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Judges Chapter 16

Samson and Delilah; Samson's Capture and Death Samson at Gaza escapes, and carries away the gates of the city

16 T1Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot, and went in unto her.

2 1 Sam 19:11; 1 Sam 23:26; Psa 118:10-12; Act 9:24; 2 Cor 11:32-33 2And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they compassed him in, 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.

3And 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 upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron. Delilah corrupted by the Philistines, entices Samson

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

5 Pro 7:21; Pro 5:3-11; Pro 2:16-19; Jdg 14:15 5And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver. Thrice she is deceived

6And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee.

7And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green withs that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.

8 Pro 6:26 8Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withs which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.

9 Joh 5:14 9Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withs, as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known.

10And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound.

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

12 Pro 7:22 12Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And there were liers in wait abiding in the chamber. And he brake them from off his arms like a thread.

13And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web.

14And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web. At last she overcomes him

15 Pro 2:16; Jdg 14:16 15And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth.

16And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death;

17 Act 18:18; Jdg 13:5; Num 6:5; Mic 7:5; Pro 18:2; 2 Chr 15:2; 1 Chr 28:9 17That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother’s womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.

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 hath shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand.

19 Ecc 7:25-26; Pro 7:21; Pro 5:3-4 19And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.

20 Hos 9:12; Jer 9:23-24; Pro 22:14; Psa 33:16; 2 Chr 15:2 20And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the Lord was departed from him. The Philistines take him, and put out his eyes

21But 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. His strength renewing, he pulls down the house upon the Philistines and dies

22¶Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.

23Then 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 Dan 5:4; Dan 5:23; 1 Cor 8:4; 1 Cor 10:19-20; Psa 135:18 24And 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 Mat 14:6-7; Dan 5:2-4; Isa 32:13; Est 3:15; 1 Kin 20:12; 2 Sam 13:28 25And 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.

26And 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 Deu 22:8 27Now 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 Jer 15:15 28And 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.

29And 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.

30And 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 Jdg 13:25 31Then 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.

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Introductions and Outlines courtesy Grace to You. Used by permission)

Introduction to Judges
by John MacArthur

Title

The book bears the fitting name “Judges,” which refers to unique leaders God gave to His people for preservation against their enemies (Jdg 2:16-19). The Hebrew title means “deliverers” or “saviors,” as well as judges (cf. Deut 16:18; 17:9; 19:17). Twelve such judges arose before Samuel; then Eli and Samuel raised the count to 14. God Himself is the higher Judge (Jdg 11:27). Judges spans about 350 years from Joshua’s conquest (ca. 1398 B.C.) until Eli and Samuel judged prior to the establishment of the monarchy (ca. 1043B.C.).

Author and Date

No author is named in the book, but the Jewish Talmud identifies Samuel, a key prophet who lived at the time these events took place and could have personally summed up the era (cf. 1 Sam 10:25). The time was earlier than David’s capture of Jerusalem ca. 1004 B.C. (2 Sam 5:6, 7) since Jebusites still controlled the site (Judg 1:21). Also, the writer deals with a time before a king ruled (Jdg 17:6; 18:1; 21:25). Since Saul began his reign ca. 1043 B.C., a time shortly after his rule began is probably when Judges was written.

Background and Setting

Judges is a tragic sequel to Joshua. In Joshua, the people were obedient to God in conquering the Land. In Judges, they were disobedient, idolatrous, and often defeated. Judges 1:1-3:6 focuses on the closing days of the book of Joshua. Judges 2:6-9 gives a review of Joshua’s death (cf. Josh 24:28-31). The account describes 7 distinct cycles of Israel’s drifting away from the Lord starting even before Joshua’s death, with a full departure into apostasy afterward. Five basic reasons are evident for these cycles of Israel’s moral and spiritual decline: 1) disobedience in failing to drive the Canaanites out of the Land (Judg 1:19, 21, 35); 2) idolatry (Jdg 2:12); 3) intermarriage with wicked Canaanites (Jdg 3:5, 6); 4) not heeding judges (Jdg 2:17); and 5) turning away from God after the death of the judges (Jdg 2:19).

A four-part sequence repeatedly occurred in this phase of Israel’s history: 1) Israel’s departure from God; 2) God’s chastisement in permitting military defeat and subjugation; 3) Israel’s prayer pleading for deliverance; and 4) God raising up “judges,” either civil or sometimes local military champions who led in shaking off the oppressors. Fourteen judges arose, six of them military judges (Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Jephthah, and Samson). Two men were of special significance for contrast in spiritual leadership: 1) Eli, judge and High-Priest (not a good example); and 2) Samuel, judge, priest, and prophet (a good example).

