Samson's chapter begins with his escape from Gaza, where he carries away the city gates. He then falls for Delilah, who, bribed by the Philistines, repeatedly tries to discover the secret of his strength. After much persistence, Samson reveals his Nazarite vow and that his strength lies in his unshorn hair. Delilah betrays him, leading to his capture, blinding, and imprisonment, but in a final act, he collapses the Philistine temple, killing himself and many enemies.
The people in 'Azah were told that Shimshon had come, so they surrounded the place where he was and also set an ambush for him all night at the city gate. Their plan was to do nothing at night, but to wait until morning and then kill him.
However, Shimshon stayed in bed until midnight; then he got up, took hold of the doors of the city gate and the two posts as well, pulled them up, bar and all, hoisted them on his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of the hill overlooking Hevron.
The chiefs of the P'lishtim went up to her and said, "Coax him into telling you where his great strength comes from and how we can overcome him, so that we can tie him up and subdue him. If you do, each of us will give you 1,100 pieces of silver."
Now she had people lying in wait in the inside room. So she said to him, "Shimshon! The P'lishtim have come for you!" But he snapped the bowstrings as easily as a piece of straw breaks when it touches fire, and the source of his strength remained unknown.
So D'lilah took new ropes, tied him up, and said to him, "Shimshon! The P'lishtim have come for you!" (The people lying in wait were in the inside room.) But he broke the ropes from off his arms like a thread.
D'lilah said to Shimshon, "Till now you've been making fun of me and telling me lies. Tell me what it takes to tie you up." He said, "If you weave the seven locks of my hair across thread on a loom."
So she fastened her cloth work in the loom with a pin and wove his hair in, then said to him, "Shimshon! The P'lishtim have come for you!" He awoke from his sleep and pulled away the loom pin and the interwoven cloth.
She said to him, "How can you say you love me when your heart isn't with me? Three times you've made fun of me, and you haven't told me the source of your great strength."
so that he finally told her everything. He said to her, "No razor has ever touched my head, because I have been a nazir of God since I was born. If someone shaves me, then my strength will leave me; and I will be like any other man."
When D'lilah saw that he had really confided in her, she sent and summoned the chiefs of the P'lishtim with the message, "Come up this one last time, because he has finally told me the truth." The chiefs of the P'lishtim went up to her and brought the money with them.
She had him go to sleep in her lap and called for a man to shave off his seven locks of hair. Then she began tormenting him, but his strength had gone away.
She said, "Shimshon! The P'lishtim have come for you!" He awoke from his sleep and said, "I'll get out this time, just as I shook myself loose before." But he didn't know that ADONAI had left him.
So the P'lishtim seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to 'Azah. There they bound him with two bronze chains and put him to work grinding grain at the mill in the prison.
The chiefs of the P'lishtim assembled to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon. As they celebrated they sang, "Our god has handed over to us our enemy Shimshon."
When they were in high spirits they said, "Summon Shimshon to amuse us." So they called Shimshon out of the prison, and he amused them. When they put him between the columns,
The building was full of men and women; and all the chiefs of the P'lishtim were there; in addition to them, there were about three thousand men and women on the roof, watching, as Shimshon performed.
Shimshon called to ADONAI, "Adonai ELOHIM, just this once, please, think of me, and please, give me strength, so that I can take revenge on the P'lishtim for at least one of my two eyes."
Shimshon got a good hold on the two middle columns supporting the building and leaned on them, on one with his right hand and on the other with his left.
Then, crying, "Let me die with the P'lishtim!" he pushed with all his might; and the building collapsed on the chiefs and on all the people inside. So he killed more at his death than he had killed during his life.
His brothers and all his father's family came down, took him, brought him up and buried him between Tzor'ah and Eshta'ol, in the tomb of his father Manoach. He had judged Isra'el twenty years.
Study Notes for Judges 16
Verse 1
Gaza was one of the five major Philistine cities, deep within enemy territory. Samson's repeated pursuit of Philistine women highlights his personal desires overriding his sacred mission as a judge.
Verse 2
The Gazites waited until morning, confident in the city's massive defenses. This shows the immediate recognition of Samson as a major enemy and the seriousness of the threat he posed.
Verse 3
Carrying the entire gate structure (doors, posts, and bar) signifies superhuman strength. Hebron was about 40 miles away, demonstrating the extent of his mockery and humiliation of the Philistine city.
Verse 5
The immense bribe offered by the five Philistine lords (5500 pieces of silver total) illustrates the high value placed on neutralizing Samson and the extent of the danger he represented to their power.
Verse 7
Samson deliberately gives false answers during the first three attempts. While enjoying the gamesmanship, he continues to return to Delilah despite the clear and repeated attempts on his life, showing his recklessness.
Verse 16
Delilah's constant, manipulative pressure succeeds where physical force failed. Samson is defeated not by battle or a trap, but by emotional exhaustion and spiritual negligence.
Verse 17
Samson finally reveals the secret tied directly to his sacred Nazarite vow (Num. 6:5). His strength was not magic inherent in his hair, but the conditional empowerment granted by God contingent upon his obedience to the vow’s sign.
Verse 20
This is the tragic theological climax. Samson’s fatal assumption was that his strength was automatic; he did not realize that the Spirit's empowerment was conditional. 'The LORD was departed from him' signifies the removal of divine enablement due to his breaking the sacred vow.
Verse 21
Blinding was a common method of permanently incapacitating a powerful enemy. Being forced to grind grain—a task usually reserved for women and slaves—was the ultimate humiliation for the mighty warrior.
Verse 22
This seemingly minor detail is crucial, foreshadowing the possibility of renewed commitment or divine favor. The growing hair symbolized the physical restoration of the sign of the Nazarite vow.
Verse 23
Dagon was the chief grain and fertility god of the Philistines. The celebration frames Samson's capture as a divine victory for Dagon over Yahweh, setting the stage for God's ultimate vindication.
Verse 28
Samson’s final prayer is a desperate plea for strength, marking the only time in this chapter he directly calls upon the Lord God. Though motivated by vengeance, it is a final, repentant act of faith that God honors.
Verse 30
Samson’s death is a violent, sacrificial act of self-judgment and redemption. By destroying the Philistine leadership during this feast, he fulfills his mission as a judge, killing more enemies in his death than during his life.
Verse 31
This verse concludes the narrative, noting his burial in his family plot. Despite his many personal failings, Samson is remembered as one of the judges who delivered Israel, having served for twenty years.
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