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Judges 15:11

in Judges 15

In response, three thousand men of Judah went to the cave at the rock of Etam, and they asked Samson, “Do you not realize that the Philistines rule over us? What have you done to us?” “I have done to them what they did to me,” he replied.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Then three thousand men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, 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.

KJV

Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? what is this that thou hast done unto us? And he said unto them, As they did unto me, so have I done unto them.

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This verse in Judges 15

Commentary

8 notes on this verse
The dispirited men of Judah were prepared to give up their champion, in order to conciliate their masters. This shows how hard was the task of the Judge, whose office it was to restore his countrymen to freedom and independence.

This site's exposition

three thousand men of Judah

on Judges 15:11-13

The sentence at verse 11 is the condition of the nation in one line, because the men of Judah state Philistine rule as settled fact and then ask their own deliverer what he has done to them. The Samson cycle is the one round of the book with no cry for help in it: Israel cried unto the Lord at 3:9, 3:15, 4:3, 6:6, 6:7 and 10:10, and after 13:1 records the forty years of Philistine rule nobody cries at all. Three thousand men climb the rock to bind one Israelite and give him to the enemy, and Barnes reads their errand as men conciliating their masters. The only thing Samson asks of them is an oath that they will not kill him themselves.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Ambrose of Milan

Letter 19: To Vigilius · Written before 397.

proposed

These terms being imposed upon them, the men of Judah gathered together three thousand of their tribe and went up to him, and premising that they were subject to the Philistines, and obliged to obey them, not willingly but by terror, they thus sought to turn away from themselves the odium of their act, throwing it upon those by whom they were constrained.

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

Then three thousand of Judah went up to the top of the rock of Etam,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

And there, in that field, or hill, or plain, or whatever it was, that was so called, God caused a fountain suddenly and seasonably to open just by him, and water to spring up out of it in abundance, which continued a well ever after. Of this fair water he drank, and his spirits revived. We should be more thankful for the mercy of water did we consider how ill we can spare it.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Rather it was because they stood in awe of the Philistines, and were willing, at any rate, to get them out of their country. If their spirits had not been perfectly cowed and broken by their sins and troubles, and they had not been given up to a spirit of slumber, they would have taken this fair opportunity to shake off the Philistine's yoke.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Then the Philistines went up--to the high land of Judah. and spread themselves in Lehi--now El-Lekieh, abounding with limestone cliffs; the sides of which are perforated with caves. The object of the Philistines in this expedition was to apprehend Samson, in revenge for the great slaughter he had committed on their people.
1 more voice on this verse

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

Three thousand men of Judah went - It appears evidently from this that Samson was strongly posted, and they thought that no less than three thousand men were necessary to reduce him.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

On the verses either side of this one

Why have you ascended against us. Are we not enslaved by you?
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on Judges 15:10:1, via Sefaria, The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

29 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַיֵּרְד֡וּand they went down

    vaiyereduH3381 →381 times

  • שְׁלֹשֶׁת֩three

    sheloshetH7969 →432 times

  • אֲלָפִ֨יםthousand<s>

    ʾalafimH505 →505 times

  • אִ֜ישׁman

    ʾishH376 →1663 times

  • מִֽיהוּדָ֗הfrom Judah

    mihudahH3063 →819 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • סְעִיף֮[the] cleft of

    seifH5585 →

  • סֶ֣לַע[the] rock of

    sela'H5553 →58 times

  • עֵיטָם֒Etam

    ʾeitamH5862 →

  • וַיֹּאמְר֣וּand they said

    vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times

  • לְשִׁמְשׁ֗וֹןto Samson

    leshimshonH8123 →38 times

  • הֲלֹ֤א¿ not

    halo'H3808 →5168 times

  • יָדַ֙עְתָּ֙do you know

    yada'taH3045 →945 times

  • כִּֽי־that

    ki-H3588 →4482 times

  • מֹשְׁלִ֥ים[are] ruling

    moshelimH4910 →81 times

  • בָּ֙נוּ֙over <the> us

    banu

  • פְּלִשְׁתִּ֔ים[the] Philistines

    pelishtimH6430 →287 times

  • וּמַה־and what?

    umah-H4100 →752 times

  • זֹּ֖אתthis

    zotH2063 →603 times

  • עָשִׂ֣יתָhave you done

    ʾasitaH6213 →2628 times

  • לָּ֑נוּto <the> us

    lanu

  • וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said

    vaiyomerH559 →5305 times

  • לָהֶ֔םto <the> them

    lahem

  • כַּאֲשֶׁר֙just as

    kaasherH834 →5497 times

  • עָ֣שׂוּthey did

    ʾasuH6213 →2628 times

  • לִ֔יto <the> me

    li

  • כֵּ֖ןso

    kenH3651 →771 times

  • עָשִׂ֥יתִיI have done

    ʾasitiH6213 →2628 times

  • לָהֶֽם׃to <the> them

    lahem

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

8 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Judges 14:4(Now his father and mother did not know this was from the LORD, who was seeking an occasion to move against the Philistines; for at that time the Philistines were ruling over Israel.)5 worksJudges 13:1Again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD, so He delivered them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.5 worksPsalms 106:40–42So the anger of the LORD burned against His people, and He abhorred His own inheritance.3 worksDeuteronomy 28:47–48Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and gladness of heart in all your abundance,2 worksDeuteronomy 28:13The LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you will only move upward and never downward, if you hear and carefully follow the commandments of the LORD your God, which I am giving you today.2 works1 Chronicles 4:3These were the sons of Etam: Jezreel, Ishma, and Idbash. And their sister was named Hazzelelponi.2 works
The other 2 cross-references, with their words ▾
Proverbs 24:29Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me; I will repay the man according to his work.”2 worksRevelation 8:10Then the third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star burning like a torch fell from heaven and landed on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water.1 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Deuteronomy 28:13

    The LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you will only move upward and never downward, if you hear and carefully follow the commandments of the LORD your God, which I…

    it leads to

    • Deuteronomy 28:1

      “Now if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God and are careful to follow all His commandments I am giving you today, the LORD your God will set you high above…

    • Deuteronomy 4:6–9

      Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding in the sight of the peoples, who will hear of all these statutes and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and…

    • Philippians 1:27

      Nevertheless, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm…

  • Through

    Judges 14:4

    (Now his father and mother did not know this was from the LORD, who was seeking an occasion to move against the Philistines; for at that time the Philistines were ruling over Israel.)

    it leads to

    • Joshua 11:20

      For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts to engage Israel in battle, so that they would be set apart for destruction and would receive no mercy, being annihilated as the LORD…

    • Psalms 115:3

      Our God is in heaven; He does as He pleases.

  • Through

    Judges 13:1

    Again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD, so He delivered them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.

    it leads to

    • 1 Samuel 12:9

      But they forgot the LORD their God, and He sold them into the hand of Sisera the commander of the army of Hazor, and into the hands of the Philistines and the king of…

    • Romans 2:6

      God “will repay each one according to his deeds.”

    • Judges 6:1

      Again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD; so He delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years,

About Judges

Samson Destroys the Philistines with an Ass' Jawbone — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Samson Destroys the Philistines with an Ass' Jawbone — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Judges: the study guide →Read Judges 15 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Ambrose of Milan, Letter 19: To Vigilius; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Judges 15 →