Judges Chapter 16

At a Glance

  • Delilah enters as the catalyst of the crisis.
  • Historical & Literary Context.
  • Placed after the Danite expedition narrative, Judges 16 is part of the Samson cycle—an account of a near-messianic figure who fails repeatedly yet is empowered by God for dramatic acts of deliverance.
  • - The fragility of power and the danger of compromise: Samson’s strength is real, but his vulnerabilities—lust, pride, and disobedience—lead to capture.
  • - The destructive lure of enemies’ promises: The silver offered to Delilah tempts betrayal, showing how wealth can corrupt loyalty.

JUDGES 16

Chapter Overview

Judges 16 follows Samson into his most famous and telling arc: his relationship with Delilah and the unraveling of his strength under manipulation, followed by one final act of extraordinary power that ends in capture and downfall. The chapter begins with Samson in Gaza, where his pursuit of pleasure leads to a security trap: the city gates are closed at night, and he is surrounded as a target. This setup underscores a recurrent motif—Samson’s life is a paradox of freedom and vulnerability, power and weakness—demonstrating how personal choices shape public consequences.

Delilah enters as the catalyst of the crisis. The Philistine leaders offer a fortune in silver to uncover the secret of Samson’s strength, pressing Delilah to probe him relentlessly. Three failed bindings and a fourth attempt culminate in Samson finally revealing that his strength lies in hair—a symbol of his Nazirite vow to God. Delilah shaves his head, and the Philistines seize him, gouging out his eyes and turning him into a spectacle of humiliation. Yet even in captivity, Samson’s final prayer and in-breaking of strength reveal a paradoxical turn: the very source of his downfall becomes the instrument of his ultimate deliverance as he topples the temple of Dagon, killing more Philistines in his death than in his life.

Historical & Literary Context

Placed after the Danite expedition narrative, Judges 16 is part of the Samson cycle—an account of a near-messianic figure who fails repeatedly yet is empowered by God for dramatic acts of deliverance. This chapter belongs to a literature that blends heroic legend with sacred critique: it shows the danger of unrestrained desire, the fragility of naiveté about enemies, and the consequences of covenant-breaking. The genre remains epic-historical with strong poetic and symbolic elements (hair as vow, the temple as a dramatic setting for deliverance). The chapter deepens the Judges theme of leadership crisis—while deliverance is still possible, it is achieved in a way that exposes the cost of spiritual compromise and the peril of idolizing power.

Key Themes

- The fragility of power and the danger of compromise: Samson’s strength is real, but his vulnerabilities—lust, pride, and disobedience—lead to capture.

- The destructive lure of enemies’ promises: The silver offered to Delilah tempts betrayal, showing how wealth can corrupt loyalty.

- Covenant faithfulness and its costs: The Nazirite vow’s integrity is compromised, highlighting how personal vows tie into communal destiny.

- Deliverance through apparent defeat: Samson’s death becomes a victory for Israel, illustrating God’s ability to redeem even tragic endings for his purposes.

- Humiliation and justice: The public humiliation of Samson contrasts with the private prayer that precedes his final act, presenting a tension between weakness and power in God’s economy.

Modern Application

- The complexity of leadership: Samson’s arc challenges readers to consider how power without accountability leads to ruin, and how true deliverance requires humility, obedience, and communal trust.

- The temptations of fame and wealth: Delilah’s bribery underscores how monetary incentives can entice betrayal; modern readers should examine their own susceptibilities to financial or relational gain at the expense of integrity.

- Suffering and faith in crisis: Samson’s prayer from the prison echoes the enduring posture of lament and trust—turning moments of defeat into opportunities for God’s glory.

- The danger of polarizing enemies: The text invites mindful critique of demonizing opponents while recognizing one’s own complicity in cycles of violence.

- The memory of deliverance: Even in downfall, God preserves a thread of salvation—leading readers to trust that God can redeem failure into a larger story of grace.

Cross-References (3-5 related passages)

- Judges 13-14 (Samson’s birth and early feats)

- Judges 15 (Samson’s vengeance and conflict with Philistines)

- 1 Samuel 4-6 (temple destruction language and deliverance motif via collapse of idols)

- Psalm 22 (lament and trust in disaster)

Recommended Personas

- Samson (for a critical, self-reflective lens on strength and failure)

- Moses (for enduring leadership under pressure)

- David (as a king who faces temptation and consequence)

- Jesus (to explore the contrast between worldly power and cruciform deliverance)

- Paul (to reflect on weakness as a vessel for God’s power)

Chapter Text

1

Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot, and went in unto her.

2

And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they compassed him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him.

3

And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron.

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 withs 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 withs 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 withs, 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 awaked 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 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.

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 shewed 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.

23

Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.

24

And when the people saw him, they praised 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.

25

And it came to pass, when their hearts 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 them sport: and they set him between the pillars.

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 upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport.

28

And Samson called 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.

29

And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left.

30

And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.

31

Then his brethren 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 buryingplace of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years.

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