Samson and Delilah, and Samson's Death

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Judges 16:1) Then Samson went to Gaza and saw a harlot there and went in to her.

At the end of the last chapter, we were told that Samson judged Israel for twenty years, so this chapter appears to take place at the end of his reign.  Samson went to Gaza, one of the five principalities of the Philistines, where he saw a harlot and he went in to her.

(2) It was told the Gazites, saying, "Samson has come here." And they surrounded him and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city and were quiet all the night, saying, "In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him."

The Philistines of Gaza heard that Samson was there, and they quietly surrounded him all night, lying in wait in the gate of the city, planning to kill him the next morning.

(3) And Samson lay till midnight and arose at midnight and took the doors of the gate of the city and the two posts and went away with them, bar and all, and put them on his shoulders and carried them up to the top of a hill before Hebron.

Samson lay there until midnight, when he arose.  He did not stop at the gate of the city where men had gathered to surround him, but he took the doors of the gate with their posts and put them on his shoulders and carried them to the top of a hill before Hebron.

(4) And it came to pass afterward that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.

Some time after this, Samson came to love a woman in a valley called Sorek, named Delilah.

(5) And the lords of the Philistines came up to her, and said to her, "Entice him and see where his great strength lies and how we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him, and we will give you every one of us eleven hundred of silver."

The lords of the Philistines saw another chance to get Samson.  They went to Delilah and asked her to entice Samson and find out where his great strength lay, for it must have seemed to them to be supernatural.  They wanted Delilah to find out how they might be able to overcome Samson and bind him, and for that information, they would give Delilah eleven hundred pieces of silver.

(6) And Delilah said to Samson, "Tell me, I pray you, where your great strength lies and with what you might be bound to afflict you."

Delilah very directly asked Samson to tell her where his great strength lay and with what might he be bound to afflict him.

(7) And Samson said to her, "If they bind me with seven green vines that were never dried, then I shall be weak and be as another man."

Samson lied to Delilah, telling her that if he were bound with seven green vines that had never been dried, that would make him weak and as any other man.

(8) Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green vines which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.

So the lords of the Philistines brought to Delilah seven green vines, and she bound Samson with them.

(9) Now were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber. And she said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson." And he broke the vines as a thread is broken when it touches the fire. So his strength was not known.

While Delilah bound Samson with the seven green vines, there were men lying in wait in her chamber.  She then told Samson that the Philistines were upon him.  She may have said this to pretend to warn him.  He immediately broke the vines as if they were but a single broken thread burnt by fire.  Therefore, the real secret of his strength was not known.

(10) And Delilah said to Samson, "Behold, you have mocked me and told me lies; now tell me, I pray you, with what might you be bound."

Delilah told Samson he had mocked her and lied to her, and she asked him again to tell her how he might be bound.

(11) And he said to her, "If they bind me fast with new ropes that never were occupied, then I shall be weak and be as another man."

Samson, appearing to be toying with Delilah, told her that if he were bound with new ropes that had never been used, he would then be as weak as any man and able to be overcome.

(12) Delilah therefore took new ropes and bound him with them, and said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson." And liers in wait were abiding in the chamber. And he broke them from off his arms like a thread.

So Delilah proceeded to bind Samson with new ropes and told him that the Philistines were upon him.  It must have seemed as a game to Samson.  Although there were men lying in wait to bind Samson, it doesn't appear that he ever saw them, as he broke his bonds as soon as Delilah told him that Philistines were upon him.

(13) And Delilah said to Samson, "Until now, you have mocked me and told me lies; tell me with what you might be bound." And he said to her, "If you weave the seven locks of my head into the web of the loom."

Once again Delilah lamented that Samson only told her lies, and she asked again how he might be bound.  This time he told her that if she wove seven locks of his hair into the fabric on the loom, he would be bound.

(14) And she fastened it with the pin and said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson." And he awoke out of his sleep and went away with the pin of the beam and with the web.

