Judges 16

Chap. XVI. Ver. 1—31. Samson enticed by harlots, betrays his own secret, and is subdued, but finally avenged of all his enemies.—We have just mentioned, that Samson’s religious character was not yet formed, though he had cried to the Lord so vehemently in his distress; for in this chapter we find him going after harlots, and instead of having the firmness to deny their solicitations, he betrays his own secret, and they betray him into the hands of his enemies. With them also he prevaricates in a manner inconsistent with the character of a wise and good man. He had a right to refuse to discover the truth; yet he had no right to tell a falsehood. But he paid dearly for this conduct in the end. Through the force of his passions, and the weakness of his resolution, he lost all his supernatural strength, and became weak as another man.

Calmet remarks, that the weakness of his heart was more astonishing than the strength of his body. Falling now into the hands of his enemies, he is treated with all the cruelty which, in those barbarous times, was commonly displayed to conquered enemies. First, his eyes were “bored out,” and then he was put to grind corn in his prison-house, like a common slave. Nor was this all. In celebrating a feast to their idol Dagon, they send for him to insult him and make them sport. Yes: those who fell under the weight of his arm, or fled from him in confusion but a little time before, have now the meanness to insult him in their cups, and, probably, the impiety to blaspheme the God of Israel; alas, but they were paid dearly for their folly.

Patriotism was certainly a prominent virtue among the Hebrews, especially under the Theocracy; and they had some special reasons to regard their country with peculiar satisfaction:—it was assigned to them immediately by God—it was rescued from their enemies by a miraculous power, and they were favoured with laws and institutions incomparably preferable to those of other nations. We need not, therefore, wonder at their care for its prosperity, nor their indignation against its enemies, though they carried the latter to a degree inconsistent with the philanthropic principles of the gospel, which will not allow us to imprecate vengeance against our enemies; on the contrary, we are required to love and pray for them.

This was not, however, the case with Samson: he lived under the old dispensation, when many things were suffered, “through the hardness of their hearts.” ((Matthew 19:8).) The Jewish hero was now oppressed with anguish, and worn out with the taunts and cruelties of the Philistines; it was very natural and lawful for him, therefore, to pray for deliverance; but with this, as we shall find was often the case with David and other Old Testament worthies, he mingles a petition for revenge: “And now, O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me only this once, that I may be avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes!” From the prayer or this petition being granted, some divines have hastily inferred that it was wholly acceptable to God; but we doubt this inference.

The Lord often hears and answers the prayers of his people, though mingled with much alloy; are granted, and where they do not, they are forgiven. Some have represented Samson as an illustrious type of Christ; but, we believe, without authority from Scripture, and with little honour to our Saviour. There is only one point which we think will bear notice in characters so morally dissimilar. Samson “conquered when he fell;” and so did our Lord Jesus. “Through death he destroyed him that hath the power of death, that is, the devil. Having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.” ((Hebrews 2:14). (Colossians 1:15).)

Notes on the verses

Chap. XVI. Ver. 1. Gaza.—[Gaza, a city of great antiquity, was situated between Raphia and Askelon, twenty-two miles north of the former, and sixteen south of the latter, according to the Antonine Itinerary; three miles from the sea, according to Arrian, and thirty-four from Ashdod or Azotus, according to Diodorus Siculus. It was a place of great strength and importance; and successively belonged to the Philistines, Hebrews, Chaldeans, and Persians; which latter defended it for two months against Alexander the Great, who finally took and destroyed it. It was afterwards rebuilt; and alternately possessed by the Egyptians, Syrians, and Jews. The present town, which the Arabs call Razza, is situated on an eminence, and is rendered picturesque by the number of fine minarets which rise majestically above the buildings, with beautiful date trees interspersed.

