Lehi
“Jawbone or cheek”
Summary
A place in Judah where Samson killed a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey.
☩Samson's Victory
Lehi was the site of one of Samson's most famous exploits. After the Philistines came up and encamped at Lehi, the men of Judah bound Samson and delivered him to them. When the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, he broke free of his bonds, seized the jawbone of a donkey, and killed a thousand Philistines with it (Judges 15:9-17). Afterward, severely thirsty, Samson cried out to God, who 'clave an hollow place that was in Lehi, and there came water thereout' (Judges 15:19). He called the spring En-hakkore ('the spring of the caller') and the place of slaughter Ramath-lehi ('hill of the jawbone').
☩Name and Location
The Hebrew word 'lehi' means 'jawbone' or 'cheek.' Whether the place had this name before Samson's victory or received it because of the jawbone he used is unclear. The location was apparently in the hill country of Judah, on the borders of Philistine territory, near the cliff Etam where Samson had hidden (Judges 15:8-11). Jerome reported that Paula passed by 'the fountain of Samson' on her journey from Bethlehem to Egypt, and later traditions located it near Eleutheropolis (modern Beit Jibrin). Some scholars identify it with Beit-Likiyeh, a village below the upper Beth-horon.
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Lehi," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. V (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.George Morrish, "Lehi," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).
- 3.F. N. Peloubet & M. A. Peloubet (ed.), "Lehi," in Smith's Bible Dictionary (Porter & Coates, 1884).