Samson (Judges 13:2–5; Judges 13:22–25; Judges 14:3–4; Judges 14:6; Judges 14:14; Judges 14:19; Judges 15:4–8; Judges 15:14–16; Judges 15:18–20; Judges 16:1–3; Judges 16:17; Judges 16:20; Judges 16:21; Judges 16:28–31; Hebrews 11:32–33)

Nazirite and Judge of Israel

A son of Manoah of Zorah, announced by the angel of the LORD as a Nazirite from the womb, who took a wife of the Philistines, slew many of them by the Spirit of the LORD, judged Israel twenty years, was shaven through Delilah, and died with the Philistines in the house of Dagon.

The book of Judges says that “the children of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah; and Jehovah delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years” (Judges 13:1). To the barren wife of Manoah, a Danite of Zorah, the angel of the LORD said she would bear a son, and that “no razor shall come upon his head; for the child shall be a Nazirite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to save Israel out of the hand of the Philistines” (Judges 13:5). “And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and Jehovah blessed him” (Judges 13:24).

Samson went down to Timnah, saw a woman of the Philistines, and said to his father, “Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well” (Judges 14:3). The text adds that his parents “knew not that it was of Jehovah; for he sought an occasion against the Philistines” (Judges 14:4). Again and again “the Spirit of Jehovah came mightily upon him” (Judges 14:6): he rent a young lion, smote thirty men of Ashkelon, and with a fresh jawbone of a donkey smote a thousand men. His riddle at the wedding feast was told by his wife, she was given to his companion, and he burned the Philistines' grain with firebrands tied between the tails of three hundred foxes. “And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years” (Judges 15:20).

In the valley of Sorek he loved a woman named Delilah, and the lords of the Philistines promised her silver to learn the secret of his strength. When she had pressed him daily, “he told her all his heart” (Judges 16:17); his head was shaven, and “he knew not that Jehovah was departed from him” (Judges 16:20). The Philistines put out his eyes and set him to grind in the prison-house. At the feast of Dagon he called on the LORD, took hold of the two middle pillars, and said, “Let me die with the Philistines” (Judges 16:30). His brethren buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol. Hebrews names him among the faithful of old: “the time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah; of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness” (Hebrews 11:32-33).

Strengths

• The Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him
• Called on the LORD in need
• Owned the great deliverance as God's
• Judged Israel twenty years
• Named among those who through faith subdued kingdoms

Weaknesses

• Told his secret when pressed sore
• Anger kindled; would be avenged
• Went in unto a harlot at Gaza

Themes

• Nazirite from the womb
• The Spirit of the LORD
• Israel under the Philistines
• Riddle and betrayal
• Strength lost and given again

The angel announces a Nazirite son (Judges 13:1–7)

Israel is given to the Philistines forty years; the angel of the LORD tells Manoah's barren wife that she will bear a son who shall be a Nazirite unto God from the womb.

The angel announces a Nazirite son

“And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not. And the angel of Jehovah appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not; but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son” (Judges 13:2-3).

The charge was laid on the mother and on the child: “Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink no wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing: for, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come upon his head; for the child shall be a Nazirite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to save Israel out of the hand of the Philistines” (Judges 13:4-5).

Telling her husband, she repeated it: “the child shall be a Nazirite unto God from the womb to the day of his death” (Judges 13:7). When the angel came again, he said to Manoah, “Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware” (Judges 13:13).

Manoah's offering and Samson's birth (Judges 13:8–25)

Manoah asks to be taught what to do for the child, offers a kid on the rock, sees the angel ascend in the flame, and his wife bears a son and calls him Samson.

A woman of Timnah (Judges 14:1–4)

Samson sees a woman of the Philistines in Timnah and asks his parents to get her for him; they object, and the text says it was of the LORD.

The young lion and the honey (Judges 14:5–9)

A young lion roars against him at the vineyards of Timnah; the Spirit of the LORD comes mightily upon him and he rends it, and later he finds bees and honey in its body.

The riddle at the feast (Judges 14:10–20)

At the feast Samson puts forth a riddle to thirty companions; his wife weeps until he tells her, the riddle is declared, and he smites thirty men of Ashkelon.

The riddle at the feast

At the feast in Timnah, thirty companions were brought to be with him. Samson said, “Let me now put forth a riddle unto you: if ye can declare it unto me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of raiment” (Judges 14:12). The riddle: “Out of the eater came forth food, And out of the strong came forth sweetness. And they could not in three days declare the riddle” (Judges 14:14).

On the seventh day they said to his wife, “Entice thy husband, that he may declare unto us the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy father’s house with fire” (Judges 14:15). “And she wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted: and it came to pass on the seventh day, that he told her, because she pressed him sore; and she told the riddle to the children of her people” (Judges 14:17).

