Annotations Upon the Historical Books Part 2, Judges · Chapter 15
CHAP. XV.
Verſ. 1. BƲt it came to paſſe within a while after, in the time of wheat harveſt, that Samſon viſited his wife with a kid, &c.] The time is thus noted when Samſon returned to his wife, becauſe afterward there is mention made of the burning of their corn in the fields, partly cut down and partly ſtanding; and doubtleſſe though Samſon did really intend reconciliation with his wife, and to that end carried a kid with him, the better to expreſſe the love he bare her, and the deſire he had to be reconciled to her; yet the Lord was pleaſed to incline his heart this way purpoſely, that finding his wife given away to another man, he might take that occaſion to be revenged on the Philiſtines.
Verſ. 4. And Samſon went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, &c.] It appears by many places of Scripture, that there were great ſtore of foxes in the land of Canaan; for hence are thoſe expreſſions, Cant. 2.15. Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: and Pſal. 63.9, 10. But thoſe that ſeek my ſoul to deſtroy it—they ſhall fall by the ſword, they ſhall be a portion for foxes: and again, Neh. 4.3. Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he ſhall even break down their ſtone wall. Now conſidering that this countrey did ſo abound with foxes, and that withall it was ſummer time, wheat harveſt, verſ. 1. when foxes, becauſe they are fat, are the more eaſily taken, it is not a matter of ſo great wonder, that Samſon ſhould take three hundred foxes, eſpecially if withall we do obſerve, that it is not expreſſed, either how long they were taking, or whether he took them himſelf alone, or by the help of others. But however, the Lord that put him upon this way of revenge, could eaſily ſupply him with this number of foxes in a ſhort time: The wild beasts of the field are his, Pſal. 50.11. and if we remember how by the al-ruling providence of God, there came in of all kinds of living creatures to Noah, that they might be preſerved in the ark, Gen. 6.20. and how ſuch a multitude of quailes were brought in to the Iſraelites, Num. 11.31. it will not ſurely ſeem incredible, that with the ſpeciall help of Gods providence, Samſon ſhould by nets or otherwiſe, take three hundred foxes within ſome ſhort time. Now for the exploit he performed with theſe foxes, it is punctually here expreſſed, and the reaſon of each particular we may thus conceive: firſt he made choice to do it with foxes rather then dogs, &c. becauſe they are creatures that ſtill ſeek to hide themſelves, and to lie lurking in ſecret places, and therefore being let looſe, eſpecially being ſcared with the fire at their tails, were like to runne into the ſhocks, and ſtanding corn, which being fully ripe, would ſoon be ſet on a light flame, and ſo they would be ſcared too from one place to another: ſecondly, he did not let looſe each fox ſingle with a firebrand or torch tied to his tail (for the word in the originall ſignifieth both a firebrand and a torch) becauſe then they might have runne ſpeedily into their holes, and the brands or torches drawn on the ground through dirt or water would ſoon have been quenched but he tied two foxes together, tail to tail, and a firebrand or a torch between their tails, and ſo the foxes could not fly ſpeedily away, but muſt needs go ſtragling up and down, one drawing one way, and another another way, and the brands or torches were for the moſt part born above ground, that they might not be quenched: and thirdly, though the corn might have been ſet on fire without this, yet it pleaſed the Lord to direct Samſon to do it this way, that their puniſhment coming upon them in ſuch a ridiculous way, and by an act of ſuch ſcorn, even this might be withall ſome aggravation of their miſery. And then again we have by this means in this exploit of Samſons, a notable figure of the diviſions that are uſually amongſt the crafty adverſaries of Gods people, hereticks eſpecially, whereby Chriſt accompliſheth what he foretold, Luke 12.49. I am come to ſend fire on the earth, and what will I if it be already kindled? Hereticks are like foxes cunning and crafty, hurtfull to the places where they live, and noiſome by reaſon of their unſavory and abominable errours; yea they are like foxes tied tail to tail with firebrands betwixt their tails, they differ in many things and cannot agree, one draws one way & another another: onelyonly in this they agree together, that they are all incendiaries, that where ever they come ſet all on a light flame, and ſo prove the deſtruction of the places where they live; yea, thus it is uſually with all other the enemies of Chriſt and his people, the Lord uſually letting looſe ſome ſuch amongſt them, that will be ſure to make diviſions where they come, that ſo by a fire of diſcord amongſt themſelves they may be devoured through Gods juſt judgement upon them, that ſought ſo unjuſtly to devoure Gods people.
