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Judges 16

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Samson's Escape from Gaza 1–3

1
And Samson went to Gaza, and saw there a harlot, and went in unto her. ​
2
And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they compassed him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, Let be till morning light, then we will kill him. ​
3
And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and laid hold of the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and plucked them up, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of the mountain that is before Hebron. ​

Samson and Delilah 4–17

4
And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
5
And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver. ​
6
And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee.
7
And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green withes that were never dried, then shall I become weak, and be as another man. ​
8
Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withes which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.
9
Now she had liers-in-wait abiding in the inner chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withes, as a string of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known.
10
And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound.
11
And he said unto her, If they only bind me with new ropes wherewith no work hath been done, then shall I become weak, and be as another man.
12
So Delilah took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson. And the liers-in-wait were abiding in the inner chamber. And he brake them off his arms like a thread.
13
And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web.
14
And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of his sleep, and plucked away the pin of the beam, and the web.
15
And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thy heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth.
16
And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, that his soul was vexed unto death. ​
17
And he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon my head; for I have been a Nazirite unto God from my mother’s womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man. ​

Samson Betrayed and Captured 18–21

18
And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath told me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought the money in their hand.
19
And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and shaved off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.
20
And she said, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times, and shake myself free. But he knew not that Jehovah was departed from him. ​
21
And the Philistines laid hold on him, and put out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison-house. ​

The Final Triumph and Death 22–31

22
Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven. ​
23
And the lords of the Philistines gathered them together to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice; for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand. ​
24
And when the people saw him, they praised their god; for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hand our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, who hath slain many of us.
25
And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison-house; and he made sport before them. And they set him between the pillars:
26
and Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house resteth, that I may lean upon them.
27
Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport.
28
And Samson called unto Jehovah, and said, O Lord Jehovah, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes. ​
29
And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house rested, and leaned upon them, the one with his right hand, and the other with his left.
30
And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead that he slew at his death were more than they that he slew in his life. ​
31
Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the burying-place of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Judges 16

Verse 1

an harlot — 'Harlot' is zonah, the word used of Rahab at Jericho (Josh 2:1). Gaza was one of the Philistines' five cities, its people named first among them, 'the Gazathites' (Josh 13:3). Samson, who 'saw a woman in Timnath' (14:1), here again 'saw' and went in.

Verse 2

laid wait for him all night in the gate — 'Laid wait' is arab, to lurk in ambush. The Gazites watched the gate of the city and meant to kill him 'in the morning, when it is day'. The gate they watched is the first thing he takes in v.3.

Verse 3

the doors of the gate… the two posts — The three parts are the 'doors' (deleth), the 'posts' (mezuzah, the word for the doorposts on which Israel was to write God's words, Deut 6:9) and the 'bar' (beriach). He rose at midnight, hours before the morning they waited for, and carried them toward Hebron (Gen 23:19).

Verse 5

eleven hundred pieces of silver — The 'lords' (seren) are the five rulers of the Philistine cities (Judg 3:3), and each gives 1,100, so 5,500 in all. 'Entice' is pathah, the verb used when Samson's wife was told 'Entice thy husband' (14:15). The same sum, 1,100, is stolen from a mother in 17:2.

Verse 7

seven green withs — 'Green' is lach, fresh and moist, and 'withs' are cords that 'were never dried'. His formula, 'be weak, and be as another man', is repeated in v.11 with new ropes, and returns in the truth of v.17: 'I shall become weak, and be like any other man.'

Verse 16

his soul was vexed unto death — 'Pressed' is tsuq, the verb used of his wife at Timnath, who 'lay sore upon him' until he told the riddle (14:17). 'Vexed' is qatsar, to be cut short, the word translated 'grieved' in 10:16, where it is said of the LORD's soul over Israel's misery.

Verse 17

a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb — Nazir means one set apart. His words come from the vow of Num 6:5, 'there shall no razor come upon his head', and from the angel's promise before his birth (13:5). 'Told her all his heart' is what she had asked in v.15: 'thine heart is not with me.'

Verse 20

the LORD was departed from him — 'Departed' is sur, to turn aside, the verb of v.17, 'my strength will go from me', and v.19, 'his strength went from him'. The text names the LORD's departure as the thing he 'wist not'. The same verb is used of Saul: 'the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul' (1 Sam 16:14).

Verse 21

put out his eyes — Naqar, to bore or dig out, the verb of Num 16:14 and of Nahash's terms, 'thrust out all your right eyes' (1 Sam 11:2). Samson 'saw a woman' at Timnath (14:1) and 'saw… an harlot' at Gaza (v.1). Now he is brought 'down to Gaza' and set to grind (tachan), the work of the mill (Ex 11:5).

Verse 22

began to grow again — 'Began' is chalal, the verb of 13:5, 'he shall begin to deliver Israel', and of v.19, 'she began to afflict him'. 'Grow' is tsamach, to sprout. The vow of Num 6:5 says the Nazarite 'shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow'. The verse reports only the hair.

Verse 23

Dagon their god — Dagon is the god in whose house at Ashdod the ark of God was set; he 'was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the LORD' (1 Sam 5:2–4). The lords credit him with the capture: 'Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.' Samson had called the earlier victory the LORD's 'great deliverance' (15:18).

Verse 28

O Lord GOD, remember me — 'Lord GOD' is Adonai Yehovih, in Judges only here and in Gideon's cry (6:22). 'Remember' is zakar, the word of Hannah's prayer (1 Sam 1:11). 'At once avenged' renders echad, 'one': a single vengeance for his two eyes.

Verse 30

Let me die with the Philistines — Literally 'let my soul die' (nephesh). 'All his might' is koach, the word for the 'great strength' sought in vv.5, 6 and 15. The house fell on the 'lords' (seren) of v.5. Hebrews names him among those of faith (Heb 11:32).

Verse 31

between Zorah and Eshtaol — The place of burial is where the Spirit of the LORD 'began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol' (13:25). Manoah was 'a certain man of Zorah' (13:2). 'He judged Israel twenty years' repeats the figure of 15:20, now closing his life.