Samson was born at a time in Israel’s history where the tribes of Israel were under the control of their own judges, but also under the authority of the Philistines. People believe that Samson was the strongest man on earth. Samson was an interesting man. He was strong, but not just by human standards, but by the standards of the hybrid Nephilim. Samson was a biota, a trickster, but his weakness seemed to be women. If we notice carefully how Samson falls, we will see the schemes of the devil. These are the same tricks used on us today. We will notice that the idea of being humbled has a broad meaning and this story may be similar to what we saw a few weeks ago while studying Judges 19 regarding the tribe of Benjamin. We see Samson’s parents as caring people who are concerned that they raise him correctly. Theirs is the greatest parenting story never told. They must have been disappointed as to Samson’s life choices. How could this be the plan of Yahweh to bring down the mixed races of Nephilim, the Philistines? Is Yahweh sporting with the devil?
In Genesis 15:13 Yahweh tells Abraham that his seed will be sojourners for four hundred years in a foreign land and that they would be enslaved, afflicted, and humbled. But after four hundred years, the fourth generation will return to the land. Joshua led them into the land and the people were settled. They had judges to help mediate issues among one another. Unfortunately the people kept sinning. Samson was born during a time when the Philistines dominated Israel. What does that mean? It means that the Philistines ruled or lorded over the Israelites and Yahweh allowed it for forty years.
Judges13:1 And the children of Israel yet again committed iniquity before the Lord; and the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Phylistines forty years.
This is a very telling sentence. The Philistines were a mixed group of tribes of the heirs of the fallen angels. They were Nephilim. Joshua drove them to the coast, but they were not eradicated. Because the heirs of Jacob were behaving in an evil manner, they were handed over to the Philistines. Yahweh used the Philistines to make life difficult for the Israelites so that they would repent.
Judges13:2 And there was a man of Saraa, of the family of the kindred of Dan, and his name was Manoe, and his wife was barren, and bore not. 3 And an angel of the Lord appeared to the woman, and said to her, Behold, thou art barren and hast not born; yet thou shalt conceive a son. 4 And now be very cautious, and drink no wine nor strong drink, and eat no unclean thing; 5 for behold, thou art with child, and shalt bring forth a son; and there shall come no razor upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Phylistines.
An angel/messenger tells Manoah’s wife that she is barren but that she will eventually have a baby. He tells her not to drink alcohol, not to cut his hair, and to raise him as a Nazarite. We find out later that Manoah and his wife had other children after Samson.
Manoah’s wife tells her husband what the angel says and Manoah is incredibly concerned that they raise this child right. These are amazing parents. These are the type of followers of Yahweh that intentionally looked to Yahweh. When other Israelites were sinning, causing the nation to be put under enemy rule, Manoah and his wife continued to worship and serve the Lord. These two followers of Yahweh are the nation of Israel’s hope, but no one knew it.
When the angel/messenger returns, Manoah’s wife brings her husband to the angel so that he can ask the angel about properly raising the child. They wanted parenting tips from the Lord, not from others living in their community. Manoah offers to feed the angel/messenger but the angel suggests that he make a burnt offering to the Lord. This is one of the most untold stories in the Bible. Manoah and his wife are doing all the right things.
Judges13:15 And Manoe said to the angel of the Lord, Let us detain thee here, and prepare before thee a kid of the goats. 16 And the angel of the Lord said to Manoe, If thou shouldest detain me, I will not eat of thy bread; and if thou wouldest offer a whole-burnt-offering, to the Lord thou shalt offer it: for Manoe knew not that he was an angel of the Lord. 17 And Manoe said to the angel of the Lord, What is thy name, that when thy word shall come to pass, we may glorify thee? 18 And the angel of the Lord said to him, Why dost thou thus ask after my name; whereas it is wonderful?
Manoah was truly honest in his response to the angel/messenger as he was not sure that he was an angel from the Lord. But when the angel/messenger ascended to heaven, Manoah then knew he was an angel from the Lord. Manoah was willing to glorify this messenger/angel but is told not to. The angel’s name is literally “marvelous”, or “surpassing human comprehension”. People should not worship angels or any other son of God. We can imagine that if the angel’s name was told to Manoah that all barren women would pray to this angel, or make sacrifices to this angel, or even worship this angel in order to become pregnant.
Judges13:19 And Manoe took a kid of the goats and its meat-offering, and offered it on the rock to the Lord; and the angel wrought a distinct work, and Manoe and his wife were looking on. 20 And it came to pass when the flame went up above the altar toward heaven, that the angel of the Lord went up in the flame; and Manoe and his wife were looking, and they fell upon their face to the earth.
