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 Gazites were told, “Samson is here!” They surrounded him, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, “Wait until morning light, then we will kill him.”
Samson lay until 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 on his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of the mountain that is before Hebron.
The lords of the Philistines came up to her, and said to her, “Entice him, and see in which his great strength lies, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and we will each give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.”
Now she had an ambush waiting in the inner room. She said to him, “The Philistines are on you, Samson!” He broke the cords, as a string of tow is broken when it touches the fire. So his strength was not known.
So Delilah took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said to him, “The Philistines are on you, Samson!” The ambush was waiting in the inner room. He broke them off his arms like a thread.
Delilah said to Samson, “Until now, you have mocked me and told me lies. Tell me with what you might be bound.” He said to her, “If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web.”
She fastened it with the pin, and said to him, “The Philistines are on you, Samson!” He awakened out of his sleep, and plucked away the pin of the beam, and the web.
She said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and have not told me where your great strength lies.”
He told her all his heart, and said to her, “No razor has ever come on my head; for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaved, then my strength will go from me, and I will become weak, and be like any other man.”
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 has told me all his heart.” Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her, and brought the money in their hand.
She made him sleep on 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.
She said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” He awoke out of his sleep, and said, “I will go out as at other times, and shake myself free.” But he didn’t know that the LORD had departed from him.
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 ground at the mill in the prison.
The lords of the Philistines gathered them together to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice; for they said, “Our god has delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.”
When the people saw him, they praised their god; for they said, “Our god has delivered our enemy and the destroyer of our country, who has slain many of us, into our hand.”
When their hearts were merry, they said, “Call for Samson, that he may entertain us.” They called for Samson out of the prison; and he performed before them. They set him between the pillars;
Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were on the roof about three thousand men and women, who saw while Samson performed.
Samson called to the LORD, and said, “Lord GOD, remember me, please, and strengthen me, please, only this once, God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.”
Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” He bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell on the lords, and on all the people who were therein. So the dead that he killed at his death were more than those who he killed in his life.
Then his brothers 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 burial site of Manoah his father. He judged Israel 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.
Use ←→ arrow keys to navigate
Settings
Reading Style
Typeface
Font Size px
The Calling of Disciples
19And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
Reading Width chars
Options
Choose a Book
Study Note
Bible Version
Recent History
Get the App
Add TrulyRandomVerse to your home screen for instant access
TRV