Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Judges 16:22
Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.
22. began to grow again ] and his strength simultaneously. The remark prepares the way for the supreme effort at the end. We must suppose a considerable interval to have passed between the capture and the closing scene.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 22. The hair of his head began to grow again] And may we not suppose that, sensible of his sin and folly, he renewed his Nazir vow to the Lord, in consequence of which his supernatural strength was again restored?
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
This circumstance, though in itself inconsiderable, is noted as a sign of the recovery of Gods favour, and his former strength, in some good degree, upon his bitter repentance, and his renewing of his vow with God, which was allowed for Nazarites to do, Num 6:9, &c., and which it is here supposed he did, and by the effects proved.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
22. Howbeit the hair of his headbegan to grow againIt is probable that he had now reflected onhis folly; and becoming a sincere penitent, renewed his Nazarite vow.”His hair grew together with his repentance, and his strengthwith his hairs” [BISHOPHALL].
Jud16:23-25. THEIR FEASTTO DAGON.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Howbeit, the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven. It began to grow immediately no doubt, as it naturally would do; but it is highly probable it grew in an extraordinary manner, and in a short time became as when it was shaved n, as it may be rendered, and upon which his strength was renewed; not that his strength naturally lay in his hair, and so naturally increased as that grew; but he being made sensible of his sin, and repenting of it, renewed his Nazariteship, of which letting his hair grow was a token; and it pleased God, who accepted of his repentance as genuine, of his own good will and pleasure to renew his strength; particularly upon his prayer to him, after related.
n “ut rasus fuerat”, Tigurine version, Vatablus; “ut quum abraderetur”, Junius & Tremellius.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Samson’s Misery, and His Triumph in Death. – Jdg 16:22. The hair of his head began to grow, as he was shaven. In the word , as (from the time when he was shaven), there is an indication that Samson only remained in his ignominious captivity till his hair began to grow again, i.e., visibly to grow. What follows agrees with this.
Jdg 16:23-24 The captivity of this dreaded hero was regarded by the Philistines as a great victory, which their princes resolved to celebrate with a great and joyous sacrificial festival in honour of their god Dagon, to whom they ascribed this victory. “ A great sacrifice, ” consisting in the offering up of a large number of slain sacrifices. “ And for joy, ” viz., to give expression to their joy, i.e., for a joyous festival. Dagon, one of the principal deities of the Philistines, was worshipped at Gaza and Ashdod (2Sa 5:2., and 1 Macc. 10:83), and, according to Jerome on Isa 46:1, in the rest of the Philistine towns as well. It was a fish-deity ( , from , a fish), and in shape resembled the body of a fish with the head and hands of a man (1Sa 5:4). It was a male deity, the corresponding female deity being Atargatis (2 Macc. 12:26) or Derceto, and was a symbol of water, and of all the vivifying forces of nature which produce their effects through the medium of water, like the Babylonian , one of the four Oannes, and the Indian Vishnu (see Movers, Phniz. i. pp. 143ff., 590ff., and J. G. Mller in Herzog’s Cycl.).
Jdg 16:24 All the people took part in this festival, and sang songs of praise to the god who had given the enemy, who had laid waste their fields and slain many of their countrymen, into their hands.
Jdg 16:25-27 When their hearts were merry ( , inf. of ), they had Samson fetched out of the prison, that he might make sport before them, and “put him between the pillars” of the house or temple in which the triumphal feast was held. Then he said to the attendant who held his hand, “ Let me loose, and let me touch the pillars upon which the house is built, that I may lean upon it. ” is the imperative Hiphil of the radical verb , which only occurs here; and the Keri substitutes the ordinary form from . “ But the house, ” adds the historian by way of preparation for what follows, “ was filled with men and women: all the princes of the Philistines also were there; and upon the roof were about three thousand men and women, who feasted their eyes with Samson’s sports ” ( with , used to denote the gratification of looking).
Jdg 16:28 Then Samson prayed to Jehovah, “ Lord Jehovah, remember me, and only this time make me strong. O God, that I may avenge myself (with) the revenge of one of my two eyes upon the Philistines, ” i.e., may take vengeance upon them for the loss of only one of my two eyes ( , without Dagesh lene in the : see Ewald, 267, b.), – a sentence which shows how painfully he felt the loss of his two eyes, “a loss the severity of which even the terrible vengeance which he was meditating could never outweigh” ( Bertheau).
