Judges 15:1-8
New English Translation
Samson Versus the Philistines
15 Sometime later, during the wheat harvest,[a] Samson took a young goat as a gift and went to visit his bride.[b] He said to her father,[c] “I want to sleep with[d] my bride in her bedroom!”[e] But her father would not let him enter. 2 Her father said, “I really thought[f] you absolutely despised[g] her, so I gave her to your best man. Her younger sister is more attractive than she is. Take her instead!”[h] 3 Samson said to them,[i] “This time I am justified in doing the Philistines harm!”[j] 4 Samson went and captured 300 jackals[k] and got some torches. He tied the jackals in pairs by their tails and then tied a torch to each pair.[l] 5 He lit the torches[m] and set the jackals loose in the Philistines’ standing grain. He burned up the grain heaps and the standing grain, as well as the vineyards and olive groves. 6 The Philistines asked,[n] “Who did this?” They were told,[o] “Samson, the Timnite’s son-in-law, because the Timnite[p] took Samson’s[q] bride and gave her to his best man.” So the Philistines went up and burned her and her father.[r] 7 Samson said to them, “Because you did this,[s] I will get revenge against you before I quit fighting.”[t] 8 He struck them down and defeated them.[u] Then he went down and lived for a time in the cave in the cliff of Etam.
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- Judges 15:1 sn The wheat harvest took place during the month of May. See O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 37, 88.
- Judges 15:1 tn Heb “Samson visited his wife with a young goat.”
- Judges 15:1 tn The words “to her father” are supplied in the translation (see the end of the verse).
- Judges 15:1 tn Heb “I want to approach.” The verb בּוֹא (boʾ) with the preposition אֶל (ʾel) means “come to” or “approach,” but is also used as a euphemism for sexual relations.
- Judges 15:1 tn Heb “I will go to my wife in the bedroom.” The Hebrew idiom בּוֹא אֶל (boʾ ʾel, “to go to”) often has sexual connotations. The cohortative form used by Samson can be translated as indicating resolve (“I want to go”) or request (“let me go”).
- Judges 15:2 tn Heb “saying, I said.” The first person form of אָמַר (ʾamar, “to say”) sometimes indicates self-reflection. The girl’s father uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis.
- Judges 15:2 tn Heb “hating, you hated.” Once again the girl’s father uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis.
- Judges 15:2 tn Heb “Is her younger sister not better than her? Let her [i.e., the younger sister] be yours instead of her [i.e., Samson’s ‘bride’]).”
- Judges 15:3 tc Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the (original) LXX has the singular “to him.”
- Judges 15:3 tn Heb “I am innocent this time from the Philistines when I do with them harm.”
- Judges 15:4 tn Traditionally, “foxes.”
- Judges 15:4 tn Heb “He turned tail to tail and placed one torch between the two tails in the middle.”
- Judges 15:5 tn Heb “He set fire to the torches.”
- Judges 15:6 tn Or “said.”
- Judges 15:6 tn Heb “and they said.” The subject of the plural verb is indefinite.
- Judges 15:6 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Timnite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Judges 15:6 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Samson) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Judges 15:6 tn The Hebrew text expands the statement with the additional phrase “burned with fire.” The words “with fire” are redundant in English and have been omitted from the translation for stylistic reasons. Some textual witnesses read “burned…her father’s house,” perhaps under the influence of 14:15. On the other hand, the shorter text may have lost this phrase due to haplography.
- Judges 15:7 tn The Niphal of נָקָם (naqam, “to avenge, to take vengeance”) followed by the preposition ב (bet) has the force “to get revenge against.” See 1 Sam 18:25; Jer 50:15; Ezek 25:12.
- Judges 15:7 tn Heb “and afterward I will stop.”
- Judges 15:8 tn Heb “He struck them, calf on thigh, [with] a great slaughter.” The precise meaning of the phrase “calf on thigh” is uncertain.
Judges 15:1-8
International Standard Version
Samson Burns the Philistine Harvest
15 A while later during the wheat harvest, Samson visited his wife, bringing along a young goat, and told his father-in-law,[a] “I’m going into my wife’s room.” But her father wouldn’t give permission for him[b] to go.
2 Her father said, “Because I honestly thought that you hated her deeply, I gave her in marriage to your best man.[c] Isn’t her younger sister better than she? Please then, let her be yours instead.”
3 Samson replied to them, “This time I’ll be blameless when I do something evil to the Philistines.” 4 So Samson went out, caught 300 foxes, grabbed some torches,[d] tied[e] the foxes together in pairs at their tails,[f] and fastened a torch[g] between each pair of tails. 5 Then he ignited the torches, set the foxes loose into the Philistines’ unharvested grain, and burned up both the harvested shocks and the standing grain, along with their vineyards and olive groves.
6 Then the Philistines demanded, “Who did this?”
Someone said, “Samson, son-in-law of the Timnite, because his father-in-law[h] took Samson’s[i] wife and gave her to the best man at Samson’s wedding.”[j] In retaliation, the Philistines came up and burned her and her father to death.
7 Samson replied to them, “Because you did this, I’m not going to stop until I get my revenge against you!” 8 So he attacked them ruthlessly[k] in a massive slaughter, then left to live in the caves of Etam.
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- Judges 15:1 The Heb. lacks to his father-in-law
- Judges 15:1 The Heb. lacks permission for him
- Judges 15:2 Lit. your acquaintance; cf. Judg 14:20; 15:7
- Judges 15:4 Or firebrands
- Judges 15:4 Lit. turned
- Judges 15:4 Lit. foxes tail to tail
- Judges 15:4 Or firebrand
- Judges 15:6 Lit. because he
- Judges 15:6 Lit. his
- Judges 15:6 Lit. to his acquaintance; cf. Judg 14:20, 15:2
- Judges 15:8 Lit. them hip and thigh
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