Judges 15:13

Study note

Setting — The men of Judah answer Samson’s oath demand by refusing to kill him and instead promising to bind him securely and hand him over to the Philistines. They then tie him with two new ropes and lead him up from the rock before delivering him.

The words — The Hebrew אָסֹר (‘a.Sor) and נֶֽאֱסָרְ/ךָ֙ (ne.'e.sa.re./Kha) both derive from the root for binding, emphasizing the deliberate act of securing Samson. The phrase בְ/יָדָ֔/ם (ve./ya.Da/m) denotes handing him over into their hand, marking the transition from local custody to Philistine control.

The thread — Judges 15:13 records the physical securing of Samson by his own countrymen, directly preceding the narrative reversal in Judges 15:14 where the Spirit of the LORD breaks those bonds. This sequence establishes the pattern that human arrangements for deliverance are immediately superseded by divine action.

Why it lands — The text first reports the men’s binding of Samson and their explicit promise to hand him over, then notes the immediate failure of those ropes. It asks the reader to observe that human restraint cannot contain the Spirit’s movement, requiring a shift from relying on negotiated security to recognizing divine sovereignty.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.