Day 87

A Thousand Killed with a Jawbone

Judges 15:9–16:5

Soon Samson went to live under a split rock called Etam. The Philistine army attacked the tribe of Judah. “What do you want from us?” Judah asked.

“We have come to bind and kill Samson,” they answered.

Then 3,000 men of Judah went to see Samson. “Why did you kill the Philistines?” they asked. “We suffer for what you do.” So, tying Samson with new ropes, they took him away. The Philistines shouted joyfully when they saw Samson brought to them. But they didn’t know what he was about to do. Samson broke the new ropes as if they were string. He grabbed a mule’s jawbone and started swinging. That day, Samson killed a thousand Philistines. Afterwards, he was so thirsty he was about to die. He called out to God and water sprang up from the ground.

Samson fell in love with another Philistine woman. The name of this woman was Delilah. The Philistine rulers wanted to stop Samson more than ever. They came to Delilah. “Find out what makes Samson so strong. If you help us, we’ll give you 1,100 pieces of silver.”

Questions: Why did the Philistines attack Judah? Who was the woman Samson fell in love with?