Manoah and his wife were to raise a Nazarite. A Nazarite is also called a “votary” in the Greek which is someone who makes a vow to the Lord such as a monk or a nun. It is a dedication of religious service to the Lord. It is not abstinence, as some religions practice. Moses gave us some procedures for dedicated religious service in Numbers 6. The apostle Paul had taken a Nazarite vow in Acts 18 and 21. From Samson’s birth he was to be set apart for Yahweh. His parents were to raise him, set apart from the other children in their community. This is why the Spirit of the Lord was on Samson from his youth. Manoah and his wife did exactly what they were told to do.
Samson grew up and found a women he wanted to marry who was a Philistine. His parents were not thrilled. Imagine spending twenty years raising a child according to the direction of the Lord and then that child seems to make bad decisions.
Judges 14:1 And Sampson went down to Thamnatha, and saw a woman in Thamnatha of the daughters of the Philistines. 2 And he went up and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Thamnatha of the daughters of the Phylistines; and now take her to me for a wife. 3 And his father and his mother said to him, Are there no daughters of thy brethren, and is there not a woman of all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines?
And Sampson said to his father, Take her for me, for she is right in my eyes. 4 And his father and his mother knew not that it was of the Lord, that he sought to be revenged on the Philistines: and at that time the Philistines lorded it over Israel.
It was a plan from the Lord to allow Samson to marry a woman who was a Philistine. We want to think about this. Samson may have been a big man, like the stature of the Philistines. If we remember the Philistines were very large, they were intimidating to the Israelites because they were a hybrid race from the cohabitation of angels and earth women. Samson may have been comparable in size. He was stronger than the Philistines which might tell us that the continued mixing of humans and Nephilim made the Philistines less strong.
Judges 14:5 And Sampson and his father and his mother went down to Thamnatha, and he came to the vineyard of Thamnatha; and behold, a young lion roared in meeting him. 6 And the spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him, and he crushed him as he would have crushed a kid of the goats, and there was nothing in his hands: and he told not his father and his mother what he had done. 7 And they went down and spoke to the woman, and she was pleasing in the eyes of Sampson.
The Holy Spirit came upon Samson and he tore apart a lion. Samson didn’t have any weapons in his hands, just power from the Holy Spirit. Samson did’t mention the power that came over him to his parents. This is an interesting point. This is the first time he notices his strength. He knew he was a chosen holy one from the Lord, keeping a Nazarite vow, but this is his first experience with superhuman power. The Spirit of the Lord was with him throughout his childhood as he was dedicated to the Lord. Yet Samson didn’t grow up being stronger than others, and he didn’t set out to destroy the Philistines with his strength. He simply realized he was super strong when the Holy Spirit came upon him in this way. It is interesting that he didn’t tell his parents. His parents knew he was chosen by Yahweh, and kept his vow. Through his story we see Samson is close with his parents, but he didn’t tell them he killed the lion. We don’t know if this may have upset his parents or if Samson was simply stunned and thought it a fluke, but either way he didn’t tell anyone.
After meeting the woman that he fell in love with, he went back to his parents home and saw that the lion he had killed had honey combs from bees in its mouth. He ate the honey and brought some home for his parents. Samson then prepared a seven day banquet for his marriage to this woman that he loved. The people were afraid of Samson. The Philistines gave Samson thirty guests, young men, for the banquet. Samson seems to be a little deceptive here as he gave the thirty young men a riddle to solve that included wages or payment. But after three days the young men could not answer the riddle.
Judges 14:15 And it came to pass on the fourth day, that they said to the wife of Sampson, Deceive now thy husband, and let him tell thee the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy father’s house with fire: did ye invite us to do us violence?
The thirty young men were not really Samson’s friends. As we also can see Samson was not all that nice either. He gave them a riddle they couldn’t solve unless they knew what happened to the lion. Since Samson didn’t tell anyone, these people could not guess. Samson is sporting with them. They didn’t want to pay the price of their failure so they threatened the woman to get the answer. This put the woman in a bad position.
Judges 14:16 And Sampson’s wife wept before him, and said, Thou dost but hate me, and lovest me not; for the riddle which thou hast propounded to the children of my people thou hast not told me: and Sampson said to her, If I have not told it to my father and my mother, shall I tell it to thee? 17 And she wept before him the seven days, during which their banquet lasted: and it came to pass on the seventh day, that he told her, because she troubled him; and she told it to the children of her people. 18 And the men of the city said to him on the seventh day, before sunrise, What is sweeter than honey? and what is stronger than a lion? and Sampson said to them, If ye had not ploughed with my heifer, ye would not have known my riddle.
