Judges 15:9

THE PHILISTINES THREATEN JUDAH

"Then the Philistines went up and encamped in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi. And the men of Judah said, Why have ye come up against us? And they said, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he hath done to us. Then three thousand men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Elam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? what then is this that thou hast done unto us? And he said unto them, As they did unto me, so have I done unto them. 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. 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 ropes, and brought him up from the rock."

"The Philistines came up ... spread themselves in Lehi" (Judges 15:9). "The word Lehi is used here proleptically, as also in Judges 15:14."[10] This is true because the word means "Jawbone,"[11] and that name was not given until the events reported later in this chapter.

"We have come up to bind Samson" (Judges 15:10). That the Philistine sent a thousand men on this mission is an indication of their fear of Samson and their determination to take him. They were willing to declare war on Judah if Judah insisted on protecting Samson.

"Do you not know that the Philistines are rulers over us?" (Judges 15:11). This was an exaggeration on the part of the men of Judah. "The Philistines never ruled over all Judah, but they held an iron monopoly and were a real threat to that part of Judah which lay in the Shephelah (the lowlands west from Jerusalem)."[12]

One finds that it is very difficult NOT to be disgusted with the conduct of the Judahites in this situation. They were perfectly willing to betray a brother into the hands of the enemy, instead of rallying to his defense. Nevertheless, there was a magnanimous streak in Samson, because he consented to be bound at the request of his brethren, first making them swear that THEY THEMSELVES would not slay him.

SAMSON KILLS A THOUSAND MEN WITH THE JAWBONE OF AN ASS

Everything went according to plan - up to a point. The delighted Philistines (a thousand of them) confronted the three thousand men of Judah who were in the process of turning Samson over to his shouting enemies. He had been securely bound (they thought) with two new ropes, but an almost incredible thing happened!