It appears that Delilah did, in fact, weave Samson's hair into the web of fabric on the loom and fastened it with a pin.  But when she told Samson that the Philistines were upon him, he awoke from his sleep and went away with the pin and the web and all.

(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 have not told me where your great strength lies."

Delilah asked Samson how he could say he loved her when he only mocked her.  She had asked him three times where his great strength lay, but he only mocked and lied to her.

(16) And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words and urged him, that his soul was vexed to death, (17) That he told her all his heart and said to her, "There has not come a razor upon my head for I am a Nazarite to God from my mother's womb; if I am shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak and be like any man."

Delilah continued to press Samson for the truth about his strength until he could stand it no more, and he told her that he had been a Nazarite to God from his mother's womb, and no razor had ever touched his head.  He told her that if he was shaven, his strength would leave him, and he would become as weak as any man.  Actually, it wasn't really his hair that gave him strength, but because he was a Nazarite to God, God blessed him with great strength.  Once he broke his vow as a Nazarite and shaved his head, his strength would leave him, and that he believed in his heart, and he told Delilah that truth.

(18) And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, "Come up this once, for he has showed me all his heart." Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought money in their hand.

Delilah felt confident that Samson had told her the truth this time, as he seemed to reveal his heart to her.  She called for the lords of the Philistines and told them.  They came and brought her the money they had promised in the beginning.  It's a wonder that Samson never suspected Delilah of deceiving him, but then he had never seen that she had called any Philistines to her chamber to bind him.  It probably only seemed a game to him, that she would attempt to bind him and call out that the Philistines were about to get him, and he would break free.  He obviously didn't believe there was any real threat that the Philistines would get him if he told Delilah the truth.

(19) And she made him sleep on her knees, and she called for a man and caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head, and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.

Delilah had Samson fall asleep on her knees and then called for a man to come and shave off the locks of his hair.  In this, Delilah began to afflict Samson, and his strength went out from him.

(20) And she said, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson." And he awoke out of his sleep and said, "I will go out as at other times before and shake myself." And he did not know that the Lord was departed from him.

Delilah told Samson that the Philistines were upon him, just as she had several times before.  He woke up and said he'd shake himself and go out as he had always played the game before, but he did not realize that the Lord had departed from him this time.

(21) But the Philistines took him and put out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.

The Philistines were able to take Samson, and they gouged out his eyes.  They brought him down to Gaza and bound him with brass fetters in a prison house where he was forced to grind grain.

(22) However, the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.

While in prison, Samson's hair began to grow again.

(23) Then the lords of the Philistines gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice, for they said, "Our god has delivered Samson our enemy into our hand."

The lords of the Philistines gathered together to offer a sacrifice to their god for delivering Samson to them.  

(24) And when the people saw him, they praised their god, for they said, "Our god has delivered into our hands our enemy and the destroyer of our country, who killed many of us." (25) And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, "Call for Samson that he may make us sport." And they called for Samson out of the prison house, and he made them sport; and they set him between the pillars.

When the Philistine people saw Samson in the prison house, they praised their god for delivering him into their hands.  It came to pass at a time when their hearts were merry with wine and strong drink, that they called for Samson that they might make sport of him as he was blind.  They brought him out between two pillars and probably taunted and tormented him.

(26) And Samson said to the lad that held him by the hand, "Allow me to feel the pillars upon which the house stands, that I may lean upon them."

Samson asked the young man who had led him out of the prison house to allow him to feel the pillars of the house and lean against them for support.

(27) Now the house was full of men and women, and all the lords of the Philistines there, and upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport.

The house with the pillars to which Samson was brought was full with many people, including all the lords of the Philistines, and there were an additional three thousand people on the roof of the house, all making sport of Samson.

(28) And Samson called to the Lord, and said, "O Lord God, remember me, I pray You, and strengthen me, I pray You, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes."

