See the margin. Before, when the Philistines injured him he was in covenant with the Timnathites through his marriage and by the rites of hospitality, for which reason he went off to Ashkelon to take his revenge Jdg 14:19. But now the Philistines themselves had broken this bond, and so he was free to take his revenge on the spot.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Because they have first provoked me by an irreparable injury. But although this may look like an act of private revenge, yet it is plain enough that Samson acted as a judge, (for so he was,) and as an avenger of the public injuries and oppressions of his people; as plainly appears from hence, that Samson designed this very thing before he had received any personal injury, Jdg 14:4.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

3. Samson said . . ., Now shall I bemore blameless than the PhilistinesThis nefarious conductprovoked the hero’s just indignation, and he resolved to take signalvengeance.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

And Samson said concerning them,…. His wife’s father, and other relations, and the citizens of Timnath; this, which is what follows, he said either within himself respecting them, or he said it to them openly and publicly before them all:

now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure; signifying, that if he did them an ill thing, or what might be reckoned an injury to their persons or properties, and which would be disagreeable and displeasing to them, they could not justly blame him for it, since they had given him such a provocation as to dispose of his wife to another man; though Samson did not mean to act, nor did he act in the following instances as a private person taking private revenge, but as a public person, and judge of Israel; and took occasion, from the private injuries done him, to avenge the public ones of the children of Israel upon the Philistines; and they might thank themselves for giving the opportunity, which they could not justly condemn him for taking.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

Enraged at this answer, Samson said to them (i.e., to her father and those around him), “ Now am I blameless before the Philistines, if I do evil to them. ” with , to be innocent away from a person, i.e., before him (see Num 32:22). Samson regarded the treatment which he had received from his father-in-law as but one effect of the disposition of the Philistines generally towards the Israelites, and therefore resolved to avenge the wrong which he had received from one member of the Philistines upon the whole nation, or at all events upon the whole of the city of Timnath.

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

Samson Burns the Philistines Corn Jdg. 15:3-13

3 And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure.
4 And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails.
5 And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and olives.
6 Then the Philistines said, Who hath done this? And they answered, Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he had taken his wife, and given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire.
7 And Samson said unto them, Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease.
8 And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter: and he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam.
9 Then the Philistines went up, and pitched in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi.
10 And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against us? And they answered, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he hath done to us.
11 Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? what is this that thou hast done unto us? And he said unto them, As they did unto me, so have I done unto them.
12 And they said unto him, We are come down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said unto them, Swear unto me, that ye will not fall upon me yourselves.
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.

3.

What did Samson mean by a displeasure? Jdg. 15:3

Samson had in mind the bringing of injury or calamity upon the Philistines. The word is sometimes translated as an evil. He certainly had in mind the afflicting of many casualties in Philistia. He regarded the treatment which he had received from his father-in-law as but one more instance of the attitude of the Philistines towards the Israelites. He was determined to avenge the wrong which he had received from one member of the Philistines upon the entire nation, or at least upon the whole city of Timnath.

4.

Were foxes plentiful in Philistia? Jdg. 15:4

The word translated foxes in the Hebrew is shualim. On some occasions it might be translated as jackals. These are animals which resemble foxes and are frequently classed with the foxes even among the Arabs of the present day. The animals are still found in great quantities around Joppa, Gaza, and in Galilee. They run together and may be rather easily caught.

5.

What kind of grain was destroyed? Jdg. 15:5

The authorized version has the word corn, but the reference is to shocks of wheat which were mentioned in verse five. Some of the grain was still standing in the field; some of it had been cut and gathered into bundles. Bundles had been placed in shocks, and the people were eagerly anticipating the storing of the grain from the harvest. Samsons act of vengeance brought great hardship upon them. The fires raged so heavily that destruction was even brought to the vineyards and the olive groves.

6.

Did the Philistines kill Samsons wife? Jdg. 15:6

The Philistines found out what had happened. They knew Samson had done them this displeasure on account of the treatment which he had received at the hands of his father-in-law, the Timnite. As a result, the Philistine people vented their wrath upon the Timnite and Samsons former wife. It is not clear whether they actually burned them, but it is suggested by Keil and Delitzsch that they burned his house to the ground with the occupants inside it.

7.

What is the meaning of the expression, hip and thigh? Jdg. 15:8

Such an expression is proverbial for a cruel, merciless slaughter. The German people are known for cutting arm and leg in two. Commentaries make reference to the Arabic war in thigh fashion. Samsons great strength enabled him to run in hot pursuit of his adversaries. When he caught them, he would be able to stand his ground in hand-to-hand combat. Today, athletes are greatly concerned about their legs. When strength goes from their legs, they are no longer able to perform as in former days. It is easy to see how Samson was described as having smitten the Philistines hip and thigh.

