Judges 15:18
in Judges 15And being very thirsty, Samson cried out to the LORD, “You have accomplished this great deliverance through Your servant. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he was sore athirst, and called on Jehovah, and said, Thou hast given this great deliverance by the hand of thy servant; and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised.
KJV
And he was sore athirst, and called on the Lord, and said, Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant: and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?
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This verse in Judges 15
Commentary
11 notes on this verseAnd perhaps there was the hand of God therein, to chastise him for not making mention of God in his song, and to keep him from being proud of his strength. One would have thought that the men of Judah would have met him with bread and wine: but they so little regarded him, that he is fainting for want of a draught of water!
This site's exposition
being very thirsty
on Judges 15:18-19
Samson's first recorded prayer asks for water, and his only other, at 16:28, also comes from an extremity. He hands God the victory his song had taken, “You have accomplished this great deliverance through Your servant”, and calls the Philistines “the uncircumcised”. Albert Barnes reads the hollow place as a basin among the cliffs, and “to this day” shows the spring still ran when this was written.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Although we had been dried up because of lack of the dew of God's grace, we merited to be changed into fountains and rivers. At that time Samson prayed and a fountain issued from the jawbone. This fact is clearly fulfilled in us, for the …
And now he began to burn with thirst, and there was no water, and yet he had great need of it.
The Medieval Church1 voice
In the relics of the saints the Lord Christ has provided us with saving fountains which in many ways pour out benefactions and gush with fragrant ointment. And let no one disbelieve. For, if by the will of God water poured out of the precipitous living rock in the desert, and for the thirsty Samson from the jawbone of an ass, is it unbelievable that fragrant ointment should flow from the relics of the martyrs? Certainly not, at least for such as know the power of God and the honor which the saints have from him.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
But her father would not suffer him to go in. 2 And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion: is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
And he was sore athirst,....
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Christ on the cross, said, I thirst. His prayer to God in this distress. Those that forget to attend God with their praises may perhaps be compelled to attend him with their prayers.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3131: “The Fainting Hero” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
YOU will remember the occasion on which these words were spoken. Samson had been brought down from the top of the rock Etam, bound with cords by his own brothers, and given up as a captive into the hands of the Philistines.
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3131: “The Fainting Hero” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
YOU will remember the occasion on which these words were spoken. Samson had been brought down from the top of the rock Etam, bound with cords by his own brothers, and given up as a captive into the hands of the Philistines. But no sooner did he reach the Philistines than the supernatural force of God's Spirit came upon him and he snapped the cords as though they had been but hemp and, seeing the jawbone of a newly-slaughtered donkey lying near at hand, he grasped that strange weapon and fell with all his might upon the hosts of the Philistines! And though, no doubt, they took to speedy flight, yet the one man, smiting them hip and thigh, left no less than a thousand persons dead upon the ground! And as he piled up the heaps of the slain, he looked with grim satisfaction upon the slaughter which he had worked, crying, "With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of a donkey have I slain a thousand men." There was, perhaps, a little of vaunting and vain-glorying in his conduct, but in a moment, a sudden faintness came over him. He had been exerting himself most marvelously, straining every nerve and muscle, and now, being very thirsty, he looked round him for a stream of water, but there was none—and he felt as if, for lack of water, he would die and then the Philistines would rejoice over him! With that simple-minded faith which was so characteristic of Samson, who was nothing but a big child, he turned his eyes to his heavenly Father, and cried, "O Jehovah, You have given me this great deliverance, and now shall I die of thirst? After all that You have done for me, shall the uncircumcised rejoice over me because I die for lack of a drink of water?" Such confidence had he that God would interpose on his behalf. Now, my drift is the comforting of God's saints, especially in coming to the Table of their Lord.
I die for thirst - The natural consequence of the excessive fatigue he had gone through in this encounter.
The words behind it
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּצְמָא֮ | vaiyitzma' | and he was thirsty | H6770 → | |
| מְאֹד֒ | meod | very | H3966 → | 300 times |
| וַיִּקְרָ֤א | vaiyikra' | and he called out | H7121 → | 733 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַיֹּאמַ֔ר | vaiyomar | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אַתָּה֙ | ʾatah | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| נָתַ֣תָּ | natata | you have given | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| בְיַֽד־ | veyad- | by [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| עַבְדְּךָ֔ | ʾavdekha | servant your | H5650 → | 799 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה | hateshuah | the victory | H8668 → | |
| הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה | hagedolah | <the> great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| הַזֹּ֑את | hazot | <the> this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| וְעַתָּה֙ | veatah | and now [must] | H6258 → | 433 times |
| אָמ֣וּת | ʾamut | I die | H4191 → | 839 times |
| בַּצָּמָ֔א | batzama' | with <the> thirst | H6772 → | |
| וְנָפַלְתִּ֖י | venafalti | and I fall | H5307 → | 435 times |
| בְּיַ֥ד | beyad | in [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| הָעֲרֵלִֽים׃ | haarelim | the uncircumcised [men]? | H6189 → |
וַיִּצְמָא֮and he was thirsty
vaiyitzma'H6770 →
מְאֹד֒very
meodH3966 →300 times
וַיִּקְרָ֤אand he called out
vaiyikra'H7121 →733 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַיֹּאמַ֔רand he said
vaiyomarH559 →5305 times
אַתָּה֙you
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
נָתַ֣תָּyou have given
natataH5414 →2011 times
בְיַֽד־by [the] hand of
veyad-H3027 →1618 times
עַבְדְּךָ֔servant your
ʾavdekhaH5650 →799 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥הthe victory
hateshuahH8668 →
הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה<the> great
hagedolahH1419 →526 times
הַזֹּ֑את<the> this
hazotH2063 →603 times
וְעַתָּה֙and now [must]
veatahH6258 →433 times
אָמ֣וּתI die
ʾamutH4191 →839 times
בַּצָּמָ֔אwith <the> thirst
batzama'H6772 →
וְנָפַלְתִּ֖יand I fall
venafaltiH5307 →435 times
בְּיַ֥דin [the] hand of
beyadH3027 →1618 times
הָעֲרֵלִֽים׃the uncircumcised [men]?
haarelimH6189 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
Genesis 20:11Abraham replied, “I thought to myself, ‘Surely there is no fear of God in this place. They will kill me on account of my wife.’
it leads to
- Genesis 26:7
But when the men of that place asked about his wife, he said, “She is my sister.” For he was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” since he thought to himself, “The men…
- Genesis 12:12
and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live.
- Genesis 42:18
and on the third day he said to them, “I fear God. So do this and you will live:
- Nehemiah 5:15
The governors before me had heavily burdened the people, taking from them bread and wine plus forty shekels of silver. Their servants also oppressed the people, but I did not do this because of…
- Proverbs 2:5
then you will discern the fear of the LORD and discover the knowledge of God.
- Genesis 26:7
Through
Genesis 32:31The sun rose above him as he passed by Penuel, and he was limping because of his hip.
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 12:7
or because of these surpassingly great revelations. So to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.
- Judges 8:8
From there he went up to Penuel and asked the same from them, but the men of Penuel gave the same response as the men of Succoth.
- Genesis 32:25
When the man saw that he could not overpower Jacob, he struck the socket of Jacob’s hip and dislocated it as they wrestled.
- 2 Corinthians 12:7
About Judges
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Ambrose of Milan, Letter 19: To Vigilius; Caesarius of Arles, SERMON 119.4; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3131: “The Fainting Hero” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); John Damascene, ORTHODOX FAITH 4.15; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.