Samson called out to the Lord in prayer, asking that He remember Samson as His servant and have mercy on him.  He asked that the Lord strengthen him just one more time to bring vengeance on the Philistines for blinding him.  Samson may have been asking for personal revenge, but God all along was planning opportunities to avenge His people Israel.

(29) And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand and of the other with his left. (30) And Samson said, "Let me die with the Philistines." And he bowed himself with might, and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people who were in it. So the dead which he killed at his death were more than he had killed in his life.

Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, his right hand on one pillar and his left on the other.  At the end of his prayer or as a part of it, he asked that he die with the Philistines.  Although his prayer may have had a selfish slant to it in wanting to take revenge on the Philistines for his two eyes, he did not ask for strength and healing for himself, but to bring vengeance on the Philistines, which was certainly part of God's plan.  He bowed himself and pushed with his arms against the pillars with all his might and brought the house down.  Samson asked God for this one last gift of strength and acted in faith that it had been given him, and it certainly was.  Samson is listed as one of the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11 (Hebrews 11:32).  In that act, Samson killed all the people in that house, including all the lords of the Philistines, more people in that last act than he had killed in his lifetime.  Of course, Samson died, too.

(31) Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down and took him and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the burying place of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years.

Samson's family came and retrieved his body and took him back to his native place, Zorah, and buried him between there and Eshtaol, in his father's tomb.  Once again, we are told that Samson judged Israel for twenty years.

Samson was a greatly flawed hero.  He was selfish, impulsive, and had a weakness for the wrong women.  If he had taken his vow as a Nazarite more seriously and solemnly, he could have perhaps done a great deal more for the kingdom of God.  But then again, God knew Samson from the womb, and He used him for His purposes.  Samson's life could have been better with a proper wife, and he could have had descendants, and it certainly could have lasted longer than it did if he had lived differently.  He could have had his best life living for the Lord.  And that is what God desires for us, His best, and He lays it all out for us in His word.  However, even when we choose selfishly and unwisely, He can still use us, and that should give us all encouragement.  Even though Samson's end was a tragic one, God listened to and favorably answered his last prayer, and he went on to be remembered in God's word as one of the great heroes of faith.

Samson Judges Israel Twenty Years

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Judges 15:1) But it came to pass within a while after, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid, and he said, "I will go into my wife into the chamber." But her father would not allow him to go in.

In the last chapter and post, Samson, feeling betrayed by his new wife, left after the marriage feast, and his wife was given in marriage to his best man.  His anger now subsided, Samson thought he would return to his wife, and he brought a kid goat to eat as a meal with her.  He sought to go into her chamber, but her father stopped him and would not allow him to go in to her.

(2) And her father said, "I verily thought that you had utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to your companion. Isn't her younger sister fairer than she? Take her, I pray you, instead of her."

The woman's father told Samson that he figured Samson was totally disgusted with his new wife and hated her, so he had given her in marriage to his best man, which we now see Samsom did not know.  The woman's father asked him to behold her younger sister, that she was fairer than his wife and encouraged him to take her instead.

(3) And Samson said concerning them, "Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure?"

Samson became angry and signified to her father and his people, the Philistines, that if he were to do an ill thing to them, he should be considered blameless, or at least more so than the Philistines, because of what they had done to him, by giving his wife to another man.

(4) And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes and took firebrands and turned tail to tail and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails. (5) And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines and burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and olives.

Samson went and caught three hundred foxes.  He took a torch of some kind and tied it to the tails of two foxes tied end to end and did so with all three hundred foxes.  Then he set the torches on fire and let the foxes go.  One can imagine the chaos of three hundred foxes tied together by their tails trying to run from the fire.  Samson released them into the cornfields of the Philistines, as well as in their vineyards and olive groves.  Fire destroyed the standing stalks in their fields, as well as shocks or sheaves that had already been gathered and piled, as it was the time of harvest.

