Judges 15:16Samson said, "With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps on heaps; with the jawbone of a donkey I have struck a thousand men."
The setting
Lehi, Israel (modern-day West Bank). ~1100 BC. Samson stands among 1,000 Philistine corpses, holding a donkey's jawbone. The ground is soaked with blood...
The emotion here: intoxicated with supernatural power and his own cleverness
The original word
lechi (לְחִי) — jawbone, but also the name of the battlefield itself
Why it matters
A donkey's jawbone would splinter and break after a few strikes - this was supernatural
Read with care
What most readers miss in Judges 15:16
This is a victory poem - Samson is literally composing poetry while surrounded by corpses
Common misconceptionPeople think this shows God blessing Samson's violence, but it's actually showing how his pride and anger are starting to consume him.
The thread continues
Verses that echo Judges 15:16
Bible Genome reading
Judges 15:16 — Bible Genome reading
Emotional genome
Judges 15:16 comes from the book of Judges, written during the judges period. The setting is the battlefield. These words are attributed to Samson. The dominant emotion in this verse is joyful, with a comfort power of 40% and a tone that is celebratory. It belongs to the poetry genre of biblical literature. Key themes include victory song, celebration. Notable phrases: heaps on heaps.
Emotionally similar
Verses that meet the same joyful
“For to us a child is born. To us a son is given; and the government will be on his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, …”
— Isaiah 9:6
“For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.”
— 1 Corinthians 15:22
“"Death, where is your sting? Hades, where is your victory?"”
— 1 Corinthians 15:55
“Rejoice always.”
— 1 Thessalonians 5:16
“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.”
— 2 Corinthians 5:17
Your reflection
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