Judges 15:6
in Judges 15“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 her father to death.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then the Philistines said, Who hath done this? And they said, Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he hath taken his wife, and given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire.
KJV
Then the Philistines said, Who hath done this? And they answered, Samson, the son in law of the Timnite, because he had taken his wife, and given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire.
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This verse in Judges 15
Commentary
7 notes on this verseBurnt her and her father - This was probably done to appease Samson: as they saw he had been unjustly treated both by his wife and her father; therefore they destroyed them both, that they might cause his wrath to cease from them. And this indeed seems intimated in the following verse: And Samson said - Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you; that is, I am not yet satisfied: ye have done me great wrongs, I must have proportionate redress; then I shall rest satisfied.
This site's exposition
Who did this
on Judges 15:6-7
The Philistines “burned her and her father to death”, the exact threat of 14:15, so the fire she betrayed her husband to escape reached her anyway. The narrator reports the outcome and draws no lesson from it. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read Samson's vow of vengeance at verse 7 as the work of a judge rather than the settling of a private score.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
And the Philistines, incensed by the loss of all their corn in that region, told it to the princes of their land. And they sent men to Timnath, and burnt in the fire the woman who had been faithless to her husband, and her parents and all her house; saying that she had been the cause of this injury and devastation, and ought not to have provoked a man who could avenge himself by a public calamity.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Then the Philistines said, who hath done this?....
Those that deal treacherously shall be spoiled and dealt treacherously with; and the Lord is known by these judgments which he executes, especially when, as here, he makes use of his people's enemies as instruments for revenging one upon another his people's quarrels.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Who hath done this--The author of this outrage, and the cause that provoked such an extraordinary retaliation, soon became known; and the sufferers, enraged by the destruction of their crops, rushing with tumultuous fury to the house of Samson's wife, "burnt her and her father with fire." This was a remarkable retribution.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
burnt her and her father - Out of revenge on Samson’s nearest relations; or, as others think, as an act of justice in favor of Samson, and in hope of pacifying his anger. Burning was the punishment for adultery and kindred crimes among the Jews Gen 38:24; Lev 20:14; Lev 21:9. Samson’s wife brought upon herself the very punishment which she sought to escape by betraying her husband Jdg 14:15.
The words behind it
22 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| פְלִשְׁתִּים֮ | felishtim | [the] Philistines | H6430 → | 287 times |
| מִ֣י | mi | who? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| עָ֣שָׂה | ʾasah | did he do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| זֹאת֒ | zot | this [thing] | H2063 → | 603 times |
| וַיֹּאמְר֗וּ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| שִׁמְשׁוֹן֙ | shimshon | Samson | H8123 → | 38 times |
| חֲתַ֣ן | chatan | [the] son-in-law of | H2860 → | |
| הַתִּמְנִ֔י | hatimni | the Timnite | H8554 → | |
| כִּ֚י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לָקַ֣ח | lakach | he has taken | H3947 → | 966 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אִשְׁתּ֔וֹ | ʾishto | wife his | H802 → | 781 times |
| וַֽיִּתְּנָ֖הּ | vaiyitenah | and he has given her | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לְמֵרֵעֵ֑הוּ | lemereehu | to companion his | H4828 → | 7 times |
| וַיַּעֲל֣וּ | vaiyaalu | and they went up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| פְלִשְׁתִּ֔ים | felishtim | [the] Philistines | H6430 → | 287 times |
| וַיִּשְׂרְפ֥וּ | vaiyisrefu | and they burned | H8313 → | 117 times |
| אוֹתָ֛הּ | ʾotah | <obj.> her | H853 → | 10935 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אָבִ֖יהָ | ʾaviha | father her | H1 → | 1212 times |
| בָּאֵֽשׁ׃ | baesh | with <the> fire | H784 → | 378 times |
וַיֹּאמְר֣וּand they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
פְלִשְׁתִּים֮[the] Philistines
felishtimH6430 →287 times
מִ֣יwho?
miH4310 →423 times
עָ֣שָׂהdid he do
ʾasahH6213 →2628 times
זֹאת֒this [thing]
zotH2063 →603 times
וַיֹּאמְר֗וּand they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
שִׁמְשׁוֹן֙Samson
shimshonH8123 →38 times
חֲתַ֣ן[the] son-in-law of
chatanH2860 →
הַתִּמְנִ֔יthe Timnite
hatimniH8554 →
כִּ֚יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
לָקַ֣חhe has taken
lakachH3947 →966 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אִשְׁתּ֔וֹwife his
ʾishtoH802 →781 times
וַֽיִּתְּנָ֖הּand he has given her
vaiyitenahH5414 →2011 times
לְמֵרֵעֵ֑הוּto companion his
lemereehuH4828 →7 times
וַיַּעֲל֣וּand they went up
vaiyaaluH5927 →890 times
פְלִשְׁתִּ֔ים[the] Philistines
felishtimH6430 →287 times
וַיִּשְׂרְפ֥וּand they burned
vaiyisrefuH8313 →117 times
אוֹתָ֛הּ<obj.> her
ʾotahH853 →10935 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
אָבִ֖יהָfather her
ʾavihaH1 →1212 times
בָּאֵֽשׁ׃with <the> fire
baeshH784 →378 times
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
Proverbs 22:8He who sows injustice will reap disaster, and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.
it leads to
- Galatians 6:7–8
Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return.
- Job 4:8
As I have observed, those who plow iniquity and those who sow trouble reap the same.
- Isaiah 30:31
For Assyria will be shattered at the voice of the LORD; He will strike them with His scepter.
- Hosea 10:13
You have plowed wickedness and reaped injustice; you have eaten the fruit of lies. Because you have trusted in your own way and in the multitude of your mighty men,
- Psalms 125:3
For the scepter of the wicked will not rest upon the land allotted to the righteous, so that the righteous will not put forth their hands to injustice.
- Galatians 6:7–8
Through
1 Thessalonians 4:6and no one should ever violate or exploit his brother in this regard, because the Lord will avenge all such acts, as we have already told you and solemnly warned you.
it leads to
- Hebrews 13:4
Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.
- Exodus 20:15
You shall not steal.
- Exodus 20:17
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, or his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
- Hebrews 13:4
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); 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.