Jdg 16:29-30 After he had prayed to the Lord for strength for this last great deed, he embraced the two middle pillars upon which the building was erected, leant upon them, one with his right hand, the other with the left (viz., embracing them with his hands, as these words also belong to ), and said, “ let my soul die with the Philistines.” He then bent (the two pillars) with force, and the house fell upon the princes and all the people who were within. So far as the fact itself is concerned, there is no ground nor questioning the possibility of Samson’s bringing down the whole building with so many men inside by pulling down two middle columns, as we have no accurate acquaintance with the style of its architecture. In all probability we have to picture this temple of Dagon as resembling the modern Turkish kiosks, namely as consisting of a “spacious hall, the roof of which rested in front upon four columns, two of them standing at the ends, and two close together in the centre. Under this hall the leading men of the Philistines celebrated a sacrificial meal, whilst the people were assembled above upon the top of the roof, which was surrounded by a balustrade” ( Faber, Archol. der. Hebr. p. 444, cf. pp. 436-7; and Shaw, Reisen, p. 190). The ancients enter very fully into the discussion of the question whether Samson committed suicide or not, though without arriving at any satisfactory conclusion. O. v. Gerlach, however, has given the true answer. “Samson’s deed,” he says, “was not suicide, but the act of a hero, who sees that it is necessary for him to plunge into the midst of his enemies with the inevitable certainty of death, in order to effect the deliverance of his people and decide the victory which he has still to achieve. Samson would be all the more certain that this was the will of the Lord, when he considered that even if he should deliver himself in any other way cut of the hands of the Philistines, he would always carry about with him the mark of his shame in the blindness of his eyes-a mark of his unfaithfulness as the servant of God quite as much as of the double triumph of his foes, who had gained a spiritual as well as a corporeal victory over him.” Such a triumph as this the God of Israel could not permit His enemies and their idols to gain. The Lord must prove to them, even through Samson’s death, that the shame of his sin was taken from him, and that the Philistines had no cause to triumph over him. Thus Samson gained the greatest victory over his foes in the moment of his own death. The terror of the Philistines when living, he became a destroyer of the temple of their idol when he died. Through this last act of his he vindicated the honour of Jehovah the God of Israel, against Dagon the idol of the Philistines. “ The dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.”
Jdg 16:31 This terrible blow necessarily made a powerful impression upon the Philistines, not only plunging them into deep mourning at the death of their princes and so many of their countrymen, and the destruction of the temple of Dagon, but filling them with fear and terror at the omnipotence of the God of the Israelites. Under these circumstances it is conceivable enough that the brethren and relatives of Samson were able to come to Gaza, and fetch away the body of the fallen hero, to bury it in his father’s grave between Zorea and Eshtaol (see Jdg 13:25). – In conclusion, it is once more very appropriately observed that Samson had judged Israel twenty years (cf. Jdg 15:20).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| The Death of Samson; Samson’s Triumph in Death. | B. C. 1120. |
22 Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven. 23 Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand. 24 And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew 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. 26 And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them. 27 Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport. 28 And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes. 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 all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life. 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 buryingplace of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years.
