The Book of Judges
Judges 16
Chapter XVI · Vol. II, pp. 612–615
1 Samson at Gaza escapeth, and carrieth away the gates of the city. 4 Delilah, corrupted by the Philistines, enticeth Samson. 6 Thrice she is deceived. 15 At last she overcometh him. 21 The Philistines take him, and put out his eyes. 22 His strength renewing, he pulleth down the house upon the Philistines, and dieth.
1 Then wenta Samson to bGaza, and saw there an harlot,1 and went in unto her.
B.C. 1100 or 1120.
a ch.15.1. Ge.38.16,18. Ezr.9.1,2.
b Ge.10.19. Jos.15.47; 13.3. ch.3.2,3.
1 Heb. a woman an harlot.
2 And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they ccompassed him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet2 all the night, saying, In the morning, when it is day, we shall dkill him.
3 And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and etook the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts,3 and went away with them, bar4 and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron.5
e Ps.127.2; 68.18; 107.16. Je.5.10. Is.63.1-3? 25.8. Ho.13.14. He.2.14,15. Mar.16.4.
3 The rude condition of architecture indicated by the doors of a city being hung on two posts, and closed with a single bar, will serve to prepare the mind for a temple so inartificially constructed, that one mighty man might bring down its chief supports, as Samson does at a subsequent period of his history.—C.
4 Heb. with the bar.
5 Literally, 'in the face of Hebron, i.e. facing or looking towards Hebron. There is a little hill about a mile east of Gaza, from the top of which there is a commanding view away across the wide plain towards the distant hills of Hebron. Here, a very old tradition says, Samson deposited the gate of Gaza. The site of the gate itself is still shown; and the name and deeds of Samson are as familiar to the Mohammedans of Gaza as they are to the Christian student.—C.
4 And it came to pass afterward,6 that he floved a woman in the valley7 of Sorek, whose name was gDelilah.
5 And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, hand by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict8 him; and we iwill give thee, every one of us, keleven hundred pieces of silver.9
6 And Delilah said to Samson, lTell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee.
7 And Samson said unto her, mIf they bind me with seven 1green2 withs3 that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another4 man.5
m Ro.3.8. Ga.6.7. Ps.25.21; 119.8. Col.3.9.
A.M. 2909 B.C. 1095
1 Or, new cords
2 Heb. moist.
3 Josephus says they were tendrils of the vine; the original word might, however, be applied to any vegetable bands, as of grass, of which some kinds form ropes of great strength.—C.?
4 Heb. one
5 The man who falls into one sin is generally certain to be drawn into another. In company of Delilah Samson is induced, partly it may be in jest, and partly to escape importunity, to tell direct falsehoods. What hope were there for such sinners, were it not that the mercy of the Lord abideth for ever.—C.
8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withs which had not been dried, and she nbound him with them.
9 (Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber.) And she said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson.6 And he brake the withs, as a thread of tow is broken when it otoucheth the fire: so his strength pwas not known.
6 Why did not Samson leave Delilah on discovery of her treachery? It may be one of those cases, not rare with backsliders like Samson, in which they seem infatuated by an ill-placed attachment; or, what is more likely, Delilah cunningly contrived to appear rather to give warning of danger, than to betray her companion.—C.
o Heb. smelleth, Ps.58.9.
p Jn.5.14.
10 And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tellq me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound.
11 And he said unto her, rIf they bind me fast with new ropes7 that never were occupied,8 then shall I be weak, and be as another man.
12 Delilah therefore stook new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. (And there were liers in wait abiding in the chamber.) And he brake them from 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, tIf thou weavest the seven locks9 of my head with the web.
t ver.7,11,17.
9 The hair seems to have been divided into seven portions, as emblematic of the seven endowments of the Spirit of God, seven being the numerical emblem of completeness. See Is. xi.—C.
14 And she fastened1 it with the pin, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of his sleep, and wentu away with the pin of the beam, and with the web.2
1 Having woven his locks in the web that was in the loom, she rolled it up on the beam, and then fastened the beam that it might not turn backward.
u Ezr.9.13,14. Da.9.7,8. Je.3.25.
