Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Judges 15:13
And they spoke 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.
Verse 13. They bound him with two new cords] Probably his hands with one and his legs with the other.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
i.e. from the cave or hole in the rock, in which he had secured himself, out of which he was first brought up, and then carried down from the rock to the plain.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And they spake unto him, saying, no,…. They declared they would not fall upon him themselves and slay him; nor would the Jews put Christ to death themselves, though they were virtually his betrayers and murderers, Joh 18:31
but we will bind thee fast and deliver thee into their hands; as the Jews did Christ, and not only delivered him bound to the high priest, but also to the Roman governor, Mt 27:2
but surely we will not kill thee: not with their own hands, but then they proposed to deliver him into the hands of the Philistines, from whence nothing but death could be expected; so that had they put him to death, they would have been accessory to it, as the Jews were to the death of Christ by delivering him to the Gentiles, and are charged with it, Ac 2:23.
and they bound him with two new cords; not with one only, lest it should not be sufficient to hold him, knowing his strength, but with two, and these not old worn out ones, but new ones just made, and very strong; and, as Joseph Kimchi, noted by Ben Melech, were trebled, or made of three cords or thongs, for greater security; and of flax, as the following verse intimates, and such are most firm and strongest to hold anything; hence nets were made of flax to hold creatures in, fish, fowl, or beasts i:
and brought him up from the rock; the place, as Kimchi says, where the men of Judah dwelt, being higher than the rock; though rather the true sense is, they brought him up out of the cave in the rock.
i Vid. Plin Nat. Hist. l. 19. 1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(13) Brought him up from the rock.Again the details are uncertain. Was Samsons cave down the steep side of a cliff? Such caves are common in Palestine, and such a situation would explain these expressions. (See Josephus, Antt. xiv. 15, 5, where he says that the brigands caves were inaccessible against a few defenders, either from below or from above, and that Herod could only attack the robbers by letting down soldiers in chests from the top of the precipices.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
13. Brought him up from the rock Led him a prisoner out of the cleft which he had made his stronghold.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘ And they spoke to him, saying, “No, but we will bind you fast and hand you over into their hands. But certainly we will not kill you.” And they bound him with two new ropes and brought him up from the rock.’
What they were offering seemed certain death for Samson, but at least it would not be at their hands. They were caught helplessly between two options. The one to fight the Philistines, the other to fight Samson. They did not like the idea of either. But they hoped that Samson might be reasonable for the sake of his countrymen.
On their assurance Samson submitted to be bound. Was this the result of powerful trust in Yahweh, or was it overconfidence in his own abilities? Possibly something of both. How men chosen by God have to be on constant watch over their motives!
And they bound him with ‘two new ropes’. This probably means ‘a number of new ropes’ not strictly limited to two (compare 1Ki 17:12 of sticks gathered for a fire). ‘Two’ was traditionally used in this way from the days when men’s use of number words was very limited. Most people rarely used numbers to any extent and kept to the old usages. The ropes were new as indicating to the Philistines that they had used all measures possible to safeguard Samson. Or they may have been new because they recognised that Samson was a Nazirite. Then they led him up from the rock.
Etam was in the hill country but clearly in a defile or valley for they ‘went down’ to him and then ‘brought him up’.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jdg 15:13 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.
Ver. 13. But surely we will not kill thee. ] No, but you will do as bad: for qui non cum potest servat occidit. This is the world’s wages; expect hard usage, even from some professors, when it comes to a critical point once: they will dispraise what erst they praised and applauded, and turn cat in pan, as they say, to provide for their own ease and safety.
And they bound him with two new cords.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Reciprocal: Act 21:33 – be
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jdg 15:13. And they bound him Thus was he a type of Christ, who yielded himself to be bound, yea, and led as a lamb to the slaughter. Never were men so infatuated as these men of Judah, except those who thus treated our blessed Saviour. Up from the rock That is, from the cave in the rock, in which he had secured himself, out of which he was first brought up, and then carried down from the rock to the plain.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
15:13 And they spake unto him, saying, No; but we will bind thee fast, and {h} 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.
(h) Thus they would rather betray their brother than use the means that God had given for their deliverance.