Judges 15:16

Judges 15:16 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men.
• New International Version (NIV)Then Samson said, “With a donkey’s jawbone I have made donkeys of them. With a donkey’s jawbone I have killed a thousand men.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)And Samson said, "With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps upon heaps, with the jawbone of a donkey have I struck down a thousand men."
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then Samson said: “With the jawbone of a donkey, Heaps upon heaps, With the jawbone of a donkey I have slain a thousand men!”

Context of Judges 15:16

14When they arrived at Lehi, the Philistine soldiers shouted happily as they came towards him. But the Lord's Spirit gave Samson great strength. The ropes that tied his arms broke in pieces. They seemed as weak as grass that burns in a fire. They fell from his hands. 15He saw a bone from the skull of a donkey that had just died. He picked it up and he used it to kill 1,000 Philistine soldiers. Then Samson sang this song: ‘I have used a donkey's skull to kill 1,000 men. I have made them like many heaps of dead donkeys!’ 17After that, he threw away the bone from the donkey's skull. So people called that place ‘Ramath Lehi’. 18Samson was now very thirsty. He called out to the Lord for help. He said, ‘You have helped me to win a great battle. Should I now die because I am so thirsty? Then these Philistines would do whatever they want to me.’

Judges 15:16 word by word

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר שִׁמְשׁ֔וֹן בִּלְחִ֣י הַחֲמ֔וֹר חֲמ֖וֹר חֲמֹרָתָ֑יִם בִּלְחִ֣י הַחֲמ֔וֹר הִכֵּ֖יתִי אֶ֥לֶף אִֽישׁ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Samsonשִׁמְשׁוֹןshimshôn · SamsonH8123
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• With the jawboneלְחִיlechîy · jawH3895
• of an assחֲמוֹרchămôr chămôr · donkeyH2543
• heapsחֲמוֹרchămôrâh · heapH2565
• have I slainנָכָהnâkâh · to smiteH5221
• a thousandאֶ֫לֶף'eleph · thousandH505
• menאִישׁ'îysh · manH376

Commentaries on Judges 15:16

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16There is a play upon the word, three times repeated, which means both “an ass” and also “a heap.” The spirit of riddle-making Judges 14:12, Judges 14:18 is apparent in this song of triumph (compare Judges 5:1; Exodus 15:1; 1 Samuel 18:6-7).Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-17Verses 9-17 Sin dispirits men, it hides from their eyes the things that belong to their peace. The Israelites blamed Samson for what he had done against the Philistines, as if he had done them a great injury. Thus our Lord Jesus did many good works, and for those the Jews were ready to stone him. When the Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson, his cords were loosed: where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty, and those are free indeed who are thus…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16Like 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.Read the comment

Topics related to Judges 15:16

• Ass (Donkey)
• Lehi
• Samson

In the dictionaries

• Samson
• Displeasure
• Fast
• Hip
• Lehi
• Ramathlehi
• Visit
• Ass
• Heap
• Israel, History of

Commentaries on Judges 15

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• Darby Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings