Metaphysical meaning of Eshtaol (mbd)
Eshtaol, esh'-ta-ol (Heb.)--excavation; hollow way; searching out; petition; entreaty; supplication; interrogation.
A city in the lowland of Judah (Josh. 15:33). Samson's home, when "the Spirit of Jehovah began to move him," was in Mahaneh-dan, the camp of Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol (Judg. 13:25).
Meta. The earnest prayer or entreaty of the soul, the subconscious depths of man's being, for a way of escape from the dominance of sense (the Philistines).
The Israelites were seemingly under complete subjection to the Philistines at this time; in other words, the error thoughts and activities of the outer sense life in the individual are in dominion, and the true, spiritual thoughts and activities are being controlled by the senses. It is here at Eshtaol (the earnest cry of the soul for deliverance) that the Spirit of Jehovah begins to move Samson, or begins to make us conscious of our innate spiritual strength, by which the sense thoughts and activities (Philistines) may be overcome. Thus we can become free from the dominance of the sense life and from the sorrow and bondage that result from it.
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Preceding Entry: Eshek
Following Entry: Eshtaolites