Verſ. 6. And the Philiſtines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire.] And thus that fell upon Samſons wife, which by evill means ſhe ſought to avoid, when at her wedding ſhe was threatned with burning, chap. 14.15. Entice thy husband that he may declare unto us the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy fathers houſe with fire: according to that of Solomon, Prov. 10.24. The fear of the wicked, it ſhall come upon him: and withall, both ſhe and her father were juſtly deſtroyed, for breaking the bond of marriage betwixt her and Samſon.
Verſ. 7. Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will ceaſe.] That is, though ye have been the inſtruments of God, in executing vengeance upon thoſe that wronged me; yet becauſe ye have done this, not in a way of juſtice, but out of a rage and fury for the loſſe you ſuſtained in your corn, I will proceed a little further in executing vengeance upon you, the enemies of God and his people, and then I will ceaſe, to wit, for this time, till I be further provoked; which ſhews, that what he did was done, not by way of private revenge, but becauſe he knew that God had raiſed him on purpoſe, to be a ſcourge to the Philiſtines.
Verſ. 8. And he ſmote them hip and thigh with a great ſlaughter.] That is, ſome in one place, and ſome in another, as his blows caſually lighted, he purſued them and laid on load upon every one as they came in his way, and ſome he ſmote in ſome one part of the body and ſome in another, but whereever his blows fell they malled them, and made them ſure for ſtirring any more. This I conceive to be the meaning of this proverbiall ſpeech, he ſmote them hip and thigh; though others expound it that he ſmote both horſmen and footmen, as we may ſee in the margin of our Geneva bibles; but that cannot be the meaning of it according to our tranſlation.
And he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam.] A place belonging to the tribe of Simeon, whoſe lot was within the land of Judah, 1. Chron. 4.32. called alſo Ether. Joſh. 19.7. It ſeems it was a place of ſome ſtrength (and therefore fortified and made a city of defence by Rehoboam) 2. Chron. 11.5, 6. Rehoboam dwelt in Jeruſalem, and built cities for defence in Judah. He built Bethlehem and Etam) and that therefore Samſon went thither, as expecting the Philiſtines would come up againſt him; yet not to ſecure himſelf from the Philiſtines, as being afraid of them; but rather leſt (as it proved) his brethren the Iſraelites, being enraged for his provoking the Philiſtines againſt them, ſhould attempt to offer him any violence, and ſo he ſhould be conſtrained to ſtand upon his guard againſt them.
Verſ. 9. Then the Philiſtines went up and pitched in Judah, and ſpread themſelves in Lehi.] That is, in a place afterward called Lehi, which ſignifieth a jaw-bone, and that by occaſion of the exploit done there by Samſon with the jaw-bone of an aſſe, verſ 17. And it came to paſſe, when he had made an end of speaking, that he caſt away the jaw-bone out of his hand, and called that place Ramath-Lehi. As for this phraſe, and spread themſelves in Lehi, it is purpoſely uſed to imply how great an army of the Philiſtines it was that came up againſt him.
Verſ. 12. Swear unto me that you will not fall upon me your ſelves.] Thus by yielding up himſelf to be bound by them, that he might be delivered to the Philiſtines, he diſcovered how carefull he was, that the Philiſtines ſhould not hurt the Iſraelites for his ſake, and by agreeing before-hand with them, that they ſhould not fall upon him themſelves, he ſought to prevent the danger of being conſtrained to reſiſt them, or do them any hurt in his own defence.
Verſ. 13. And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the rock.] And herein was Samſon a type of Chriſt, that was bound by the Jews his own brethren, and ſo delivered up to Pilate and the Romans, Matth. 27.2.
Verſ. 14. And the cords that were upon his hands, became as flax, &c.] Thus our Saviour alſo, of whom Samſon was a type, being by the treachery of the Jews, the people whom he came to ſave, yea his own diſciples, delivered over into the hands of his enemies, and ſo to death, Matth. 26.21, And as they did eat, he ſaid, Verily, one of you ſhall betray me: yet not without his voluntary yielding thereto, Joh. 10.18. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of my ſelf: the pains of death could not hold him, Acts 2.24. but he roſe again, and by the jaw-bone of an aſſe, that is, weak and contemptible means in the eye of reaſon, the fooliſhneſſe of preaching, 1. Cor. 1.21. he beat down the kingdome of Satan before him, and hath ſubdued the world under him.
