Bible Commentary (1871–1879 Edition) (continued)
Delilah BetraijS Sanuon. JUDGES XVI. He is Overcome, and his Death.
Uie jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men—Tlie Inadequacy of the weapon plainly shows this to have been a miraculous feat, " a case of (Supernatural strength," was driven into the warp, not by a reed, but by a wooden spatula ; tlie extremitj' of .the web was fastened to a pin or stake fixed in the wall or ground; and while Delilah sat squatting at her loom, Samson lay stretched on the just as the gift of prophecy is a case of supernatural knowledge [Chalmeks.] 19. a liollow place in tlie jaw —In Lciii—taking the word as a projer noun, marlcing the place, tliere came water tbereout ; and wJien lie lisd flmnli ills spirit came again— His strength, exhausted by the violent and long-continued exertion, was recruited by the refreshing draught from the spring ; and floor, with his liead reclining on lier lap—a iDositiou very common in the East, went away with the pin of the benm, and with the web i. e., the whole weaving apparatus.
15-20. He is Overcome. 15-30. she pressed him daily with her words— Tliough disappointed and mortified, this vile woman resolved to persevere; and conscious how completel.y he was enslaved by his passion for her, she assailed hira witlia succession of blandishing arts, till she at length discovered the coveted secret. 17. If I be shaven, my strejigth will go from iiie—His herculean powers did not arise from his hair, but fi-om his peculiar relation to God as a Nazarite. His unshorn locks were a sign of his Nazaritism, and a pledge on the part of God that his supernatural strength would be continued. 19, she called for a man, and caused him to shave olf the seven locks of his liead — It is uncertain, however, whctlier the ancient Hebrews cut o/F the hair to the same extent as Orientals now. The word eniploj'ed is sometimes the same as that for shearing sheep, and therefore the instrument might l>e only scioSC)rs. ^0. He wist not tliat the Lord was dep.irted froiai liim—what a huniilit was called En-hakkore, the "supplication well," a name which records the piety of this heroic cliampion.
CHAPTER XVI.
Ver. 1-3. 1. Samson Carries away the Gates of Gaza. Gaza—Now Guzzah, the capital of the largest of the five Philistine principal cities, about fifteen miles eouth-west of Ashkelon. The object of this visit to tliis city is not recorded, and unless he had gone in disguise, it was a perilous exposure of his life in one of tlie enemy's strongholds. It soon transpired that he was there; and it was immediately resolved to secure him, iut deeming themselves certain of their prey, tlie Gazites deferred the execution of their measure till the morning. 3. Samson arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate ol' the city—A ruinous pile of masonry is still pointed out as the site of the gate. It was probably a part of the town wall, and as this ruin is "toward Hebron," there is no iinpiohability in the tradition, carried them np to the top of an hill, that is toefore Hehron—That hill is ICI-Moutar; but by Hebron in this passage is meant "the mountains of Hebron;" for otherwise Samson, had he run jiiglitand day from the time of his fliglit from Gaza, couM only have come on tiie evening of the following day iatini4 and painful spectacle! Deprived of the Divine inflaciK-os-ilfgraded in his charactf-r—and yet, tlirough the.inf.iluatii;u of a guilty passion, scarcely awake to the wrelclieilness of liis fallen condition !
21, 22. The Philistines Took him and Put out his Eyes. 21. the Philistijies took him and put ont hia eyes—To tliis cruel privation prisoners of ranlcand consequence have commonly been sulyected in tlie East, and the punishment is inflicted in various ways, by scooiiing out the e.yeballs, by piercing the eye, or destroying the sight by holding a red-Iiot injn before the eyes. His security was made doubly sure liy his being bound with fetters of brass (copper), not of leather, likeother captives, he did grind in the prison-honse—This grinding with hand mill-stones being tlie employment of menials, he was set to it as the deepest degradation. 3^. Howbeit his hair began to grow again—It is probable that he had now reflected on his folly; and becoming a sincere penitent, renewed his Nazarite vow. " His hair grew together with his repentance, and his strength witli his hairs." [Bishop Hai,l.]
within siht of the city of Hebron. The city of Gaza was. In those days, probably not loss tlian three-quarters of an hour distant from El-Montar. To have climbed to the top of this hill with the ponderous doors and their bolts on his slioulders, tlirough a road of thick sand, was a feat which none but a Samson could have accomplished. LVan DE Velde.]
1-11. UeIjTi.ah Cokrupted by the Philistines. 4. he toved a woman in the -valley of Sorelt—Tlie situation of this place is not known, nor can the character of Delilah be clearly ascertained. Her abode, her mercenary character, and her heartless blandishments att'ord too much reason to believe s!ie was a profligate woman. 5. the lords of the Philistines—tlie five rulers deemed no means beneath their dignity to overcome this national enemy. Kntice him, and see wherein his great strength licth—They probably imagined that lie carried some amulet about his person, or was in the possession of some important secret by wliich lie had acquired sucli herculean strength; and they bribed Delilah, doubtless by a'large reward, to discover it for them. Slie undertook the service, and made several attempts, plying all her arts of persuasion or blandishment in his soft and communicative moods, to extract his secret. 7. Suiitson said, Bind me with seven green withs—Vine tendrils, pliant twigs, or twists made of crude vegetable stalks are used in many Eastern countries for ropes at the present day. 8. she bound him with them—probably in a si)ortive manner, to try wlietlier he was jesting or in earnest. 9. there were men lying in v/ait, abiding ii» tlse chamber—The Heb., literally rendered, is, " in the inner or most secret part of the house." 10. And Delilah said—To avoid exciting suspicion, slie must have allowed some time to elapse before making this renewed att<?rnpt. Ti. new ropes—It is not said of what material tliey were formed; but from their being dried, it is pmbable they were of twigs, like the former. The Heb. intimates that they were twisted, and of a thick, slrcmg description. 13. If thou weavest the seven locks of my head—braids or tresses, into which, like many in the East, he chose to
28-25. Their Feast to Dagon. 33. tlae lords of the Philistines gathered to ofl Ter a great sacrilsce to D.igon —It was a common viractice in heatlien nations, on the return of their solemn religious festivals, to bring forth tlieir war prisoners from their places of confinement or slavery, and, in heaping on them every species of indignity, ofter their grateful tribute to the gods by whose aid they had triumphed over their enemies. Dagon was a sea-idol, usually represented as having the head and upper parts human, while the rest of tlie body resembled a fish.
26-31. His Death. 37. there were upon the roof about three tliousand men and woiueBi that beheld while Samson made sport—This building seems to have been similar to tlie spacious and open amphitheatres well known among the Romans, and still found in many countries of tlie East. Tliey are ljuilt wholly of wood. The standing-place for the spectators is a wooden iloor resting upon two pillars and rising on an inclined plane, so as to enable all to have a view of the area in the centre. In the middle there are two large beams, on which the whole weight of the structure lies, and these beams are supported by two pillars placed almost close to each other, so that when these are unsettled or displaced, the whole pile must tumble to the ground. 38. Samson called unto the Lord—His penitent and prayerful spirit seems clearly to indicate that this meditated act was not that of a vindictive suicide, and that he regarded himplait his hair. Working at the loom was a female employment; and Delilah's appears to have been close at hand. It was of a very simple construction ; the M'oof self as putting forth his strength in his capacity of a puljlic magistrate. He must b(! considered, in fact, aa dying for his country's cause, and his death was not de-