Tyndale Open Study NotesJudges 15

Samson, who gets more attention in the book of Judges than any other judge, is more mysterious than Jephthah. Samson shows great inspiration as a leader. He also represents the unstoppable move toward chaos, which shows the need for a more organized society under a godly ruler.

Samson's decision to marry a Philistine woman was the Lord's way (Judges 14:4) of starting to address the Philistine threat (see 13:5). One event led to another, marked by three times when the Spirit came strongly upon him (Judges 14:6, 19; 15:14). During these events, Samson was a strong but imperfect hero.

The wheat harvest occurred at the end of May. We do not know how long this was after the wedding feast. Sometimes, a bride stayed with her parents for a few months before moving to the groom's home. During this time, the couple could have conjugal visits.

The father might have believed his daughter was abandoned (see study note on Judges 14:20). Offering the younger sister could have been his way to fix his betrayal.

In revenge, Samson destroyed the grain harvest, vineyards, and olive groves.

The cycle of revenge was complex (see Judges 9:7–21). First, Samson sought revenge on the Philistine community, not his in-laws. Then, the Philistines recognized Samson as a victim of injustice (see study note on Judges 14:20) and retaliated against his in-laws. This prompted Samson to avenge his in-laws by attacking the Philistines. This series of events nearly led to a war with Israel. God was starting to rescue Israel through Samson (Judges 13:5; see 1 Samuel 7:3).

The tribe of Judah missed a chance to end Philistine rule. They seemed willing to live under foreign control. We can only imagine what might have happened if the Judeans had fully followed the Lord’s covenant, which instructed them to take the land and drive out its inhabitants (see study note on Judges 1:1).

Swear to me that you will not kill me yourselves: Samson's superhuman abilities might have only worked against Israel's enemies. He broke these ropes only after the spirit of the Lord came upon him (Judges 15:14).

New ropes were stronger, more flexible, and less likely to break than older ones.

Samson and the Judeans were content with this small victory and did not try to end Philistine rule. This shows Israel's decreasing trust in God's promises.

• Like 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.

Samson called out to the Lord because he was afraid of dying from thirst and being captured by the defeated pagans (the uncircumcised; see study note on Judges 14:3). Samson prayed deeply and passionately twice: once when he feared an attack and once when he was attacking others (Judges 16:28–30).

This summary formula is repeated in Judges 16:31. Its presence here shows that Samson's time as a judge was effectively over (compare Judges 10:2, 3; 12:7). He had done little more than demonstrate Israel's potential for rescue; the Philistines still controlled the land.