Judges 13:1–16:31
13 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, so the Lord gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.
2 There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. And his wife was barren and had no children. 3 And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. 4 Therefore be careful and drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, 5 for behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.” 6 Then the woman came and told her husband, “A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God, very awesome. I did not ask him where he was from, and he did not tell me his name, 7 but he said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. So then drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’”
8 Then Manoah prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, please let the man of God whom you sent come again to us and teach us what we are to do with the child who will be born.” 9 And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field. But Manoah her husband was not with her. 10 So the woman ran quickly and told her husband, “Behold, the man who came to me the other day has appeared to me.” 11 And Manoah arose and went after his wife and came to the man and said to him, “Are you the man who spoke to this woman?” And he said, “I am.” 12 And Manoah said, “Now when your words come true, what is to be the child’s manner of life, and what is his mission?” 13 And the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Of all that I said to the woman let her be careful. 14 She may not eat of anything that comes from the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, or eat any unclean thing. All that I commanded her let her observe.”
15 Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “Please let us detain you and prepare a young goat for you.” 16 And the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “If you detain me, I will not eat of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, then offer it to the Lord.” (For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the Lord.) 17 And Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “What is your name, so that, when your words come true, we may honor you?” 18 And the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?” 19 So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it on the rock to the Lord, to the one who works1 wonders, and Manoah and his wife were watching. 20 And when the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the angel of the Lord went up in the flame of the altar. Now Manoah and his wife were watching, and they fell on their faces to the ground.
21 The angel of the Lord appeared no more to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the Lord. 22 And Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, for we have seen God.” 23 But his wife said to him, “If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering at our hands, or shown us all these things, or now announced to us such things as these.” 24 And the woman bore a son and called his name Samson. And the young man grew, and the Lord blessed him. 25 And the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
14 Samson went down to Timnah, and at Timnah he saw one of the daughters of the Philistines. 2 Then he came up and told his father and mother, “I saw one of the daughters of the Philistines at Timnah. Now get her for me as my wife.” 3 But his father and mother said to him, “Is there not a woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you must go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes.”
4 His father and mother did not know that it was from the Lord, for he was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines. At that time the Philistines ruled over Israel.
5 Then Samson went down with his father and mother to Timnah, and they came to the vineyards of Timnah. And behold, a young lion came toward him roaring. 6 Then the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and although he had nothing in his hand, he tore the lion in pieces as one tears a young goat. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done. 7 Then he went down and talked with the woman, and she was right in Samson’s eyes.
8 After some days he returned to take her. And he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and behold, there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey. 9 He scraped it out into his hands and went on, eating as he went. And he came to his father and mother and gave some to them, and they ate. But he did not tell them that he had scraped the honey from the carcass of the lion.
10 His father went down to the woman, and Samson prepared a feast there, for so the young men used to do. 11 As soon as the people saw him, they brought thirty companions to be with him. 12 And Samson said to them, “Let me now put a riddle to you. If you can tell me what it is, within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes, 13 but if you cannot tell me what it is, then you shall give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes.” And they said to him, “Put your riddle, that we may hear it.” 14 And he said to them,
“Out of the eater came something to eat.
Out of the strong came something sweet.”
And in three days they could not solve the riddle.
15 On the fourth2 day they said to Samson’s wife, “Entice your husband to tell us what the riddle is, lest we burn you and your father’s house with fire. Have you invited us here to impoverish us?” 16 And Samson’s wife wept over him and said, “You only hate me; you do not love me. You have put a riddle to my people, and you have not told me what it is.” And he said to her, “Behold, I have not told my father nor my mother, and shall I tell you?” 17 She wept before him the seven days that their feast lasted, and on the seventh day he told her, because she pressed him hard. Then she told the riddle to her people. 18 And the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down,
“What is sweeter than honey?
What is stronger than a lion?”
And he said to them,
“If you had not plowed with my heifer,
you would not have found out my riddle.”
19 And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon and struck down thirty men of the town and took their spoil and gave the garments to those who had told the riddle. In hot anger he went back to his father’s house. 20 And Samson’s wife was given to his companion, who had been his best man.
15 After some days, at the time of wheat harvest, Samson went to visit his wife with a young goat. And he said, “I will go in to my wife in the chamber.” But her father would not allow him to go in. 2 And her father said, “I really thought that you utterly hated her, so I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please take her instead.” 3 And Samson said to them, “This time I shall be innocent in regard to the Philistines, when I do them harm.” 4 So Samson went and caught 300 foxes and took torches. And he turned them tail to tail and put a torch between each pair of tails. 5 And when he had set fire to the torches, he let the foxes go into the standing grain of the Philistines and set fire to the stacked grain and the standing grain, as well as the olive orchards. 6 Then the Philistines said, “Who has done this?” And they said, “Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken his wife and given her to his companion.” And the Philistines came up and burned her and her father with fire. 7 And Samson said to them, “If this is what you do, I swear I will be avenged on you, and after that I will quit.” 8 And he struck them hip and thigh with a great blow, and he went down and stayed in the cleft of the rock of Etam.
9 Then the Philistines came up and encamped in Judah and made a raid on Lehi. 10 And the men of Judah said, “Why have you come up against us?” They said, “We have come up to bind Samson, to do to him as he did to us.” 11 Then 3,000 men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and said to Samson, “Do you not know that the Philistines are rulers over us? What then is this that you have done to us?” And he said to them, “As they did to me, so have I done to them.” 12 And they said to him, “We have come down to bind you, that we may give you into the hands of the Philistines.” And Samson said to them, “Swear to me that you will not attack me yourselves.” 13 They said to him, “No; we will only bind you and give you into their hands. We will surely not kill you.” So they bound him with two new ropes and brought him up from the rock.
14 When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting to meet him. Then the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and the ropes that were on his arms became as flax that has caught fire, and his bonds melted off his hands. 15 And he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, and put out his hand and took it, and with it he struck 1,000 men. 16 And Samson said,
“With the jawbone of a donkey,
heaps upon heaps,
with the jawbone of a donkey
have I struck down a thousand men.”
17 As soon as he had finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone out of his hand. And that place was called Ramath-lehi.3
18 And he was very thirsty, and he called upon the Lord and said, “You have granted this great salvation by the hand of your servant, and shall I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?” 19 And God split open the hollow place that is at Lehi, and water came out from it. And when he drank, his spirit returned, and he revived. Therefore the name of it was called En-hakkore;4 it is at Lehi to this day. 20 And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.
16 Samson went to Gaza, and there he saw a prostitute, and he went in to her. 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.
4 After this he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. 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.”
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.
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.
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.5 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.
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.”
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.
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.” 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.”6 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.
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. 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.
1 Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew Lord, and working 2 Septuagint, Syriac; Hebrew seventh 3 Ramath-lehi means the hill of the jawbone 4 En-hakkore means the spring of him who called 5 Compare Septuagint; Hebrew lacks and fasten it tight . . . into the web 6 Or who has multiplied our slain
Section Overview
Samson is the twelfth, final, and climactic judge in Judges. His account comprises three main sections. It begins with his birth narrative (ch. 13). Next, Samson defeats the Philistines in Timnah (chs. 14–15). This section concludes with the statement that Samson judged Israel for twenty years (15:20). Finally, Samson defeats the Philistines in Gaza (ch. 16). This section also concludes with the statement that Samson judged Israel for twenty years (16:31). The repetition of the concluding formula is one of the ways in which the Samson account is styled by the author as a double judge narrative. Additionally, in sections two and three of the narrative Samson is betrayed by two different women, suffers great personal loss in both instances, and achieves two great victories over the Philistines. Though the accounts are very different, they share the same basic plot—a double narrative plot.
