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1 But it came to pass within a while after, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he said, I will go in to my wife into the chamber. But her father would not suffer him to go in. 2 And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion: is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her. 3 And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure. 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. 5 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. 6 Then the Philistines said, Who hath done this? And they answered, Samson, the son in law of the Timnite, because he had taken his wife, and given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire. 7 And Samson said unto them, Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease. 8 And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam. 9 Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi. 10 And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against us? And they answered, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he hath done to us. 11 Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? what is this that thou hast done unto us? And he said unto them, As they did unto me, so have I done unto them. 12 And they said unto him, We are come down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said unto them, Swear unto me, that ye will not fall upon me yourselves. 13 And they spake unto him, saying, No; but we will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand: but surely we will not kill thee. And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the rock. 14 And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands. 15 And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith. 16 And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men. 17 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand, and called that place Ramath-lehi. 18 And he was sore athirst, and called on the LORD, and said, Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant: and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised? 19 But God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name thereof En-hakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day. 20 And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.
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[AD 397] Ambrose of Milan on Judges 15:1-8
Moreover, Samson did not live with the girl whose treachery he had discovered but, instead, returned home to his own country. But the maid, in fear and dread of the wrath of one so wronged, afraid lest his wrath be vented on her, agreed to marry another man, one whom Samson considered a friend of his, a bridal companion on his wedding day. Even though their union was offered as an excuse, she did not escape the peril of his hatred. When this became known and he was denied an opportunity of going to his wife, for her father said that she had married someone else, but that he might, if he wished, marry her sister, sorely stung with wrong, he made plans to wreak public revenge in anger over his personal affront. He caught three hundred foxes and, at the end of summer when the grain was ripe in the fields, coupled them tail to tail and fastened torches between their tails, tying them with unbreakable knots. Then, to avenge the affront, he sent them into the standing corn fields which the Philistines had cut. The foxes, driven mad by the fire, spread the blaze wherever they ran and burned the corn stalks. Greatly disturbed by their loss, for their entire harvest had perished, the owners went and told their leaders. They dispatched men to the Thamnathite [Timnite] woman, who had given her troth to more than one husband, and also to her house and parents. They said that she was the cause of her own destruction and harm, but that it was not right for the husband who was wronged to avenge himself by injuring the whole people.

Source: LETTER 35
[AD 542] Caesarius of Arles on Judges 15:1-8
Then follow the words “Samson was angry because a friend married his wife.” This friend prefigured all heretics. It is a great mystery, my brothers. Heretics who divide the church have wanted to marry the wife of the Lord and carry her away. By departing from the church and the Gospels, they attempt through adulterous wickedness to seize the church, that is, the body of Christ, as their portion. For this reason that faithful servant and friend of the Lord’s bride says, “I betrothed you to one spouse, that I might present you a chaste virgin to Christ.” Moreover, through the zeal of faith and a rebuke he touches the person of his wicked companion: “And I fear lest, as the serpent seduced Eve, so your minds may be corrupted from the truth which is in Christ Jesus.” Who are the companions, that is, the heretical deserters who want to seize the Lord’s spouse, unless Donatus, Arius, Manichaeus, and other vessels of error and perdition?

Source: SERMON 118.4
[AD 373] Ephrem the Syrian on Judges 15:4-5
Just as those who travel about in the pathless desert tremble at serpents on the ground, and those who travel on the pathways are also terrified of vipers that hide on the paths, so were the Philistines, who traveled on paths and in the pathless desert, terrified of Samson. “To bite the horse’s heels and throw its rider backward.” It was during the great famine, which God had brought upon the Philistines, that Samson burned their crops by means of foxes, for fire was carried on their bodies like a rider on its horse. Then the Philistines keeled over from lack of bread and then fell backwards from lack of nourishment.

Source: ON GENESIS 42.9
[AD 410] Prudentius on Judges 15:4-5
Samson resistless because of his hair is attacked by a lion;
When he killed the wild beast, from its mouth there flowed streams of honey,
And from an ass’s jawbone comes forth a fountain of water:
Folly with water overflows and virtue with sweetness.
Samson catches three hundred foxes and arms them with firebrands,
Which he ties to their tails, and he lets them go into the cornfields
Of the Philistines to burn their crops: thus the fox of false doctrine
Cunningly scatters the flames of heresy over our vineyards.

