Judges 15:8
in Judges 15And he struck them ruthlessly with a great slaughter, and then went down and stayed in the cave at the rock of Etam.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and dwelt in the cleft of the rock of Etam.
KJV
And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam.
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This verse in Judges 15
Commentary
6 notes on this verseHe smote them hip and thigh - This also is variously understood; but the general meaning seems plain; he appears to have had no kind of defensive weapon, therefore he was obliged to grapple with them, and, according to the custom of wrestlers, trip up their feet, and then bruise them to death. Some translate heaps upon heaps; others, he smote horsemen and footmen; others, he wounded them from their legs to their thighs, etc., etc. See the different versions.
This site's exposition
smote them hip and thigh
on Judges 15:8-10
Hip and thigh renders a Hebrew phrase that occurs nowhere else in Scripture, and the old versions divide over it: Clarke lists wrestling holds, heaps upon heaps, and blows running from leg to thigh, and settles none of them. Etam is a cliff inside Judah's own hill country, so the deliverer withdraws into the tribe that is about to hand him over. The Philistine force does not march against Israel but camps in Judah to arrest one man, and Judah's question at verse 10 asks why they have come rather than telling them to leave.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
10 And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against us? And they answered, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he hath done to us. 11 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?
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
smote them hip and thigh--a proverbial expression for a merciless slaughter. he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam--rather went down and dwelt in the cleft--that is, the cave or cavern of the cliff Etam. HE IS BOUND BY THE MEN OF JUDAH, AND DELIVERED TO THE PHILISTINES.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Hip and thigh - A proverbial expression of doubtful origin, meaning all the “great” and “mighty,” all the choice pieces like the thigh and shoulder. In the top of the rock - Rather, “the cleft of the rock.” These clefts of the rock were the natural fortresses and hiding places of the land. (Isa 2:21; Isa 57:5. Compare 1Sa 13:6; 1Ki 18:13.) Etam - Not the same as the place in the territory of Simeon 1Ch 4:32. Its situation is uncertain, but a site near Eleutheropolis (“Beth-jibrin”) is required; and there exist some extraordinary caverns in the soft limestone or chalky rock, fifteen or twenty feet deep, with perpendicular sides, opening into extensive excavations in the rock, about two hours from Eleutheropolis. (Conder conjectures it to be the same as Atab, a village 12 miles southwest of Jerusalem, in the ‛arkub or Ridge.)
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּ֨ךְ | vaiyakh | and he struck | H5221 → | 499 times |
| אוֹתָ֥ם | ʾotam | <obj.> them | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שׁ֛וֹק | shok | leg | H7785 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | with | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| יָרֵ֖ךְ | yarekh | thigh | H3409 → | 34 times |
| מַכָּ֣ה | makah | a defeat | H4347 → | |
| גְדוֹלָ֑ה | gedolah | great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| וַיֵּ֣רֶד | vaiyered | and he went down | H3381 → | 381 times |
| וַיֵּ֔שֶׁב | vaiyeshev | and he dwelt | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| בִּסְעִ֖יף | bisif | in [the] cleft of | H5585 → | |
| סֶ֥לַע | sela' | [the] rock of | H5553 → | 58 times |
| עֵיטָֽם׃ ס | ʾeitam | Etam | H5862 → |
וַיַּ֨ךְand he struck
vaiyakhH5221 →499 times
אוֹתָ֥ם<obj.> them
ʾotamH853 →10935 times
שׁ֛וֹקleg
shokH7785 →
עַל־with
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
יָרֵ֖ךְthigh
yarekhH3409 →34 times
מַכָּ֣הa defeat
makahH4347 →
גְדוֹלָ֑הgreat
gedolahH1419 →526 times
וַיֵּ֣רֶדand he went down
vaiyeredH3381 →381 times
וַיֵּ֔שֶׁבand he dwelt
vaiyeshevH3427 →1079 times
בִּסְעִ֖יףin [the] cleft of
bisifH5585 →
סֶ֥לַע[the] rock of
sela'H5553 →58 times
עֵיטָֽם׃ סEtam
ʾeitamH5862 →
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
Isaiah 63:3“I have trodden the winepress alone, and no one from the nations was with Me. I trampled them in My anger and trod them down in My fury; their blood spattered My garments, and…
it leads to
- Revelation 19:13–15
He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is The Word of God.
- Revelation 14:19–20
So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and gathered the grapes of the earth, and he threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath.
- Micah 7:10
Then my enemy will see and will be covered with shame—she who said to me, “Where is the LORD your God?” My eyes will see her; at that time she will be trampled like…
- Malachi 4:3
Then you will trample the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day I am preparing,” says the LORD of Hosts.
- Zechariah 10:5
They will be like mighty men in battle, trampling the enemy in the mire of the streets. They will fight because the LORD is with them, and they will put the horsemen to shame.
- Revelation 19:13–15
Through
Isaiah 25:10For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain. But Moab will be trampled in his place as straw is trodden into the dung pile.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 48:2
There is no longer praise for Moab; in Heshbon they devise evil against her: ‘Come, let us cut her off from nationhood.’ You too, O people of Madmen, will be silenced; the sword will…
- Jeremiah 48:2
Through
Isaiah 63:6I trampled the nations in My anger; in My wrath I made them drunk and poured out their blood on the ground.”
it leads to
- Revelation 14:10
he too will drink the wine of God’s anger, poured undiluted into the cup of His wrath. And he will be tormented in fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and…
- Isaiah 49:26
I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh; they will be drunk on their own blood, as with wine. Then all mankind will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior and your…
- Revelation 14:10
About Judges
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); 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.