Samson says that if they hadn’t used his wife to get the answer then they would not have known the answer to the riddle. The Holy Spirit directly came upon Samson. Wait, stop. The Holy Spirit came upon Samson after he tried to deceive thirty young men so that he could gain thirty robes? Yahweh didn’t find this behavior offensive? Apparently this was part of the plan. Would it be safe to say that we are not always privy to the plans that Yahweh has for others and that sometimes what we think may seem offensive is really Yahweh sporting with the devil through us? This is something to consider.
Samson then took revenge on thirty men from another Philistine city, Ashkelon, with the help of the Holy Spirit. This is how Samson got the robes he owed the thirty young men. He invaded a different city, took their robes, and gave them to the thirty men at his wedding banquet. His parents must have been mourning and crying out to the Lord thinking that their son had done something horrible. We can see some interesting life lessons in this story.
Judges 14:19 And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him powerfully, and he went down to Ascalon, and destroyed of the inhabitants thirty men, and took their garments, and gave the changes of raiment to them that told the riddle; and Sampson was very angry, and went up to the house of his father. 20 And the wife of Sampson was given to one of his friends, with whom he was on terms of friendship.
Samson was angry at what the young men had done and went back to his father’s house. There may have been family meetings or in our vernacular, “come to Jesus” meetings, sacrifice offerings and rededication vows. Meanwhile, his new bride was given to one of the young men at the banquet by her father. It seems that the father thought Samson wasn’t coming back and that Samson would not want her as a wife for betraying him.
After a few months Samson went to make up with his wife, but her father tells him that she was married to one of his friends. The father suggests marrying her sister. Samson gets angry believing himself to be innocent and burns the Philistines’ crops.
Judges 15:4 And Sampson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took torches, and turned tail to tail, and put a torch between two tails, and fastened it. 5 And he set fire to the torches, and sent the foxes into the corn of the Philistines; and every thing was burnt from the threshing floor to the standing corn, and even to the vineyard and olives. 6 And the Philistines said, Who has done these things? and they said, Sampson the son-in-law of the Thamnite, because he has taken his wife, and given her to one of his friends; and the Philistines went up, and burnt her and her father’s house with fire.
7 And Sampson said to them, Though ye may have dealt thus with her, verily I will be avenged of you, and afterwards I will cease. 8 And he smote them leg on thigh with a great overthrow; and went down and dwelt in a cave of the rock Etam.
Samson struck their thighs with his leg, breaking their thighs, while the Holy Spirit was with him. He broke a lot of femurs that day. He might have used some type of kick that broke their legs. The Philistines took a rather large beating. Samson left for a rocky place outside of Judah called Lehi. While Samson was there the Philistines came to tie Samson up. The men of Judah went and told Samson about the Philistines. They say to Samson, “don’t you know the Philistines dominate us”. Samson hatches a plan and tells them that they could tie him up and bring him to the Philistines. When the Philistines saw Samson they ran to meet him, but the Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson.
Judges 15:14 And they came to Lechi: and the Philistines shouted, and ran to meet him: and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and the ropes that were upon his arms became as tow which is burnt with fire; and his bonds were consumed from off his hands. 15 And he found the jaw-bone of an ass that had been cast away, and he put forth his hand and took it, and smote with it a thousand men. 16 And Sampson said, With the jaw-bone of an ass I have utterly destroyed them, for with the jaw-bone of an ass I have smitten a thousand men. 17 And it came to pass when he ceased speaking, that he cast the jaw-bone out of his hand; and he called that place the Lifting of the jaw-bone.
Once again, the Holy Spirit is not offended at Samson’s behavior. The Holy Spirit is working with Samson, not against him. Isn’t it interesting that what we see on the outside, Samson getting angry, and then burning the city and crops, as well as breaking people’s legs, then killing people, is the Lord working through Samson, sporting with the devil? Samson killed one thousand men that day. The place that he killed them came to be known as the place of the Jaw. Samson was then thirsty, and the Lord opened a crack in a rock so that a spring came gushing out. That rock, and the spring, were called the “Spring of the Calling Upon”, or the “Well of the Invoker” which was in Lehi.
