Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1870-12-15
SampsOn's Foxes.
JUDGES, XIV: 4, ..

When was a boy, was puzzled
with all parts of this affair. Thought
L
"Would not the frc-branl burn the
string, or the hair OF the tail ? How
could a dull brand, dragged fast through
the corn, set it'on fire Why not the
foxes sent singly? Would not two Of
them pull contrary ways, and proYcat
their running at all ? and how could he
catch so many icxes?' No doubt thou
sands ofboys have felt these difficulties,
and thousands of knowing men have
turned up their noses at the account,
as unworthy of serious belief. but let
us look again. Skepticjsm is Il lazy
thing, not pleased with study.
In the original iIebreg the word
means jlckals, doubtless. The an
imal is not solitary, liS" the foxes, but
goes in large packs, They take shelter
in deep caverns, abounding in that com-
try Of limestone hills. Sampson, being
a chief, could easily command the assist.
ancc of q large number Of meD, block
up the entrance of the caves, and catch
as many as he pleased, In that rude
state Of society snch sport would please
them well. The word translated fire.
brand means torch, Ia many parts Of
the East the torch is made several feet
long, Of combustiblo materials tied tight
ly together so as to b az out strongly
at one end while it is held at the other
end by the hand, and dasrs for many hours.
If dragged along the ground, it will still
blaze ferc ly These large g0riog
torches were what Gidcon's men had
for their night attack upon the camp :;
not the little fine fame Of house lamp,
put out by fast walk, or breath .
Suppose Sampson had tied the torch to
a single jackaI; the frightened animal
would have bounded along with such a
velosity as might not have set fire to the
grain while two of them with their
tails tied must caclosc enough Of the
stiff stalks to impede them considerably,
and SO give the blaze time to kjnllc all
along their course. They could not
stand still bccau,c the burning straw
behind would compel them to 20 on. If
Sampson had sent his men to set the
fields on fire with their own hands, the
Philstncs would have caught and Kill
led some of them but they could not
catch the iackaIs,
The southern sleeps of Dan overlook
ed the land Of the PhiliStiuos. Even
at the present day we are told that
same plain is vast nrainfeld. SHmp-
son might station bis different parties
of men, with their jacIaIs along the
side of hills for considerable distance.
When they had made the long hair Of
the two tails fast to the small end of the
torch by many knots, they would light
the other end, perhaps with a few extra
drops of oil. The jackals must 90
down the hin the men would not al
low them to turn and 90 back TO the
caverns.-Thcy would naturally steer
for the tall grain to hide themselves ;
there were no fences to stop them
Presently there would be Il hundred and
fifty lines of cracking fire Spreading to
the right and left over miles Of yellow
grain. The cnrag, owner living here
and there in villages, would naturally
chase the jackals. This would only
spread the ruin more wide.
All this shows how intently Sampson
must have thought out the different parts
of the cunning contrivance. 1t agrees
with his character, which evidently had
in it a considerable spice of reckless fun.
We can see him sitting on the rocky
brow of his native hills, looking down
on the rich fields of enemies, pondering
his plan and smiling to think how he
would serve them
= This beautiful instance Of the clear light
which may be thrown on an obscure
passage of Scripture by making our
selves acquainted with its geography
and the circumstance of its timc.-(Uni-
ted PreSby terian.