And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and olives.

JUDGES 15:5KJV
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Judges 15:5 (KJV)

What does Judges 15:5 mean?

Judges 15:5 describes how Samson set fire to the Philistines’ crops by releasing foxes with burning torches tied to their tails into their fields, destroying their grain, stacked sheaves, vineyards, and olive groves. This act was a deliberate attack on the Philistines’ food supply and livelihood.

In this verse, Samson is acting alone in retaliation against the Philistines after they wronged him. The scene takes place during the time when the Israelites were under Philistine oppression. By targeting the standing corn (grain), harvested grain piles, vineyards, and olive trees, Samson’s action would have caused a major economic blow, showing the seriousness of his conflict with the Philistines.

The Hebrew behind Judges 15:5

  • שָׁלַח (shalach, "go"): This word means "to send" or "let go." It emphasizes that Samson actively released the foxes into the fields, making his act intentional and targeted.
  • קָמָה (qamah, "corn"): This term refers to standing grain, not just any corn. It highlights that Samson destroyed both the unharvested crops and the already gathered grain, maximizing the damage.
  • גָּדִישׁ (gadish, "shocks"): This word means stacks or piles of harvested grain. Including both standing and stacked grain shows the thoroughness of the destruction.
  • כֶּרֶם (kerem, "vineyards") and זַיִת (zayit, "olives"): These words point out that Samson’s destruction went beyond grain to other key agricultural products, underlining the totality of the loss for the Philistines.

Why Judges 15:5 matters

  • This verse clarifies that Samson’s actions were not just a personal revenge but a calculated strike against the Philistines’ entire agricultural economy, which would have had long-term consequences for their community.
  • The detail about burning both the standing and stacked grain, along with vineyards and olives, shows the completeness of the destruction, not just a symbolic gesture.
  • Understanding the full scope of what was destroyed helps explain the intensity of the Philistines’ anger in the following verses and sets the stage for the escalating conflict between Samson and the Philistines.

Where else these words appear

“shocks” Hebrew H1430 · used in 4 verses

  • Exodus 22:6 If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the stacks of corn, or the standing corn, or the field, be consumed therewith; he that kindled the fire shall surely make restitution.
  • Job 5:26 Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in in his season.
  • Job 21:32 Yet shall he be brought to the grave, and shall remain in the tomb.

“corn” Hebrew H7054 · used in 8 verses

  • Exodus 22:6 If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the stacks of corn, or the standing corn, or the field, be consumed therewith; he that kindled the fire shall surely make restitution.
  • Deuteronomy 23:25 When thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbour, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand; but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbour's standing corn.
  • Isaiah 17:5 And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the corn, and reapeth the ears with his arm; and it shall be as he that gathereth ears in the valley of Rephaim.

“brands” Hebrew H3940 · used in 13 verses

  • Genesis 15:17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.
  • Judges 15:4 And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails.
  • Ezekiel 1:13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps: it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning.

“olives” Hebrew H2132 · used in 36 verses

  • Genesis 8:11 And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.
  • Judges 9:9 But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?
  • Isaiah 17:6 Yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive tree, two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost fruitful branches thereof, saith the LORD God of Israel.