וַיְהִי מִיָּמִים בִּימֵי קְצִיר חִטִּים וַיִּפְקֹד שִׁמְשׁוֹן אֶת אִשְׁתּוֹ בִּגְדִי עִזִּים וַיֹּאמֶר אָבֹאָה אֶל אִשְׁתִּי הֶחָדְרָה וְלֹא נְתָנוֹ אָבִיהָ לָבוֹא

After a year, at the time of the wheat harvest, Samson visited his wife with a kid. He brought this kid as a conciliatory gesture after his long absence. Apparently, he felt that a sufficient interval had passed to express his displeasure at her behavior. And when he arrived, he said: I will consort with my wife; let me in the chamber, but her father would not allow him to enter, as she was now married to another.

וַיֹּאמֶר אָבִיהָ אָמֹר אָמַרְתִּי כִּי שָׂנֹא שְׂנֵאתָהּ וָאֶתְּנֶנָּה לְמֵרֵעֶךָ הֲלֹא אֲחֹתָהּ הַקְּטַנָּה טוֹבָה מִמֶּנָּה תְּהִי נָא לְךָ תַּחְתֶּיהָ

Her father said: I said that you hated her, and I gave her as a wife to your companion, one of your groomsmen. If you feel wronged, I have a suggestion: Isn’t her younger sister better, more beautiful or more successful than she is? Let her, the sister, please be yours in her stead.

וַיֹּאמֶר לָהֶם שִׁמְשׁוֹן נִקֵּיתִי הַפַּעַם מִפְּלִשְׁתִּים כִּי עֹשֶׂה אֲנִי עִמָּם רָעָה

Samson said to them: This time I am absolved of the Philistines, for I am going to do them harm, as I no longer have any binding obligation toward them. Until this point, Samson felt that he could maintain a close relationship with the Philistines, to the extent of marriage. However, he now considered the ties entirely severed; moreover, he planned to take revenge against them.

וַיֵּלֶךְ שִׁמְשׁוֹן וַיִּלְכֹּד שְׁלֹשׁ מֵאוֹת שׁוּעָלִים וַיִּקַּח לַפִּדִים וַיֶּפֶן זָנָב אֶל זָנָב וַיָּשֶׂם לַפִּיד אֶחָד בֵּין שְׁנֵי הַזְּנָבוֹת בַּתָּוֶךְ

Samson went and captured three hundred foxes; he took torches and turned them tail to tail, tying the tail of one animal to another, and he placed one torch between every two tails, in the middle of the foxes.

וַיַּבְעֶר אֵשׁ בַּלַּפִּידִים וַיְשַׁלַּח בְּקָמוֹת פְּלִשְׁתִּים וַיַּבְעֵר מִגָּדִישׁ וְעַד קָמָה וְעַד כֶּרֶם זָיִת

He ignited the torches, and he sent them, the foxes with flaming torches tied to their tails, into the fields of standing grain of the Philistines. The animals ran wildly, in fear of their strange predicament. In their attempt to escape the burning torches they ran through the fields, igniting blazes in many different locations, and ultimately he burned it, from the piles of harvested grain, to the standing grain still growing in the fields, to the olive groves.

וַיֹּאמְרוּ פְלִשְׁתִּים מִי עָשָׂה זֹאת וַיֹּאמְרוּ שִׁמְשׁוֹן חֲתַן הַתִּמְנִי כִּי לָקַח אֶת אִשְׁתּוֹ וַיִּתְּנָהּ לְמֵרֵעֵהוּ וַיַּעֲלוּ פְלִשְׁתִּים וַיִּשְׂרְפוּ אוֹתָהּ וְאֶת אָבִיהָ בָּאֵשׁ

The Philistines said: Who did this? Who caused this immense fire? It could not all have been started by a single person. After investigating the matter, they said: It was Samson, son-in-law of the Timnite, because he, the Timnite, took his wife and gave her to his companion. The Philistines went up and burned her and her father in fire. The Philistines assumed, perhaps correctly, that the primary guilty parties were the woman and her father. They could understand Samson’s reason for taking revenge, as he had been wronged. However, his wife and her father had acted improperly, by betraying them. The Philistines administered a punishment that they believed fit the crime, and burned them as punishment for the fire.

