Lehi, a place where Samson fought against the Philistines and God provided him with water (Judges 15:9, 14, 19).
Also known as a band · a troop · in the jaw
Lehi is mentioned in the book of Judges as a place where Samson, empowered by the Spirit of God, fought against the Philistines. The Philistines went up and encamped in Judah, spreading out in Lehi (Judges 15:9). When Samson was handed over to the Philistines by the men of Judah, he broke free from his bonds and struck down a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey (Judges 15:14-15). After this victory, Samson was thirsty, and God miraculously provided water for him to drink from a hollow place in Lehi (Judges 15:19). The name "Lehi" is also mentioned in 2Sa.23.11 as the location of a battle where Shammah, one of David's mighty men, stood his ground against the Philistines and achieved a great victory.
Approximate location: 31.753, 34.977 · view on a map · on the Bible atlas
A jawbone, a place in the tribe of Judah where Samson achieved a victory over the Philistines (Judg. 15:9, 14, 16), slaying a thousand of them with the jawbone of an ass. The words in 15:19, “a hollow place that was in the jaw” (A.V.), should be, as in Revised Version, “the hollow place that is in Lehi.”
(jaw bone), a place in Judah, probably on the confines of the Philistines’ country, between it and the cliff Etam; the scene of Samson’s well-known exploit with the jaw bone. (Judges 15:9,14,19) It may perhaps be identified with Beit-Likiyeh, a village about two miles below the upper Beth-horon.
LE'HI (Jawbone), a place in Judah, between the Philistine frontier and the cliff of Etam, where Samson slew the Philistines. Jud 15:9 ff.; possibly Beit Likia, or 'Ayun Kara.
LE'HI (Jawbone), a place in Judah, between the Philistine frontier and the cliff of Etam, where Samson slew the Philistines. Jud 15:9 ff.; possibly Beit Likia, or 'Ayun Kara.
Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.
4 verses in 2 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H3896
Then the Philistines went up, camped in Judah, and deployed themselves near the town of Lehi.
When Samson arrived in Lehi, the Philistines came out shouting against him. And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him. The ropes on his arms became like burnt flax, and the bonds broke loose from his hands.
So God opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When Samson drank, his strength returned, and he was revived. That is why he named it En-hakkore, and it remains in Lehi to this day.
And after him was Shammah son of Agee the Hararite. When the Philistines had banded together near a field full of lentils, Israelʼs troops fled from them.
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.