Samson is born as Israel’s champion to begin to deliver Israel from Philistine oppression; David will complete the work. At birth he is designated a Nazirite for life, as are Samuel and John the Baptist, two other forerunners appearing in the theocratic economy of the Mosaic covenant. Samson is betrayed by those he loves and handed over to the enemy by his own people. His feats of power and his victories over the enemy are enabled by the Spirit of the Lord. In fact, the work of the Spirit is mentioned four times with regard to Samson, more often than with any other judge in the book. Samson is faithful to his calling to defeat the Philistines, faithful even unto death. In his death he achieves his greatest victory over the enemy, a victory that comes in the midst of humiliation, not strength. Additionally, the authors of the Gospels appear to have modeled the life of John the Baptist after that of Samson:
(1) Both accounts begin with significant birth narratives (Judges 13; Luke 1:5–25).
(2) Both mothers are barren (Judg. 13:2; Luke 1:7).
(3) Both figures are declared to be Nazirites for life prior to birth (Judg. 13:3–5; Luke 1:15).
(4) Both figures’ births are announced by the angel of the Lord (Judg. 13:3; Luke 1:11).
(5) Both fathers struggle with believing the news of the angel of the Lord (Judg. 13:16–17; Luke 1:18–20).
(6) Both birth narratives record the commission or task of each figure (Judg. 13:5; Luke 1:16–17).
(7) Both Samson and John the Baptist are betrayed by women (Delilah and the daughter of Herodias, respectively), resulting in their eventual deaths (Judges 16:1–22; Matthew 14:1–12).
(8) Both men serve as forerunners to a coming king who achieves rest for his people (2 Sam. 7:1; Matt. 11:28).
It is common for modern interpreters to apply the life of Samson to believers today by teaching that if God can use someone like Samson, a terrible sinner, then he can certainly use people like us to serve his church. Alternatively, they may use the life of Samson to warn against particular behaviors that could result in negative consequences. In reality, however, Samson, like every judge in Judges, is a type of Christ. Samson and the other judges are saviors; we are those who need saving. If we desire to identify with anyone in Judges, we ought to identify with the people of Israel, those who continue to do evil in the sight of the Lord despite his saving grace—a people who need a savior. Some readers may be shocked to discover that the actions of Samson are not portrayed as explicitly sinful in these chapters. He is born to slay Philistines. This is his special calling from the Lord—to deliver the Israelites from the Philistines—and he is faithful to his calling. The author of Hebrews would seem to agree (Heb. 11:32–40). One commentator puts it this way:
The way in which we have been taught to think about Samson today is much like the way in which the Pharisees thought of Jesus: someone who associated with the wrong women, ate with the wrong people, and touched what had been forbidden. We should be careful in how we judge these judges. The comments that follow portray Samson as a Spirit-empowered judge who, even now, serves the people of God by helping us to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith (Heb. 12:2).
Section Outline
II.B.9. Samson (13:1–16:31; major)
a. Birth Narrative (13:1–24)
(1) Introductory Formula (13:1)
(2) Angel of the Lord Appears a First Time (13:2–7)
(3) Angel of the Lord Appears a Second Time (13:8–23)
(4) Birth of Samson (13:24)
b. Samson in Timnah (13:25–15:20)
(1) Samson Sees a Philistine Woman in Timnah (13:25–14:4)
(2) Samson Marries a Philistine Woman in Timnah (14:5–20)
(3) Samson Loses a Philistine Woman in Timnah (15:1–8)
(4) Samson Betrayed by Israel (15:9–13)
(5) Samson Defeats the Philistines (15:14–19)
(6) First Concluding Formula (15:20)
c. Samson in Gaza (16:1–31)
(1) Samson Sees a Prostitute in Gaza (16:1–3)
(2) Samson Loves a Woman in the Valley of Sorek (16:4–22)
(3) Samson Defeats the Philistines (16:23–30)
(4) Burial Notice (16:31a)
(5) Second Concluding Formula (16:31b)
Response
Most modern commentators argue that the judges in Judges reflect the progressive corruption of Israel. Following the generation of Joshua, Judges carefully chronicles the nation’s progressive decline into idolatry and immorality until she has become like the infamous cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (ch. 19). In a similar manner, it is argued, the judges reflect this same decline into corruption, beginning with Othniel as a good judge and finishing with Samson, the most morally corrupt of the judges. Gideon lacks faith and makes an idol that becomes a trap and snare for Israel in later years. Jephthah, the son of a prostitute, sacrifices his daughter. As for Samson, he marries a Philistine, sleeps with a prostitute, and foolishly loves a woman who betrays him. He is a man of violence, anger, revenge, and deception, with an incessant sexual appetite. Interpretations of this sort, however, seem to miss the point of the judge accounts and the testimony of the NT. The judges were raised up by the Lord, were enabled by the Spirit, and delivered God’s people from the oppression that resulted from the corruption of their sin.
It is true that these men and women are sinners, each of them from birth. However, they are also men and women of faith, enabled by the Spirit to serve as covenant officials and types of Christ. The Lord, in his kindness, raises up these judges to deliver his people from the oppression of their enemies caused by their own idolatry. These judges serve the people of God at great risk to their own lives, provoking repentance from idolatry and faithfulness to the covenant. According to the book’s own introduction in 2:16–19, these men and women are raised up out of Israel but are set apart from Israel, as was Noah in a day of global corruption.
It is also important to remember the testimony of the NT. In Hebrews 11 the author selects four judges from the book in order to showcase their faith: Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah. Of all the judges, these four are considered the worst by most interpreters. Why not list Othniel, Deborah, and Ehud? There is much less scandal to overcome with these earlier judges. However, when it comes to the description of the judges recorded in Hebrews 11:32–40, Samson surpasses them all by the way in which his life accords with that testimony. He is the one “who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, [was] made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight” (Heb. 11:33–34). Was he not also “tortured, refusing to accept release, so that [he] might rise again to a better life” (Heb. 11:35)? Did not he also suffer “mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment” (Heb. 11:36)? Was he not also “afflicted” and “mistreated,” forced to hide in the “caves of the earth” (Heb. 11:37–38)?
How should we understand Samson? He is one “of whom the world was not worthy” (Heb. 11:38). He is a witness to the redemptive grace of God in Christ, who teaches us to respond by laying “aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and [running] with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith” (Heb. 12:1–2). Samson’s (imperfect) faithful suffering for God’s people is a type of Christ’s (perfect) faithful suffering for that same people. This testimony is designed to encourage believers to respond to God’s grace as we “consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood” (Heb. 12:3–4). Did not Samson do this very same thing? Even before his birth he was set apart by God for life. He was betrayed by those he loved, was handed over to the enemy, and suffered thirst, exhaustion, torture, imprisonment, and even death as he cried out to God so that he might fulfill his calling as judge and save God’s people from the enemy ruling over them.
Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew Lord, and working
Septuagint, Syriac; Hebrew seventh
Ramath-lehi means the hill of the jawbone
En-hakkore means the spring of him who called
Compare Septuagint; Hebrew lacks and fasten it tight . . . into the web
Or who has multiplied our slain
13:1 The account of Samson opens with a standard introductory formula used for the six major judges. The accounts of Othniel (3:7) and Gideon (6:1) begin with the opening introductory formula for each triad of major judges: “And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.” The remaining judges (Ehud, Deborah/Barak, Jephthah, and Samson) begin with a slightly modified, continuative introductory formula: “And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.”
During the time of Samson, the Lord gives his people into the hand of the Philistines for forty years—the longest period of oppression in Judges and double the years of oppression in the time of Deborah and Barak (and thus another doubling feature of the narrative). In 3:3 the five lords of the Philistines are listed among the nations whom the Lord left in the land to test Israel and to teach her war. The five lords correspond to the five capital cities of the Philistines, a pentapolis comprising Gaza, Gath, Ashdod, Ashkelon, and Ekron (all in the western coastal region of Canaan). Samson will defeat Philistines in Ashkelon, Timnah, and Gaza, while Goliath is the famous Philistine from Gath (1 Sam. 17:4). Shamgar, the first of the minor judges, is noted for killing six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad (Judg. 3:31), and it is further recorded that Israel worshiped the god of the Philistines (10:6), Dagon (16:23; cf. 1 Sam. 5:2–7). The Philistines will also play a major role in the lives of Samuel, Saul, and David.
