Albert Barnes

Then Samson said: “With the jawbone of a donkey I have piled them into heaps. With the jawbone of a donkey I have slain a thousand men.”

“There is a play upon the word, three times repeated, which means both “an ass” and also “a heap.” The spirit of riddle-making Jdg 14:12, Jdg 14:18 is apparent in this song of triumph (compare Jdg 5:1; Exo 15:1; 1Sa 18:6-7).”

And when Samson had finished speaking, he cast the jawbone from his hand; and he named that place Ramath-lehi.

“Ramath-lehi - Either the “height or hill of Lehi,” or, “of the jaw-bone;” or, as in the margin, “the crestlag away of the jaw-bone,” with allusion to Samson casting it out of his hand, when he had finished his war-song.”

So God opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When Samson drank, his strength returned, and he was revived.

“An hollow place that was in the jaw - The right translation is, “the hollow place which is in Lehi.””

But Samson lay there only until midnight, when he got up, took hold of the doors of the city gate and both gateposts, and pulled them out, bar and all.

“Instead of forcing the doors open, he tore the posts up, as it were, by the roots, with the barred doors attached to them. The word rendered “went away with them,” means “to pluck up the tent-pins,” and hence, “to remove.””

The lords of the Philistines went to her and said, “Entice him and find out the source of his great strength and how we can overpower him to tie him…

“And the lords of the Philistines - See Jdg 3:3 note. His great strength lieth - Rather, “wherein his strength is great.””

So while he slept, Delilah took the seven braids of his hair and wove them into the web.

“And she fastened it with the pin ... - The meaning of the verses seems to be that the seven long plaits, in which Samson’s hair was arranged, were to be woven as a woof into the threads of a warp which stood prepared on…”

Then she called out, “Samson, the Philistines are here!” When Samson awoke from his sleep, he thought, “I will escape as I did before and shake myself free.”

“The possession of his extraordinary strength is ascribed (e. g. Jdg 13:25) to the presence of the Spirit of the Lord. Now the Lord, or the Spirit of the Lord, had departed from him, and so his strength had gone too.”

Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, where he was bound with bronze shackles and forced to grind grain in the prison.

“Put out his eyes - Thus effectually, as they thought, preventing any future mischief on his part, while they prolonged their own triumph and revenge. (Compare Num 16:14; 2Ki 25:7; Jer 39:7.)”

Now the lords of the Philistines gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon.

“Dagon was the national idol of the Philistines 1Ch 10:10, so called from Dag, a fish. The description of Dagon, in his temple at Ashdod 1Sa 5:4, exactly agrees with the representations of a fish-god on the walls of Khorsabad, on slabs at Kouyunjik, and…”

And while their hearts were merry, they said, “Call for Samson to entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison to entertain them.

“That he may make us sport - Rather, “that he may play for us,” i. e. dance and make music. At an idolatrous feast, dancing was always accompanied with vocal and instrumental music.”

Samson said to the servant who held his hand, “Lead me where I can feel the pillars supporting the temple, so I can lean against them.”

“More literally, “let me rest, and let me feel the pillars, that I may lean upon them.” He feigned weariness with his dancing and singing, and asked to recover himself by leaning against the pillars.”

Then Samson’s brothers and his father’s family came down, carried him back, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah.

““All the house of his father,” in connection with “his brethren,” must mean the whole tribe of Dan, aiding his nearer relations.”

Now a man named Micah from the hill country of Ephraim

“See the introduction to the Book of Judges. The only point of contact with the preceding history of Samson is, that we are still concerned with the tribe of Dan. See Jdg 18:1-2, note.”

And when he had returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, she said, “I wholly dedicate the silver to the LORD for my son’s benefit, to make…

“Such a superstitious and unlawful mode of worshipping Yahweh is quite of a piece with Jdg 8:27; Jdg 11:31; 1Ki 12:28, etc.”

And there was a young Levite from Bethlehem in Judah who had been residing within the clan of Judah.

“The Hebrew words for “he sojourned there” are, שׁם גר gêr shām, which words are used Jdg 18:30 in the genealogy of this young Levite, whose name was “Jonathan, the son of Gershom” (גרשׁם gêreshôm). Hence, some read here, “the son of Gershom.””

Then Micah said, “Now I know that the LORD will be good to me, because a Levite has become my priest.”

“This shows the ignorance as well as the superstition of the age (compare 2Ki 18:22), and gives a picture of the lawlessness of the times.”

And while they were near Micah’s house, they recognized the voice of the young Levite; so they went over and asked him, “Who brought you here?

“It does not follow that they had known him before, and recognized his voice, though it may be so.”

So the five men departed and came to Laish, where they saw that the people were living securely, like the Sidonians, tranquil and unsuspecting.

“Laish - Afterward called “Dan” Jdg 18:29. The exact site has not been identified, but it was the northern extremity of Israel, near the sources of the Jordan, and about four miles from Panium, or Caesarea-Philippi.”

Then the five men who had gone to spy out the land of Laish said to their brothers, “Did you know that one of these houses has an ephod, household…

“In these houses - This agrees with what we saw at Jdg 18:2-3 that the “house of God” and Jonathan’s house were detached from Micah’s. There were other houses besides Jdg 18:22.”

And the five men who had gone to spy out the land went inside and took the graven image, the ephod, the household idols, and the molten idol, while the…

“The five went back to Micah’s chapel (Micah’s house, Jdg 18:18) and took the ephod, teraphim, etc., and brought them to the gate where the priest was talking to the 600 men.”

Putting their small children, their livestock, and their possessions in front of them, they turned and departed.

“And put the little ones, etc., before them - They expected a pursuit from Micah’s people, and arranged their order of march accordingly. The carriage - Rather, “the valuables.” Some interpret it “the heavy baggage.””

After they were some distance from Micah’s house, the men in the houses near Micah’s house mobilized and overtook the Danites.

“Were gathered together - literally, “were called together.” The men, who were all Micah’s workmen, were probably in the fields with their master at the time of the robbery.”

After they had taken Micah’s idols and his priest, they went to Laish, to a tranquil and unsuspecting people, and they struck them with their swords and burned down the…

“The things which Micah had made - Rather, from Jdg 18:24, “the gods which Micah had made.” See Jdg 18:31; Deu 27:15; Exo 20:4.”

When the man got up to depart with his concubine and his servant, his father-in-law, the girl’s father, said to him, “Look, the day is drawing to a close.

“This is a perfect picture of the manners of the time. It is probable that the father showed more than usual hospitality, in order to ensure the kind treatment of his daughter by her husband.”

But his master replied, “We will not turn aside to the city of foreigners, where there are no Israelites. We will go on to Gibeah.”

“City of a stranger - This shows how completely, even in these early days, the Jebusite population had excluded both the tribes of Judah and Benjamin.”