Judges 16 Commentary

“And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. in: or, by the brook”

After this. The lamentable fall of Samson took place in the last year of his administration, when Heli, of the house of Thamar, succeeded Achitob I. in the high priesthood. (In the year before Christ 1154. Salien) — Sorec was not far from Saraa, where Samson was born. It probably belonged to the Philistines, as Dalila is generally supposed to have been of that nation, and most people believe a harlot. (Calmet) — Adrichomius says the eunuch was here baptized. (Tirinus) — Dalila. Some are of opinion she was married to Samson; others that she was his harlot. If the latter opinion be true, we cannot wonder that, in punishment of his lust, the Lord delivered him up by her means into the hands of his enemies. However, if he was guilty, it is not to be doubted, but that under his afflictions, he heartily repented and returned to God, and so obtained forgiveness of his sins. (Challoner) — Dolol means, “to be impoverished or weakened,” as Samson was in all respects by this wicked woman.

“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. afflict: or, humble”

Princes, (seranim;) the five satraps, who had the chief sway in the nation, either came in person or sent messengers to Cephar-Sorec. They were convinced that the strength of Samson was supernatural; but they wished to learn whether it depended on some magical charm, or on some religious observation, or whether he was vulnerable only in some particular part, like Achilles, who could only be slain by a wound in the heel, according to the pagans. (Calmet) — If Dalila would learn, and endeavour to remove the obstacle, these princes engaged to give her each 1100 pieces (or sicles, Calmet) of silver. (Salien)

“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. green: or, new cords: Heb. moist another: Heb. one”

Her, in jest. (Haydock) — Sinews; such were frequently used for strength. (Vegetius iv. 9.; Psalm x. 2) Cato often speaks of loreos funes, (Calmet) or “leathern thongs.” (Haydock) — Moist. Hebrew, “seven bands, green and moist;” as if he were speaking of willow twigs, or bands made of the rind of trees, &c. But we need not abandon the Septuagint and Vulgate to follow the moderns in this place, as yetharim unquestionably means cords of sinews, and the epithet, green, is applied to the eyes of Moses, (Deuteronomy xxiv. 7.) to denote their shining vigour and strength; so here it may signify, that the sinews were to be fresh and in full perfection. (Calmet) — Dalila might easily think that such bands would make Samson her prisoner. She had people to assist her, in case she proved successful. But Samson probably broke the bands before they made their appearance; otherwise he would have resented the woman’s infidelity, and not exposed himself again. He supposed she only made these exclamations to see what he would do, ver. 9., &c.

“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. toucheth: Heb. smelleth”

Fire. Protestants, “and he brake the withs, as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire.” (Haydock) — Thus he played with her, never suspecting that the enemy was concealed so near. (Calmet)

“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.”

Lace, (licio;) “the woof about the beam,” &c. Hebrew, “the web, (14) and she fastened it,” &c. The original text is here imperfect. (Haydock) — The Septuagint have preserved eighteen words, which have been omitted in Hebrew, “the web, (and fastened them with a pin unto the wall, then shall I be weak, and be as another man. (14) And it came to pass, when he slept, that Dalilia took seven locks of his head, and wove them with a web) and fastened them with a pin, (unto the wall) and said,” &c. (Kennicott, Diss. ii.) — The Vulgate expresses the whole idea in fewer words: but the Hebrew leaves the proposal of Samson imperfect. It is observable that Grabe’s edition of the Alexandrian Septuagint has no mark of any thing being redundant; whence we might suppose, that in the days of Origen, (whose marks he endeavours to exhibit) the Hebrew agreed with the Greek version: but the 14th verse is rather different from the Vatican copy, which has been given above. — “And Dalila (so the Septuagint always style her) lulled him asleep; (ekoimisen, as [in] ver. 19, (Haydock) perhaps by giving him some potion, with which people of her character are frequently provided; Salien) and she wove the seven curls of his head with the wool, (ektaseos) and she fastened them with the pins of wood into the wall,” &c. (Haydock) — The Hebrew text is liable to many difficulties, says Calmet; “If thou shalt make a tissue of seven locks of my head with the veil, which thou weavest, and shalt fasten it to a nail, I shall become weak as another man: or, If thou weave together my hair and my thread,” &c. The ancients were accustomed to weave standing. Samson was probably lying on the ground, while Dalila was acting this farce. (Calmet)

“And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death; vexed: Heb. shortened”