13:2 The account of Samson is unique in many ways. For instance, his birth narrative spans twenty-three of the twenty-five verses in this chapter. Birth narratives in the Bible are used to identify major redemptive-historical figures and follow a literary pattern that may include a barren mother, announcement by the angel of the Lord, the child’s commission, the parents’ struggle to believe the news, the naming of the child, and the child’s favor with the Lord. Seven such birth narratives are found in the Bible, those of Isaac, Jacob/Esau, the twelve patriarchs of Israel, Samson, Samuel, John the Baptist, and Jesus. Narratives of this type focus on either the preservation of a promised offspring (Isaac, Jacob, the twelve patriarchs) or the raising up of a deliverer or covenant official (Samson, Samuel, and John the Baptist). The birth narrative of Jesus is the seventh and climactic birth narrative and the only one that combines both the promised offspring and the raising up of an important covenant official.
The birth narrative of Samson contains several of the standard elements mentioned above and closely parallels the birth narratives of Samuel and John the Baptist (cf. Section Overview of 13:1–16:31). The account begins with the name, tribe, and location of his father, followed by the statement that his mother was barren. In the OT the motif of the barren women often indicates that the Lord is about to do something wonderful, as is the case here with Manoah and his wife. Notably, the Samson narrative omits any statement of Israel’s oppression or their crying out to the Lord for help. Given the forty-year duration of Philistine rule and the complicity of the tribe of Judah later in the account, it appears that Israel is very happy with her Philistine overlords and gods. The people have become comfortable in their sin and blind to their subjugation. It is, therefore, the Lord’s great mercy that causes him to set out to deliver his people even before they come to know of their need.
13:3 The “angel of the Lord” appears once again. He appeared first in Judges 2:1–5 to indict Israel for breaking the covenant. He appeared again in chapter 6 to call and commission Gideon. He appears now to announce the birth of Samson to his barren mother and to explain the nature of Samson’s life and calling. The name of this mother does not appear in the account. Although women play a prominent role in the Samson narratives, Delilah is the only one named.
13:4–5 The angel of the Lord instructs the mother that she is not to drink any wine or strong drink, nor eat anything unclean. The reason for this is because the promised son will be a “Nazirite to God from the womb.” The word “Nazirite” means “devoted” or “consecrated” and refers to a special type of vow described in Numbers 6:1–21. With this special vow, a man or a woman may separate himself or herself to the Lord for a specified period of time. Only Samson, Samuel, and John the Baptist are recorded as being Nazirites for life. During the time of separation, the person making the vow may not drink any wine or strong drink, nor eat anything produced by the grapevine. Additionally, he cannot cut his hair or shave his face, nor touch or go near someone who has died. When the angel of the Lord explains the vow in Judges 13:5, he mentions only the issue of the razor and the cutting of hair. This particular reference anticipates the way in which Delilah will violate Samson’s vow in chapter 16.
13:6–7 Manoah’s wife recounts her encounter with the angel of the Lord to her husband. She describes the angel of the Lord as a “man of God,” a designation associated normally with a prophet (e.g., Deut. 33:1; Josh. 14:6; 1 Sam. 2:27; 9:6–8, 10). This makes sense given that the identity of the visitor is not revealed until much later (Judg. 13:21) and that a prophet is the type of person who would or could make such an astonishing announcement. She does, however, hint at his identity by noting that his appearance was “like the appearance of the angel of God, very awesome [or “terrifying”].” Struck by his appearance, she fails to ask his name or origin. Manoah’s wife accurately reports the message of the angel of the Lord and the corresponding instructions.
The wife is instructed not to drink wine or strong drink, but she is not the Nazirite. The explanation for this instruction stems from the wife’s current condition: she is already pregnant! Verses 5 and 7 contain the identical statement “Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son.” However, the verb “to conceive” is not in the future tense. In fact, it is not even a verb in Hebrew but an adjective serving as a predicate adjective that could be translated “Behold, you are pregnant and will bear a son.” Since Samson is to be a Nazirite from the womb, his mother must keep the vow while pregnant.
When the wife of Manoah recounts the report to her husband, she adds an important piece of information: after recounting that their son will be a “Nazirite to God from the womb,” she adds that he will be so “to the day of his death.” This brief reference alludes to the significance of his death as recorded in chapter 16. His vow will come to an end when his life itself comes to an end.
13:8–11 The news of a barren wife now pregnant, along with the special status of their child, provokes Manoah to pray to the Lord that he might send again the “man of God” in order to provide further instructions regarding this shocking news. It is intriguing that the angel of the Lord does in fact return, but first to Manoah’s wife. She is given pride of place in this birth narrative, as both the one who receives the message of the Lord and the one who instructs her husband regarding the special nature of the Lord’s appearance (v. 23). In verse 3 the author of the account identified the messenger as the “angel of the Lord,” that is, of Yahweh. He knows the truth. However, the parents call him a “man” three times in verses 10–11, hinting at the fact that these new parents do not yet understand the identity of the one with whom they are speaking. This prepares us for the upcoming revelation of the messenger’s identity and Manoah’s immediate response, “We shall surely die” (v. 22).
13:12–14 Manoah’s inquiry of the Lord could be translated woodenly, “What will be the judgment of the young man and his work?” The word translated “manner of life” (or “judgment”) is the word used when Israel goes up to Deborah “for [the] judgment” (4:5) regarding the identification of Barak as the one who will lead Israel in battle. The same is true here with Manoah: the father of Samson is asking about the nature of his son’s calling. It is intriguing, therefore, that the angel of the Lord does not answer Manoah’s question. He simply responds to Manoah by instructing him to do everything he had instructed his wife to do. The verbs at the end of 13:13–14 could refer to either Manoah or his wife. The ESV prefers the third-person feminine singular renderings (“let her be careful” and “let her observe”). Because the angel of the Lord is speaking directly with Manoah, it is also possible to translate these verbs with the second-person masculine singular (“you must be careful” and “you must observe”). The form of the verb is the same in Hebrew, so either translation is possible and would make sense in context.
13:15–16 Verses 15–21 focus on the revelation of the identity of the “man of God” who has come to announce the birth of a son to Manoah and his wife. This portion of the narrative is bracketed by statements regarding Manoah’s knowledge of the identity of the visitor. At the end of verse 16 it is recorded, “Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the Lord.” Then at the end of verse 21 we read, “Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the Lord.” This revelation comes in the midst of Manoah’s gesture of hospitality in preparing a meal for the visitor. The angel of the Lord refuses the meal and counters with a suggestion to prepare a burnt offering for the Lord. It is when Manoah makes this offering that he will come to discover the identity of the person with whom he and his wife have been speaking. The verb rendered “detain” in verses 15–16 suits the context of the wife’s barrenness. This same verb is used at Genesis 16:2 to describe Sarai’s barrenness (“the Lord has prevented me from bearing children”) and then again at Genesis 20:18 to describe the barrenness of the wives of Abimelech (“the Lord had closed all the wombs of the house of Abimelech”). In Proverbs 30:16 the nominal form of this root is used with reference to a “barren womb.” The use of this verb here in Judges 13 indicates that the angel of the Lord will not be “detained” with a meal because the once barren wife is no longer restrained in her womb.
13:17–18 While preparing the burnt offering, Manoah’s asks the visitor’s name. The visitor responds to his question with another question: “Why do you ask my name?” The Lord does not give his name but responds with the declaration “It is wonderful.” This Hebrew word occurs only one other time in the OT, at Psalm 139:6: “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me.” A similar word (sharing the same root) is used at Exodus 15:11 to describe the victory of the Lord at the Red Sea: “Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?” (cf. Ps. 77:11, 14; Isa. 9:6; 25:1; 29:14). The angel of the Lord reveals his wonderful name to Manoah not with words but with ascent in the sacrifice.