2 The eastern web alluded to is but an inch or two in breadth, and the loom merely a slight stake or pin fastened in the ground.—C.
15 And she said unto him, xHow canst thou say, I love thee, when thine 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, so that his soul was yvexed unto death,
17 That he told her zall his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come aa razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite 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.3
a ch.13.5. Nu.6.5. 1 Sa.1.11. La.4.7.
3 How Samson came to know that his strength was connected with his hair, as the emblem of Nazaritism, does not appear. The most probable account is that the preservation of his hair was a direction of the angel of the Lord: he was taught to expect the divine aid only so long as his directions were observed.—Note, Samson's great strength was connected with a part of the body with the least apparent vitality, and of the least apparent value. So the Christian's great strength lies in faith and dependence—qualities utterly disregarded by the world; but so long as he retains them, his treacherous sins—the Philistines—never can subdue him.—C.
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 showed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and bbrought money in their hand.
19 And cshe made him sleep upon her knees: and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave 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 be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out, as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that dthe LORD was departed from him.4
d Ho.9.12. Jos.7.12. Je.9.23,24; 2.17,19; 4.18. Mat.17.16,20. Is.59.1,2.
4 What an awful discovery! Beware, beware, O professing Christian; it is a fearful thing to sleep and to sin till the grieved Spirit departs!—C.
21 But the Philistines took him, eand 5put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and fbound him with fetters of brass; and he gdid grind in the prison-house.6
e ch.16.1; 14.1. Je.2.19. Pr.14.14; 5.22; 1.31.
5 Heb. bored out.
6 The mills still used in many parts of the East are merely two small stones, of which the upper one is turned round a centre by means of a piece of timber tied at one end to a beam, and having the other inserted into a hole near the edge of the upper stone, by which means it is turned round by the hand.—C.
22 Howbeith the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.7
h De.32.36. Ps.106.44,45.
7 Or, as when he was shaven.
23 Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto iDagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.
i 1 Sa.5.2. Ro.1.23,25.
24 And when the people saw him, they kpraised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us.8
25 And it came to pass, when their lhearts 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 them9 sport:m and they set him between the pillars.
l ch.9.27; 18.20; 19.6,9. 2 Sa.13.28.
9 Heb. before them.
m Job 30.9. He.11.36. Ps.35.16. Mat.26.67,68; 27.29.
26 And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, 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 nupon the roof about three thousand men and women,1 that beheld while Samson made sport.
n De.22.8. Jos.2.8. 2 Sa.11.2. Their roofs were so flat that people might walk on them.
1 The temple, like other eastern buildings, had a flat roof, which was densely crowded with spectators; and Samson must have been exhibited in the court below. The existence of two middle pillars shows there were more; but if two were taken from the central parts of a semicircle—a very probable figure for a place where show, not privity, was the object—the staying and balancing of the building being destroyed, the whole would most probably fall together. Sir Christopher Wren has described an oval building which would be totally destroyed by the removal of one central pillar.—C.
28 And Samson ocalled unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, 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.2
o He.11.32. Ps.50.15; 91.15; 116.4. 2 Ch.20.12.
2 Was Samson justifiable in this prayer? If there had been evil in it, God would not have granted it. He did not pray for private revenge, but for public justice of the oppressors of his country, and, as a magistrate, though in bonds, he executes the sentence.—C.
29 And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up,3 of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left.
A.M. 2909 B.C. 1095
3 Or, he leaned on them.
30 And Samson said, Let me4 die with the Philistines.5 And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house pfell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein: so the qdead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.
4 Heb. my soul.
5 That is, not a prayer for death, but a prayer of resignation; as much as to say, If it be thy will, I am contented to die for my country's deliverance.—C.
p 1 Th.5.2,3. Ec.9.12. Mat.24.38,39. Job 31.3. Re.11.13.
q ch.14.19; 15.8,15. Phi.2.8. Col.2.15. He.2.14,15.