וַיֹּאמֶר לָהֶם שִׁמְשׁוֹן אִם תַּעֲשׂוּן כָּזֹאת כִּי אִם נִקַּמְתִּי בָכֶם וְאַחַר אֶחְדָּל

Samson said to them: If that is how you act, burning my wife and her father, I cannot let you escape without retribution; indeed, I will take vengeance against you, and thereafter I will cease.

וַיַּךְ אוֹתָם שׁוֹק עַל יָרֵךְ מַכָּה גְדוֹלָה וַיֵּרֶד וַיֵּשֶׁב בִּסְעִיף סֶלַע עֵיטָם

He smote them calf over thigh, an expression meaning decisive victory, a great blow. He had previously caused them only economic damage, but this time he killed many people with his extraordinary strength. And he subsequently went down and he dwelled in the cleft of the rock of Eitam, a crevice within a large rock at a place called Eitam.

וַיַּעֲלוּ פְלִשְׁתִּים וַיַּחֲנוּ בּיהוּדָה וַיִּנָּטְשׁוּ בַּלֶּחִי

The Philistines went up and encamped against the territory of Judah, and they deployed against Lehi, a hilly area near the rock of Eitam. As explained below, Lehi was named for the incident that was to transpire there.

וַיֹּאמְרוּ אִישׁ יְהוּדָה לָמָה עֲלִיתֶם עָלֵינוּ וַיֹּאמְרוּ לֶאֱסוֹר אֶת שִׁמְשׁוֹן עָלִינוּ לַעֲשׂוֹת לוֹ כַּאֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה לָנוּ

The men of Judah said: Why have you come up against us? They said: We have come up to bind Samson, to do to him as he did to us. The Philistine commander responded with an assurance that his battalion had entered the territory of Judah with a very specific aim: To apprehend Samson and punish him for his actions.

וַיֵּרְדוּ שְׁלֹשֶׁת אֲלָפִים אִישׁ מִיהוּדָה אֶל סְעִיף סֶלַע עֵיטָם וַיֹּאמְרוּ לְשִׁמְשׁוֹן הֲלֹא יָדַעְתָּ כִּי מֹשְׁלִים בָּנוּ פְּלִשְׁתִּים וּמַה זֹּאת עָשִׂיתָ לָּנוּ וַיֹּאמֶר לָהֶם כַּאֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ לִי כֵּן עָשִׂיתִי לָהֶם

Three thousand men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Eitam, as they were aware of Samson’s whereabouts and sought to convince him to take action to defuse the threat. According to the Sages, Samson had a personal connection to the people of Judah, as his mother was from that tribe (see commentary on 13:9). And they said to Samson: Don’t you know that the Philistines rule over us? You are aware of the delicate nature of the situation; what is this that you have done to us? He said to them: I acted properly; as they did to me, so I did to them. My reaction was just and appropriate.

וַיֹּאמְרוּ לוֹ לֶאֱסָרְךָ יָרַדְנוּ לְתִתְּךָ בְּיַד פְּלִשְׁתִּים וַיֹּאמֶר לָהֶם שִׁמְשׁוֹן הִשָּׁבְעוּ לִי פֶּן תִּפְגְּעוּן בִּי אַתֶּם

They said to him: We have come to bind you, to deliver you into the hand of the Philistines, as their army is arrayed against us, and we fear them. Since you are the cause of this situation, we have no choice but to hand you to the Philistines. You can justify your actions to a Philistine court. Samson said to them: Take an oath to me that you will not smite me yourselves. Samson may have been strong enough to overcome all of these men, but he did not want to harm his own people. Therefore, he asked them to take an oath that they would not attempt to hurt him, so that he would not need to defend himself.

וַיֹּאמְרוּ לוֹ לֵאמֹר לֹא כִּי אָסֹר נֶאֱסָרְךָ וּנְתַנּוּךָ בְיָדָם וְהָמֵת לֹא נְמִיתֶךָ וַיַּאַסְרֻהוּ בִּשְׁנַיִם עֲבֹתִים חֲדָשִׁים וַיַּעֲלוּהוּ מִן הַסָּלַע

They said to him, stating, assuring him, that no, we will not smite you, but we will bind you and deliver you into their hand; we will not put you to death. They bound him with two new, unused ropes, which were still in perfect condition, and they took him up from his hiding place in the cleft of the rock with the intention of handing him to the Philistines.

