Chapter 16
Samson Goes to Gaza
16:1 Samson went to Gaza, and there he saw a prostitute, and he went in to her.
The events of this chapter occurred after he judged the people of Israel for twenty years, although there is some debate regarding his role in that time period. Here Samson returns to Philistine territory to the city of Gaza (approximately thirty miles south of Zorah), apparently this was his first appearance in their territory for some time, perhaps not since he slaughtered the one thousand Philistines in Lehi. When he arrived he encountered a prostitute and had sexual relations with her.
16:2 The Gazites were told, “Samson has come here.” And they surrounded the place and set an ambush for him all night at the gate of the city. They kept quiet all night, saying, “Let us wait till the light of the morning; then we will kill him.” 3 But Samson lay till midnight, and at midnight he arose and took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two posts, and pulled them up, bar and all, and put them on his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that is in front of Hebron.
The people of Gaza became aware of Samson so they surrounded the city and set an ambush for him. Probably not knowing where he was they locked the gates and decided to wait for daylight to search for him. But Samson left the prostitute at midnight and proceeded to pull off the doors of the gate including the posts, the bar, and everything attached and carried them on his shoulders to a hill in front of Hebron (approximately forty miles northwest and up an elevation of 2,500 feet).
Samson and Delilah
16:4 After this he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
The Valley of Sorek was the valley that stretched between Timnah in Philistine territory and Zorah in Judah’s territory (approximately eight miles long), the exact location in that valley is not given. Samson falls in love with a woman from that region named Delilah.
16:5 And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, “Seduce him, and see where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to humble him. And we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver.” 6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength lies, and how you might be bound, that one could subdue you.”
The leaders of the Philistines hear about the relationship and they approach Delilah with a proposition. They ask her to seduce Samson to find out the source of his incredible strength (likely thinking that his strength was magically enhanced and that there was something that would reverse or nullify the magic), so that they might be able to bind him and humble him. They offer 1,100 pieces of silver to her and she accepts, as she then asks Samson straight out, “Tell me where your great strength lies, and how you might be bound, that one could subdue you.”
16:7 Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, then I shall become weak and be like any other man.” 8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she bound him with them. 9 Now she had men lying in ambush in an inner chamber. And she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he snapped the bowstrings, as a thread of flax snaps when it touches the fire. So the secret of his strength was not known.
Samson replies with the ruse, “If I were tied up with seven new bowstrings that have not yet been dried, I would become as weak as anyone else.” (NLT) The leaders provide Delilah with the bowstrings and she binds him with them while undoubtedly asleep and then yells that the Philistines are coming. He wakes up and snapped the strings, so the secret of his strength remained a secret.
16:10 Then Delilah said to Samson, “Behold, you have mocked me and told me lies. Please tell me how you might be bound.” 11 And he said to her, “If they bind me with new ropes that have not been used, then I shall become weak and be like any other man.” 12 So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And the men lying in ambush were in an inner chamber. But he snapped the ropes off his arms like a thread.
Delilah accuses Samson of mocking her and pleads with him again to expose what it will take to make him weak enough to bind. He tells her that being bound with new ropes will make him weak. She again binds him, this time with new ropes, same result.
16:13 Then Delilah said to Samson, “Until now you have mocked me and told me lies. Tell me how you might be bound.” And he said to her, “If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web and fasten it tight with the pin, then I shall become weak and be like any other man.” 14 So while he slept, Delilah took the seven locks of his head and wove them into the web. And she made them tight with the pin and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he awoke from his sleep and pulled away the pin, the loom, and the web.
Delilah now accuses him with mocking and lying to her. This time he tells her, “If you were to weave the seven braids of my hair into the fabric on your loom and tighten it with the loom shuttle, I would become as weak as anyone else.” (Judges 16:13b, NLT) Again, same result.
16:15 And 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 you have not told me where your great strength lies.” 16 And when she pressed him hard with her words day after day, and urged him, his soul was vexed to death. 17 And he told her all his heart, and said to her, “A razor has never come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If my head is shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man.”
Delilah takes a different approach and asks, “How can you say, I love you?” She continued to nag him day after day until he finally got tired of the nagging and shared the secret of his strength. He told her about being a Nazirite from birth and that if his hair is shaved off, his strength would be like every other man.
16:18 When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up again, for he has told me all his heart.” Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hands. 19 She made him sleep on her knees. And she called a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him. 20 And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the LORD had left him. 21 And the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles. And he ground at the mill in the prison. 22 But the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.