8.

Where was Etam? Jdg. 15:11

Two places by the name of Etam are mentioned in the Scripture. One, mentioned in 2Ch. 11:6, lies between Bethlehem and Tekoa. This spot was fortified by King Rehoboam and stood south of Jerusalem in the hill country of Judah. The other is mentioned in 1Ch. 4:32, along with Ain, Rimmon, and other Simeonite towns. Since Samson went down to Etam, the latter place fits very well. He would have had to go up if he were to go to the aforementioned Etam.

9.

Where was Lehi? Jdg. 15:9

The Philistines advanced with their armies to avenge themselves for the defeat they had sustained at the hands of Samson. They came into the territory belonging to the tribe of Judah and spread themselves out in Lehi. This spot is probably mentioned again in 2Sa. 23:11. It cannot be traced with any certainty, but the consensus of opinion among Biblical geographers is for placing it in the southwestern approach to the mountains of Judah near Beersheba.

10.

Why were the men of Judah alarmed? Jdg. 15:10

By fleeing to a place in the south part of the Promised Land, Samson had led the Philistines to come up into the territory belonging to the tribe of Judah. The presence of the armies of the oppressors would cause great concern to the men of Judah. They evidently did not recognize Samson as a deliverer whom the Lord had raised up for them. They did not crowd around him in order to smite the oppressors with his help and drive them out of the land. They had been so degraded by the Philistine oppression that they cast reproach upon Samson.

11.

Why did the men of Judah rebuke Samson? Jdg. 15:11

The men of Judah rebuked Samson for coming into their territory to hide from the Philistines. Furthermore, they chided him for having smitten the Philistines in the first place. They asked him if he did not know that the Philistines ruled over the Israelites. If he were aware of this, the men of Judah felt it was foolish to offend their oppressors. As a result, they had come in great numbers to deliver Samson to the Philistines.

12.

Why did Samson allow the men of Judah to bind him? Jdg. 15:12

Samson did not want to fight with members of one of the tribes of Israel. Consequently, Samson asked the men of Judah only to deliver him to the Philistines without their harming him themselves. He had no fear of the enemies of the people of the Lord, but he was concerned lest his own people turn against him. Such a circumstance as revealed here indicates Israel was one people, even though all did not rally to support Samson.

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

(3) Concerning them.There is no reason for this rendering. It should be to them. The Vulg. has cui, and the LXX. to them, or to him.

Nowi.e., This time. He means that his second act of vengeance will at least have more excuse than his assault on the Askelonites.

More blameless than the Philistines.Rather, innocent as regards the Philistines. The words are somewhat obscure. Ewald renders them

This time I am quit of the Philistines,
If tis evil I think of doing them.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

‘ And Samson said to them, “This time will I be blameless with regard to the Philistines when I do them a mischief.” ’

Samson now determined on revenge. Previously he had killed ‘innocent’ men, although as Philistines occupying his country they were not blameless. Yet he had clearly felt a certain sense of guilt. But now he felt that his ensuing actions would be more than fully justified and deserved, because they had stolen his wife from him. Once again he was exercising his God given judgeship and the purpose for which he had been set apart for Yahweh, something ever at the back of his mind, while at the same time ensuring that no blame could come on his countrymen.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure.

If we consider Samson, not simply in his own personal character, but as acting in a public character, for the punishment of Zion’s enemies, the Philistines; this will serve to throw a light upon many circumstances in the history otherwise not so plain.

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Jdg 15:3 And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure.

Ver. 3. Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines. ] Who all were in fault, because they either approved, or at least inhibited not this injury done to Samson; wherefore he proclaimeth open war against them all, vowing revenge.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

concerning = to.

Now = this once.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

Now shall: etc. or, Now shall I be blameless from the Philistines

though: etc. Jdg 14:15

Reciprocal: Gen 34:13 – deceitfully

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Jdg 15:3. Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines Or rather, blameless from the Philistines, because they have first provoked me by an irreparable injury. It seems probable from this, that the people of the place, in general, had approved of, and perhaps advised, the giving of Samsons wife to another man. Though I do them a displeasure Although this may look like an act of private revenge, yet it is plain, Samson acted as a judge (for such he was) and as an avenger of the public injuries which his people had suffered from the Philistines.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

15:3 And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more {b} blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure.

(b) For through his father-in-law’s actions, he was moved again to take vengeance on the Philistines.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes