens of Timnath; this, which is what follows, he said either within himself respecting them, or he said it to them openly and publicly before them all:

now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure; signifying, that if he did them an ill thing, or what might be reckoned an injury to their persons or properties, and which would be disagreeable and displeasing to them, they could not justly blame him for it, since they had given him such a provocation as to dispose of his wife to another man; though Samson did not mean to act, nor did he act in the following instances as a private person taking private revenge, but as a public person, and judge of Israel; and took occasion, from the private injuries done him, to avenge the public ones of the children of Israel upon the Philistines; and they might thank themselves for giving the opportunity, which they could not justly condemn him for taking.

Gill: Jdg 15:4 - And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes // and he took fire brands // and turned tail to tail // and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails

And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes,.... Nor should this be thought at all incredible, since Canaan and Palestine abounded with foxes; hence several places therein had their names of Shual, which signifies a fox, Jos 15:28. A traveller ^w in those parts says that foxes swarm there, and that there are very great numbers of them in the hedges, and ruins of buildings: and these creatures were very pernicious to vines, and so may reasonably be thought to be about Timnath in great numbers, because of the vineyards there, Jdg 14:5, besides, there is no necessity of supposing that Samson took all these himself, he might employ others in catching them for him, nor that he took them at the same time, on one and the same day; he might be many days and weeks about it, and keep them up until he had got his number: to which may be added, there was a creature in those parts very much like a fox, called Thoes, which, as Bellonius ^x says, were about Caesarea and Palestina, and go two hundred in company; and so making use of proper means, which Samson was not unacquainted with, great numbers might be taken together; but, above all, it may be observed, that as this was under the direction of the divine Providence, God could easily cause such a number of creatures to be gathered together, and taken, as he ordered all the living creatures, as by an instinct, to come into the ark to Noah:

and he took fire brands; or rather torches, made of oily and resinous matter, which were not easily extinguished:

and turned tail to tail; took two foxes, and tied their tails together with a cord, giving them room enough to run about, as such creatures do, not forward, but in a crooked, flexuous manner, here and there:

and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails: which torch seems to have been fastened to the cord with which the tails were tied; he did not put a firebrand or torch to the tail of every single fox, which then would have made its way to its own den, but between two, which could not enter into one hole, and would draw different ways, and stop each other, and so do greater damage to the fields and vineyards into which they came.