What does Judges 15:15 mean?
ESV: And he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, and put out his hand and took it, and with it he struck 1,000 men.
NIV: Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men.
NASB: Then he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, so he reached out with his hand and took it, and killed a thousand men with it.
CSB: He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand, took it, and killed a thousand men with it.
NLT: Then he found the jawbone of a recently killed donkey. He picked it up and killed 1,000 Philistines with it.
KJV: And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith.
NKJV: He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand and took it, and killed a thousand men with it.
Verse Commentary:
Samson has been brought, bound in new ropes, to be handed over to a Philistine army tasked with killing him. The Lord has been using Samson as an agent of disruption against Philistine rule (Judges 13:5; 14:4; 15:5, 8). Samson is motivated by revenge. He certainly wants to kill his hated enemies. The Lord's Spirit rushes on Samson, giving him the power to do exactly that (Judges 15:13–14).
In the instant after Samson tears the ropes from his arms, he is unarmed. On the ground nearby is the jawbone of a recently deceased donkey. That the bone was relatively fresh meant it was not brittle, still heavy, and would not easily break. A donkey's jawbone is about the length of a person's forearm, made of two J-shaped segments, right and left. These are joined at the end of the straight segment, while the thicker, curved side is at the hinge of the donkey's jaw. Most likely, Samson picked one of these halves; perhaps breaking it free from the carcass as he charged the Philistine army. This would produce a weapon roughly the same shape and size as a hand-axe or hatchet. It may have still contained the donkey's teeth.
In front of Samson are a considerable number of Philistines. In Hebrew, the term for "thousands" is the same as the word used for "divisions" and "clans." Context is needed to know whether it's a number or a noun. In some cases, both are possible. Samson might have killed a tally of one thousand men. Or he may have "only" wiped out the entire contingent of Philistine soldiers, likely between two and three hundred fully equipped troops. Either feat is beyond impressive; it would be miraculous.
No matter how strong, no mortal man could expect to kill multiple hundreds of enemies in hand-to-hand combat. Even with sophisticated weapons, it would verge on physically impossible. Yet Samson is armed with an extremely crude bone club. Further, one would expect Samson's opponents to scatter once they realized what was happening. If Samson killed a literal "thousand" men, they would have been the unlucky ones who couldn't outrun their companions.
The astonishing victory is meant to be understood as a supernatural work of God, through Samson. That's not to say it was easy: Samson will exit the fight so physically drained that he thinks he is going to die (Judges 15:18). His strength lasts long enough for a poetic, taunting shout of triumph, fitting for someone with Samson's vengeful spirit (Judges 15:16).
Verse Context:
Judges 15:9–20 describes the result of a Philistine incursion meant to capture Samson. The Israelites in Judah hand Samson over when he volunteers to have his hands tied with new rope. However, when he sees the Philistine forces, Samson is empowered by God's Spirit. He snaps his restraints and attacks. Using only jawbone of a donkey, he slaughters the enemy troops and shouts out a clever poem about his victory. God then answers Samson's plea for water.
Chapter Summary:
Samson returns to Timnah to visit his bride, after leaving in a rage when she spoiled his unfair riddle. Her father thought Samson had abandoned her, so she was given to another man. Samson responds by tying animals to torches and setting them loose in Philistine wheat fields. He also burns the harvested crops and olive orchards. The Philistines kill Samson's former bride and father-in-law in retaliation. Samson's vengeance ensues. When the men of Judah turn Samson over to a Philistine army the Lord's Spirit empowers him. Samson slaughters the enemy soldiers with the jawbone of a donkey, and God rescues him from thirst with a miraculous spring of water.
Chapter Context:
Judges 15 describes a cycle of retribution which continues to spiral from the events of the previous chapter. This results in a Philistine army attempting to capture and kill Samson. Instead, God empowers him to kill masses of the enemy with only a donkey's jawbone. This furthers the Lord's intent to disrupt Philistine control over Israel (Judges 13:5). It does not seem to alter Samson's carnal nature, as his weakness for women continues in the following chapter.
Book Summary:
The Book of Judges describes Israel's history from the death of Joshua to shortly before Israel's first king, Saul. Israel fails to complete God's command to purge the wicked Canaanites from the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4). This results in a centuries-long cycle where Israel falls into sin and is oppressed by local enemies. After each oppression, God sends a civil-military leader, labeled using a Hebrew word loosely translated into English as "judge." These appointed rescuers would free Israel from enemy control and govern for a certain time. After each judge's death, the cycle of sin and oppression begins again. This continues until the people of Israel choose a king, during the ministry of the prophet-and-judge Samuel (1 Samuel 1—7).
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