13:19–21 Manoah offers his burnt offering “on the rock” to the “one who works wonders,” the author’s own explanation of the description of the name of the Lord given in Judges 13:18. The Lord’s name is wonderful because he alone is the one who works wonders. Many parallels are present between this offering and Gideon’s in chapter 6. Both men prepare a young goat. Both offer the meal as a sacrifice on a rock. In both instances the angel of the Lord ascends in the flame of the offering. When the Lord ascends in the flame, both Gideon and Manoah perceive the identity of the angel of the Lord as God, Yahweh himself. Both men respond with the fear of death. Lastly, both men are assured that they will not die, for the Lord has graciously appeared to reveal his plan of deliverance for his people. With the incarnation, the temporary appearance of the angel of the Lord as a man becomes a permanent reality in Jesus of Nazareth. He is now forever Immanuel, “God is with us” (Isa. 7:14 ESV mg.; Matt. 1:23). Though ascended and waiting to return, he is present with us through his Spirit sent to indwell each believer until the end: “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20).
13:22–23 As did Gideon, Manoah responds with the fear of death for having come into the presence of the Lord. He has had an Isaiah 6 experience—“Woe is me! For I am lost . . . for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (Isa. 6:5). For Gideon in Judges 6 it is the Lord himself who speaks the words of assurance: “Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die” (Judg. 6:23). For Manoah, however, it is his wife who restrains his fear with a quick lesson in theology. The author of the account holds her in high regard. In both visitations the angel of the Lord comes to the wife. When Manoah asks for further instructions regarding the promised son, the angel responds by deferring to the instructions already delivered to his wife. By all accounts Manoah’s wife is a Proverbs 31:10 woman, an “excellent wife” (or “woman of strength”). In Judges she appears among heroic women such as Deborah and Jael who faithfully fulfill their roles in God’s plan to deliver his people.
13:24 The birth narrative of Samson logically concludes with the account of his birth. Besides his birth, three additional facts are recorded. First, the mother names her son “Samson,” another factor in her prominence in this narrative. Though never explicitly defined, Samson’s name may be significant. It appears to be a combination of the Hebrew word for “sun” and a diminutive ending—thus “little sun” (cf. comment on 3:13–14, concerning Eglon’s name). His name may correspond antithetically to Delilah’s (ch. 16). Her name looks like the Hebrew for “night” and could constitute a play on words: Samson is a “little sun,” but Delilah is “of the night.” Second, it is stated that the boy “grew” (or “became great”; AT). Lastly, it is stated that the Lord blessed Samson, though the specific nature of this blessing is not stated. The stature and blessing of Samson correspond to similar descriptions of Samuel, the last of the judges (1 Sam. 2:21; 3:19). Both men have similar births and prepare the way for the arrival of David as the king of Israel.
In Judges 13:24a Samson is a child, while in 13:24b he has become a young man. He is ready to begin his service as a judge and is called to do so by the Lord in the next verse.
13:25 This verse is not the conclusion to Samson’s birth account but the introduction to the second episode in his narrative. Four important statements serve as the backbone for this episode. First, it is recorded that the Lord incites Samson to go down to Timnah (v. 25). Second, the Lord orchestrates his marriage to the Philistine woman from Timnah (14:4). Third and fourth, the Spirit of the Lord enables Samson to defeat the Philistines (14:6, 19). The Lord had raised up Samson in order to begin to deliver Israel from the Philistines (13:5). This is the beginning of the beginning.
This section begins with a statement of divine initiative: “The Spirit of the Lord began to stir” Samson. The Hebrew verb rendered “to stir” occurs only five times in the OT (and only here in this form of the verb). In three instances someone’s spirit is “troubled” or “stirred up” because of a dream (Gen. 41:8; Dan. 2:1, 3). In Psalm 77:3–4 the psalmist laments, “My spirit faints. . . . I am so troubled that I cannot speak.” In each of these four instances a human’s spirit is troubled or stirred up by either a dream or some form of suffering. In this case, however, it is the very Spirit of the Lord who prompts Samson to go down to Timnah.
14:1–3 Timnah is a town between Dan to the north and Philistia to the south. At the Lord’s initiative Samson makes a quick round trip to this border town, where he encounters a Philistine woman who catches his eye. Upon return from Timnah he reports this news to his parents and asks them to “get” (or “take”) her as his wife. His parents respond with a question regarding suitable options from among his own people. They are likely shocked that Samson would seek to marry a Philistine woman, a daughter of the enemy that has been ruling over Israel forty years. His response in Judges 14:3 echoes his request in 14:2, but this time he provides the reason for his request: “She is right in my eyes.” This statement has been interpreted in multiple ways. Some have taken it as a negative statement because of its similarity to the refrain in 17:6; 21:25: “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Taken in this way, Samson would be asking for a marriage in violation of his parents’ and the Lord’s will, something in the category of “unequally yoked” (2 Cor. 6:14). It is also true that God’s people are to do what is right in his eyes (Deut. 12:28), not what is right in their own eyes (Deut. 12:8; cf. Prov. 12:15; 21:2). However, the very next verse indicates that these events are orchestrated by the Lord himself, and so we should be cautious of an overly negative interpretation of Samson’s actions. Marriage to a Canaanite was forbidden, but marriage to a Philistine was not prohibited in OT law. Additionally, statements of this type can also be used in a positive manner to express that something is good or acceptable (e.g., “Saul’s daughter Michal loved David. And they told Saul, and the thing pleased him [or, “the matter was right in his eyes”]”; 1 Sam. 18:20; cf. 18:26; 29:6). Given the spiritual condition of Israel in Judges, Samson’s selection of a Philistine bride may serve as an implicit condemnation of Israel as a nation and, at the same time, provide Samson with the opportunity to fulfill his calling as Israel’s judge.
14:4 This verse is key for understanding the events recorded in Judges 14–15. Although Samson’s parents are well meaning in their desire for him to marry a woman from among their own people, this arrangement is the Lord’s doing. The clause “it was from the Lord” could also be rendered “she was from the Lord.” The final statement that the “Philistines ruled over Israel” echoes the statement of Gideon in 8:23: “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you.” This is yet another way in which the author portrays Israel’s poor spiritual condition at this time.
14:5–6 Samson makes a second trip to Timnah, this time with his father and mother. It appears Samson has convinced his parents to consider the possibility of his marrying this Philistine woman. After arriving at the vineyards of Timnah, Samson encounters a roaring lion. At this moment the Spirit of the Lord rushes upon Samson, and he is able to tear the lion apart before it does so to him. The Spirit of the Lord has come upon Othniel (3:10), Gideon (6:34), Jephthah (11:29), and now Samson. Samson’s great strength does not derive from an exceptional physique or large muscles, as he is often portrayed. Rather, Samson’s strength comes to him through the enabling presence of the Spirit of the Lord. If Samson’s physique were the source of his strength, it would have been obvious to Delilah, and her discovery of his secret would not have required the ordeal recorded in chapter 16. This is another instance of the Lord’s desire to work his strength through human weakness (1 Cor. 1:27; 2 Cor. 12:10). The author of Hebrews puts it this way when writing about Samson and his colleagues: they were those who were “made strong out of weakness” (Heb. 11:34). This should also remind us that “the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Cor. 1:25). The feats of Samson should point us to the strength of God, not to the weak vessel through whom it was manifest. Finally, this struggle with a lion provides the background for understanding Samson’s riddle that will occupy the majority of this chapter. The fact that he does not inform his parents of the feat will also play a role in the outcome of the events that follow, perhaps even saving their lives from the threat of the Philistines.
14:7 After killing the lion, Samson initiates a conversation with the Philistine woman he had encountered on his previous trip. In Judges 14:1 Samson simply “saw” the woman, but this time he speaks with her. And his initial assessment is confirmed: she is “right in Samson’s eyes”—a statement similar to that delivered to his parents (v. 3). With suitability confirmed, marriage preparations begin.
