Judges 15:3
in Judges 15Samson said to them, “This time I will be blameless in doing harm to the Philistines.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Samson said unto them, This time shall I be blameless in regard of the Philistines, when I do them a mischief.
KJV
And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure.
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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)
See the margin. Before, when the Philistines injured him he was in covenant with the Timnathites through his marriage and by the rites of hospitality, for which reason he went off to Ashkelon to take his revenge Jdg 14:19. But now the Philistines themselves had broken this bond, and so he was free to take his revenge on the spot.
This site's exposition
the time of wheat harvest
on Judges 15:1-3
The reader was told at 14:20 that the wife had been given away to the companion, so this chapter opens with Samson learning what the previous chapter already reported. Wheat harvest fixes the season and supplies the fuel, since the grain is standing and dry when he arrives. Barnes takes her still being in her father's house as a sign she was betrothed rather than married, which is why the father can offer the younger sister as a substitute. Samson's word at verse 3 argues a case rather than a grievance: the tie that made his raid on Ashkelon at 14:19 a matter between kin has been cut by the other side.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
But the perfidy of the maiden being thus discovered, he abstained from intercourse with her, and returned to his father's house. The damsel, disturbed in mind, and justly dreading that the wrath of this mighty man would be kindled into fury by this wrong, gave her hand to another man, one whom Samson, relying on his fidelity, had brought with him as his bridesman to his marriage. But neither by this expedient of a marriage did she avoid offence.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Now shall I, &c. - Because they have first provoked me by an irreparable injury: but although this may look like an act of private revenge; yet it is plain Samson acted as a judge (for so he was) and as an avenger of the publick injuries of his people.
And Samson said concerning them,....
Note, When differences arise we ought to do our duty in order to the ending of them, and then, whatever the ill consequences of them may be, we shall be blameless. Now the way Samson took to be revenged on them was by setting their corn-fields on fire, which would be a great weakening and impoverishing to the country,
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לָהֶם֙ | lahem | to <the> them | ||
| שִׁמְשׁ֔וֹן | shimshon | Samson | H8123 → | 38 times |
| נִקֵּ֥יתִי | nikeiti | I will be free | H5352 → | |
| הַפַּ֖עַם | hapaam | this time | H6471 → | 118 times |
| מִפְּלִשְׁתִּ֑ים | mipelishtim | from [the] Philistines | H6430 → | 287 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| עֹשֶׂ֥ה | ʾoseh | [am] about to do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| אֲנִ֛י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| עִמָּ֖ם | ʾimam | with them | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| רָעָֽה׃ | raah | harm | H7451 → | 662 times |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
לָהֶם֙to <the> them
lahem
שִׁמְשׁ֔וֹןSamson
shimshonH8123 →38 times
נִקֵּ֥יתִיI will be free
nikeitiH5352 →
הַפַּ֖עַםthis time
hapaamH6471 →118 times
מִפְּלִשְׁתִּ֑יםfrom [the] Philistines
mipelishtimH6430 →287 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
עֹשֶׂ֥ה[am] about to do
ʾosehH6213 →2628 times
אֲנִ֛יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
עִמָּ֖םwith them
ʾimamH5973 →1050 times
רָעָֽה׃harm
raahH7451 →662 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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
Judges 14:15So on the fourth day they said to Samson’s wife, “Entice your husband to explain the riddle to us, or we will burn you and your father’s household to death. Did you invite us…
it leads to
- Judges 15:6
“Who did this?” the Philistines demanded. “It was Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite,” they were told. “For his wife was given to his companion.” So the Philistines went up and burned her and…
- Judges 16:5
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 up and subdue him.…
- Micah 7:5
Do not rely on a friend; do not trust in a companion. Seal the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your arms.
- Proverbs 5:3
Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey and her speech is smoother than oil,
- Genesis 3:1–6
Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field that the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any…
- Judges 15:6
About Judges
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.