Though the last stage of Samson’s life was inglorious, and one could wish there were a veil drawn over it, yet this account here given of his death may be allowed to lessen, though it does not quite roll away, the reproach of it; for there was honour in his death. No doubt he greatly repented of his sin, the dishonour he had by it done to God and his forfeiture of the honour God had put upon him; for that God was reconciled to him appears, 1. By the return of the sign of his Nazariteship (v. 22): His hair began to grow again, as when he was shaven, that is, to be as thick and as long as when it was cut off. It is probable that their general thanksgiving to Dagon was not long deferred, before which Samson’s hair had thus grown, by which, and the particular notice taken of it, it seems to have been extraordinary, and designed for a special indication of the return of God’s favour to him upon his repentance. For the growth of his hair was neither the cause nor the sign of the return of his strength further than as it was the badge of his consecration, and a token that God accepted him as a Nazarite again, after the interruption, without those ceremonies which were appointed for the restoration of a lapsed Nazarite, which he had not now the opportunity of performing, Num. vi. 9. It is strange that the Philistines in whose hands he was were not jealous of the growth of his hair again, and did not cut it; but perhaps they were willing his great strength should return to him, that they might have so much the more work out of him, and now that he was blind they were in no fear of any hurt from him. 2. By the use God made of him for the destruction of the enemies of his people, and that at a time when it would be most for the vindication of the honour of God, and not immediately for the defence and deliverance of Israel. Observe,
I. How insolently the Philistines affronted the God of Israel, 1. By the sacrifices they offered to Dagon, his rival. This Dagon they call their god, a god of their own making, represented by an image, the upper part of which was in the shape of a man, the lower part of a fish, purely the creature of fancy; yet it served them to set up in opposition to the true and living God. To this pretended deity they ascribe their success (Jdg 16:23; Jdg 16:24): Our god has delivered Samson our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, into our hands. So they dreamed, though he could do neither good nor evil. They knew Delilah had betrayed him, and they had paid her for doing it, yet they attribute it to their god, and are confirmed by it in their belief of his power to protect them. All people will thus walk in the name of their gods: they will give them the praise of their achievements; and shall not we pay this tribute to our God whose kingdom ruleth over all? Yet, considering what wicked arts they used to get Samson into their hands, it must be confessed it was only such a dunghill-deity as Dagon that was fit to be made a patron of the villany. Sacrifices were offered, and songs of praise sung, on the general thanksgiving day, for this victory obtained over one man; there were great expressions of joy, and all to the honour of Dagon. Much more reason have we to give the praise of all our successes to our God. Thanks be to him who causeth us to triumph in Christ Jesus! 2. By the sport they made with Samson, God’s champion, they reflected on God himself. When they were merry with wine, to make them more merry Samson must be fetched to make sport for them (Jdg 16:25; Jdg 16:27), that is, for them to make sport with. Having sacrificed to their god, and eaten and drunk upon the sacrifice, they rose up to play, according to the usage of idolaters (1 Cor. x. 7), and Samson must be the fool in the play. They made themselves and one another laugh to see how, being blind, he stumbled and blundered. It is likely they smote this judge of Israel upon the cheek (Mic. v. 1), and said, Prophesy who smote thee. It was an instance of their barbarity to trample thus upon a man in misery, at the sight of whom awhile ago they would have trembled. It put Samson into the depth of misery, and as a sword in his bones were their reproaches, when they said, Where is now they God? Nothing could be more grievous to so great a spirit; yet, being a penitent, his godly sorrow makes him patient, and he accepts the indignity as the punishment of his iniquity. How unrighteous soever the Philistines were, he could not but own that God was righteous. He had sported himself in his own deceivings and with his own deceivers, and justly are the Philistines let loose upon him to make sport with him. Uncleanness is a sin that makes men vile, and exposes them to contempt. A wound and dishonour shall he get whose heart is deceived by a woman, and his reproach shall not be wiped away. Everlasting shame and contempt will be the portion of those that are blinded and bound by their own lusts. The devil that deceived them will insult over them.
II. How justly the God of Israel brought sudden destruction upon them by the hands of Samson. Thousands of the Philistines had got together, to attend their lords in the sacrifices and joys of this day, and to be the spectators of this comedy; but it proved to them a fatal tragedy, for they were all slain, and buried in the ruins of the house: whether it was a temple or a theatre, or whether it was some slight building run up for the purpose, is uncertain. Observe,
1. Who were destroyed: All the lords of the Philistines (v. 27), who had by bribes corrupted Delilah to betray Samson to them. Evil pursued those sinners. Many of the people likewise, to the number of 3000, and among them a great many women, one of whom, it is likely, was that harlot of Gaza mentioned, v. 1. Samson had been drawn into sin by the Philistine women, and now a great slaughter is made among them, as was by Moses’s order among the women of Midian, because it was they that caused the children of Israel to trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor, Num. xxxi. 16.
2. When they were destroyed. (1.) When they were merry, secure, and jovial, and far from apprehending themselves in any danger. When they saw Samson lay hold of the pillars, we may suppose, his doing so served them for a jest, and they made sport with that too: What will this feeble Jew do? How are sinners brought to desolation in a moment! They are lifted up in pride and mirth, that their fall may be the more dreadful. Let us never envy the mirth of wicked people, but infer from this instance that their triumphing is short and their joy but for a moment. (2.) It was when they were praising Dagon their god, and giving that honour to him which is due to God only, which is no less than treason against the King of kings, his crown and dignity. Justly therefore is the blood of these traitors mingled with their sacrifices. Belshazzar was cut off when he was praising his man-made gods, Dan. v. 4. (3.) It was when they were making sport with an Israelite, a Nazarite, and insulting over him, persecuting him whom God had smitten. Nothing fills the measure of the iniquity of any person or people faster than mocking and misusing the servants of God, yea, though it is by their own folly that they are brought low. Those know not what they do, nor whom they affront, that make sport with a good man.
