Samson’s revenge was carefully planned, as this detailed description demonstrates. Some versions start a new paragraph here (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). Contemporary English Version even begins a new section, entitled “Samson Takes Revenge.”

So Samson went and caught three hundred foxes: So is a good rendering of the Hebrew waw conjunction here. In Hebrew this clause is filled with the sh sound, which is prominent in the words for Samson, three and foxes. Samson went may mean he moved to another place or moved around in order to catch the foxes. New Jerusalem Bible says “Samson went off,” and Contemporary English Version has “Samson went out.” We may also say “Samson left [or, went away].” The use of the verb went may also express some of his determination.

The text gives no clue concerning how Samson actually caught three hundred foxes. The Hebrew verb for caught (laqad) often refers to the capture of humans beings in war (see verse 7.25, where it is rendered “took”), and in this context to the capture of animals. The number three hundred occurs frequently in the Gideon story (see, for example, verse 7.6) and in verse 11.26. This number is a multiple of “thirty,” a number that has played a very significant role in this story (see verse 14.11-13, 19). The Hebrew word for foxes refers to a small animal that hunts at night. It looks like a dog. Several commentators believe, however, that the Hebrew word here refers rather to a “jackal” (Revised English Bible), an animal larger than a fox, which roams in groups during the day. Possibly these animals would be easier to catch than foxes. However, catching 300 of any species is out of the ordinary. Whether they were foxes or jackals, Samson’s act was no small feat. In many places “jackals” are better known than foxes, so this word can be used here.

And took torches means Samson “got some torches” (Revised English Bible). Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version leave the verb took implied. For torches see verse 7.16. This word is another link back to the Gideon story. In many cultures around the world, torches are well known and still used. Contemporary English Version says “oil-soaked rags,” which seems too specific.

And he turned them tail to tail: Samson turns the animals back to back. The pronoun them does not occur in Hebrew, but there is a clear reference here to the foxes or jackals. The Hebrew text implies that Samson ties their tails together, which many versions make explicit. Good News Translation, for example, says “Two at a time, he tied their tails together.” We may also say “He grabbed the tails of each pair of foxes and tied them together” or “He took each pair of jackals and tied their tails together.”

And put a torch between each pair of tails is literally “and he put one torch between two of the tails, in the middle.” Put renders a key Hebrew verb (sim) in this book (see, for example, verse 1.28; verse 6.19; verse 16.3). Another feature of this clause is the detail and specific reference to “one” and “two,” giving a folktale-like flavor to the narrative. In English “between two” is better rendered between each pair, but translators should use the most natural expression in their language. It is a little hard to imagine how Samson did this. Good News Translation says he “put torches in the knots,” which may have been what happened. New Living Translation‘s “he fastened a torch to each pair of tails” is confusing and should not be followed as a model.

Translation models for this verse are:

• So Samson went out and caught 300 jackals. He tied each pair [of animals] together at their tails, and then attached a torch in between them.

• So Samson went off and caught 300 foxes. He placed the foxes tail to tail and tied a torch between each pair.

Quoted with permission from Zogbo, Lynell and Ogden, Graham S. A Handbook on Judges. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .