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Read the Bible

Green's Literal Translation

Judges 15:15

And he found a fresh jawbone of an ass, and put out his hand and took it. And he struck a thousand men with it.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Ass (Donkey);   Lehi;   Samson;   Scofield Reference Index - Miracles;   Thompson Chain Reference - Instrumentalities, Weak;   Power;   Small Things God Uses;   Weak;   Weakness-Power;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Miracles Wrought through Servants of God;   Philistines, the;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Etam;   Lehi;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Samson;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Ramath-Lehi;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Etam;   Shamgar;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Israel;   Levi;   Marriage;   Philistines;   Samson;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Lehi ;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Makaz;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Ass;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Cheek;   Fresh;   Jaw;   New;   Numbers, Book of;   Shamgar;  

Devotionals:

- Every Day Light - Devotion for January 9;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand, took it, and killed a thousand men with it.
Hebrew Names Version
He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, and put forth his hand, and took it, and struck a thousand men therewith.
King James Version
And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith.
Lexham English Bible
And he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey; he reached down and took it and killed one thousand men with it.
English Standard Version
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.
New Century Version
Samson found the jawbone of a dead donkey, took it, and killed a thousand men with it!
New English Translation
He happened to see a solid jawbone of a donkey. He grabbed it and struck down a thousand men.
Amplified Bible
He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, so he reached out his hand and took it and killed a thousand men with it.
New American Standard Bible
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.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And he found a new iawebone of an asse, and put forth his hand, and caught it, and slewe a thousand men therewith.
Legacy Standard Bible
to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him."
Contemporary English Version
Samson glanced around and spotted the jawbone of a donkey. The jawbone had not yet dried out, so it was still hard and heavy. Samson grabbed it and started hitting Philistines—he killed a thousand of them!
Complete Jewish Bible
He found a fresh donkey jawbone, took it in his hand, and with it he struck down a thousand men.
Darby Translation
And he found a fresh jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand and took it, and slew with it a thousand men.
Easy-to-Read Version
Samson found a jawbone of a dead donkey and killed 1000 Philistine men with it.
George Lamsa Translation
And he found a hard jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand and took it, and slew a thousand men with it.
Good News Translation
Then he found a jawbone of a donkey that had recently died. He reached down and picked it up, and killed a thousand men with it.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And he founde the cheke bone of a deed asse: then put he forth his hande, and toke it, & slewe a thousande men therwith:
American Standard Version
And he found a fresh jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and smote a thousand men therewith.
Bible in Basic English
And taking up the mouth-bone of an ass newly dead, which he saw by chance on the earth, he put to death a thousand men with it.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And he founde a newe iawe bone of an Asse, & put foorth his hande, and caught it, and slue a thousande men therwith.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and smote a thousand men therewith.
King James Version (1611)
And he found a new iawbone of an asse, and put foorth his hand, and tooke it, and slewe a thousand men therewith.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And he found the jaw-bone of an ass that had been cast away, and he put forth his hand and took it, and smote with it a thousand men.
English Revised Version
And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and smote a thousand men therewith.
Berean Standard Bible
He found the fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand and took it, and struck down a thousand men.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And he took a cheke foundun, that is, the lowere cheke boon of an asse, that lay, `and he killyde `with it a thousinde men; and seide,
Young's Literal Translation
and he findeth a fresh jaw-bone of an ass, and putteth forth his hand and taketh it, and smiteth with it -- a thousand men.
Update Bible Version
And he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, and put forth his hand, and took it, and smote a thousand men therewith.
Webster's Bible Translation
And he found a fresh jaw-bone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men with it.
World English Bible
He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, and put forth his hand, and took it, and struck a thousand men therewith.
New King James Version
He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand and took it, and killed a thousand men with it.
New Living Translation
Then he found the jawbone of a recently killed donkey. He picked it up and killed 1,000 Philistines with it.
New Life Bible
Samson found a jawbone of a donkey and took it in his hand. He killed 1,000 men with it.
New Revised Standard
Then he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached down and took it, and with it he killed a thousand men.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then found he the jawbone of an ass newly-slain, - so he thrust forth his hand, and took it, and smote therewith, a thousand men.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And finding a jawbone, even the jawbone of an ass, which lay there, catching it up, he slew therewith a thousand men.
Revised Standard Version
And he found a fresh jawbone of an ass, and put out his hand and seized it, and with it he slew a thousand men.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, so he reached out and took it and killed a thousand men with it.