3. How they were destroyed. Samson pulled the house down upon them, God no doubt putting it into his heart, as a public person, thus to avenge God’s quarrel with them, Israel’s, and his own. (1.) He gained strength to do it by prayer, v. 28. That strength which he had lost by sin he, like a true penitent, recovers by prayer; as David, who, when he had provoked the Spirit of grace to withdraw, prayed (Ps. li. 12), Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and uphold me with thy free Spirit. We may suppose that this was only a mental prayer, and that his voice was not heard (for it was made in a noisy clamorous crowd of Philistines); but, though his voice was not heard of men, yet his prayer was heard of God and graciously answered, and though he lived not to give an account himself of this his prayer, as Nehemiah did of his, yet God not only accepted it in heaven, but, by revealing it to the inspired penmen, provided for the registering of it in his church. He prayed to God to remember him and strengthen him this once, thereby owning that his strength for what he had already done he had from God, and begged it might be afforded to him once more, to give them a parting blow. That it was not from a principle of passion or personal revenge, but from a holy zeal for the glory of God and Israel, that he desired to do this, appears from God’s accepting and answering the prayer. Samson died praying, so did our blessed Saviour; but Samson prayed for vengeance, Christ for forgiveness. (2.) He gained opportunity to do it by leaning on the two pillars which were the chief supports of the building, and were, it seems, so near together that he could take hold of them both at one time, Jdg 16:26; Jdg 16:29. Having hold of them, he bore them down with all his might, crying aloud, Let me die with the Philistines, v. 30. Animamque in vulnere ponit–While inflicting the wound he dies. The vast concourse of people that were upon the roof looking down through it to see the sport, we may suppose, contributed to the fall of it. A weight so much greater than ever it was designed to carry might perhaps have sunk of itself, at least it made the fall more fatal to those within: and indeed few of either could escape being either stifled or crushed to death. This was done, not by any natural strength of Samson, but by the almighty power of God, and is not only marvellous, but miraculous, in our eyes. Now in this, [1.] The Philistines were greatly mortified. All their lords and great men were killed, and abundance of their people, and this in the midst of their triumph; the temple of Dagon (as many think the house was) was pulled down, and Dagon buried in it. This would give a great check to the insolence of the survivors, and, if Israel had but had so much sense and spirit left them as to improve the advantages of this juncture, they might now have thrown off the Philistines’ yoke. [2.] Samson may very well be justified, and brought in not guilty of any sinful murder either of himself or the Philistines. He was a public person, a declared enemy to the Philistines, against whom he might therefore take all advantages. They were now in the most barbarous manner making war upon him; all present were aiding and abetting, and justly die with him. Nor was he felo de se, or a self-murderer, in it; for it was not his own life that he aimed at, though he had too much reason to be weary of it, but the lives of Israel’s enemies, for the reaching of which he bravely resigned his own, not counting it dear to him, so that he might finish his course with honour. [3.] God was very much glorified in pardoning Samson’s great transgressions, of which this was an evidence. It has been said that the prince’s giving a commission to one convicted amounts to a pardon. Yet, though he was a God that forgave him, he took vengeance of his inventions (Ps. xcix. 8), and, by suffering his champion to die in fetters, warned all to take heed of those lusts which war against the soul. However, we have good reason to hope that though Samson died with the Philistines he had not his everlasting portion with them. The Lord knows those that are his. [4.] Christ was plainly typified. He pulled down the devil’s kingdom, as Samson did Dagon’s temple; and, when he died, he obtained the most glorious victory over the powers of darkness. Then when his arms were stretched out upon the cross, as Samson’s to the two pillars, he gave a fatal shake to the gates of hell, and, through death, destroyed him that had the power of death, that is, the devil (Heb 2:14; Heb 2:15), and herein exceeded Samson, that he not only died with the Philistines, but rose again to triumph over them.
Lastly, The story of Samson concludes, 1. With an account of his burial. His own relations, animated by the glories that attended his death, came and found out his body among the slain, brought it honourably to his own country, and buried it in the place of his fathers’ sepulchres, the Philistines being in such a consternation that they durst not oppose it. 2. With the repetition of the account we had before of the continuance of his government: He judged Israel twenty years; and, if they had not been as mean and sneaking as he was brave and daring, he would have left them clear of the Philistines’ yoke. They might have been easy, safe, and happy, if they would but have given God and their judges leave to make them so.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
‘ However, the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.’