Source: SCENES FROM SACRED HISTORY 17.18
[AD 465] Maximus of Turin on Judges 15:4-5
Let us avoid, then, brothers, let us avoid the pestilential deceits of the insidious foxes [heretics]. Let us avoid the deadly frauds of wicked persons lest, like the foxes which that famous strong man Samson once sent into the Philistines’ fields, bearing torches on their tails that burned up everything with their flames, the foxes of perverse teachings in like manner either get hold of the fruits of our fields by deceitful traps or consume them by burning flames. Let us, therefore, as we read, be simple and clever—that is to say, simple as doves and clever as serpents, so that the cleverness of the serpents might protect the simplicity of the doves.

Source: SERMON 41.5
[AD 542] Caesarius of Arles on Judges 15:4-5
Now let us see what Samson did when he was injured by his friend in the person of his wife. He took foxes, that is, adulterous friends of whom it is said in the Canticle of Canticles, “Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that damage the vineyards.” What does it mean, “catch”? It means seize, convict, repress them, lest the vines of the church be destroyed. What else does it mean to catch foxes, except to convict heretics with the authority of the divine law, to fasten and fetter them with the testimony of holy Scripture as with chains? Samson caught the foxes and put torches of fire on their tails after they were coupled. What do the tails of the foxes tied together signify? What are foxes’ tails except the results of heresy (for their first appearance is flattering and deceitful) bound fast, that is, condemned and dragging fire in their trail? Moreover, they destroy the fruits and good works of those who consent to their seductions. People are told, Do not listen to heretics, do not consent to them or be seduced by them. They reply, Why? Has not that one or so and so listened to heretics? Has not that other Christian committed such vices, such adultery, or such robbery? And what evil has befallen him? Those are the first appearances of the foxes, and souls that are seduced pay attention; the fire is behind them. Nothing has happened to him now, it is said. Since nothing has gone before, will nothing be dragged after? He is sure to come to the fire which follows. Do you think further that the heretics drag along the fire with which to burn the fruits of their enemies but are not themselves burned? Doubtless, when the foxes burned the harvest they, too, were burned. This judgment will come back upon the heretics; what they do not see now they have behind them. They delight people with their flattery and show themselves at first free from restraint. But at the judgment of God their tails are bound, that is, they drag fire upon themselves afterwards, since wickedness preceded their punishment.

Source: SERMON 118.4
[AD 1781] Richard Challoner on Judges 15:4
Foxes: Being judge of the people he might have many to assist him to catch with nets or otherwise a number of these animals; of which there were great numbers in that country.
[AD 413] Aurelius Prudentius Clemens on Judges 15:5
Samson resistless because of his hair is attacked by a lion;
When he killed the wild beast, from its mouth there flowed streams of honey,
And from an ass’s jawbone comes forth a fountain of water
Folly with water overflows and virtue with sweetness.
Samson catches three hundred foxes and arms them with firebrands,
Which he ties to their tails, and he lets them go into the cornfields
Of the Philistines to burn their crops: thus the fox of false doctrine
Cunningly scatters the flames of heresy over our vineyards.
- "Scenes from Sacred History 17.18"
[AD 397] Ambrose of Milan on Judges 15:9-13
Samson still did not content himself with this wrong against the Philistines, nor was he content with what he had done in revenge. He slaughtered them in a great orgy of bloodshed, and many died by the sword. He then went to Elam to a stream in the desert. The rock there was a fortification belonging to the tribe of Judah. The Philistines, who did not dare attack him or to climb the steep and hazardous fortification, denounced the tribe of Judah and rose up, urging the tribe to battle. They saw that justice would be done otherwise, if the men, who were their subjects and paid tribute, seemed about to lose a rightful and fair treatment in public affairs just because of another’s crime. In consolation, they demanded that they hand over the perpetrator of such a crime and on this condition they would be unharmed.The men of the tribe of Judah, hearing this stipulation, gathered three thousand of their men and went up to him, maintaining that they were the subjects of the Philistines and had to obey them, not from choice but through fear of danger. They put the blame for their deed upon those who had the right to force them. Then he said, “And what form of justice is it, O race of the sons of Abraham, that the wrong of first betrothing and then stealing my spouse should be my punishment, and that one may not avenge with impunity a wrong done to one’s home? Are you stooping in submission to little domestic slaves? Will you make yourselves agents of another’s insolence and turn your own hands upon yourselves? If I must die for the sorrow which is understandably mine, I will gladly die at the hands of the Philistines. My home has been assailed, my wife has been harassed. If I may not live without their evil deeds, at least I may die without crimes being committed by my people. Have I not returned an injury which I received? Have I inflicted it? Consider whether the exchange was a fitting one. They complain of damage to their crops; I, the loss of my wife. Compare sheaves of wheat and the marital union. They have themselves seen proof of my pain, the injuries which they have avenged. See what service they consider you worthy of. They want the one put to death whom they thought should be avenged, whom they injured, and to whom they gave the weapon of revenge. If you bring my neck to bend to the proud, hand me over to the enemy, but do not yourselves kill me. I do not shrink from death, but I dread your being contaminated. If you yield to those insolent men through fear, bind my hands with cords. Defenseless though they be, they will find their weapons in the knotted cords. Surely, the enemy must think you have made sufficient payment of your promise if you deliver me alive into their power.”
In answer, the three thousand who had climbed up the mountain gave him an oath that they would not use force against his life provided he would wear chains, so that they could hand him over and free themselves of the crime with which they were charged.