(6) Then the Philistines said, "Who has done this?" And they answered, "Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he had taken his wife and given her to his companion." And the Philistines came up and burnt her and her father with fire.

The Philistines asked among themselves who had done that to their fields.  Those who knew told that it had been Samson, the son-in-law of the man from Timnath, and that he had done it because the man had given Samson's wife to another man.  The Philistines then took revenge on the man and his daughter who had been Samson's wife and burned them with fire.  It is ironic that they suffered the same fate as the wife was trying to avoid when she betrayed Samson's secret and told the answer to his riddle (Judges 14:15).  God's plan to use Samson to begin to destroy the Philistines (Judges 14:4) would not be thwarted.

(7) And Samson said to them, "Though you have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that, I will cease."

The Philistines probably thought they might appease Samson's anger by burning his wife and her father for what they had done to him, but Samson said he wouldn't cease until he had taken his revenge on the Philistines.  Samson may have insisted on revenge because of what they had done to his wife, but it was part of God's plan that he should avenge the injuries done to Israel.

(8) And he struck them hip and thigh with a great slaughter, and he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam.

Samson struck the Philistines "hip and thigh," either meaning literally he struck them with his great strength in the hips and thighs, making them incapacitated and fatally injured, or he struck them here and there and everywhere in a great slaughter.  Then he went and dwelt in the cleft of the strong rock Etam, a natural fortress.

(9) Then the Philistines went up and pitched in Judah and spread themselves in Lehi.

Then an army of Philistines went and pitched camp in Judah and spread their forces to a place called Lehi, from a word meaning "jaw bone" which was named that later by what would take place there.

(10) And the men of Judah said, "Why have you come up against us?" And they answered, "To bind Samson have we come up, to do to him as he has done to us."

The men of Judah asked the Philistines why they had come up against them.  The Philistines answered that they had come just to capture Samson, indicating they had no plan to make war against Judah if they would deliver Samson to them.

(11) Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, "Do you not know that the Philistines are rulers over us? What is this that you have done to us?" And he said to them, "As they did to me, so have I done to them."

Three thousand men of Judah then went to Samson at the top of the rock Etam, demanding to know what he had done to them by provoking the Philistines who were at that time rulers over the Israelites.  Samson said he had only exacted revenge on them for what they had done to him.  Once again, what Samson may have thought was personal revenge, was part of God's plan to exact revenge for Israel.

(12) And they said to him, "We have come down to bind you that we may deliver you into the hand of the Philistines." And Samson said to them, "Swear to me that you will not fall upon me yourselves."

The men of Judah told Samson that they had come to bind him and deliver him to the Philistines.  Samson seemed to consent to that as long as they did not try to attack him themselves.

(13) And they spoke to him, saying, "No, but we will bind you fast and deliver you into their hand, but surely we will not kill you." And they bound him with two new cords and brought him up from the rock.

The men of Judah assured Samson they would not try to kill him, but they would bind him securely and deliver him to the Philistines.  They indeed bound him with two new cords and brought him out from the rock.

(14) When he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him, and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and the cords upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands.

When Samson was brought down to Lehi where the Philistines had spread their army (verse 9), the Philistines shouted at him.  Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson with great strength, and the cords that bound him became as weak as burnt flax, and his hands were loosed from his bonds.

(15) And he found a new jawbone of an ass and put forth his hand and took it and killed a thousand men with it. (16) And Samson said, "With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass I have slain a thousand men."

Samson found a fresh jawbone of a donkey and took it and killed a thousand men with it.  Then Samson in a sort of triumphant song, said he had killed heaps upon heaps of men with the jawbone of a donkey.

(17) And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand and called that place Ramath Lehi.

When Samson ended his words of triumph, he cast away the jawbone, and he called that place Ramath Lehi, which meant literally "height of a jawbone."

(18) And he was very thirsty and called on the Lord, and said, "You have given this great deliverance into the hand of your servant, and now shall I die from thirst and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?"

