Judges 16:4-22

Samson and Delilah Judges 16:4-22

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 be 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 there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in-' the chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withes, as a thread 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 bind me fast with new ropes that never were occupied, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.
12 Delilah therefore took 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, 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 be upon thee, Samson. And he awakened out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web.
15 And she said unto him, How 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 vexed unto death;
17 That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor unto 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.
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 brought money in their hand.
19 And she 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 the Lord was departed from him.
21 But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.
22 Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.

5.

Where was the Valley of Sorek? Judges 16:4

The Valley of Sorek lay almost directly west of the city of Jerusalem. It runs from the heights near the city of Jerusalem down through the hills and valleys leading to the Mediterranean seacoast. Two different branches come together at the edge of the Philistine plain and continue westward until the mouth lies on the Mediterranean coast. This valley lay north of the Valley of Elah where the Philistines and Israel went to war at the time when David vanquished Goliath. It lay south of the Valley of Ajalon over which Joshua prayed the moon might stand still in his time of battle with the Canaanite kings. The Valley of Sorek was near the home of Samson.

6.

Who were the lords of the Philistines? Judges 16:5

Probably these men were the leaders of the cities which made up the group known as the Philistine Pentapolis. In the days of the captivity of the Ark there were five of these lords (1 Samuel 6:16) and each of them made an offering to send back to Israel with the Ark of the Covenant. If there were five in the days of Delilah and each of them promised to give her 1100 pieces of silver, the price which they put on Samson's head was sizable. The total of the pieces of silver would be 5500; and when the Christian Bible student remembers Judas betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, some kind of idea of the extent to which these lords of the Philistines were willing to go is seen.

7.

What were the seven green withes? Judges 16:7

Delilah was willing to betray Samson by wheedling from him the secret of his strength, When Delilah first approached Samson he told her he would not be able to break green withes if he were bound with them. He indicated it would take seven of these strands, and Delilah believed him. The green withes were probably strips of bark which had been woven together to form a kind of rope. It has been suggested that the withes were made from strips of bark which were peeled from trees.

8.

What is a thread of tow? Judges 16:9.

The American Standard Version calls this a string of tow. Tow is defined as a tuft of wool ready for spinning. It is sometimes in the form of yarn spun from tufts of wool. In either case a string of tow would be a highly flammable cord, and Samson broke the seven green withes as easily as one might burn a string of wool in the flame of a candle. In this way Samson escaped from the Philistines who were hiding in the chamber of Delilah's house.

9.

Why would Delilah think Samson might be bound with new ropes? Judges 16:11

When Delilah learned Samson had mocked her by telling her a lie, she was more insistent about his telling her the secret of his strength. When he was pressed for an answer the second time, Samson told Delilah that if he were bound with new ropes he would not be able to escape. Ropes would be made from seasoned materials. The green withes were made of fiber which was green and unseasoned. Delilah believed Samson when he told her a second lie. It was as easy for him to break the new ropes as it would be for an ordinary person to break a thread.

10.

Why did Samson tell Delilah to weave his hair? Judges 16:13

Samson was coming very close to revealing the reason for his super-human strength when he told Delilah to weave the seven locks of his head with the web of a loom. These words are difficult to explain. Several technical terms are used which have more than one meaning. The account itself is brief and new information is given both in Samson's advice and in Delilah's fulfillment of his instructions. His reference to the seven locks of his head is no doubt an allusion to the seven plaits or braids of his hair which had been allowed to grow since his birth. He doubtless meant for Delilah to weave his hair along with the warp on the loom. Some commentators believe the pin was used to fasten his hair to the cloth or to the loom. Samson's hair was thus not only woven with the material on the loom, but it was fastened with a pin, thus making it doubly secure. The beam was a flat piece of wood used in an upright loom to press the material together and increase the substance of the cloth.

11.

What was the source of Samson's strength? Judges 16:15

Samson finally revealed the source of his great power. He was a man completely dedicated to the service of God. He had been a Nazarite from the time of his birth. His strength did not reside in his hair, but in the fact that the Lord was with him. The Lord was with him as long as he maintained his dedication as a Nazarite. When he broke away from this vow by allowing his hair to be cut, the Lord departed from him. When the Lord went away, his strength left.

12.

Why was his strength gone with the loss of his hair? Judges 16:17

Samson had broken other parts of his vow when he took honey from the carcass of a lion. He may have also broken a third part of his vow by drinking strong drink when he participated in the wedding feast in Philistia. Neither of the latter two breaches of his vow made any noticeable difference in his appearance. When he allowed his hair to be shaved from his head, however, he was openly saying to everybody that he had broken his vow. This open and flagrant violation of a Nazarite vow caused Samson to be forsaken of the Lord.

13.

What difference was noticed by Delilah? Judges 16:18

Delilah could tell when Samson finally told her the real source of his strength. There was no doubt in her mind. After Samson had told her that he was a Nazarite, she sent with confidence to the Philistine lords and told them to come up again because Samson had revealed everything in his heart. As a result, the lords of the Philistines came up with the money they had promised.

14.

Why did Samson not know that the Lord had departed? Judges 16:20

The overpowering influence of the Spirit of the Lord evidently made no physical impression on Samson. He was not able to tell by any of his feelings when the Lord was with him. As he first awoke from his sleep, he would hardly realize his hair had been cut. As a result he intended to go out and to deliver himself from the hands of the Philistines as he had done many times before. It is a sad commentary on his fallen condition which is recorded in the Bible. The Scripture says, He wist not that the Lord was departed from him.

15.

How did the Philistines treat Samson? Judges 16:21

The Philistines captured Samson after he had told Delilah he was strong on account of being a Nazarite. They put out his eyes so that he would not be able to see ways in which to use his great strength. They had already tried binding him with seven green withes. He had been able to break these. They were not able to hold him with ropes and so in this final effort to capture him they bound him with fetters of brass. He was then made to serve in the prison house as a beast of burden. He was forced to turn the millstone which ground the flour for the despised Philistines.