“However.” The word is full of significance. It was a reminder that there was hope because God was observing the situation. ‘The hair of his head began to grow again.’ And who among them noticed? The Philistines did not. But Samson noticed. And we need not doubt that it reminded him of his vow, and of his glory days, and that he bitterly regretted how he had failed God, and that in his heart he repented. And need we doubt that he found forgiveness and possibly even called on God to renew his vow, even though now that he was blind he could not be fully sanctified to Yahweh (Lev 21:18; Lev 22:20; Lev 22:22).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The end of Samson
v. 22. Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven, v. 23. Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon, their god, and to rejoice, v. 24. And when the people saw him, v. 25. And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, v. 26. And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, v. 27. Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there, v. 28. And Samson, v. 29. And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, v. 30. And Samson said, Let me, v. 31. Then his brethren,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Jdg 16:22. Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again We are to understand by this, not merely that, Samson’s hair growing again, he thereby recovered his strength; but that, sensible, no doubt, of his folly and imprudence, he renewed his vow of Nazariteship, and in a state of penitence implored the pardon of that God whom he had so grievously offended.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.
Sweet are the renewings of the Holy Ghost. Oh! how precious the returns of the Comforter, after a night of desertion!
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jdg 16:22 Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.
Ver. 22. Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again. ] By this time Samson was thoroughly humbled, and “accepting the chastisement of his iniquity,” found God favourable, whose property it is to comfort the abject, 2Co 7:6 and to do his people good when they are called outcasts; when men say, “This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after.” Jer 30:17 Samson repenting, reassumed his Nazariteship, and God was soon reconciled.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
the hair: Lev 26:44, Deu 32:36, Psa 106:44, Psa 106:45, Psa 107:13, Psa 107:14
after he was shaven: or, as when he was shaven
Reciprocal: Gen 49:17 – shall be 1Ch 19:5 – your beards
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Later, the Philistines brought him to the temple of their god Dagon where about 3,000 were gathered to celebrate the victory he had given them over their enemy. Samson, whose hair had now begun to grow back, was led to the temple by a lad and placed between the pillars to entertain the people by their being allowed to make sport of him. He prayed to God for strength and pushed down the pillars so that he killed more in his death than in his life. His brothers buried him in the tomb of his father after he had judged for twenty years (16:22-31). It should be noticed that the Lord gave him a second chance when Samson again acknowledged the source of his strength.
Jdg 17:1-6 The title for today’s lesson, which comes from Jdg 17:6 , describes a tragic period in Israel’s history. The people had lost sight of their true leader, God, and strayed into sin. Events in the life of a man named Micah, who lived in mount Ephraim, are representative of that time. Micah stole 1,100 shekels of silver from his mother, but confessed it to her after he heard her place a curse on the money. She asked the Lord’s blessings on him, dedicated the silver to the Lord and gave it back to her son to make a graven image and a molten image. Of course, that shows her ignorance of God’s law ( Exo 20:3-6 ). Micah set up the image along with his household gods, or teraphim, and made one of his sons serve as a priest ( Jdg 17:1-5 ).
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
Jdg 16:22. The hair of his head began to grow This circumstance, though in itself inconsiderable, is noted as a sign of the recovery of Gods favour, and his former strength, in some degree, upon his repentance, and renewing his vow with God, which was allowed for Nazarites to do.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
16:22 Howbeit the hair of his head began to {l} grow again after he was shaven.
(l) Yet he did not regain his strength, till he had called on God and reconciled himself.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Samson’s triumph in death 16:22-31
A spark of hope flickered in the darkness of Samson’s prison cell. His hair began to grow back (Jdg 16:22). In grace God permitted Samson’s hair to return, symbolizing the possibility of his renewed commitment to Yahweh. However, God did not restore Samson’s eyesight. God always gives opportunity for divine service after failure, but we may not be able to serve Him as we could in the past.
We might suppose that the Philistines would have been careful to keep their captive’s hair cropped. Whether because they considered their blind slave incapable of escaping, or because they failed to recognize the importance of his hair, they did not. They were in their own way as blind as Samson. Along with his hair, Samson’s dedication to Yahweh, which his hair symbolized, began to return (cf. Jdg 16:28). This was the real reason his strength returned.