Contextual Overview

9 And the Philistines went up and pitched in Judah, and were spread out in Lehi. 10 And the men of Judah said, Why have you come up against us? And they said, We have come up to bind Samson, to do to him as he has done to us. 11 And three thousand men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, Do you not know that the Philistines are rulers over us? And what is this that you have done tous? And he said to them, As they did to me,so I did to them. 12 And they said to him, We have come down to bind you, to give you into the hands of the Philistines. And Samson said to them, Swear to me that you will not fall on me yourselves. 13 And they spoke to him, saying, No, but we will certainly bind you, and will give you into their hand. But we certainly will not cause you to die. And they bound him with two thick cords, new ones, and brought him up from the rock. 14 He came to Lehi, and the Philistines shouted to meet him, And the Spirit of Jehovah came upon him, and the thick cords which were on his arms were as flax which they burn with fire. And his bonds melted from his hands. 15 And he found a fresh jawbone of an ass, and put out his hand and took it. And he struck a thousand men with it. 16 And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, a heap, two heaps, with the jawbone of an ass I have killed a thousand men. 17 And it happened when he finished speaking, he threw the jawbone out of his hand. And he called that place Jawbone Height.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

new jawbone: Heb. moist

slew: Judges 3:31, Judges 4:21, Judges 7:16, Leviticus 26:8, Joshua 23:10, 1 Samuel 14:6, 1 Samuel 14:14, 1 Samuel 17:49, 1 Samuel 17:50, 1 Corinthians 1:27, 1 Corinthians 1:28

a thousand: Some would render the words aileph ish, "a chief;" but it is alluph, and not aileph, which signifies a chief; besides which, the Hebrew idiom would, even in that case, require it to be ish alluph, "a man, a chief," and not alluph ish, "a chief, a man." Add to which, that every version renders it "a thousand men."

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 33:22 - General Judges 14:6 - rent him Judges 16:30 - So the dead 1 Samuel 17:40 - staff 1 Corinthians 1:25 - the foolishness

Cross-References

Genesis 15:1
After these things the Word of Jehovah came to Abram in a vision, saying, Do not fear, Abram; I am your shield, your reward will increase greatly.
Genesis 15:2
And Abram said, Lord Jehovah, what will You give to me since I am going childless and the son of the inheritance of my house is Eleazar of Damascus?
Genesis 15:7
And He said to him, I am Jehovah who caused you to come out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.
Genesis 15:9
And He said to him, Take for Me a heifer three years old, and a she-goat three years old, and a ram three years old, and a turtledove, even a nestling.
Genesis 15:13
And He said to Abram, Knowing you must know that your seed shall be an alien in a land not theirs; and they shall serve them. And they shall afflict them four hundred years;
Genesis 15:16
And in the fourth generation they shall come here again; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.
Genesis 15:19
the Kenite, and the Kenizzite, and the Kadmonite,
Genesis 23:4
I am an alien and a visitor with you. Give to me a possession among you, so that I may bury my dead from before the eyes.
Genesis 23:19
And after this Abraham buried his wife Sarah at the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre; it is Hebron, in the land of Canaan.
Genesis 35:29
And Isaac expired and died and was gathered to his people, old and satisfied of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And he found a new jawbone of an ass,.... That is, the jawbone of an ass lately killed, which perhaps had some of the flesh upon it, the blood or purulent matter on it; for Jarchi says, he had read in the books of physicians, that the word here used signifies the sanies or purulent matter of a wound; however, it was moist, and fresh, and so tough and strong, and would bear to strike with, and give hard blows with, when an old jawbone would have been dry and brittle; and perhaps the asses of those countries were larger than ours, and so their jawbones bigger and stronger:

and put forth his hand and took it; it lay near him, being so disposed by the providence of God at the time and place where his cords were loosed from him, and he reached and took it up:

and slew one thousand men therewith, such was his great strength, that every blow he gave in all probability killed a man; there have been wonderful things done by mighty warriors, but none like this; they have by the use of warlike weapons destroyed many, as with the sword or spear, but not with such an instrument. One of David's worthies slew three hundred men at one time with his spear, 1 Chronicles 11:11 and Scanderbeg with his sword slew great numbers of the Turks with his own hand at different times; what comes nearest to this is Shamgar's killing six hundred Philistines with an ox goad, Judges 3:31, this may be an emblem of the weak and contemptible means of the Gospel, the foolishness of preaching, by which Christ has conquered and subdued multitudes to himself.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Slew a thousand men therewith - Compare the marginal references. The Philistines, seized with a panic at seeing Samson suddenly burst his cords and rush at them, offered no resistance, but fell an easy prey to the blows of their mighty foe. Some perhaps were dashed down the cliffs in their flight.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Judges 15:15. He found a new jaw-bone of an ass — I rather think that the word טריה teriyah, which we translate new, and the margin moist, should be understood as signifying the tabia or putrid state of the ass from which this jawbone was taken. He found there a dead ass in a state of putrefaction; on which account he could the more easily separate the jaw from its integuments; this was a circumstance proper to be recorded by the historian, and a mark of the providence of God. But were we to understand it of a fresh jaw-bone, very lately separated from the head of an ass, the circumstance does not seem worthy of being recorded.

With the jaw-bore of an ass, heaps upon heaps — I cannot see the propriety of this rendering of the Hebrew words בלחי החמור חמור חמרתים bilchi hachamor, chemor chamorathayim; I believe they should be translated thus: -

"With the jaw-bone of this ass,

an ass (the foal) of two asses;

"With the jaw-bone of this ass

I have slain a thousand men."


This appears to have been a triumphal song on the occasion; and the words are variously rendered both by the versions, and by expositors.


 
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