“And the Spirit of Jehovah came mightily upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and smote thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave the changes of raiment unto them that declared the riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his father’s house. But Samson’s wife was given to his companion, whom he had used as his friend” (Judges 14:19-20).

The foxes and the burning of the grain (Judges 15:1–8)

Refused entry to his wife, Samson turns three hundred foxes loose with firebrands in the Philistines' grain; they burn his wife and her father, and he smites them and dwells in the cleft of the rock of Etam.

Bound by Judah, the jawbone, and the water at Lehi (Judges 15:9–20)

Three thousand men of Judah bind him and deliver him to the Philistines; at Lehi the ropes drop off, he smites a thousand men with a jawbone, calls on the LORD for water, and judges Israel twenty years.

Bound by Judah, the jawbone, and the water at Lehi

When the Philistines encamped in Judah, three thousand men of Judah went down to Samson at Etam: “Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? what then is this that thou hast done unto us? And he said unto them, As they did unto me, so have I done unto them” (Judges 15:11). He asked them to swear not to fall upon him themselves, and “they bound him with two new ropes, and brought him up from the rock” (Judges 15:13).

“When he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they met him: and the Spirit of Jehovah came mightily upon him, and the ropes that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands dropped from off his hands. And he found a fresh jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and smote a thousand men therewith” (Judges 15:14-15).

“And he was sore athirst, and called on Jehovah, and said, Thou hast given this great deliverance by the hand of thy servant; and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised. But God clave the hollow place that is in Lehi, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived” (Judges 15:18-19). “And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years” (Judges 15:20).

The gate of Gaza (Judges 16:1–3)

At Gaza, where he went in to a harlot, the Gazites lay wait for him all night; at midnight he plucks up the doors of the city gate and carries them to the top of the mountain before Hebron.

Delilah and the shaven locks (Judges 16:4–22)

Samson loves Delilah in the valley of Sorek; the lords of the Philistines offer her silver, he deceives her three times, then tells her all his heart, and his head is shaven and his strength goes from him.

Delilah and the shaven locks

“And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth” (Judges 16:4-5), promising her eleven hundred pieces of silver each. Three times she asked and three times she cried, “The Philistines are upon thee, Samson” (Judges 16:9): he named seven green withes, then new ropes, then the weaving of his seven locks with the web, and each time he broke free (Judges 16:6-14).

“And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, that his soul was vexed unto death. And he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon my head; for I have been a Nazirite 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” (Judges 16:16-17).

“And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and shaved off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him. And she said, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times, and shake myself free. But he knew not that Jehovah was departed from him” (Judges 16:19-20).

“And the Philistines laid hold on him, and put out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison-house. Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven” (Judges 16:21-22).

The house of Dagon (Judges 16:23–31)

At the lords' great sacrifice to Dagon, Samson is called out to make sport; he calls on the LORD, takes hold of the two middle pillars, bows himself with all his might, and the house falls; his brethren bury him between Zorah and Eshtaol.

The house of Dagon

The lords of the Philistines gathered “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” (Judges 16:23). “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 sport before them” (Judges 16:25). The house was full, with about three thousand men and women upon the roof (Judges 16:27).

“And Samson called unto Jehovah, and said, O Lord Jehovah, 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” (Judges 16:28).

“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 that he slew at his death were more than they that he slew in his life” (Judges 16:30).

“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 burying-place of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years” (Judges 16:31).

Manoah (Judges 13:2; Judges 13:8–12; Judges 16:31)

A man of Zorah of the family of the Danites, whose wife was barren, and who prayed to be taught what to do for the child.

Manoah's wife (Judges 13:3–7; Judges 13:23–24)

The unnamed woman to whom the angel appeared, who bare a son and called his name Samson.

The angel of the LORD (Judges 13:3–5; Judges 13:13–20)

Appeared to the woman and to Manoah, told them of the child, and ascended in the flame of the altar.

The LORD (Judges 13:24–25; Judges 15:18–19; Judges 16:20; Judges 16:28)

Blessed him, sent his Spirit mightily upon him, answered his call for water, and was departed from him when he was shaven.

The woman of Timnah (Judges 14:1–3; Judges 14:15–20)

A daughter of the Philistines whom Samson asked to have for his wife; she told his riddle and was given to his companion.

Delilah (Judges 16:4–20)

A woman of the valley of Sorek whom he loved, who pressed him daily and called for the lords of the Philistines.

The lords of the Philistines (Judges 16:5; Judges 16:23–30)

Offered Delilah silver to learn his strength, and gathered to the sacrifice to Dagon where the house fell upon them.

The men of Judah (Judges 15:9–13)

Three thousand of his own people, saying the Philistines were rulers over them, bound him with two new ropes to deliver him into their hand, but swore not to kill him.

Major sections

• Judges 13–16
• Hebrews 11:32–34

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