14:8–9 It appears that Samson returns home after speaking to the Philistine woman regarding marriage. The amount of elapsed time between his second and third trips is unstated; the text simply states that the latter occurs “after some days.” The only hint is the reference to the lion carcass, the presence of a swarm of bees, and the production of honey. It would have taken months for the lion carcass to dry out, the bees to establish and grow a hive, and the production of honey to begin. This passing of time indicates that Samson has waited patiently for the marriage to occur. The presence of the honey in the carcass and the fact that he removes some of it to eat will also play a part in the upcoming riddle. Once again, it is stated that he does not tell his parents. No one except Sampson will have firsthand knowledge of the events behind the riddle.
Some have argued that Samson violates his Nazirite vow by taking honey from the lion carcass, based upon the restriction that “all the days that he separates himself to the Lord he shall not go near a dead body” (Num. 6:6). The proposed violation is unlikely, for a number of reasons: First, the restriction against going near a dead body pertains to human corpses, not animal carcasses, as the explanation of the restriction implies: “Not even for his father or for his mother, for brother or sister, if they die, shall he make himself unclean” (Num. 6:7; cf. v. 9). Second, if the restriction against going near a dead body included animal life, then Samson would have been prevented from eating meat, Samuel from making sacrifices as a priest, and John the Baptist from eating locusts. All three men were Nazirites for life, and this did not require vegetarianism. Third, when Samson’s vow is violated by Delilah, the text explicitly identifies that violation. There is no such identification here. Finally, we recall that Samson’s killing of the lion has been enabled by the Spirit of the Lord, and these events are “from the Lord” (Judg. 14:4) in order that Samson might begin to deliver Israel from the Philistines. These events provide the occasion for his first great defeat of the Philistines, and the cost to himself will also be great.
14:10–11 The wedding plans continue. Samson’s father goes down to the woman, either to make further plans or to take her to Samson as a wife. In celebration Samson hosts a feast, as is the tradition of the young men at the time, and the people of Timnah provide Samson with thirty companions to attend him in this wedding celebration. For some interpreters Samson’s presence at this feast constitutes a violation of his Nazirite vow, with its restriction against drinking wine or strong drink (Num. 6:3). It is argued that because the Hebrew word for “feast” shares the same root as the verb “to drink,” Samson must have shared in the wine and strong drink offered at the celebration. Such an interpretation, however, again is unlikely. The mere fact that Samson hosts a feast does not require him to drink wine and violate his vow. Having grown up in a time of extended wedding feasts, Samson would have attended any number of feasts in his lifetime, and his vow would have prohibited the partaking of wine at all such feasts. Samson would have been a well-trained teetotaler by this time.
14:12–13 During the wedding feast Samson enters into a contest with his Philistine companions. This contest consists of solving a riddle; the winner will receive “thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes.” Samson gives his companions a week to solve the riddle. The text does not identify the reason for the contest, and it is best not to guess. We do know, however, that the events surrounding the solution to the riddle and Samson’s loss in the contest provide the occasion for the defeat of Philistines in Ashkelon and later many from Timnah.
14:14 The riddle consists of two lines, with three Hebrew words in each line:
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out-of-the-eater
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came-out
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something-to-eat
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out-of-the-strong
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came-out
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something-sweet
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In Hebrew, pronouns, prepositions, and conjunctions can be attached to the front (prefixes) or back (suffixes) of other words, usually nouns or verbs. This allows for tremendous flexibility when rendering poetic lines. In each of the Hebrew lines for this riddle, the first and third words begin with the Hebrew letter corresponding to our m (Hb. mem), and the second word in each line begins with the Hebrew letter corresponding to our y (yod). This results in an m-y-m pattern when pronouncing each line in the original language. The riddle is both short and “sweet.” In terms of meaning, the riddle derives from Samson’s experience with the lion carcass on his second trip to Timnah. The eater in the first line is something strong in the second line: a lion. Then, something to eat in the first line is something sweet in the second line: the honey. The key for solving the riddle is to determine what comes out of a strong eater that is also sweet to eat. Unless someone has firsthand knowledge of Samson’s encounter with the lion, the riddle is almost impossible to answer. This explains why Samson did not tell his parents about his encounters with the lion.
14:15 At the end of Judges 14:14 it was noted that Samson’s Philistine companions sought to solve the riddle for three days without success. Rather than give in to loss, however, the Philistines now employ a secondary tactic: they threaten Samson’s wife with death for both her and her father’s household if she does not get the answer from Samson and give it to them before the time is up on the “fourth” or “seventh” (ESV mg.) day. The reading “fourth day” is from the LXX, and a four-day sequence makes good sense in light of the connection between verses 14 and 15: the Philistines try to solve the riddle for three days and then on the fourth day opt to threaten Samson’s wife. The reading “seventh day” is supported by verse 17, which records that Samson’s wife wept all seven days of the feast and then pressed him hard about the riddle. Thus some have suggested that “three days” in verse 14 should be amended to “six days.” It is difficult to know with certainty which option to prefer. In such instances it is best the let the Hebrew text stand, since the differences do not impact the overall meaning of the text. Samson’s wife is distressed about the riddle for the duration of the feast; the Philistines cannot solve the riddle and thus threaten the wife with death to obtain the answer. The events here correspond to Delilah’s enticement of Samson in chapter 16. The Philistines persuade a woman to entice Samson in order to discover a secret known only to him. The discovery of the secret results in a loss for Samson, but that loss is turned into defeat of the Philistines. The same verb (“to entice, persuade”) is used in both instances (14:15; 16:5).
14:16–17 Out of fear for her life and that of her father’s household, Samson’s wife cajoles the answer to the riddle from him by questioning his love for her: “You only hate me; you do not love me.” Samson relents due to the fact that “she pressed him hard.” These are the same tactics later employed by Delilah. She also questions Samson’s love, “How can you say, ‘I love you’?” (16:15), and “pressed him hard” (16:16) to obtain the secret of his great strength. The parallels are intentional, not accidental. The literary design of the accounts is intricate and beautiful.
14:18 The men of Timnah provide Samson with the solution to the riddle on the seventh day before the setting of the sun. The term used for “sun” is not the common word in the OT; it occurs only here and at Job 9:7 (“who commands the sun, and it does not rise”). Samson’s response to their answer is proverbial in nature. Like the riddle itself, it contains two lines, with three words in each line. Both lines begin with the Hebrew letter corresponding to our l (Hb. lamed) and end with the Hebrew letter corresponding to our y (yod). In terms of meaning, his response indicates that their success in the riddle contest has been achieved in an illicit manner. One does not “plow” with another man’s heifer!
14:19–20 Following Samson’s loss, the Spirit of the Lord rushes upon him a second time and enables him to overcome thirty Philistines from the coastal city of Ashkelon, one of the five Philistines capitals. With the spoils of victory, Samson returns and pays the wager to his companions. The Philistines won in Timnah, but they suffer great loss in Ashkelon. This is only the beginning of Samson’s work to overcome the Philistine threat in Israel. This section of the narrative concludes with Samson’s returning to his father’s house in anger over the betrayal of his wife. It is followed by the notice that the wife is given to one of his so-called companions. This event sets the stage for Samson’s upcoming fourth and final visit to Timnah, recorded in chapter 15.
15:1 “After some days” Samson makes a fourth trip to Timnah. This same temporal expression marked the beginning of his third trip: “After some days he returned to take [marry] her” (Judg. 14:8). This time, however, the two are already married, and Samson returns to be with his wife. The reference to the wheat harvest sets the scene for Samson’s upcoming destruction of the Philistine harvest. The fact that he takes a young goat and expresses his desire to enter his wife’s room indicates that Samson’s anger over the events recorded in the previous chapter (14:19) has abated. The reason for the refusal of his request is known to the reader, but not Samson (14:20).