As mentioned previously, the Philistines were very religious. They thanked Dagon, their chief god, for Samson’s capture (Jdg 16:23). The Philistines were singing songs that the Israelites should have been singing for Yahweh’s deliverance of them, but they had not trusted and obeyed Him. Samson had given the enemies of Yahweh opportunity to blaspheme Him (cf. 2Sa 12:14). Perhaps the writer recorded so much of their praise here because it turned out to be totally without basis very soon.
Samson, who, as we have seen, was fond of riddles, tricks, and entertainment, became the object of sport for those he had previously taunted (Jdg 16:25). He became the tragic clown, but he finally "brought the house down."
"A number of sites of ancient heathen temples have been recently discovered, and since they show certain common characteristics it is likely that the temple of Gaza was of a similar pattern. In all probability the officials and dignitaries were in a covered portion looking out upon a courtyard where Samson was made a spectacle, but separated from it by a series of wooden pillars set on stone bases, supporting the roof, on which the crowd gathered. It may be conjectured that the spectators on the roof, pressing forward to gain a good vantage-point, had made the whole structure unstable. Samson must have been aware of the form of construction and of the possibilities in such a situation. The performance over, or temporarily halted, Samson was brought between the pillars (25b), just under the shelter of the roof, so that the dignitaries within the portico could have a closer look at him." [Note: Ibid., p. 180. See also Amihai Mazar, "A Philistine Temple at Tell Qasile," Biblical Archaeologist 36 (1973):43-48; and ibid., Archaeology of the Land of the Bible 10,000-586 B.C.E., pp. 319-23.]
Samson’s humiliation was even greater because a young boy now led the former "Philistine terror" around as easily as a goat (Jdg 16:26). His weakness appears greatest at this point in the story. Sensing his opportunity, Samson prayed to God for strength (cf. Jdg 15:18).
"This is the only time we ever read of Samson praying before he used his strength. Now his strength was disciplined by faith, but it took failure to teach him this response." [Note: Inrig, p. 263.]
"The theological message toward which each of the cycles [chs. 14-15 and ch. 16] moves centers on prayer and divine response, and the position of answered prayer at the end of each cycle is emphatic. In xv 18-19 Samson asks for life. . . . In xvi 28-30 he prays first for vindication, then for death. In both cases he is dependent wholly upon Yhwh, who alone holds the power to grant life and death and who acts in response to human supplication." [Note: J. Cheryl Exum, "The Theological Dimension of the Samson Saga," Vetus Testamentum 33:1 (1983):34.]
The fact that Samson addressed God as "Adonai Yahweh . . . Elohim" (Jdg 16:28; Master, covenant keeping God of Israel, Strong One) is significant. It definitely suggests that during the lonely hours of darkness in his cell Samson had repented. He apparently had confessed his lack of appreciation for God’s grace, calling, and power in his life and had rededicated himself to the Lord. He begged God, from whom He had departed, to remember him and to strengthen him supernaturally one more time. Samson desired to return to his calling as God’s deliverer of His people and to take vengeance on his enemies for robbing him of his eyes. God graciously heard and answered His servant. His prayer was for the glory of God and in harmony with God’s will. Nevertheless personal vengeance still motivated Samson too.
"Even Samson’s turn back to God is marked more by his desire for personal revenge against the Philistines than for deliverance for his people. In essence, Samson remains, to the very end, selfish, just as he remained until nearly the very end, clueless (see Jdg 16:20). That both Samson and the Israelites demonstrate such persistent unfaithfulness and self-assertion, thus thwarting God’s purpose to deliver them from Philistine oppression, means that Judges 13-16 functions as a call to repentance, as does all the prophetic literature." [Note: McCann, p. 109.]
"The fact that Samson took hold (AV, RV; lit. grasped, RSV) of the two central pillars indicates that, exerting his strength, he pushed forward either directly towards or directly away from the open courtyard. Had he pushed sideways he would not have ’grasped’ the pillars. Aided by the weight of the crowd above, who would be pressing forward since Samson was now out of their sight, the main supporting pillars were now displaced, causing them to slide off their stone bases. When the roof collapsed many would be killed instantly; others would be crushed in the ensuing panic." [Note: Cundall and Morris, p. 181.]
We should not regard Samson’s death as suicide but as martyrdom (cf. Heb 11:32). He died in battle.