Samson was then very thirsty, and he called upon the Lord for water.  Some Biblical commentators, along with the historian Josephus, believed that the great thirst that suddenly came upon Samson might have been a rebuke for claiming victory in song to himself and not acknowledging God in it.  That may or may not be; I would think it would be natural for Samson to be very thirsty after what he had just been through.  However, we do see Samson now acknowledging that God had given him the victory, but wondering if he should then die from thirst and fall into the hands of the Philistines, after all.

(19) But God cleaved a hollow space in the jaw and there came water out of it, and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived. Therefore he called the name of it En Hakkore, which is in Lehi to this day.

The KJV translators wrote that God cleaved a hollow space in the jawbone where water sprang out for Samson to drink.  That could very well be, but other translations wrote that the word that meant "jawbone" that was the same as the place called Lehi, might mean the place Lehi was meant here instead.  God may have cleaved a rock there in Lehi and water sprang from that.  Samson drank the water and was revived, and he named that cleft rock in Lehi, En Hakkore, which meant "fountain of one calling," and that does perhaps make more sense than calling the jawbone by that name.  Whether it was a rock or the jawbone, it remained in Lehi to the time of the writing of this book.

(20) And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.

Samson judged Israel for twenty years during the oppression of the Philistines.  Israel was not totally delivered from the Philistines during the time of Samson, but as had been prophesied before his birth, he would begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines (Judges 13:5).

Samson's Marriage

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Judges 14:1) And Samson went down to Timnath and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.

In the last chapter and post, Samson was born and was prophesied to be a Nazarite from birth, and he would begin to deliver the Israelites from the hand of the Philistines who had oppressed them for forty years.  Samson had now grown to adulthood and went to Timnath, a city within the tribe of Dan which was now in the hands of the Philistines.  He took special notice of a Philistine woman there.

(2) And he came up and told his father and his mother, and said, "I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines; now therefore get her for me to wife."

Samson told his parents about the woman he had seen and asked that they get her for him as a wife, which seems to have been the custom at that time.

(3) Then his father and his mother said to him, "Is there no woman among the daughters of your brethren or among all my people, that you go to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines?" And Samson said to his father, "Get her for me, for she pleases me well."

Samson's mother and father asked him if he could not find a wife among the daughters of his brethren or of his father's people, that he had to go to the uncircumcised and pagan Philistines to find a wife.  Samson told his father that he wanted that particular Philistine woman as she was the one who pleased him.

(4) But his father and his mother did not know that it was of the Lord, that He sought an occasion against the Philistines, for at that time, the Philistines had dominion over Israel.

However, Samson's parents did not realize that his desire for a Philistine woman was being used by the Lord for an occasion against the Philistines, for as we have already learned, the Philistines had dominion over Israel at that time.

(5) Then Samson went down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath, and behold, a young lion roared against him.

Therefore, Samson and his parents went to Timnath.  They came into vineyards in Timnath where a young lion roared against Samson.

(6) And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and nothing in his hand, but he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done.

The Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson mightily and he tore apart the lion with his bare hands as easily as he might have torn apart a baby goat.  He must have been some distance away from his parents when he did this as they did not see him, and he did not tell them about it.

(7) And he went down and talked with the woman, and she pleased Samson well. 

Samson then went down to the woman and talked with her.  After conversation, she indeed still pleased Samson well.

(8) And after a time, he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and behold, a swarm of bees and honey in the carcass of the lion.

After some time, Samson returned to take the woman with him, and he turned aside a bit to see the carcass of the lion he had killed the time before.  He did, in fact, find it, and inside the carcass, which was surely dry bones by then, was a swarm of bees and honey.  This would seem to be a symbol of God's abundance and sweetness.

(9) And he took of it in his hands and went on, eating, and came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they did eat, but he did not tell them that he had taken the honey out of the carcass of the lion.

However, it appears that Samson disregarded the Nazarite vow that he should not touch any dead thing, when he took the honey out of the lion's carcass and ate it.  He gave of the honey to his parents, but he did not tell them where it had come from.