15:2 The initial verbal constructions in Hebrew indicates that the woman’s father is sincere in both his actions and his response to Samson: “I really thought that you utterly hated her.” Given the events recorded in the previous chapter, concluding with Samson’s departure in anger, the father likely expected never to see Samson again. His offer of his younger daughter implies his willingness to right the wrong done to Samson, but Samson does not accept the offer, and this becomes the occasion for his destruction of the Philistine harvest. The younger daughter is described in the Hebrew simply as “better than her,” that is, better than her older sister. It is unknown in what way she is “better,” but many interpreters understand it to be in regard to physical beauty. This language is similar to the description of the daughters of man in Genesis 6:2: “The sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive [or “good”]. And they took as their wives any they chose.” Again, the category of “good” is not specified in the Hebrew, and it may or may not include physical appearance. The theme of the younger daughter is also reminiscent of the Leah and Rachel account (Genesis 29).
15:3 Samson refuses the offer of his former father-in-law and uses the opportunity to deliver a great blow to the Philistines. In the previous episode the Philistines may have considered Samson’s actions in Ashkelon to be unwarranted. This time, however, they will understand the reason for this “harm.”
15:4–5 Perhaps it was this event that inspired the words of Song of Solomon 2:15:
Catch the foxes for us,
the little foxes
that spoil the vineyards,
for our vineyards are in blossom.
Of all the major judges, only Samson delivers without the assistance of other warriors from Israel. He fights alone—or, in this case, with the help of an army of foxes. The capture of three hundred foxes is yet another feat of strength recorded in the Samson account, an ingenious tactic employed against the enemy of God’s people. The success of the tactic is implied by the description of the destruction, which includes both harvested (stacked) and unharvested (standing) grain as well as olive orchards—a complete agricultural disaster for the Philistines.
15:6–8 The Philistine response is directed toward Samson’s former wife and father-in-law. The Philistines recognize the destruction of the grain and orchards to be the result of previous wrongdoing on the part of Samson’s father-in-law in giving the wife to another man. The Philistines’ actions accord with the previous threat of Samson’s wedding companions (Judg. 14:15). They burn her and her father just as Samson had set fire to the fields and orchards of Timnah. Samson uses this tragedy as yet another opportunity to deliver a great blow to the Philistines: “If this is what you do, I swear I will be avenged on you, and after that I will quit.” The verb translated “quit” shares spelling features with the Hebrew for “riddle” and constitutes a play on words reflecting how all of this began. The text does not provide any of the details related to the battle, only a summary statement that Samson “struck them hip and thigh with a great blow.” This language appears only here in the Bible; its exact meaning is unknown. It could mean a complete victory or perhaps describe a tactic employed to overcome the enemy (cf. Gen. 32:25). If used euphemistically, it means that Samson hit them where it really counts. Upon victory, Samson flees into the region of Judah and hides from the Philistines in a place known as the “cleft of the rock of Etam.”
15:9–10 The Philistines “came up” (the language of entering into battle; “go up,” Judg. 1:1) and encamp in Judah at Lehi. The Philistines have come to wage war on Samson, to do to him what he has done to them. The name of the location, “Lehi,” is the Hebrew for “jawbone” and points forward to the way in which Samson will slay a thousand Philistine warriors. The use of the name here is anachronistic (out of chronological order), since the name is given after the battle that follows (15:17). The binding of Samson is a theme that will return in chapter 16. The verb “to bind” occurs five times in 15:10–13 and then twelve times more in 16:5–25. In the end, it is the binding and subjugation of Samson that will provide the occasion for his greatest victory over the Philistines.
15:11–13 Rather than joining forces with Samson and engaging the Philistines together, the men of Judah bind Samson and hand him over to their common enemy. This betrayal portrays the growing corruption of Israel. Gideon had proclaimed the simple truth that the Lord is the one who “rules over” his people (8:23). Here this statement of the men of Judah constitutes both the literal and the spiritual truth for Israel at this time: it is no longer the Lord who rules over his people, for they have rejected him as King. The Philistines now are “rulers over” God’s people, who now yield to the will of their overlords. In Judges 15:10 the Philistines said they had come to “do to him as he did to us.” Now here in verse 11 Samson states, “As they did to me, so I have done to them.” It is important to remember that it was the Spirit of the Lord who first stirred Samson to go down to Timnah (13:25), where he first saw the woman who would become his wife, which occasioned all of the events to follow. It began with a riddle, a wager, and the Philistines’ plowing with Samson’s “heifer” (14:18). That brief spark ignited what has now become a raging fire of death and destruction.
15:14–17 For the third time in this section of the Samson narrative the Spirit of the Lord rushes upon him and empowers him to break free of his ropes and deliver yet another great blow to the Philistines. The enabling presence of the Spirit reminds us that it is not Samson’s own physical strength that allows him to achieve such a great victory. It is the power of the Spirit’s coming upon him that explains this miraculous event. Again fighting alone, Samson slays a thousand Philistines with the jawbone (Hb. lekhi) of a donkey. This account recalls the victory of Shamgar, who defeated six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad (3:31). Both men defeat superior forces with unconventional weapons. In response to his victory over the Philistines, Samson composes a brief song to memorialize the occasion, in the tradition of Moses after the Red Sea victory (Ex. 15:1) and Deborah and Barak after the defeat of the Canaanites (Judg. 5:1). The poem consists of two lines, with four words in the first line and five in the second:
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with-the-jawbone-of
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the-donkey
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a-heap
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two-heaps
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with-the-jawbone-of
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the-donkey
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I-have-struck
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a-thousand
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men
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With the jawbone of the donkey Samson makes heaps of men by slaying them in battle. In Hebrew the words for “donkey” and “heap” are homonyms. In this way Samson mocks his enemy, having made them “asses” in battle. To further commemorate the battle Samson names the site “Ramath-lehi,” or “Jawbone Hill.”
15:18–19 In the final scene of this section Samson succumbs to the fatigue of battle and is overcome with great thirst. It is difficult to imagine how much time and effort it would have taken to defeat a thousand warriors armed with only a jawbone and fueled by the Spirit of the Lord. Samson the man had become the Lord’s weapon, and it took a real, physical toll on his body. Samson “called upon the Lord” for help. In his prayer Samson acknowledges the Lord’s agency in the defeat of the Philistines and reckons that if God can achieve “this great salvation,” then he can certainly provide water for his weary warrior. He is correct in his assessment, and the Lord miraculously provides water by splitting open a hollow place whereby Samson is able to drink so that his spirit is revived. As with the location of the battle, Samson commemorates this miraculous event by naming the spring “En-hakkore,” that is, “the spring of him who called [upon the Lord]” (ESV mg.). The miraculous provision of water from a rock recalls the events of Massah and Meribah in Exodus 17, in which the Lord provided water for Israel from the rock that Moses struck. Similarly, after Elijah defeated the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18), he fled into the wilderness (1 Kings 19). With Elijah weary from the journey, the Lord miraculously provided water in order to strengthen him for the remaining trip. The reference here to the Philistines as “uncircumcised” recalls the assessment of Samson’s parents at the beginning of this episode (Judg. 14:3) and so brings this portion of the Samson narrative to a conclusion.
15:20 The account of Samson in Judges comprises three main parts: his birth narrative, his work in Timnah, and his work in Gaza. This verse brings the second main part to a conclusion, the record of the events focused in and around Timnah. A similar statement appears at the end of the third and final section of the narrative: “He had judged Israel twenty years” (16:31). This is a literary device allowing the author to create a double narrative account for the final and climactic judge in the book.
16:1 This last section of the Samson narrative contains the account of Samson’s defeat of Gaza (one of the five Philistine capital cities) by way of his association with two women of questionable character, a prostitute (vv. 1–3) and Delilah (vv. 4–31). In these first three verses Samson enters Gaza, stays with a prostitute, and then removes the gates of the city. This new section begins just as the previous one did. In 14:1 it was recorded that Samson “went down to Timnah, and . . . he saw” a woman. Now here it is recorded that “Samson went to Gaza, and there he saw” a woman. This time, however, the woman is described not as one of the daughters of the Philistines but as a prostitute.