When Delilah recognized that Samson told her the truth she once again called the leaders to seize him and shaved his head. This time his strength did leave him and was bound, his eyes gouged out, and was taken down to Gaza where he was used to grind grain at the mill in the prison.
Considerations
One Crazy Nazirite!
The account of Samson in the Bible is somewhat an enigma. First, we have a Nazirite from birth, which leads us to question, can someone be a Nazirite involuntarily without a vow? If so, do all of the restrictions of Numbers 6:1-21 apply? We read that his mother was to avoid alcohol and was not to consume anything unclean before he was born. And then when Samson was born, the only prohibition stated was that no razor be used on his head. He did seemingly avoid grapes and strong drink, but he did regularly touch things that were dead, which would be a violation of a normal Nazirite. But we don’t see any record of him making that vow, was he exempt? Upon a violation of a Nazirite vow, such as touching something or someone who died, the law required them to shave their head and make a special offering to God (see Numbers 6:9-12) and the vow was thereby nullified. There is no mention of any of these in this account.
The second part of the enigma centers around his apparent lack of morals and what some might call today being a playboy, truly not characteristics of a godly man. The interaction with Delilah alone tells us readers that he had a strong dose of pride. Three times he fooled her, always with the confidence that no matter who or what she would do, he would survive. Everyone who reads this story probably shake their heads in disbelief, perhaps thinking, “How could someone be so stupid as to not see what is going on?” Pride seems to be our best answer, but with God we also know that His ways are not our ways (see Isaiah 55:8-9), so perhaps we shouldn’t judge too quickly.
The third component of this enigma was the physical strength itself (and apparent protection from harm). The typical Nazirite vow was voluntary that would included being separated from the world, separated to God (sometimes called the vow of separation, being holy to God, see Numbers 6:8). There is no promise of anything from God pertaining to the vow, let alone extreme physical strength. The text describes several times when the Holy Spirit came to Samson to emphasize that God was indeed the source of his supernatural strength, but those were during times he was engaging the Philistines, a task he was born to do. Just as the angel said before his birth, “He shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines” (Judges 1:5b, ESV).
The Source of Samson’s Strength
The true source of Samson’s strength was God, not his hair. The hair was just an external indicator that the person had taken a Nazirite vow, but nonetheless was integral to the vow. God remained with him throughout his life but now with the external visible sign of that relationship no longer valid, His Spirit had departed from Samson.
The Death of Samson
16:23 Now the lords of the Philistines gathered to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to rejoice, and they said, “Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hand.”
The Philistines gathered together to offer Dagon, the principle god of the Amorites, Babylonians and the Philistines (see Appendix 1), a larger-than-normal sacrifice in celebration of their capture of Samson.
16:24 And when the people saw him, they praised their god. For they said, “Our god has given our enemy into our hand, the ravager of our country, who has killed many of us.” 25 And when their hearts were merry, they said, “Call Samson, that he may entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison, and he entertained them. They made him stand between the pillars. 26 And Samson said to the young man who held him by the hand, “Let me feel the pillars on which the house rests, that I may lean against them.” 27 Now the house was full of men and women. All the lords of the Philistines were there, and on the roof there were about 3,000 men and women, who looked on while Samson entertained.
The phrase, “when their hearts were merry,” likely refers to the crowd imbibing in some form of alcoholic beverage and when they were inebriated called for Samson to entertain them. Despite most artist’s renditions of Samson being a large man with bulging muscles, he was probably more normal in stature, nothing too impressive, but nonetheless the gathering wanted to see their latest acquisition. Samson asked the young man leading him to place his hands on the pillars that hold up the building so that he can rest against them. We are then told that the house (possibly a temple) was full of men and women including all their rulers. On the roof there were about three thousand additional men and women. Everyone watching Samson.
16:28 Then Samson called to the LORD and said, “O Lord GOD, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes.” 29 And Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and he leaned his weight against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other. 30 And Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” Then he bowed with all his strength, and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life.
It may be somewhat unclear if the statement, “But the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved” (verse 22) is critical for the potential of Samson’s strength returning, but it is clear that when he prayed for God to restore his strength in order to avenge his sight, God did. Samson took hold of the pillars and pushed causing the structure to lose structural integrity, killing many Philistines. We are told that the number of those killed here was greater than all of prior Philistine engagements in his past combined. Samson accomplished the task he was born to do!
16:31 Then his brothers and all his family came down and took him and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had judged Israel twenty years.
Samson’s brothers and all his family came down to Gaza to retrieve his body and was buried in the tomb of his father. We are told again that he had judged Israel for twenty years (see Judges 15:20).