Verſ. 18. And he was ſore a thirſt, and he called on the Lord, &c.] How ſore Samſons thirſt was, appears in this, that he was alſo through faintneſſe ready to die, and ſo not able to ſtirre from the place where he was, to ſeek water elſe where. Though therefore his thirſt and faintneſſe, might partly proceed in a naturall way, from the violent ſtirring of himſelf, in ſuch an extraordinary work as this was, of ſlaying a thouſand Philiſtines with the jaw-bone of an aſſe; yet we may well think that there was a ſpeciall hand of God beſides in it: firſt, that he might herein, as in many other things, be a type of Chriſt, who in the heat of his agony upon the croſſe, and when he had now in a manner vanquiſhed all the powers of hell and death, did alſo cry out of thirſt, John 19.28. After this, Jeſus knowing that all things were now accompliſhed, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, ſaith, I thirſt: and ſecondly, that he might hereby ſee his own weakneſſe, and ſo might be kept from being proud of his former victories, and might be taught to acknowledge, that it was merely of God that he had thus beaten down his proud enemes before him: and thus indeed God is uſually wont to humble his ſervants when they have done any memorable act, that they may not be puffed up therewith, as ſeeing how weak they are in themſelves, if they had not been endued with power from on high; as for the words here which Samſon ſpake when he cryed upon. God in his thirſt, Thou haſt given this great deliverance into the hand of thy ſervant, and now ſhall I die for thirſt, &c. therein, firſt, he doth not onelyonly intimate his aſſurance that God would not now ſuffer him to periſh, and that becauſe God had ſo miraculouſly enabled him to deſtroy his enemies; but even from this he pleads with God for help, as concluding, that all this great work would, come to nothing if after all this he ſhould periſh for thirſt, and ſo ſhould fall into the hands of the Philiſtines: and ſecondly, he intimates, that it was in Gods ſervice that he had thus wearied himſelf, and thereupon deſires the Lord to remember him in this his extremity. For ſo much is clearly enough implyed in thoſe words, thy ſervant. Thou haſt given this great deliverance into the hand of thy ſervant, and now ſhall I die for thirſt? For indeed, as long as men are imployed in Gods ſervice, they may boldly call upon God in all their wants and need, not doubting but he will ſupplie them.
Verſ. 19. But God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water thereout, &c.] Some reade this place as it is in the margin of our Bibles, But God clave an hollow place that was in Lehi, and there came water thereout: So that the meaning may be, either that God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw-bone of the aſſe, wherewith Samſon had before made ſuch havock amongſt the Philiſtines; or elſe, that God clave ſome hollow place in that field, which in memorie of this miraculous act of his done with an aſſes jaw-bone, he had called Lehi, that is, the jaw-bone: and ſo accordingly alſo, we muſt underſtand the laſt words of this verſe, wherefore he called the name thereof Enhakkor, that is, the well of him that called or cryed, which is in Lehi unto this day, to wit, either that Samſon called that particular place where the water came out of the jaw-bone, Enhakkor, and that this place hence called Enhakkor, was in that field or tract of ground, which he had formerly called Lehi; or elſe, that Samſon called the fountain, which ſprung out of the hollow place in Lehi, Enhakkor; and that this well, or ſpring of water continued afterwards, and was to be ſeen in Lehi, at the time when this Hiſtorie was written: and indeed, becauſe the words do ſeem plainly to implie, that there was a well or ſpring that continued in that place called Enhakkor, that is, the well of him that called or cryed: (inſomuch that ſome hold that the water which God miraculouſly gave Samſon for the quenching of his thirſt, was a well that ſprung out of the earth, onelyonly it came through the tooth, or the hollow place where the tooth had been in the aſſes jaw) therefore I rather think that God clave an hollow place in the field called Lehi, whence a fountain ſprung called Enhakkor; which continued untill the time of writing this Hiſtorie; then that it was an hollow place out of the very jaw-bone of the aſſe, out of which God brought water, that Samſon might drink thereof and be refreſhed.
Verſ. 20. And he judged Iſrael in the dayes of the Philistines twenty years.] See the note, chap. 13.1.