Judges 15:17
in Judges 15And when Samson had finished speaking, he cast the jawbone from his hand; and he named that place Ramath-lehi.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand; and that place was called Ramath-lehi.
KJV
And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place Ramath–lehi.
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This verse in Judges 15
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
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.
This site's exposition
the jawbone of an ass
on Judges 15:16-17
The song turns on one word, since chamor in Hebrew is both an ass and a heap, so the line says ass upon ass and heap upon heap at the same time. Barnes puts it with the riddle of 14:12-18 as the same habit of mind at work, and Henry gives the play on the word as the reason the fallen Philistines are pictured as tamely as they are. Ambrose of Milan, writing to Vigilius, marked what the song leaves out, that Samson names the jawbone and himself and builds no altar, and read the thirst of the next verse against it. The text records the words and the name given to the place and adds nothing to either.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
19 But God clave a hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name thereof En-hakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day. 20 And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years. The distress which Samson was in after this great performance (
quarantine:debris,scripture (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens; scripture-overlap:89%@v18-20
And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
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.
Ramath-lehi - The lifting up or casting away of the jaw-bone. Lehi was the name of the place before, Ramath was now added to it here; he lifted up the jaw-bone against his enemies, and slew them.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
I amassed mounds with the jawbone of a donkey, amassing numerous mounds. "With the jawbone of a donkey I hurled them into mounds." 11 This is Targum Yonasan’s translation.
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
11 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַֽיְהִי֙ | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כְּכַלֹּת֣וֹ | kekhaloto | when finished he | H3615 → | |
| לְדַבֵּ֔ר | ledaber | to speak | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| וַיַּשְׁלֵ֥ךְ | vaiyashlekh | and he threw | H7993 → | 125 times |
| הַלְּחִ֖י | halechi | the jawbone | H3895 → | 21 times |
| מִיָּד֑וֹ | miyado | from hand his | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| וַיִּקְרָ֛א | vaiyikra' | and he called | H7121 → | 733 times |
| לַמָּק֥וֹם | lamakom | <to> the place | H4725 → | 401 times |
| הַה֖וּא | hahu' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| רָ֥מַת | ramat | Ramath | H7437 → | |
| לֶֽחִי׃ | lechi | Lehi | H7437 → |
וַֽיְהִי֙and it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
כְּכַלֹּת֣וֹwhen finished he
kekhalotoH3615 →
לְדַבֵּ֔רto speak
ledaberH1696 →1141 times
וַיַּשְׁלֵ֥ךְand he threw
vaiyashlekhH7993 →125 times
הַלְּחִ֖יthe jawbone
halechiH3895 →21 times
מִיָּד֑וֹfrom hand his
miyadoH3027 →1618 times
וַיִּקְרָ֛אand he called
vaiyikra'H7121 →733 times
לַמָּק֥וֹם<to> the place
lamakomH4725 →401 times
הַה֖וּא<the> that
hahu'H1931 →1879 times
רָ֥מַתRamath
ramatH7437 →
לֶֽחִי׃Lehi
lechiH7437 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
About Judges
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
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; 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.