(10) So his father went down to the woman, and Samson made a feast there, for young men used to do so.

Samson's father went on to the woman Samson desired as wife while Samson prepared a feast there.

(11) And it came to pass when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him.

When the woman's family and companions saw Samson, they brought thirty companions to him, probably to be as groomsmen, children of the bridechamber (Matthew 9:15).

(12) And Samson said to them, "I will now put forth a riddle to you; if you can certainly declare it to me within the seven days of the feast and find it out, then I will give you thirty sheets and thirty changes of garments, (13) But if you cannot declare it to me, then you shall give me thirty sheets and thirty changes of garments." And they said to him, "Put forth your riddle that we may hear it."

Samson put forth a proposal to his groomsmen, probably just meant to be a form of entertainment in the seven days that the marriage feast would last.  He told them he would put forth a riddle and if they could answer it within the seven feast days, he would give them thirty sheets, bed clothes or linens, and thirty changes of garments for the day.  However, if they could not correctly answer the riddle, then they were to give him thirty sheets and thirty changes of garments.  It appears they accepted the challenge when they asked him to tell them his riddle.

(14) And he said to them "Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness." And they could not in three days explain the riddle.

Samson told them his riddle, that out of the eater (the devouring lion) came forth meat (food, something to eat), and out of the strong (strong in body, but in this instance, might refer to strong ill smell of the dead carcass), came forth sweetness (of course, the honey).  The groomsmen could not figure out the riddle for three days.  How could they, really?  It was not a common occurrence; it was something they would have had to see for themselves.

(15) And it came to pass on the seventh day that they said to Samson's wife, "Entice your husband that he may declare to us the riddle, lest we burn you and your father's house with fire. Have you called us to take what we have?"

On the seventh day, the men still had not figured out the riddle.  They went to Samson's new wife and told her to get Samson to tell the answer to the riddle, or else they would burn her and her father's house.  They had decided that she must have been a part of designing the riddle in a way to take from the groomsmen.

(16) And Samson's wife wept before him, and said, "You do but hate me and do not love me; you have put forth a riddle to the children of my people and have not told me." And he said to her, "Behold, I have not told my father nor my mother, and I shall tell you?"

Samson's wife cried before him, declaring that he must hate her and not love her, that he would put forth a secret riddle to her people and not tell her, his beloved, the answer.  However, he told her he had not revealed it to anyone, not his father or mother, so why should he feel compelled to tell her?  It wasn't personal.

(17) 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 lay sore upon him, and she told the riddle to the children of her people.

Samson's wife wept before him for seven days, the whole seven days of the wedding feast.  The seventh day that the groomsmen had been trying to figure out the riddle (verse 15) must have been seven days before the actual wedding feast began.  But now, definitely feeling pressure as she had been threatened by the men, she therefore pressured Samson to tell her the answer to the riddle, which he eventually did tell her on the seventh day of the feast, and she told it to the groomsmen of 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? And 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."

The men of the city, at least the thirty of them to whom Samson had proposed the riddle, came to him before the end of that seventh day and gave him the answer to his riddle, honey and a lion.  He said that if they had not plied the answer out of his wife (whom he called a heifer), they would have never known the answer to his riddle.

(19) And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave change of garments to them who explained the riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his father's house. (20) But Samson's wife was given to his companion whom he had used as his friend.

The Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson, giving him the might and the strength, as it had been God's plan all along to use Samson to begin to deliver Israel out of the hands of the Philistines (Judges 13:5).  He went to Ashkelon, one of the principal cities of the Philistines, and killed thirty men, and took their spoil, their linens and clothing, and gave them to the men who had answered the riddle, as he had promised.  Samson's anger against his wife and the thirty groomsmen had then subsided, and he went back to his father's house.  However, his wife was given to the companion closest to Samson, the best man at his wedding.

