And Samson said, With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps upon heaps, with the jawbone of a donkey have I slain a thousand men.
All Commentaries on Judges 15:16 Go To Judges 15
Ambrose of Milan
AD 397
When he had received their pledge, Samson left the cave and abandoned his rocky fortification. When he saw the strong Philistines approaching to take him, although he was bound with double cords, he groaned in spirit and broke his bonds. Then, seizing the jawbone of an ass lying there, he struck a thousand men and put the rest to flight in a magnificent display of strength, while battle lines of armed men fell back before a single defenseless man. Any and all who dared to approach him were slain with easy effort. Flight staved off death for the rest. Thus, even today, the place is called Agon, because there Samson won a great victory by his overwhelming strength.
I wish that he had been as controlled in victory as he was strong against the enemy! But, as usually happens, a soul unused to good fortune, which ought to have attributed the outcome of the engagement to God’s favor and protection, attributed it to himself, saying, “With the jawbone of an ass I have destroyed … a thousand men.” He neither erected an altar nor sacrificed a victim to God, but, failing to sacrifice and taking glory to himself, he called the place “the killing of the jawbone” to immortalize his triumph with an everlasting name.
