Rashi on Judges Chapter 15
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נִקֵּיתִי הַפַּעַם. בְּדִין אֶעֱשֶׂה לָהֶם הָרָעָה:
At this time I am innocent. I shall be justified in inflicting injury upon them.
וַיֶּפֶן. אֶת הַזְּנָבוֹת זָנָב אֶל זָנָב. וַיִּפֶן, מַשְׁמַע הוּא עַצְמוֹ פָּנָה (שמות לב טו); וַיֶּפֶן, מַשְׁמַע הִפְנָה אֶת אֲחֵרִים, וְכֵן שִׁמּוּשׁ כָּל תֵּיבָה שֶׁפֹּעַל שֶׁלָּהּ בְּה״א; (שמות א כ): וַיִּרֶב הָעָם; (איכה ב ה): וַיֶּרֶב בְּבַת יְהוּדָה תַּאֲנִיָּה; (מלכים ב כה כא): וַיִּגֶל יְהוּדָה מֵעַל אַדְמָתוֹ, גָּלָה; (שם ב: יח יא): וַיֶּגֶל מֶלֶךְ אַשּׁוּר אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל אַשּׁוּרָה, הִגְלָה:
Twisted. The tails, each into the next. וַיִפֶן implies that he himself turned, וַיֶפֶן that he turned, or twisted, others. This usage applies with every word whose verbal root ends with ה.¹ "The people increased;"² "He increased, in the people of Yehudah, lamentation…."³ "Yehudah went into exile from his homeland"⁴—went into exile. "The king [of Ashur] exiled Yisroel to Ashur" ⁵—exiled others.
footnotes: ¹ Such as גָלָה ,רָבָה ,פָנָה. ² Shemos, 1:20. ³ Eichah, 2:5. Cf. Rashi there. ⁴ Melachim 2, 25:21. ⁵ Melachim 2, 17:6.
חֲתַן הַתִּמְנִי. חֲתַן הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי אֲשֶׁר בְּתִמְנָה (לעיל יד א):
The son-in-law of the Timnite. The son-in-law of the Pelishtite from Timnah.
אִם תַּעֲשׂוּן כָּזֹאת. וְשֶׁמָּא רְגִילִין אַתֶּם בְּכָךְ, לָתֵת אִשְׁתּוֹ שֶׁל זֶה לָזֶה:
Is this the way you behave. Perhaps you are accustomed to this—shifting wives from one to another.
שׁוֹק עַל יָרֵךְ. (תרגום:) פָּרְשִׁין עִם רַגְלָאִין, רוֹכֵב סוּס אֵינוֹ נִשְׁעָן עַל יְרֵכוֹ כִּי אִם עַל שׁוֹקוֹ, רֶגֶל אֶחָד נָתוּן בַּבַּרְזֶל הַתָּלוּי בַּמֶּרְכֶּבֶת:
Cavalry and infantry [lit. calf and thigh]. "Horsemen and foot soldiers."⁶ The horseman is not supported by the thigh, but by the calf of the foot inserted into the metal stirrup hanging from the saddle.
footnotes: ⁶ This is Targum Yonasan’s translation. “Calf” refers to the horseman, supported by the calf, as Rashi explains, and “thigh” refers to the footsoldier, whose weight is supported by the thigh.
בִּסְעִיף. בְּנִקְרַת סֶלַע עֵיטָם, וַחֲבֵרוֹ (ישעיהו נז:ה): סְעִיפֵי הַסְּלָעִים, (שם י:לג): מְסָעֵף פֹּארָה:
On the promontory of a crevice of the Eitam cliff. Similarly, "The promontories of the cliffs,"⁷ "[He] shall remove its branches."⁸
footnotes: ⁷ Yeshaya, 2:21 ⁸ Ibid, 10:33.
וַיִּנָּטְשׁוּ. וַיִּתְפַּזְּרוּ:
They fanned out. They dispersed.
בַּלֶּחִי. שֵׁם מָקוֹם:
At Lechi. The name of a place⁹
footnotes: ⁹ Not literally “cheek”.
לָמָה עֲלִיתֶם עָלֵינוּ. הֲלֹא עֲבָדִים אֲנַחְנוּ לָכֶם:
Why have you ascended against us. Are we not enslaved by you?
לֶאֱסוֹר אֶת שִׁמְשׁוֹן. שֶׁתַּאַסְרוּהוּ וְתַסְגִּירוּהוּ לָנוּ:
To tie down Shimshon. In order that you tie him down and deliver him to us.
לֹא כִּי אָסוֹר נֶאֱסָרְךָ. לֹא נַהֲרוֹג אוֹתְךָ, כִּי אִם אָסוֹר נֶאֱסָרְךָ:
No! We shall merely tie you down. We shall not execute you, but merely tie you down.
רוּחַ ה׳. (תרגום:) רוּחַ גְּבוּרָה מִן קֳדָם ה׳:
The spirit of Adonoy. A spirit of power, emanating from Adonoy.¹⁰
footnotes: ¹⁰ This is Targum Yonasan’s translation.
אֲסוּרָיו. קִשּׁוּרָיו:
His bonds which tied him down.
טְרִיָּה. לַחָה, וְרָאִיתִי בְּסֵפֶר רְפוּאוֹת שֶׁקּוֹרֵא לַלֵּחָה שֶׁיּוֹצֵא מִן הַמַּכָּה: ׳טְרִיָּה׳:
Moist. Wet. I saw a medical lexicon which refers to pus oozing from a wound as טְרִיָה.
חֲמוֹר חֲמֹרָתָיִם. בִּלְחִי הַחֲמוֹר לִצְבּוֹר צְבָרִים רַבִּים, (תרגום:) בְּלוּעָא דִחמָרָא רְמֵיתִנוּן דְּגוֹרִין:
I amassed mounds with the jawbone of a donkey, amassing numerous mounds. "With the jawbone of a donkey I hurled them into mounds."¹¹
footnotes: ¹¹ This is Targum Yonasan’s translation.
אֶת הַמַּכְתֵּשׁ. גּוּמָּא שֶׁהַשֵּׁן יוֹשֶׁבֶת בָּהּ, עֲשׂוּיָה כְּעֵין מַכְתֶּשֶׁת:
The socket [lit. "the mortar"]. The socket where the tooth is set is shaped like a mortar.
עֵין הַקּוֹרֵא. מַעְיָן שֶׁבָּא עַל יְדֵי זַעֲקַת הַקּוֹרֵא אֶל ה׳:
Ein Hakorei. "The wellspring which materialized through the cry of the one who called out to Adonoy."