Samson at the Rock of Etam — Bible Events

After tying torches to three hundred foxes and burning the Philistine grain fields in retaliation, Samson takes refuge in a cleft of the Rock of Etam in Judah. The Philistines invade Judah hunting for him, and three thousand men of Judah confront Samson and ask why he's causing them trouble. He lets them bind him with new ropes and hand him over. But when the Philistines come shouting to meet him at Lehi, the Spirit of the Lord rushes on Samson — the ropes melt off his arms like burnt flax, and he picks up a fresh donkey's jawbone and kills a thousand men with it. He names the place 'Jawbone Hill' and cries out for water; God splits a hollow place at Lehi and water flows out.

What Happens Next

Samson and Delilah

What Led Here

The Cycle of Sin in Judges

Read It

JudgesWhen Samson Burned It All Down

Samson discovers his wife has been given to another man, and what follows is a chain reaction of revenge that nobody can stop — three hundred foxes with torches, a devastating slaughter, and a standoff with his own people. But the moment that matters isn't the famous jawbone battle. It's the desperate prayer that came after.

People

Samson Judah

Places

Etam Lehi Timnah