Judges 15:9
in Judges 15Then the Philistines went up, camped in Judah, and deployed themselves near the town of Lehi.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then the Philistines went up, and encamped in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi.
KJV
Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi.
⋯
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)
Spread themselves - An expression used of the Philistine mode of war 2Sa 5:18, 2Sa 5:22, alluding to the compact way in which they came up the wadys, and then distpersed. Lehi is so called by anticipation (see Jdg 15:17).
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 Church Fathers1 voice
But Samson did not forgive the Philistines their wrong, nor rest content with this measure of vengeance, but he slew them with a great slaughter, and many of them fell by the sword. And he retired to Etam, a torrent in the wilderness, where was a rock, a stronghold of the tribe of Judah.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Then the Philistines went up,.... From Palestine, which lay low on the shore of the Mediterranean sea: and pitched in Judah; in the laud of Judea, which lay higher, particularly in the tribe of Judah, whither they came with an army, and encamped there: and spread themselves in Lehi; their forces were so many, that they extended a considerable way, and particularly reached to Lehi, that is, which was afterwards so called; for it has its name by anticipation from the jaw bone, which it signifies, with which Samson slew many in this place, as after related.
And there, in that field, or hill, or plain, or whatever it was, that was so called, God caused a fountain suddenly and seasonably to open just by him, and water to spring up out of it in abundance, which continued a well ever after. Of this fair water he drank, and his spirits revived. We should be more thankful for the mercy of water did we consider how ill we can spare it.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
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.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Why have you ascended against us. Are we not enslaved by you?
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
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּעֲל֣וּ | vaiyaalu | and they went up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| פְלִשְׁתִּ֔ים | felishtim | [the] Philistines | H6430 → | 287 times |
| וַֽיַּחֲנ֖וּ | vaiyachanu | and they encamped | H2583 → | 143 times |
| בִּיהוּדָ֑ה | bihudah | in Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| וַיִּנָּטְשׁ֖וּ | vaiyinateshu | and they were spread out | H5203 → | |
| בַּלֶּֽחִי׃ | balechi | at <the> Lehi | H3896 → | 3 times |
וַיַּעֲל֣וּand they went up
vaiyaaluH5927 →890 times
פְלִשְׁתִּ֔ים[the] Philistines
felishtimH6430 →287 times
וַֽיַּחֲנ֖וּand they encamped
vaiyachanuH2583 →143 times
בִּיהוּדָ֑הin Judah
bihudahH3063 →819 times
וַיִּנָּטְשׁ֖וּand they were spread out
vaiyinateshuH5203 →
בַּלֶּֽחִי׃at <the> Lehi
balechiH3896 →3 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
Judges 15:19So God opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When Samson drank, his strength returned, and he was revived. That is why he named it En-hakkore, and it…
it leads to
- Genesis 45:27
However, when they relayed all that Joseph had told them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him back, the spirit of their father Jacob was revived.
- Isaiah 44:3
For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and currents on the dry ground. I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring.
- Psalms 34:6
This poor man called out, and the LORD heard him; He saved him from all his troubles.
- Isaiah 40:29
He gives power to the faint and increases the strength of the weak.
- Genesis 45:27
Through
Judges 15:14When Samson arrived in Lehi, the Philistines came out shouting against him. And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him. The ropes on his arms became like burnt flax, and the bonds…
it leads to
- Psalms 118:11
They surrounded me on every side, but in the name of the LORD I cut them off.
- Judges 14:19
Then the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, killed thirty of their men, took their apparel, and gave their clothes to those who had solved the…
- Judges 14:6
and the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon him, and he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as one would tear a young goat. But he did not tell his father…
- 1 Samuel 11:6
When Saul heard their words, the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he burned with great anger.
- Psalms 118:11
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; 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.