Bible Strands
Judges 15:8
And he struck them ruthlessly with a great slaughter, and then went down and stayed in the cave at the rock of Etam.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Samson acts after vowing vengeance on the men of Judah who delivered him to the Philistines. He executes the blow and retreats to shelter in the cave at the rock of Etam.
The words — וַ/יַּ֨ךְ (va/i.Yakh) translates literally as "and he struck," while מַכָּ֣ה גְדוֹלָ֑ה (ma.Kah ge.do.Lah) renders "a great defeat" or "great slaughter."
The thread — The motif of solitary, violent treading against hostile nations recurs in Isaiah 63:3 and Isaiah 63:6, where divine wrath is depicted through the same imagery of crushing adversaries.
Why it lands — The passage records a completed act of judgment followed by strategic withdrawal, requiring the reader to acknowledge that retribution proceeds through decisive action and deliberate retreat.
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.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 25:10 For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain. But Moab will be trampled in his place as straw is trodden into the dung pile.
- Isaiah 63:3 “I have trodden the winepress alone, and no one from the nations was with Me. I trampled them in My anger and trod them down in My fury; their blood spattered My garments, and all My clothes were stained.
- Isaiah 63:6 I trampled the nations in My anger; in My wrath I made them drunk and poured out their blood on the ground.”