31 Then his brethren, and all the house of his father, came down, and took him, and brought him up, and rburied him between sZorah and Eshtaol, in the burying-place of Manoah his father: and he judged Israel twenty years.
r ch.13.2. Jn.19.38-42.
s Jos.15.33; 19.41. ch.13.2,25; 18.2,11. 2 Ch.11.10.
Notes
[Ver. 1. Gaza, 62 miles south-west of Jerusalem. It must have been very ancient, as it is mentioned Ge. 10. 19. It was taken shortly after the death of Joshua, Ju. 1. 18, but must have been soon recovered by the Philistines. It subsequently became a place of great strength, and stood a siege of three months against Alexander the Great. It is at present inhabited by Turks and Arabs, and contains about 3000 inhabitants. C.]
Ver. 3. [Samson lay till midnight. While infidels delight to point to the failings and sins recorded of God's servants, and to deduce from them an argument against the Bible, the believer, with all propriety, adduces from the record of them an irresistible argument on behalf of the Bible. The Bible is the only book that ever recorded the faults and sins of those who may be called its heroes. Were the lives of infidels as faithfully recorded, they would perhaps be slower in bringing railing accusations. The conduct of Samson is a sad disgrace to a Nazarite and a judge—a melancholy example of the weakness of human nature and the power of sin. C.]
Ver. 20. ['The superhuman strength of Samson did not reside in his hair as hair, but in the fact that God was with or near him. But God was with him so long as he maintained his condition as a Nazarite. As soon as he broke away from this by sacrificing the hair which he wore in honour of the Lord, God departed from him, and with God went his strength' (Keil). P.]
Ver. 22. [The hair of his head began to grow. There is reason to think that Samson's discovery that the Lord had sensibly departed from him, was the beginning of his repentant return to God, and that thus with the growing of his hair he felt his supernatural powers returning. C.]
Ver. 23. [Dagon their god. The common opinion is that Dagon, which signifies a fish or corn, is described by Diodorus Siculus as a woman's head and body, terminating in a fish, somewhat resembling the imaginary European figure of the mermaid. C.]
Reflections.—Dangerous is it to ramble into the company of such as are lewd or frothy. The wrath of God hangs over the bed of lewdness; and the more secure sinners are, the nearer is their destruction. How impossible is it to preserve in safety the persons who are infatuated with fleshly lust! They are fixed in the basest slavery: nor can repeated warnings awaken them to consideration. Where the love of money is rooted in the heart, it will not hesitate to betray soul and body at once, for a supposed competent bribe. And, indeed, they who trust either honour or life to a base woman deserve to be betrayed. God justly gives up men to suffer who give up themselves to sin: and sensual lusts especially bring men at last to the most fearful misery. But dreadful is their ruin who ensnare and make sport with the falls and sufferings of God's people or servants; for God will graciously return to his penitent children, and renew their strength, in order that before and in death they may be avenged of their spiritual enemies.—But this Jewish hero illustriously typifies our almighty Redeemer. Express and seasonable were the predictions concerning him, and supernatural the manner of his birth. Solemn was his separation to the service of God; invigorating the spiritual influence which he received; and early and marvellous his exploits. By obedience and death he fulfilled the broken law; and conquered sin, Satan, the world, and death: and sweet is the provision provided by it for himself and his friends; nay, for sinners of mankind, even the chief! Important are his parables, and known only to such as have fellowship with him. Basely was he betrayed by Judas and his countrymen, and delivered to the Gentiles that he might be crucified. His enemies rejoiced to shut his eyes in death, and to imprison him in a grave. Making him the object of their derision, they sealed him up, and watched him in his tomb; but he brake the bands, and carried off the gates and bars of death; and ascending up on high, led captivity captive. All alone he performed his wonderful exploits. By a voluntary death, according to his Father's will, he destroyed thousands of principalities and powers. By the contemned preaching of the gospel he conquers thousands of souls, and kills ten thousands of lusts.—But how dreadful is his justice! By the Romans, like fire-branded foxes, he spread destruction among his Jewish opposers, and burned up their cities: by furious and ravaging Goths, Saracens, Tartars, Turks, &c., he resented, and will resent, the injuries done to his Christian cause: and how tremendously shall his righteous will over all at last prevail!