Death. Hebrew, “and pressed him so, that his soul was straitened unto death.” It would be well if Christians would always make as stout a resistance against manifest temptations to sin, as Samson did on this occasion, when he might consider the revealing of the truth rather as an indiscretion than as a crime. It is difficult to determine in what precisely the fault consisted, which was followed by so severe a punishment. Perhaps he may have been placed as a pattern of patience, like holy Job, without incurring the divine displeasure. Yet most people suppose, that he fell by the love of women, and by disclosing the secret of his strength. But where do we read that he had received a precept from God, not to mention it even to his wife? For in this light Sts. Ephrem and Chrysostom, Sulp Severus, Pererius, and others, represent Dalila, which removes the greatest objection to his character. We have seen (ver. 1) that the harlot of Gaza might be only an innkeeper; and the first object of his love, was proposed to him by the holy spirit, chap. xiv. 4. But even allowing that Dalila was a harlot, though the Scripture does not assert it, what harm was there in Samson’s endeavouring to reclaim her, and to make her his wife, as Osee (i. 2.) was commanded to do? It is only said, (ver. 4) the he loved a woman; and his subsequent conduct with her, might be nothing more than what is lawful among lovers, or even commendable between married people. Isaac’s playing with Rebecca, his wife, (Genesis xxvi. 8.) was a proof of his conjugal love for her, as St. Francis de Sales observes. Generous souls are frequently prone to love, and delight to unbend their minds in the company of the fair sex, with whom they can fear no rivalship in strength. Samson, in particular, seemed unable to deny their importunate requests. He yielded at last to explain his riddle to his first wife, and though he was justly offended at her infidelity, he took occasion from it to begin the work for which he was sent by God, the destruction of the enemy. Perhaps he thought that his compliance with the repeated solicitations of Dalila would be attended with the like effect, as in reality it was, and he destroyed more in death than during the whole course of his life. Without the strongest proofs, it seems unjust to pass sentence of condemnation upon a great character, the number of the perfect being already too small. Our Saviour, laden with the sins of mankind, as with the treacherous Dalila, exclaimed, my soul is sorrowful unto death, Matthew xxvi. 38. Yet (Haydock) the weakness of Samson’s heart throughout this history, is still more surprising than the strength of his body. (Calmet) — Tirinus asserts that God had granted him such strength, with an order not to disclose the secret, that it was attached to the not wilfully having his hair cut.

“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.”

Thing. Hebrew and Septuagint, “He told her all his heart.” — That is to say, consecrated, is added by the Vulgate. (Haydock) — Men. Was the hair the physical, or only the moral, cause of his wonderful strength? It is generally believed that it was only a moral cause, or a token appointed by God, that as long as Samson retained his hair he should be endued with such force. The pagans relate, that the kingdom of Nisus and of Pterelaus depended on a fatal lock of hair, which their daughters cut off. Crinis inhœrebat, magni fiducia regni. (Ovid, Met. viii.; Apoll. 2.) (Calmet)

“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.”

To me. Hebrew, “to her.” Lah instead of li, perhaps in all the printed editions except the Complutensian, which has corrected the mistake, and is authorized by some manuscripts. (Kennicott)

“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.”

Knees, by some soporiferous draught, as on the other occasions. (Menochius) — Barber. He only produced the razor, or rather a pair of scissors, such as were used to shear sheep. Barbers were unknown at Rome for 454 years; and the ancient Greeks looked with indignation upon those who introduced the custom of shaving among them. (Pliny, [Natural History?] vii. 59.) The Hebrews did not cut all their beard, and generally let the hair of their head grow long. Samson wore his curled, which is still the fashion among some people. — And began. Septuagint, “he began to be humbled, (Calmet) or rendered abject, and his strength,” &c. Hebrew, “she began to render him contemptible” (Haydock)

“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.”

Myself. This might insinuate that he was bound, though it may only mean that he will extricate himself from the hands of the Philistines. (Calmet) — We read of no bands on this occasion. But the loss of the sign of his being a Nazarite was Samson’s greatest misfortune, and rendered him less formidable than if he had been bound with chains of adamant. He was not sensible of his loss at first; or he himself was uninformed that his strength depended on the preservation of his hair. The cutting it off was wholly involuntary, so that, if he sinned by losing it, we must conclude that he was guilty in putting himself in the power of a woman, by revealing a secret which he ought to have kept to himself. Other Nazarites were surely under no such obligation. If a barbarous ruffian or infidel had, by violence, deprived them of their sacred ornament, or touched them with something unclean, they would have been obliged to submit to the legal purifications, but no blame could have attached to them. (Haydock) — From him, as to the gratuitous and supernatural degree of strength. (Menochius)