"’Samson’s deed . . . was not suicide, but the act of a hero, who sees that it is necessary for him to plunge into the midst of his enemies with the inevitable certainty of death, in order to effect the deliverance of his people and decide the victory which he has still to achieve.’" [Note: Otto von Gerlach quoted by Keil and Delitzsch, p. 425.]
In his death Samson vindicated Yahweh over Dagon. He also killed more of Israel’s enemies than he had slain in his 20 years of previous ministry (Jdg 16:30). While this is a complementary note, it also reminds us of the tragedy of Samson’s failure as a judge. He could have routed many more Philistines if he had walked with God. The "brothers" who buried him (Jdg 16:31) could have been members of his tribe or extended family, not necessarily members of his immediate family.
"The Philistines’ hatred of Samson must have been mitigated by respect for his achievements and they made no apparent effort to abuse his corpse or to refuse him burial in his family tomb (cf. the dishonoring of Saul’s body, 1Sa 31:9-10). The treatment of a body after death was a matter of importance in the ancient world . . ." [Note: Cundall and Morris, p. 181.]
Some writers have commented on what they call the "Samson syndrome."
"One of the greatest values I see in the story of Samson is its demonstration of the Samson Syndrome. This is the tendency among some church leaders to operate from a personal power model and not understand its consequences. And for others it is a tendency to ignore our physical, emotional and spiritual limits-to not realize that when ’our hair has been shorn’ we cannot go out and beat up on Philistines, even though we want to." [Note: G. Lloyd Rediger, "The Samson Syndrome," Church Management-The Clergy Journal 60:7 (May-June 1984):78.]
"The essence of the Samson syndrome lies right here: the presumption that one can indulge the flesh and at the same time know the Spirit’s fulness [sic]." [Note: Ted S. Rendall, "The Samson Syndrome," The Prairie Overcomer 27:7 (July-August 1984):19.]
Samson’s life is one of the greatest tragedies in history and literature, and it should be a warning to every believer. Samson had many advantages. God chose him even before his birth (Jdg 13:7; cf. Eph 1:14). He received excellent training from godly parents who encouraged him to maintain his dedication to Yahweh (Jdg 13:8; Jdg 13:12; Jdg 14:3). He enjoyed God’s blessings (Jdg 13:24). Moreover the Holy Spirit empowered him with supernatural might (Jdg 13:25; Jdg 14:6; Jdg 14:19). Nevertheless Samson chose to yield to his physical passions rather than maintain his dedication to the Lord (cf. Esau).
"’The man who carried the gates of Gaza up to the top of the mountain was the slave of a woman, to whom he frivolously betrayed the strength of his Nazirite locks.’" [Note: Ziegler quoted by Keil and Delitzsch, p. 400.]
"’Samson, when strong and brave, strangled a lion; but he could not strangle his own love. He burst the fetters of his foes, but not the cords of his own lusts. He burned up the crops of others, and lost the fruit of his own virtue when burning with the flame enkindled by a single woman.’" [Note: Ambrose quoted by Keil and Delitzsch, pp. 417-18.]
"His life which promised so much, was blighted and ultimately destroyed by his sensual passions and lack of true separation to the Lord." [Note: Cundall and Morris, p. 181.]
Samson’s unwillingness to discipline himself physically was a symptom of his unwillingness to discipline himself spiritually. This lack of discipline in serving the Lord as He required resulted in Samson’s enslavement and finally in his premature death.
Still Samson’s life should also be an encouragement to all believers. The record of Samson’s experiences teaches us that God will use people who are far from perfect. God is patient with His sinning servants even though His patience has an end. There is hope that God may yet again use His servants whom He may have had to set aside because of their sins. It all depends on whether they truly repent and rededicate themselves to Him. [Note: See Robert U. Ferguson Jr., "The Danger of Playing Games with God," Pulpit Digest 64:468 (July-August 1984):31-34; and Samuel Cassel, "Strong Man: A Scripture Study of the Weaknesses in Strength," Foundations 2 (1959):264-68.]
"The prophetic books-including the book of Judges (and especially the book of Judges at its lowest point with Samson and the aftermath in chaps. 17-21)-are powerful statements of hope; not hope in ’culture heroes’ like Samson, but rather hope in a God whose grace is greater than our ability to comprehend and whose commitment to justice, righteousness, and peace surpasses our understanding." [Note: McCann, p. 94.]