Spectacular Anger Issues

This is the Bible study page for the Thursday Night Bible Study Group meeting November 2 to study Judges 15.  This is the continuing saga of Samson, the juvenile judge of Israel.  This chapter has some interesting Hebrew idiom, strange yet impressive behavior, and also some whiny contrast to incredible feats.

Read through the chapter in a couple of translations.  If one is the King James (readily available online), then use one like the NIV or New Living (NLT).  If you use the New American Standard, then compare that to the NIV or NLT.  The ESV is a good blend of both, as is the Holman Christian Standard.  The Blue Letter Bible app has the HCSB and the .NET Bible (NET, New English Translation?) for free download.  The NET Bible is another good blended type of translation.  Compare those to the King James or New King James.

Once you've read through it and made notes, and jotted down questions, go back through with a commentary or two.  One option you can try (but you'll get mixed results) is to Google Judges 15.  There will be plenty of stuff that comes up, and some may be useful.  Filter what you read using what you've already come up with, rejecting stuff you don't think makes sense.

After that, go back through with the questions below:

• From what is said in verse 1, why do you think Samson seeks out his wife now?  Why do you think he takes a young goat as he goes?
• Her father explains what he did, and offers her younger sister.  Samson refuses, and claims he's now free from blame for what he does to them.  What does that tell you about how he thinks of what he did before?
• Samson catches 100 foxes.  Seriously?  The Holy Spirit didn't move him to do that, he just does it?  What does that tell you about him?  What do you think of someone able to catch 100 foxes?
• Samson ties two to each torch, lights the torches and lets them loose in the grain fields.  What does this sound like to you?  Who would do that?
• The grain in stacks, plus the standing grain, plus vineyards and olives are burned.  It's the harvest time (see v.1), so what did Samson just do?
• They ask who did that, everyone knows who, but they also know why.  What does that tell you about this area, and these people?
• The Philistines punish Samson's ex and her family, but Samson says something really weird when they do.  So, he's there, and tries to stop them, but isn't able?  What do you think happened, how do you imagine the scene?
• Read verse 7 in a few translations, like KJV, NIV, and NLT.  There isn't much difference in meaning overall, but in nuance, there is an emphasis on the fact he says he'll quit after he done which is missing in more modern translations.  Why do you think that would be emphasised by Samson?  What does it tell you about Him?
• There is an odd Hebrew idiom in verse 8.  It says, "He struck them 'leg on thigh'."  Even in the Greek version it reads that way.  Read the verse here on the Blue Letter Bible in the Christian Standard Version.  At the top, switch versions a couple of times to see how other versions translate it.  What do you think it means "hip on thigh" or "leg on thigh"?  Try and visualize the fight.  What does it mean?
• The Philistines now camp against Judah in Lehi.  Why do you think Timnah isn't being visited?  The people seem to know what's going on in that region, why go to Lehi in Judah suddenly?
• The Philistines are looking for Samson.  They know who did what in Timnah, but can't find him.  The men of Judah go get Samson themselves, rather than just tell the Philistines where he is.  Why do you think they go themselves (3,000 strong, but still, themselves)?
• He agrees to go with them, and the Philistines are "very happy to see him."  Look at verse 14 in a few translations.  So, did Samson break the ropes binding him, or did they simply fall off as if burnt?  What do you think, how do you imagine it happening?
• So, using the jawbone of a dead donkey as a weapon, Samson kills 1,000 men.  Think about that, if you need it, Google a donkey jawbone image, how would someone use that as a weapon?
• After the "Great Donkey Jawbone Battle of 1327 BC", Samson spontaneously composes a poem (or song?).  What do you think of him doing that right then?  Imagine the scene.  What's this guy like?
• Immediately after the notes of his soliloquy end, Samson throws the jawbone from his hand, and names the place.  Look up the name in the NLT.  So, what was it before?  It sounds like an old western, "the Town of Jawbone".  We just didn't know it was a "donkey" jawbone.  Why do you think it had that name before all of this?
• He names the place, and then realizes he's "dying of thirst".  Really?  He can't wait to "go into town" or the local well or anything, he's going to die right there?  Think about how he puts that.  What do you think might be going on around him that makes getting away and getting a drink a bit difficult?
• God opened (or split) "a hollow place".  It literally means the "bowl of a mortar", as in a "mortar and pestle".  So, God makes a nice little pool for Samson right there. Samson names that too, and it's there even when the writer pens these words.  So, how seriously did God take Samson's complaint?  What does that tell you about the circumstances? Why do you think God would listen to Samson?
• Samson judges Israel 20 years.  What do you think this means for Samson and the people of Israel?

That should keep us busy for a few minutes Thursday.  Be sure to think through what this means for you and your relationship with God.  What is God like, and what sort of person is He calling you to be?