Firebrand
“Torch, lamp, firebrand”
Summary
A burning stick, torch, or piece of wood, used literally by Samson to burn the Philistines' crops and figuratively to represent those rescued from destruction or those who spread strife.
☩Samson's Firebrands
Samson caught three hundred foxes (likely jackals), tied them tail to tail in pairs, and placed a firebrand (torch) between each pair of tails, then released them into the Philistines' standing grain (Judges 15:4-5). The torches, made of resinous wood, would burn persistently as the paired animals ran through the fields, destroying grain, vineyards, and olive groves. Tying them in pairs prevented them from fleeing directly to their holes, ensuring maximum devastation.
☩Figurative Uses
Scripture uses 'firebrand' figuratively in several ways. Angry, violent men are compared to 'two tails of smoking firebrands' about to be consumed (Isaiah 7:4), representing Rezin of Syria and Pekah of Israel. The proverb warns that a man who deceives his neighbor and says 'I was only joking' is like a madman casting firebrands, arrows, and death (Proverbs 26:18-19). This imagery conveys the destructive, spreading nature of conflict and deceit.
☩A Brand Plucked from Burning
God uses the image of a 'brand plucked out of the fire' to describe those rescued from judgment at the last moment (Amos 4:11, Zechariah 3:2). Joshua the high priest is called a 'brand plucked out of the fire,' indicating his rescue from captivity and restoration to priestly service. This powerful metaphor emphasizes both the nearness of destruction and the gracious intervention that saves.
Related Verses5 mentions
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Firebrand," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. III (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Firebrand," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. II (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).