Bible Location

Lehi (Bible)

Also known as: Lehi

Lehi was a location in Judah associated especially with Samson and his conflict with the Philistines. The Philistines encamped there after Samson had attacked their crops, and the men of Judah brought Samson bound to Lehi to surrender him to them.

At Lehi the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon Samson. He broke his bonds and, using the fresh jawbone of a donkey, defeated a large force of Philistines. The place was subsequently associated with the name Ramath-lehi, meaning the height or hill of the jawbone.

The precise location of biblical Lehi has not been established.

Biblical Significance

Judges 15 records the Philistines entering Judah and encamping at Lehi in retaliation for Samson's actions against them. Three thousand men of Judah went to Samson and persuaded him to allow them to bind him and deliver him to the Philistines.

When Samson reached Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him, but the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him and his bonds broke. Finding the fresh jawbone of a donkey, Samson used it to defeat one thousand Philistines.

After the battle Samson was desperately thirsty. God provided water from a hollow place at Lehi, and Samson named the spring En-hakkore, meaning the spring of the one who called.

Second Samuel 23 also places a battle involving David's warrior Shammah in the same general locality according to the traditional identification of the place.

Historical Background

Lehi belongs geographically to the borderland in which Samson's encounters with the Philistines occurred. The narratives involving Zorah, Eshtaol, Timnah, and the Sorek Valley repeatedly move between the Judean foothills and Philistine-controlled territory.

The name Lehi means "jawbone." Judges connects the name Ramath-lehi with Samson throwing away the jawbone after his victory, although the geographical name may also have reflected the shape or appearance of the landscape.

Several modern locations have been proposed for Lehi, but none possesses archaeological or inscriptional evidence that establishes the identification.

Modern Identification

The location of Lehi remains uncertain. Proposals have generally placed it somewhere in the Judean foothills or the Sorek Valley region near the territory associated with Samson.

Khirbet es-Siyyaj and locations farther east in the Sorek-Rephaim valley system have both been proposed. The available biblical and archaeological evidence does not permit a confident identification.

AVWJ should therefore map Lehi only approximately and should not present any proposed modern site as established.

Scripture References

Judges 15:9 Judges 15:14 Judges 15:17 Judges 15:19 2 Samuel 23:11

Related Resources

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Sources

Bible: Judges 15:9-19, 2 Samuel 23:11-12; biblical geographical reference works concerning Lehi and Ramath-lehi; historical geography of the Sorek Valley and Judean Shephelah