Source: LETTER 35
[AD 397] Ambrose of Milan on Judges 15:14-16
When he had received their pledge, Samson left the cave and abandoned his rocky fortification. When he saw the strong Philistines approaching to take him, although he was bound with double cords, he groaned in spirit and broke his bonds. Then, seizing the jawbone of an ass lying there, he struck a thousand men and put the rest to flight in a magnificent display of strength, while battle lines of armed men fell back before a single defenseless man. Any and all who dared to approach him were slain with easy effort. Flight staved off death for the rest. Thus, even today, the place is called Agon, because there Samson won a great victory by his overwhelming strength.I wish that he had been as controlled in victory as he was strong against the enemy! But, as usually happens, a soul unused to good fortune, which ought to have attributed the outcome of the engagement to God’s favor and protection, attributed it to himself, saying, “With the jawbone of an ass I have destroyed … a thousand men.” He neither erected an altar nor sacrificed a victim to God, but, failing to sacrifice and taking glory to himself, he called the place “the killing of the jawbone” to immortalize his triumph with an everlasting name.

Source: LETTER 35
[AD 542] Caesarius of Arles on Judges 15:14-16
Now when Samson destroyed a thousand men with a jawbone from the body of an ass, the Gentiles were prefigured in the ass; for thus Scripture speaks concerning both Jews and Gentiles: “An ox knows its owner, and an ass its master’s manger.” Before the coming of Christ all the Gentiles were torn to pieces by the devil and lay scattered like dry bones from the ass’s body, but when Christ the true Samson came, he seized them all in his holy hands. He restored them by the hands of his power, and with them overcame his and our adversaries. Thus, we who had given our members to the devil before so that he might kill us, were seized by Christ and became instruments of justice unto God.

Source: SERMON 119.4
[AD 397] Ambrose of Milan on Judges 15:18-19
Soon Samson began to feel a fierce thirst; there was no water, and he could no longer stand to bear his thirst. Knowing that to attain human help would not be easy and that it would be difficult without divine aid, he called upon and begged almighty God. He did not think God would help him because of his offense against him, and because he had unwisely and carefully attributed any success to himself. No, he even assigned the victory to almighty God, saying, “You have given this very great deliverance into the hand of your servant, and it has been my help. And behold! Because I die of thirst, I am placed by my need of water into the power of those over whom you gave me a great triumph.” Then God’s mercy opened the earth when Samson threw down the jawbone, and a stream issued from it, and Samson drank and resumed his spirit and called the place “the invoking of the spring.” Thus, by his prayer, he atoned for his vaunting of victory.

Source: LETTER 35
[AD 542] Caesarius of Arles on Judges 15:18-19
Although we had been dried up because of lack of the dew of God’s grace, we merited to be changed into fountains and rivers. At that time Samson prayed and a fountain issued from the jawbone. This fact is clearly fulfilled in us, for the Lord himself said, “He who believes in me, from within him there shall flow rivers of living water.”

Source: SERMON 119.4
[AD 749] John Damascene on Judges 15:18-19
In the relics of the saints the Lord Christ has provided us with saving fountains which in many ways pour out benefactions and gush with fragrant ointment. And let no one disbelieve. For, if by the will of God water poured out of the precipitous living rock in the desert, and for the thirsty Samson from the jawbone of an ass, is it unbelievable that fragrant ointment should flow from the relics of the martyrs? Certainly not, at least for such as know the power of God and the honor which the saints have from him.

Source: ORTHODOX FAITH 4.15