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Samson and the Jawbone

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YosefHayim

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Samson (In Judges 13-16) was a Nazarite.

In Judges 14:8-9 it is clear that he had sinned against his vow, since he had eaten something that was unclean: honey from a lion's carcase.

However, in Judges 15:19 it says "But God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw, and there water came out; and he had drunk..." after telling God that he was thirsty.

If something that is dead is unclean, and a Nazarite can not cannot eat something unclean, why did God let Samson drink water from a Jawbone from a dead ass?
 
Sir,
I just want to toss out two quick things to think about and I apologize for not being more thorough. The first thing to consider is that some translations say that the water came forth out of "Lehi" and not the jawbone because the two words "Jawbone" and "Lehi" and connected and they believe the translation can go in either direction. But even if such is the case, Samson still touched something unclean and you could still raise your same question but I want to reference for you Matthew 12:1-9 and I want you to see the example Jesus talks about in vv. 3-4. I believe you'll see a similarity in both what appears as "a violation" and then accordingly a similarity in explanation.

Sorry so brief - God Bless!
 
Samson (In Judges 13-16) was a Nazarite.

In Judges 14:8-9 it is clear that he had sinned against his vow, since he had eaten something that was unclean: honey from a lion's carcase.

However, in Judges 15:19 it says "But God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw, and there water came out; and he had drunk..." after telling God that he was thirsty.

If something that is dead is unclean, and a Nazarite can not cannot eat something unclean, why did God let Samson drink water from a Jawbone from a dead ass?

Samson willingly went into situations that led to sin, but each time, God used him for His glory. God created Samson to “begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines†(Judges 13:5). Even sinful men cannot prevent God’s will. When Samson killed the lion, it was his first recorded test of strength. It gave him confidence to face the Philistines. He murdered 30 Philistines out of vengeance in order to pay a debt. Later, Samson swears to “get even with the Philistines†(Judges 15:3) and to “get [his] revenge on [the Philistines]†(Judges 15:7). Both occasions were for personal reasons and were not godly, but God used them as a springboard to launch Israel out of their oppression. Despite Samson’s sin, God’s will would not be thwarted.

Even though God’s will is unstoppable, Samson still experienced the consequences for his sin. When he met Delilah and she begged to know the secret of his strength, he broke the final part of the Nazirite law: “During the entire period of his vow of separation no razor may be used on his head. He must be holy until the period of his separation to the Lord is over; he must let the hair of his head grow long†(Numbers 6:5). After Delilah’s countrymen cut his hair, Samson still expected God to be with him. “He awoke from his sleep and thought, ‘I'll go out as before and shake myself free.’ But he did not know that the LORD had left him†(Judges 16:20). He had gained confidence from previous violations which appeared to have gone unpunished, but his continual willful disobedience had reached an end. When Samson had finally broken all of the Nazirite laws, he had to face the consequences of his actions.

The lessons we can learn from Samson’s life are that if we willingly and repeatedly walk into temptations which lead to sin, we will suffer the consequences of our disobedience even though God still uses us to accomplish His will. In the end, Samson understood the true source of his strength, but he never understood his true purpose. “Then Samson prayed to the LORD, ‘O Sovereign LORD, remember me. O God, please strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes’" (Judges 16:28). We see from this verse that Samson was more concerned about revenge than about doing God’s will, and it cost him his life. “Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived†(Judges 16:30). God’s will was done, but the many blessings Samson might have seen were never realized.


Read more: http://www.gotquestions.org/life-Samson.html#ixzz2MLkpLoIp
 
Samson willingly went into situations that led to sin, but each time, God used him for His glory. God created Samson to “begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines” (Judges 13:5). Even sinful men cannot prevent God’s will. When Samson killed the lion, it was his first recorded test of strength. It gave him confidence to face the Philistines. He murdered 30 Philistines out of vengeance in order to pay a debt. Later, Samson swears to “get even with the Philistines” (Judges 15:3) and to “get [his] revenge on [the Philistines]” (Judges 15:7). Both occasions were for personal reasons and were not godly, but God used them as a springboard to launch Israel out of their oppression. Despite Samson’s sin, God’s will would not be thwarted.

Even though God’s will is unstoppable, Samson still experienced the consequences for his sin. When he met Delilah and she begged to know the secret of his strength, he broke the final part of the Nazirite law: “During the entire period of his vow of separation no razor may be used on his head. He must be holy until the period of his separation to the Lord is over; he must let the hair of his head grow long” (Numbers 6:5). After Delilah’s countrymen cut his hair, Samson still expected God to be with him. “He awoke from his sleep and thought, ‘I'll go out as before and shake myself free.’ But he did not know that the LORD had left him” (Judges 16:20). He had gained confidence from previous violations which appeared to have gone unpunished, but his continual willful disobedience had reached an end. When Samson had finally broken all of the Nazirite laws, he had to face the consequences of his actions.

The lessons we can learn from Samson’s life are that if we willingly and repeatedly walk into temptations which lead to sin, we will suffer the consequences of our disobedience even though God still uses us to accomplish His will. In the end, Samson understood the true source of his strength, but he never understood his true purpose. “Then Samson prayed to the LORD, ‘O Sovereign LORD, remember me. O God, please strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes’" (Judges 16:28). We see from this verse that Samson was more concerned about revenge than about doing God’s will, and it cost him his life. “Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived” (Judges 16:30). God’s will was done, but the many blessings Samson might have seen were never realized.


Read more: http://www.gotquestions.org/life-Samson.html#ixzz2MLkpLoIp

So would drinking from the jawbone be a testing of his vow by the LORD? I don't recall the chapter saying that it was. God provided the water from the jaw for him.
 
Once again, as Heb said, the KJV didn't translate it accurately. The "hollow place" was in Lehi, likely the spot where a spring came to the surface. The NASB says ...
Judges 15
19 But God split the hollow place that is in Lehi so that water came out of it. When he drank, his strength returned and he revived. Therefore he named it En-hakkore, which is in Lehi to this day.
En-hakkore in Hebrew is "spring of One calling." Unlikely that would fit the description of a hollow spot in the jawbone.
 
So then what is בַּלֶּ֗חִי doing in the original Hebrew?
That is indeed "jawbone." What you're ignoring is that it is also what Sampson named the location where the battle occurred. He did not drink from the jawbone, he drank from the spring located in the place he called "jawbone." That is plainly stated in both the Hebrew and in the NASB rendering. The KJV failed miserably in the translation.
 
That is indeed "jawbone." What you're ignoring is that it is also what Sampson named the location where the battle occurred. He did not drink from the jawbone, he drank from the spring located in the place he called "jawbone." That is plainly stated in both the Hebrew and in the NASB rendering. The KJV failed miserably in the translation.

He drank from the jawbone and then named the place enhakkore meaning "fount of the caller" or "spring of the partridge".
 
I would say Israel cried out for meat, and God delivered meat, yet even as they ate it, they didn't see the punishment coming
 
I must say that watching the exchange was quite funny and I got a chuckle out of Grazer's post. Just for clarification I stated people debate which word should be used - people who speak the language but as person who just uses a concordance I think the KJV is correct. Take care.
 

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