Then the Philistines went up, and encamped in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi.
"Do you not know that the Philistines are rulers over us?"  (Judges 15:11).  This was an exaggeration on the part of the men of Judah.  "The Philistines never ruled over all Judah, but they held an iron monopoly and were a real threat to that part of Judah which lay in the Shephelah (the lowlands west from Jerusalem)."[12]