“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. put out: Heb. bored out”

Chains. Hebrew and Septuagint add, “of brass,” which were more ancient than those of iron or of steel. Brass was generally used instead of the latter, for knives, &c. (Calmet) — Gaza, the place where he had lately given such an instance of strength, ver. 3. (Haydock) — Grind. Before the invention of wind or of water mills, the ancients forced their meanest slaves to grind with a hand-mill, consisting of two large stones. Many such are made in the isle of Milo. The mill was the common place for slaves, who had given an offence not deserving of death, Isaias xlvii. 2., Lamentations v. 13. (Cod. Theod. de pœnit.) Apuleius describes their condition as most pitiful; half naked, with their hair half cut, their feet chained, disfigured with scourges, &c. (Metam. ix.) Herodotus (iv. 2.) says, that the Scythians put out the eyes of their slaves, that they may not become dizzy with turning round vessels of milk, upon which these people feed. Such was the condition of Samson. St. Jerome (in Isaias xlvii.) mentions a foolish interpretation of the Rabbins, as if the Philistines obliged this strong man to have children by their women. See Thalmud, sutah 1, fol. 10. (Calmet) (Job xxxi. 10.) (Haydock) — Samson “laboured hard, that he might not eat his bread for nothing.” (Lyra.)

“Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven. after: or, as when he was shaven”

Again. Hebrew adds, “as when he was shaven.” (Haydock) — He was in prison three or four months. (Menochius) — As his hair grew his strength returned, because he entered into himself and did penance, so that he was restored to the rank and privileges of a Nazarite. (Calmet; Menochius)

“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.”

Dagon. Probably the derceto, whom Diodorus (3,) represents with the head of a woman, and the rest of the body like a fish, the chief object of adoration at Ascalon. (Calmet) — Dagon may signify “wheat;” and hence Eusebius (pręp. 1,) styles him “the ploughing Jupiter,” or “a fish.” — Hands. For this purpose they were offering sacrifices of thanksgiving, (Menochius) which they did not only when they first took Samson, but probably on all their great festivals, till the hero’s death. They could not but excite the indignation and zeal of this great judge, and God resented the indignity offered to himself. They cursed Samson, (Haydock) as the Sichemites had done Abimelec on a similar occasion, chap. ix. 27. (Menochius)

“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. them: Heb. before them”

Played. Dancing in a ridiculous manner, (Montanus) running against the walls, or falling down, so as to make the people laugh, (Lyranus) or rather (Haydock) Serarius gathers from the Septuagint that “they buffetted him,” and made a sport of him. (Menochius) — It is not at all probable that Samson would act the ape before the Philistines; but, in attempting to keep off the rabble with many a fruitless blow, against his will he might make them merry. (Calmet) — He appeared before them in the garb of a slave, covered with the dust of the mill, (Salien) like our Saviour in the fool’s garment. (Haydock) — Two pillars. The temples of Hercules, at Tyre and in Africa, had the same number. (Porphyr. Abst. 2.) — The temple of Dagon was supported on wooden pillars standing near each other. People might see down from the roof. (Serarius) — We read that the theatre of Rome rested on one pivot, and the amphitheatre on two. Ecce populus Romanus universus, says Pliny, ([Natural History?] xxxvi. 15,) binis cardinibus sustinetur. (Calmet) — The roofs of the Philistine temples were flat, and galleries all around them, so that an immense crowd might be collected, (Menochius) to gaze on this terror of their country, now their prey. They had forgotten how he had formerly carried off their gates, or they concluded that his amazing strength was gone for ever. (Haydock)

“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.”

Play. It is not clear from the text, whether the 3000 were distinct from those who were below. It seems this is the number of all the slain, (Calmet) as Josephus asserts. But the Protestants insert, “the lords of the Philistines were there: and there were upon the roof,” &c., which shews that they understand it in the same sense as the Vulgate and the Septuagint which distinguish these outside spectators from those who filled the house, and were in company with the princes. (Haydock)

“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.”

Revenge myself. This desire of revenge was out of zeal for justice against the enemies of God and his people; and not out of private rancour and malice of heart. (Challoner) — He was judge of his people, and concerned for their wrongs: God, by miracle, testified that he approved of his sentiments. (Calmet) — Septuagint insinuate that the cry of Samson was accompanied with tears, (eklause.) It was the cry of the heart, which is most eloquent with God. Hebrew and Septuagint, “strengthen me yet this once, O God, and I will repay,” &c. (Haydock)

“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. on which: or, he leaned on them”

Both the. Hebrew adds, “middle” pillars, so that their fall occasioned that of the whole temple, (Calmet) excepting perhaps some of the ruins, which are still shewn at Gaza. (Button.)

