And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.
The Lord delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years. The Israelites were represented (Judges 10:6-7) as having fallen universally into a state of gross and confirmed idolatry; and in chastisement of this great apostasy the Lord raised up enemies that harassed them in various quarters, especially the Ammonites and Philistines. The invasions and defeat of the former, were narrated in the two chapters immediately preceding this; and now the sacred historian proceeds to describe the inroads of the latter people. The period of Philistine ascendancy comprised forty years, reckoning from the time of Elon until the death of Samson.