שופטים, פרק ט״ו, פסוק ד׳

Samson’s revenge against the Philistines unfolds in a highly creative and unusual manner, utilizing the natural instincts of animals to send a profound moral and historical message. The choice to capture three hundred foxes carries both practical and conceptual significance. From a practical standpoint, the animals were likely jackals, members of the fox family that travel in packs. This natural pack behavior explains how Samson managed to capture such a massive number of them at once [ביאור שטיינזלץ].

Samson actively turned the animals so they faced away from each other, tying them together by their tails [רש״י, מצודת ציון, רד״ק]. He then placed a piece of wood, named a torch for its ultimate fiery purpose, exactly in the middle between them [מצודת ציון, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Foxes have a unique instinct to pull backward. Because they were tied tail-to-tail, each animal naturally pulled in the opposite direction. This constant tension kept the burning torch suspended safely in the air. Had they been able to run forward side by side, the torch would have simply dropped to the ground [רד״ק].

Beyond the physical mechanics, this strategy holds deep symbolic weight. Just as the fox instinctively pulls backward, Samson sought to punish the Philistines for going back on their ancient promise, specifically the historic oath their ancestor Abimelech made to Abraham [רד״ק, אברבנאל].

Furthermore, the very act of placing a burning torch between two bound animals serves as a powerful metaphor for Samson's underlying motive. The fire represents the ruin that erupts when a person interferes between two close companions. More directly, it points to the specific offense that sparked the entire conflict: the severe wrong of taking a man's wife away from her husband [מלבי״ם].