“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. me: Heb. my soul”

Let me die. Literally, let my soul die. Samson did not sin on this occasion, though he was indirectly the cause of his own death. Because he was moved to what he did, by a particular inspiration of God, who also concurred with him by a miracle, in restoring his strength upon the spot, in consequence of his prayer. Samson, by dying in this manner, was a figure of Christ, who by his death overcame all his enemies. (Challoner; Worthington) — St. Augustine says, “he was not under a human delusion, but divinely inspired….Who will accuse his obedience?” (De C.[City of God?] i. 21., and 26., &c.) And St. Bernard (de pręc. 3.) observes that he would have sinned, if he had not received a particular inspiration. But many think that he might have acted as he did, without it, in quality of judge, as he might intend primarily to avenge his people and the glory of God. He was willing to sacrifice his life for this purpose, though he would have preserved it, if it had been in his power. (Cajetan; Lessius, &c) — The Church honours many virgin martyrs, (Calmet) who have thrown themselves into fire or water, in similar dispositions. St. Ambrose says, “it is to be presumed that their zeal came from God.” (De Virg. iii. 7.) He mentions St. Pelagia, and her mother and sisters, and St. Soteris, a relation of his, whose memory is honoured on the 10th of February. St. Apollonia’s feast occurs the day before. “She leapt into the fire, having her breast enkindled with a stronger flame of the holy spirit. (Brev. Rom. [Roman Breviary?]) See the fact of Razias, 2 Machabees xiv. 37. (Haydock) — So that the revelation of St. Mathildes doubting of his, Solomon’s, Origen’s, and Trajan’s salvation, as if God would thus keep mankind in fear, seems to be a fabrication. (Baronius. A.D. 604.) St. Paul ranks Samson among the saints, Hebrews xi. 32. — Life. Express mention is made of 1030 slain by Samson, besides the great numbers, which excited the astonishment of the Philistines, chap. xv. 8. But on this occasion he destroyed 3000 at once, and the death of all the princes made the slaughter more terrible, (Calmet) insomuch that the people being without a head, were glad to let Samson’s brethren take away his body without molestation, as they have every reason to fear that the Israelites would now fall upon them. (Salien) — If 3000 perished on the outside of the temple, (Haydock) Serarius concludes that not less than 20,000 were destroyed in all.

“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.”

Twenty. “Why then, says the Thalmud of Jerusalem, does the Scripture allow him 40? That thou mightest understand the Philistines were kept in awe, by the fear of him, for 20 years after his decease.” The Hebrew copies seems to have varied. (Drusius) — Some refuse the Samson the title of judge, (Masius) as they suppose (Haydock) that Heli filled that office at the same time. But there might be several in different parts of the country, and Heli might administer sacred things, while Samson acted in the character of a warrior. (Calmet) — Salien believes that Heli only commenced high priest and judge at the death of Samson, and continued for 40 years, though he was 58 years old when he entered upon office, in the year of the world 2900, in the year before Christ 1153. Samson prefigured the Messias, not only in death, but also in his annunciation, birth, name, and in many particulars of his life. He was a Nazarite: Jesus receives that title even from his enemies. Samson marries a foreign woman; is delivered by his brethren of Juda into the hands of his enemies; judges and delivers his people. Christ, the sun of justice, calls the Gentiles; is betrayed by Judas, and abandoned to the fury of the Romans; is appointed Judge and Saviour of all. He embraces the cross, as Samson did the pillars, and by his humiliations redeemed the world. The pagan temple falls and crushes the idolaters. The Jews are overwhelmed in the ruins of their temple and city; and the earth trembles at the death of Christ. He is buried with honour, notwithstanding the malice of his enemies, (Calmet) as the body of Samson was taken from the midst of the raging inhabitants of Gaza, and interred peaceably in his father’s tomb. The fabulous account of the Phœnician, or of another (Haydock) Hercules, who lived about this time, seems to have been chiefly taken from the history of Samson. Both encountered many difficulties, and perished by woman’s malice. Hercules never used a sword, and we do not read that Samson had any. (Calmet) — “He was possessed of an incomparable strength both of mind and body, says Josephus, ([Antiquities?] v. 10,) which he employed for the destruction of the enemy even to the last breath. His being deceived by a woman, we ought to attribute to human weakness, which is prone to such faults. In all other respects, his virtue entitles him to eternal praise.” (Haydock)