The ones who say that Samson is the one who sent the foxes to burn down the Philistines’ harvest are possibly relatives and neighbours of those who asked, Who has done this?
These informants were evidently close enough to see what had provoked Samson to burn down the Philistines’ fields. Yet this appears to have become bigger than a family or town matter. The informers refer to Samson’s father-in-law as the Timnite,
which is a term that would appear appropriate only if the informants were people from farther away. What has happened is local, but it has stirred the passions of the Philistines more generally. The arena of the conflict, not just its intensity, is rapidly expanding.
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6 Then the Philistines said, “Who has done this?” And they said, “Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken his wife and given her to his companion.” And the Philistines came up and burned her and her father with fire.