What is the meaning of Judges 15:5?

Then he lit the torches

• Samson’s careful preparation (Judges 15:4) turns decisive; tying torches between pairs of foxes shows deliberate strategy, not random vandalism.

• Fire in Scripture often signals judgment—think of Genesis 19:24 or 1 Kings 18:38—so the flames picture God’s retribution against Philistine oppression.

• Samson acts alone yet under God’s sovereign enabling (Judges 14:6; Zechariah 4:6), reminding us that one obedient servant can ignite sweeping change.

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and released the foxes into the standing grain of the Philistines

• “Standing grain” is the crop still rooted and ripening, the year’s hope for bread (Ruth 2:23). Destroying it guaranteed a season of hunger.

• The Philistines prided themselves on dominating Israel’s food supply (Judges 6:3–6), but God flips the script through Samson.

• Similar swift reversals appear in Exodus 14:24–25 and 1 Samuel 14:15, where the oppressor’s confidence crumbles quickly.

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burning up the piles of grain and the standing grain

• “Piles” (or shocks) were bundled sheaves already cut—so both harvested and unharvested grain vanish. Total loss echoes the completeness of the eighth Egyptian plague (Exodus 10:12–15).

• God had warned nations that touching His people invites full-measure judgment (Genesis 12:3; Deuteronomy 32:35). The Philistines experience that promise firsthand.

• In 2 Samuel 14:30 Absalom sets Joab’s field on fire to provoke a response; here Samson’s fire forces the Philistines to reckon with divine justice.

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as well as the vineyards and olive groves

• Grapes and olives were long-term investments—years to plant, decades to mature—so their loss crippled future income, not just the current season (Deuteronomy 8:7–10).

• Leviticus 26:20 and Joel 1:10 list vineyard and olive failure as signs of God’s displeasure. Samson’s act brands Philistine soil with that very mark.

• Israel had been promised vineyards and olive trees they did not plant (Deuteronomy 6:11). God is beginning to secure that promise by loosening Philistine control.

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summary

Judges 15:5 records Samson lighting the torches, releasing the foxes, and wiping out Philistine grain, vineyards, and olive groves. Each phrase underscores calculated judgment: preparation, release, comprehensive destruction, and deep economic ruin. Through one man’s fiery act, God defends His covenant people and signals that He alone controls harvests, livelihoods, and the rise and fall of nations.