It contains upwards of 2000 inhabitants.]—Bagster.—A harlot.—Hebrew, “A woman a harlot.” Dr. Clarke supposes that she also kept a public house. See Note on Joshua ii. 1. Ver. 3. A hill before Hebron.—The LXX render it, “A hill that looketh toward Hebron.” Boothroyd renders it, “it itself was twenty miles off.” Ver. 7. Seven green withs—Margin, “New cords.” Strong cords are in some countries formed from osiers, &c. but the LXX. seem to understand it of cords formed of the nerves of cattle, which are also very strong.—Dr. Clarke. Ver. 13. If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with a web.—This verse seems to end abruptly; but the LXX. has here an addition, which we insert, without presuming to decide whether it should be considered as text or comment, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web, and shalt fasten them with the pin in the wall, I shall become like other men: and so it was, that when he slept, Delilah took the seven locks of his head, and wove them with the web, and fastened it with the pin to the wall, and said unto him,”

&c. The addition is in Italics. See Dr. Clarke. Ver. 21, Put out his eyes.—Hebrew, “Bored out.” There are two ways in which this cruel operation was performed; either by piercing the sight, or by digging out the eye-balls with a dagger; which, cruel as it is, is by no means uncommon in the East. Ver. 23. Dagon their god.—Of this idol we shall give some account on (1 Samuel 5:2), &c. Ver. 25. He made them sport.—Probably they exacted from him some feats of strength and agility, which made him weary. Ver. 27. Upon the roof 3000.—[Samson therefore, says Dr. Shaw, have been in a court or area below; and consequently the temple will be of the same kind with the ancient sacred enclosures, which were only surrounded either in part

or on all sides, with some plain or cloistered buildings. Several palaces, Zoutwanas, (as the courts of justice are called in those countries,) are built in this fashion. On their public festivals and rejoicings, the roofs of these cloisters are crowded with spectators. I have often seen numbers of people diverted in this manner on the roof of the dey’s palace at Algiers which, like many others, has an advanced cloister, over against the gate of the palace, like a long pent-house, supported by one or two contiguous pillars in front, or centre.—Bagster. Ver. 29. Two middle pillars.—It is plain there were more pillars; but the centre pillars being removed, on which the weight mainly rested, the rest gave way.

The fall of so large a building, by the removal of his one, has been objected to; but Dr. Shaw describes buildings in the form of cloisters, made for a similar purpose, in which “the pulling down the front or centre pillars only, which supported it, would be attended with a like catastrophe.”—See Orient. Cust. Nos. 86 and 791. From the History of Samson, it is generally supposed, was derived that of Hercules; and M. De Lavour, an ingenious French writer, has drawn out the parallel at full length, an abridgment of which may be seen in Dr. Clarke’s Commentary.

Chap. XVII. Ver. 1. There was a man.—It is extremely difficult to fix the chronology of this and the following transactions.

Some think them to be here in their natural order; others that they happened in the time of Joshua, or immediately after the ancients who outlived him. All that can be said with certainty is, that they happened when there was no king in Israel; that is, about the time of the judges, or in some time of the anarchy. (ver. 6.)—Bagster. Ver. 4. A graven and a molten image.—The second article (a) should be omitted, as it appears to have been but one image; for “it (not they) was in the house of Micah.” Boothroyd. Ver. 5. A house of gods.—We have repeatedly remarked, that the word Elohim is plural, and when applied to idols, is rightly so translated; but as here is no mention of any god but Jehovah, we conceive it should be rendered, “A house of God.”

So Scott, and many others.—Teraphim.—See (1 Samuel 19:13, 16), and note. They were probably an imitation of the cherubim. Ver. 7. Of the family of Judah.—Many suppose these words an interpolation, (see Boothroyd’s Heb. Bible,) for how could a Levite belong to Judah? He is not, however, said to be of the tribe, but of the “family of Judah;” and were there not other Judah’s beside the patriarch? In after times, we read of a Judah among the Levites, (Ezra 10:23), and might not the immediate father of this young Levite have borne that name? Some, however, suppose him related to the tribe of Judah by his mother’s side; but the text does not say.