The clause “and he went in to her” could imply that Samson went to the prostitute in Gaza in order to engage in illicit sexual activity. Interpretations of this type are certainly possible, and this expression does constitute one of the ways in which the Hebrew language can speak of sexual activity (Cf. Gen. 38:18; Ezek. 23:44; 2 Sam. 12:24). This expression, however, does not always carry the nuance of sexual innuendo. Perhaps the best example of this appears earlier in the book, at Judges 4:22, in which Barak enters the tent of the woman Jael in pursuit of Sisera, the commander of the Canaanite army. The same expression appearing here in 16:1 also appears in 4:22 with regard to Barak, there rendered “So he went in to her tent.” There is no Hebrew for “tent” here; it is added based on an interpretation of the event. So then, what is Samson’s reason for staying with a prostitute in Gaza if not to engage the services expected of such a person?
When traveling in the ancient world, a traveler may have stopped at night in a town or village on the way to his final destination. Upon entering the town, he would sit in the town square waiting for an elder or other upstanding citizen to invite the visitor to his home for the evening (e.g., 19:11–21). In this way the traveler’s presence and purpose for visiting would have become immediately clear. If, however, one desired to enter a town without being known, it would have been a good strategy to stay with a prostitute (perhaps also innkeeper) in order to conceal one’s true intent. When Joshua sends two spies to look over Jericho, for example, the spies stay with Rahab, a prostitute.
There are, in fact, a number of elements connecting the activities of the spies in Jericho with Samson’s in Gaza. First, the designation for a female prostitute is the same in each account (Josh. 2:1; Judg. 16:1). Second, in both accounts the men “enter” or “go in” and stay with the prostitute (same verb). But no one suspects the spies in Joshua 2 of illicit sexual activity. Third, the inhabitants of Jericho and Gaza discover the presence and intent of the foreign visitors and plan for their demise (Josh. 2:2; Judg. 16:2). Fourth, the spies and Samson escape from the town in dramatic and memorable ways. The spies are hidden by Rahab and escape through her window during the night (Josh. 2:15). Samson also escapes during the night, while taking with him the city gates (Judg. 16:3).
The comparison of Joshua 2 with Judges 16 suggests that Samson’s night with a prostitute in Gaza is the author’s way of preparing us for the eventual destruction of the town later in the chapter. We know that the two Israelite men stay with a prostitute in Jericho in order to spy out the town before destroying it. Given the larger context of Judges 16, Samson appears to be doing the very same thing in Gaza. Samson is not in Gaza to have a good time. Rather, he is spying on the town in preparation for its destruction. This is also why the author of Judges is careful to record that when Samson leaves Gaza he takes the city gates with him (cf. comment on 16:3). When approaching this part of the narrative, we are warned by the example of Samson’s parents, who “did not know that it was from the Lord, for he was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines” (14:4).
16:2 Samson’s presence is somehow discovered in Gaza. He has singlehandedly killed thousands of Philistine warriors and destroyed a large portion of their annual crops. He is definitely on the Philistine’s Most Wanted list. So the people of Gaza set an ambush for him in order to kill him when he attempts to leave the city in the morning. The theme of ambush will continue later in this chapter with Delilah (cf. vv. 9, 12).
16:3 The events recorded in this verse are truly remarkable. The silence of the people of Gaza in verse 2 does not compare with the silence of the author in verse 3. How does Samson tear out the city gates while the people of Gaza are lying in ambush for him there? Is there a battle? Why does Samson remove the city gates? And why does he take them to the region of Hebron? With so much detail lacking, the author forces us to focus on what remains. First, city gates are typically large and heavy, serving as a key component for defense and security. The gates, posts, and bolt would weigh thousands of pounds; their removal by a single individual without tools is a miraculous feat of strength. Additionally, the distance from Gaza to Hebron is approximately 40 miles (64 km). A forty-mile hike is impressive. A forty-mile hike while carrying approximately a ton of lumber is miraculous. Clearly, the author of this account desires the reader to understand that this is yet another feat of strength enabled by the Spirit of the Lord. It is also worth noting that Hebron is the city from which David rules Judah for the first seven and a half years of his reign—thus this is another instance of the forerunner pointing ahead to the one who will finish the work of defeating the Philistines (2 Sam. 5:5).
Why does Samson take the city gates? In the ancient world a city’s gates were crucial to its defenses, and thus their destruction symbolized the destruction of the city. Lamentations 2:9 states in regard to the fall of Jerusalem, for instance, “Her gates have sunk into the ground; he has ruined and broken her bars” (cf. Jer. 51:30; Amos 1:5). But this is not the whole story. The true significance of the gates in this text is that God, through Samson, continues to be faithful to the promises he made to the patriarchs. To Abraham God promised, “I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies” (Gen. 22:17; cf. 24:60). In this text, therefore, Samson is a picture of God’s faithfulness to his covenant people to do for them what they have repeatedly failed to do for themselves: to possess the land and all of God’s good promises. At the end of this chapter Samson will destroy the temple in Gaza, bringing the destruction of this city to completion and so fulfilling his calling as judge to begin to save Israel from the Philistines.
16:4 The expression “After this” identifies a new scene in this final section of the Samson narrative. It appears that Samson has fallen in love for a second time, this time with a woman named Delilah, from the Valley of Sorek. The exact nature of their relationship (unmarried, engaged, married) is not stated. The text simply states that Samson loves Delilah. Later, she will use this love to her advantage in order to betray Samson to the Philistines (Judg. 16:15). Women play a prominent role in the Samson narrative, but Delilah is the only woman whose name is given. The meaning of her name is perhaps related to loose or dangling hair, which may suggest flirtatiousness. However, her name may also constitute a play on words with Samson’s. His name means “little sun,” while the spelling of Delilah’s name contains the letters for the Hebrew for “night,” thus suggesting something like “of the night.” This is a fitting play on words, as Delilah will serve as the instrument for bringing the darkness of blindness to Samson (v. 21).
16:5 The lords of the Philistines learn of Samson’s love for Delilah, and they offer an incredible sum of money if she will discover the riddle of Samson’s strength and betray him. The Hebrew verb rendered “seduce” is the verb rendered “entice” at 14:15, in which Samson’s wife in Timnah was asked to discover the answer to Samson’s riddle. Both accounts share a number of elements in common: Samson falls in love with a woman, the woman entices (seduces) Samson to reveal a secret, the woman betrays Samson by telling the secret to the Philistines, the Philistines use the secret for Samson’s harm, and Samson ultimately overcomes the enemy.
If the secret of Samson’s strength is discovered, the Philistines plan to “humble” him. This verb often carries stronger overtones, such as “humiliate,” “oppress,” or “do violence,” including acts as severe as rape (cf. Gen. 34:2; 2 Samuel 13:1–22; Judg. 19:24–25; Lam. 5:11).
16:6–14 The account next records Delilah’s first three attempts to discover the secret of Samson’s great strength. The fact that it is a secret provides important evidence that the strength does not derive from large muscles or a huge physique. All three attempts to discover the secret of Samson’s strength follow the same basic structure, comprising five parts:
(1) Delilah requests that Samson reveal the secret of his strength (Judg. 16:6, 10, 13).
(2) Samson provides an incorrect answer (vv. 7, 11, 13).
(3) Delilah carries out the incorrect procedure (vv. 8, 12, 14).
(4) Delilah alerts Samson to the Philistine ambush (vv. 9, 12, 14).
(5) Samson frees himself from the trap of Delilah (vv. 9, 12, 14).
