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 15:5KJVWhat 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.