הוּא בָא עַד לֶחִי וּפְלִשְׁתִּים הֵרִיעוּ לִקְרָאתוֹ וַתִּצְלַח עָלָיו רוּחַ ה'וַתִּהְיֶינָה הָעֲבֹתִים אֲשֶׁר עַל זְרוֹעוֹתָיו כַּפִּשְׁתִּים אֲשֶׁר בָּעֲרוּ בָאֵשׁ וַיִּמַּסּוּ אֱסוּרָיו מֵעַל יָדָיו

He came to the enemy camp at Lehi, and the Philistines shouted cries of victory toward him, seeing that he was being carried to them as a bound prisoner. And then the spirit of the Lord again rested upon him, and the ropes that were on his arms became like flax that was burned with fire. Even if singed flax maintains the appearance of a rope, it is not at all strong and disintegrates at the slightest touch. The men of Judah had undoubtedly bound Samson carefully and sufficiently, but the ropes were no match for his tremendous power. He shook himself slightly, and his bonds melted from upon his hands. Samson now had complete freedom of movement, but he was surrounded by numerous Philistine soldiers and did not have a weapon.

וַיִּמְצָא לְחִי חֲמוֹר טְרִיָּה וַיִּשְׁלַח יָדוֹ וַיִּקָּחֶהָ וַיַּךְ בָּהּ אֶלֶף אִישׁ

He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, from a recently deceased animal, which was easy to grasp due to its shape, and he extended his hand and took it, and he smote to death with it one thousand men.

וַיֹּאמֶר שִׁמְשׁוֹן בִּלְחִי הַחֲמוֹר חֲמוֹר חֲמֹרָתָיִם בִּלְחִי הַחֲמוֹר הִכֵּיתִי אֶלֶף אִישׁ

Samson said poetically: With the jawbone of a donkey [h·], heaps upon heaps [h··]. The term ḥomer means heap. This is a play on words: With the jawbone of a donkey I heaped heaps upon heaps. Alternatively, this expression can mean either: With the jawbone of a small donkey, or the opposite, a significant donkey. With the jawbone of a donkey, I smote one thousand men.

וַיְהִי כְּכַלֹּתוֹ לְדַבֵּר וַיַּשְׁלֵךְ הַלְּחִי מִיָּדוֹ וַיִּקְרָא לַמָּקוֹם הַהוּא רָמַת לֶחִי

It was when he finished speaking, that he cast the jawbone [leh·] from his hand. He called that place Ramat Lehi, meaning: Jawbone Hill.

וַיִּצְמָא מְאֹד וַיִּקְרָא אֶל ה' וַיֹּאמַר אַתָּה נָתַתָּ בְיַד עַבְדְּךָ אֶת הַתְּשׁוּעָה הַגְּדֹלָה הַזֹּאת וְעַתָּה אָמוּת בַּצָּמָא וְנָפַלְתִּי בְּיַד הָעֲרֵלִים !

Then, notwithstanding his great strength, he, Samson, became very thirsty, after having killed so many enemies. And he called to the Lord, and he said: You have delivered this great salvation at the hand of Your servant, as You enabled me to defeat such a large force; shall I now die of thirst and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised ones, simply due to exhaustion?

וַיִּבְקַע אֱלֹהִים אֶת הַמַּכְתֵּשׁ אֲשֶׁר בַּלֶּחִי וַיֵּצְאוּ מִמֶּנּוּ מַיִם וַיֵּשְׁתְּ וַתָּשָׁב רוּחוֹ וַיֶּחִי עַל כֵּן קָרָא שְׁמָהּ עֵין הַקּוֹרֵא אֲשֶׁר בַּלֶּחִי עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה

God split the hollow, a depression in the rock that was in Lehi, and water emerged from it. He drank, and his spirit returned, and he was revived. Therefore he called its name: The spring of the caller to God, which is located in Lehi to this day.

וַיִּשְׁפֹּט אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל בִּימֵי פְלִשְׁתִּים עֶשְׂרִים שָׁנָה

He judged Israel during the days of the Philistines twenty years. This verse summarizes and concludes this portion of Samson’s life.