It is not known how long it takes Delilah to discover the secret of Samson’s strength or if he ever actually encounters the Philistine ambush in her first three attempts. The prolonged guessing does portray Delilah as persistent in her quest for the Philistine bounty and also accords with the portrayal of Samson’s wife in chapter 14, as she wept all seven days of the wedding feast over the secret of the riddle. The reason for Samson’s choice of bowstrings, fresh ropes, and the braiding of his locks also remains a mystery, another riddle. These choices do, however, provide memorable details. Binding with bowstrings or fresh ropes makes sense in the context of ordinary life. The braiding of his seven locks, however, gets dangerously close to the truth of his strength. Twice Delilah complains that Samson is deceiving and lying to her (16:10, 13). This is ironic, since it is Delilah who is about to deceive and betray Samson.
16:15 After three attempts to discover the secret of Samson’s strength, Delilah pressures him into telling the truth by questioning his love for her. The very first thing we learn about Delilah in this account is that Samson loves her (v. 4). She is now putting this love to the test. This episode of provocation recalls the tactics employed by Samson’s former wife, who complained, “You only hate me; you do not love me,” for Samson had “not told” her what she wants to know (14:16). Delilah employs the same language here by questioning Samson’s love, as he has “not told” her what she wants to know in order to betray him.
16:16–17 Delilah is relentless in her pursuit of the secret of Samson’s strength, “day after day” (or “all of the days”). The extreme nature of her inquiry is emphasized by three different Hebrew verbs: “pressed hard,” “urged,” and “vexed.” The verbal construction translated as “vexed” is a Hebrew idiom normally expressing impatience and may be literally rendered “became short.” For example, in 10:16 the Lord “became impatient” (his soul “became short”) with Israel because of her idolatry (cf. Num. 21:4; Zech. 11:8). The translation “vexed” is appropriate because Samson is vexed “to [the point of] death.” This way of speaking is similar to the way in which Jonah expresses his anger over the loss of the plant that has provided him shade from the sun: “God said to Jonah, ‘Do you do well to be angry for the plant?’ And he said, ‘Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die” (Jonah 4:9).
Delilah’s extreme harassment of Samson finally causes him to reveal his secret to the woman he loves: “he told her all his heart” (repeated in Judg. 16:18 for emphasis). The references to his mother, the Nazirite vow, and the hair of his head correspond closely to those same elements in his birth account (13:5). With these references the author is preparing us for the climax of the Samson narrative and the fulfillment of his calling as judge from birth.
16:18–20 As with the previous three attempts to discover the secret of Samson’s strength, Delilah carries out the procedure described by Samson. In verse 18 she recalls the lords of the Philistines, who pay the prescribed bounty as she begins her final act of betrayal. The expression to “sleep on [someone’s] knees” (v. 19) occurs only here in the Bible; its exact meaning is unknown. It could imply some sort of sexual activity, but such an interpretation is impossible to verify without additional evidence. We do know that Samson is enticed and seduced by the woman he loves, an apt characterization of Israel, who has been enticed and seduced by the gods of the surrounding nations. In verse 5 the Philistines came to Delilah in order to discover a way to “humble” Samson (cf. v. 6). In verse 19 Delilah begins to carry out this humiliation—the same verbal construction as in verse 5, now rendered “torment”—by causing his strength to depart. In the final sentence of verse 20 the narrator records that Samson is unaware that the Lord has departed from him, confirming that Delilah has indeed violated his Nazirite vow by shaving his head.
16:21–22 This scene comes to an end with the record of Samson’s capture, torture, and imprisonment by the Philistines. He has come to experience “chains and imprisonment” in order that he “might rise again to a better life” with all of God’s people (Heb. 11:35–36). The narrator concludes with a statement of hope, indicating that Samson’s hair has begun to regrow and thus hinting that Samson’s strength may return.
16:23–24 Pride comes before the fall. The Philistines assemble in the temple of Dagon to celebrate the capture and imprisonment of Samson. Their boast is repeated in each verse: “our god,” “our enemy,” “our hand.” The Philistines attribute their success to the superiority of Dagon over the God of Israel, creator of heaven and earth. But nothing could be further from the truth. The author has already provided the lens through which these events must be interpreted: the events are “from the Lord, for he was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines” (Judg. 14:4). Samson is right where the Lord wants him. The gathering in the temple will provide the perfect context for Samson’s greatest victory over the Philistines. The description of Samson as the “ravager of our country” and the one “who has killed many of us” recalls the events of chapters 14–15 in the region of Timnah.
16:25–27 While celebrating in the temple of Dagon, the Philistines summon Samson to entertain them while they look on and mock. Exactly what type of entertainment Samson provides is unclear. Two different verbs are used to describe his actions. The first appears at the beginning of verse 25 and at the end of verse 27. In both instances it is translated “to entertain.” One lexicon suggests the meaning “to amuse, entertain with jokes, serve as a joker.” This may be a reflection of Samson’s skill with riddles and poems, recorded in chapters 14–15. The second verb, a near homonym with the first, appears toward the end of 16:25 and is also rendered “to entertain.” This verb is well known from the account of the birth of Isaac, when his parents “laughed” at the prospect of having a child at their advanced age (Gen. 17:17; 18:12–15). “Isaac” is a form of the verb “to laugh” in Hebrew, but it can also mean “to joke” or “to make fun” (cf. Gen. 19:14; 21:9). To the Philistines Samson has become the joke; his presence amuses them while they celebrate their victory over him. He was once a great terror, but now he requires a young man to hold his hand and lead him around in his blind and weak state. It is this weakness, however, that positions Samson in just the right location to deliver one last blow to the Philistines: between the pillars supporting the whole temple complex. The narrator pauses in Judges 16:27 in order to describe the number and location of the celebrants. The house is full of men and women, including the lords of the Philistines who bribed Delilah. Furthermore, some three thousand men and woman are on the roof, looking down on Samson. Thus perhaps as many as five to seven thousand people are present in the temple at its destruction.
16:28 After Samson slew a thousand Philistine warriors with the jawbone of a donkey, he cried out to the Lord for help after being overcome with thirst and exhaustion (cf. 15:18). Now here Samson cries out to the Lord again in order that his strength might be restored one last time. Samson understands that this final feat of strength will be his last, as he asks for strength “only this once.” He seeks to “be avenged,” which could be woodenly rendered “be avenged with one act of vengeance.” Thus with one act of vengeance will Samson be avenged for his “two eyes.” As hinted by the mention of the regrowth of Samson’s hair (16:22), the Lord will answer his prayer and restore his strength one last time.
16:29–30 These verses record one of the most iconic scenes in Judges. Samson’s physical posture between the pillars, with his arms stretched forth, ready for death, should remind us of the way in which Jesus is lifted up to give his own life for his people. Additionally, Samson's statement (“Let me die with the Philistines”) also reminds us of the context in which Jesus is crucified—in between those who truly deserve to die (Matt. 27:38). After Samson destroys the temple and those in it, the author states that Samson’s greatest victory over the Philistines comes through his own death, an observation not to be overlooked in the interpretation of these events. Samson’s death constitutes the fulfillment of his Nazirite vow. This has been God’s plan from the very beginning and should not be considered a tragedy due to Samson’s own sin or folly. When the angel of the Lord appeared to his parents, he clearly indicated that this “child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death” (13:7). Only a handful of individuals in the Bible see their birth, life, and death each recorded in the interest of redemptive history: Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Samuel, John the Baptist, and finally Jesus himself. Though none but Jesus is sinless, these are men of faith who serve faithfully in the various administrations of the covenant of grace. Interpreters often neglect to consider Samson to be a part of this special group, but the author of Hebrews does not (Heb. 11:32).
16:31 Samson’s burial is honorable. We discover here that his mother’s barrenness did not persist after his own miraculous conception and birth, for Samson had younger brothers. Together with the household of their father, these brothers retrieve and bury Samson in the tomb of their father, Manoah, between Zorah and Eshtaol, the very place where the Spirit of the Lord had first stirred Samson to fulfill his calling as judge (Judg. 13:25). The final statement in the Samson narrative brings this account to a conclusion by restating that he judged Israel for twenty years (cf. comment on 15:20 [the conclusion to the previous section]).