In this chapter, we begin to see a flawed individual in Samson.  He was a Nazarite, devoted to God, yet he chose a Philistine pagan to be his wife and ate from a dead carcass.  He felt betrayed by his wife, yet he himself had betrayed his secret by telling her.  Then, in a fit of anger, he killed thirty different men than the ones he felt had deceived him.  However, we were told in verse 4, that this was from the Lord.  The Lord would not have someone purposely disobey his Nazarite vows, but the Lord used such a man as He knew would act as Samson did in order to begin to begin to deliver Israel out of the hands of the Philistines.  The Spirit of the Lord gave Samson strength, in verse 6, to tear a lion apart, and in verse 19, to kill thirty men.  The Lord gave Samson strength, but how he used and abused it, was all Samson.  God often used flawed individuals for His purposes.  Actually, He always used flawed individuals, as we are all flawed and sinful, but it should give us hope and encouragement that He can even use our own sinful selves.

The Birth of Samson

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Judges 13:1) And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.

In the last chapter and post, the Israelites had lived in relative peace under the successors of Jephthah, Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon.  However, it seems they turned back to their evil ways, and the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Philistines who oppressed them for forty years.

(2) And there was a certain man of Zorah of the family of the Danites whose name was Manoah, and his wife was barren and bore not.

There was a man from Zorah in the tribe of Dan whose name was Manoah.  His wife was barren and had borne him no children.

(3) And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, "Behold now, you are barren and do not bear, but you shall conceive and bear a son."

An angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah's wife and told her that although she was barren and had borne no children, she would, in fact, conceive and bear a son.

(4) "Now therefore, beware, I pray you, and do not drink wine or strong drink and do not eat any unclean thing."

The angel went on to tell the woman to be careful and not drink any intoxicating drink nor eat any unclean food.

(5) "For, lo, you shall conceive and bear a son, and no razor shall come on his head, for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines."

The angel told her she would bear a special son dedicated to the Lord from her womb.  Nazarites were people who took a vow to be set apart from others for the service of God.  Chapter 6 of Numbers defined the life of a Nazarite.  They were to abstain from any wine or strong drink, never to cut their hair, and keep away from any unclean dead body even if a member of their family died.  Taking the vow of a Nazarite was usually a voluntary vow someone made, but in the case of Manoah's wife's child, he was to be a Nazarite from the womb, and he would begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.

(6) Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, "A man of God came to me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very awesome, but I did not ask him where he was from, neither did he tell me his name."

Manoah's wife went to Manoah and told him about the man of God who seemed like an angel who came to her.  She described him as very awesome, but she had not asked him where he came from, nor did the man tell her his name.

(7) "But he said to me, 'Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son, and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat anything unclean, for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death."

The woman went on to tell her husband how the man of God had told her she would bear a son who would be a Nazarite all his life from the womb to his death, and she was to drink no wine or strong drink or eat any unclean thing while she carried him.

(8) Then Manoah intreated the Lord, and said, "O my Lord, let the man of God whom You sent come again to us and teach us what we shall do to the child that shall be born."

Manoah then prayed to the Lord that He send the man of God to them again to teach them how they were to raise their son.

(9) And God hearkened 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) And the woman made haste and ran and showed her husband, and said to him, "Behold, the man has appeared to me who came to me the other day."

God answered Manoah's prayer and did indeed send the angel of God to his wife again while she sat in the field.  However, her husband was not with her.  But she hurried and ran to Manoah to tell him that the man of God who had come to her before had come to her again.

(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 the woman?" And he said, "I am." (12) And Manoah said, "Now let your words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do to him?"

Manoah immediately rose up and followed his wife to the man.  He asked him if he was indeed the man who had appeared to his wife before, and the man confirmed that he was.  Manoah had no problem believing that this man was indeed delivering a message from God, but he wanted to know what he and his wife were to do regarding the raising of their son, seeing he was to be entirely dedicated to the Lord.