Historical and Theological Themes

Judges is thematic rather than chronological; foremost among its themes is God’s power and covenant mercy in graciously delivering the Israelites from the consequences of their failures, which were suffered for sinful compromise (cf. 2:18, 19; 21:25). In 7 periods of sin to salvation (cf. Introduction: Outline), God compassionately delivered His people throughout the different geographical areas of tribal inheritances which He had earlier given through Joshua (Josh 13-22). The apostasy covered the whole land, as indicated by the fact that each area is specifically identified: southern (Jdg 3:7-31); northern (Jdg 4:1-5:31); central (Jdg 6:1-10:5); eastern (Jdg 10:6-12:15); and western (Jdg 13:1-16:31). His power to faithfully rescue shines against the dark backdrop of pitiful human compromise and sometimes bizarre twists of sin, as in the final summary (Judg 17-21). The last verse (Jdg 21:25) sums up the account: “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

Interpretive Challenges

The most stimulating challenges are: 1) how to view men’s violent acts against enemies or fellow countrymen, whether with God’s approval or without it; 2) God’s use of leaders who at times do His will and at times follow their own sinful impulse (Gideon, Eli, Jephthah, Samson); 3) how to view Jephthah’s vow and offering of his daughter (Jdg 11:30-40); and 4) how to resolve God’s sovereign will with His providential working in spite of human sin (cf. 14:4).

The chronology of the various judges in different sectors of the Land raises questions about how much time passed and how the time totals can fit into the entire time span from the Exodus (ca. 1445B.C.) to Solomon’s fourth year, ca 967/966 B.C., which is said to be 480 years (1 Kin 6:1; see Judg 11:26 and note). A reasonable explanation is that the deliverances and years of rest under the judges in distinct parts of the Land included overlaps, so that some of them did not run consecutively but rather concurrently during the 480 years. Paul’s estimate of “about 450” years in Acts 13:20 is an approximation.

Outline of Judges
by John MacArthur

I. Introduction and Summary—The Disobedience of Israel (Jdg 1:1-3:6)

A. Incomplete Conquest over the Canaanites (Jdg 1:1-36)
B. The Decline and Judgment of Israel (Jdg 2:1-3:6)

II. A Selected History of the Judges—The Deliverance of Israel (Jdg 3:7-16:31)

A. First Period: Othniel vs. Mesopotamians (Jdg 3:7-11)
B. Second Period: Ehud and Shamgar vs. Moabites (Jdg 3:12-31)
C. Third Period: Deborah vs. Canaanites (Jdg 4:1-5:31)
D. Fourth Period: Gideon vs. Midianites (Jdg 6:1-8:32)
E. Fifth Period : Tola and Jair vs. Abimelech’s Effects (Jdg 8:33-10:5)
F. Sixth Period: Jephthah, Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon vs. Philistines and Ammonites (Jdg 10:6-
12:15)
G. Seventh Period: Samson vs. Philistines (Jdg 13:1-16:31)

III. Epilogue—The Dereliction of Israel (Jdg 17:1-21:25)

A. The Idolatry of Micah and the Danites (Jdg 17:1-18:31)
B. The Crime at Gibeah and War Against Benjamin (Jdg 19:1-21:25)

Introduction to Judges
by John MacArthur

Title

Author and Date

Background and Setting

Historical and Theological Themes

Interpretive Challenges

Outline of Judges
by John MacArthur

I. Introduction and Summary—The Disobedience of Israel (Jdg 1:1-3:6)

II. A Selected History of the Judges—The Deliverance of Israel (Jdg 3:7-16:31)

III. Epilogue—The Dereliction of Israel (Jdg 17:1-21:25)

The 1440 Agenda

Remembering Marcy

Study Bible

Introduction to Judgesby John MacArthur

Title

Author and Date

Background and Setting

Historical and Theological Themes

Interpretive Challenges

Outline of Judgesby John MacArthur

I. Introduction and Summary—The Disobedience of Israel (Jdg 1:1-3:6)

II. A Selected History of the Judges—The Deliverance of Israel (Jdg 3:7-16:31)

III. Epilogue—The Dereliction of Israel (Jdg 17:1-21:25)

Books of the Bible

Chapters in Judges

The 1440 Agenda

Introduction to Judges
by John MacArthur

Outline of Judges
by John MacArthur