(13) And the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, "Of all that I said to the woman, let her beware. (14) She may not eat of anything that comes of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing; all that I commanded her, let her observe."

The angel of the Lord told Manoah that his wife should be careful to do all that he had told her, and he repeated it to Manoah.  She was not to drink wine or strong drink, nor eat the fruit of the vine, nor eat any unclean thing.  The things he had already told to her, she was to observe.  However, it is notable that the angel of God did not repeat that their son was to begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines.  I imagine that was purposely to be kept secret so as not to endanger the pregnant woman or her baby son.

(15) And Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, "I pray you, let us detain you until we shall have made ready a kid for you."

Manoah then asked the angel of the Lord to stay until he and his wife had prepared a meal for him, I'm sure just being gracious hosts and surely in gratitude that he had brought such a message to them.

(16) And the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, "Though you detain me, I will not eat of your bread, and if you will offer a burnt offering, you must offer it to the Lord." For Manoah did not know that he was an angel of the Lord.

The angel of the Lord told Manoah that even though he and his wife detained him, he would not eat their meal.  However, if they were preparing the kid for sacrifice, then they must offer it to the Lord God, and not to him or any false god as seems was probably the practice in Israel at that time (verse 1).  Manoah did not realize that the man was an angel of God.  He understood him to be a man of God delivering a prophesy to him but did not know he was an angel.

(17) And Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, "What is your name, that when your sayings come to pass, we may do you honor."

Manoah then asked the angel what his name was so that when his prophesy came true, Manoah and his wife would know to whom they should give honor.

(18) And the angel of the Lord said to him, "Why do you ask after my name, seeing it is secret?"

The angel asked why Manoah should want to know his name, seeing that it was secret.  One definition of "secret" is "beyond ordinary human understanding," and I believe that is what is meant here.  The original word that was translated as "secret" was "paliy."  It also meant "wonderful" which is how the word was translated in Psalm 139:6.  Some scholars take that to mean that this angel was Jesus Himself, as one of His names is Wonderful (Isaiah 9:6).

(19) So Manoah took a kid with a grain offering and offered it upon a rock to the Lord, and he did wondrously, and Manoah and his wife looked on. (20) For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on and fell on their faces to the ground.

Manoah took a kid goat with a grain offering and offered it on a rock to the Lord.  And then the angel did a remarkable thing as Manoah and his wife looked on.  When the flame went up toward heaven from off the rock altar, the angel of the Lord ascended with it to heaven.  That does possibly suggest that it might have been Jesus who ascended to heaven.  When Manoah and his wife saw that, they fell on their faces to the ground.

(21) But the angel of the Lord appeared no more to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the Lord.

The angel did not return back to Manoah and his wife, and Manoah perceived that he was indeed an angel of the Lord and not a mere man.

(22) And Manoah said to his wife, "We shall surely die because we have seen God!"

Then Manoah, believing they must have just seen God, told his wife that they would surely die, because no man could see the face of God and live (Exodus 33:20).

(23) But his wife said to him, "If the Lord were pleased to kill us, He would not have received a burnt offering and a grain offering at our hands, neither would He have showed us all these things, nor would as at this time have told us such as these."

Manoah's wife correctly discerned that if God had planned to kill them, He would not have received their offering as He had done, nor would He have given them the message that He did.

(24) And the woman bore a son and called his name Samson, and the child grew, and the Lord blessed him.

Manoah's wife indeed bore a son as the angel had told her she would, and she called him Samson.  The child grew and the Lord blessed him.

(25) And the Spirit of the Lord began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.

As he grew, the Spirit of the Lord began to move upon Samson within the tribe of Dan between the cities of Zorah and Eshtaol.

In this chapter, we have the birth of Samson.  His was a miraculous birth, as his mother had been barren.  However, his mother received a divine message from the Lord that she would bear a son, and he was to be a Nazarite from the womb, to be set apart for God's purposes.