At this time the Israelites were under the control of the Philistines twenty years. Some time during the next twenty years, Samson goes to Gaza to sleep with a prostitute. This was probably not the first time Samson went to a prostitute. What was Samson doing for twenty years? Isn’t it interesting that Gaza is such a stronghold of contention even to this day?
Judges 16:1 And Sampson went to Gaza, and saw there a harlot, and went in to her. 2 And it was reported to the Gazites, saying, Sampson is come hither: and they compassed him and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and they were quiet all the night, saying, Let us wait till the dawn appear, and we will slay him. 3 And Sampson slept till midnight, and rose up at midnight, and took hold of the doors of the gate of the city with the two posts, and lifted them up with the bar, and laid them on his shoulders, and he went up to the top of the mountain that is before Chebron, and laid them there.
It seems like a strange culture that men visited prostitutes. This prostitute was a Philistine woman. It seems that the Philistine men had been keeping an eye on Samson all of this time. They knew when he was in the city. It is hard for us to visualize what it must have been like in Israel for these forty years under the control of the Philistines. Clearly the Israelites were intimidated by the Philistines. Samson carries the gates of their city up to Hebron. We don’t know if Samson knew ahead of time that these men were planning to trap him, but for whatever reason he carried away their gates. Why does the Spirit of the Lord inspire Samson to behave this way? Samson finds another women to love named Delilah.
Judges 16:4 And it came to pass after this that he loved a woman in Alsorech, and her name was Dalida. 5 And the princess of the Philistines came up to her, and said to her, Beguile him, and see wherein his great strength is, and wherewith we shall prevail against him, and bind him to humble him; and we will give thee each eleven hundred pieces of silver.
Judges 16:5 G2532 And G305 [5ascended G4314 6to G1473 7her G3588 1the G4568.2 2satraps G3588 3of the G246 4Philistines], G2532 and G2036 said G1473 to her, G538 Beguile G1473 him, G2532 and G1492 see G1722 by G5100 what means G3588 G2479 [3strength G1473 1his G1510.2.3 4is G3588 G3173 2great], G2532 and G1722 by G5100 what means G1410 we shall be able to prevail G4314 against G1473 him, G2532 and G1210 tie G1473 him G5620 so as G5013 to humble G1473 him. G2532 And G1473 we G1325 will give G1473 to you G435 by man G5507 a thousand G2532 and G1540 a hundred G694 pieces of silver.
538 LSJ Gloss:ἀπατάω to cheat, trick, outwit, beguile
Dodson:ἀπατάω I deceive, lead into error I deceive, cheat, lead into error.
Thayer:
1) to cheat, beguile, deceive
ἀπατάω
apataō ap-at-ah'-o Of uncertain derivation; to cheat, that is, delude KJV Usage: deceive.
5013 LSJ Gloss:ταπεινόω to lower
Dodson:ταπεινόω I humble, humiliate I make or bring low, humble, humiliate; pass: I am humbled.
Thayer:
1) to make low, bring low
1a) to level, reduce to a plain
1b) metaph. to bring into a humble condition, reduce to meaner circumstances
1b1) to assign a lower rank or place to
1b2) to abase
1b3) to be ranked below others who are honoured or rewarded
1b4) to humble or abase myself by humble living
1c) to lower, depress
1c1) of one's soul bring down one's pride
1c2) to have a modest opinion of one's self
1c3) to behave in an unassuming manner
1c4) devoid of all haughtiness
ταπεινόω
tapeinoō tap-i-no'-o From G5011; to depress; figuratively to humiliate (in condition or heart) KJV Usage: abase, bring low, humble (self).
Here the word satraps means “princess and governors” the Greek text. Satraps asked Delilah to beguile Samson and they would then give her a man and money. They wanted to humiliate him and prevail over him. They don’t seem interested in killing Samson. Humbled does not only mean to become humble or low, it also means to dominate in sexual relations. In this way, raping someone brings them low, it humiliates them, as we learned last week in Judges 19-ff. These are some of the practices of the Philistines that entered into Israel. Here are a few references to being humbled in the context of sexual relations.
This is the story of Dinah, Jacobs daughter who was raped by Shechem. The sons of Jacob killed all the men in Shechem’s land.
Genesis 34:2 G2532 And G1492 [2beheld G1473 3her G* 1Shechem], G3588 the G5207 son G* of Hamor G3588 the G* Hivite, G3588 the G758 ruler G3588 of the G1093 land. G2532 And G2983 taking G1473 her, G2837 he went to bed G3326 with G1473 her, G2532 and G5013 humbled G1473 her.
After a war, Moses says if you see a woman you think is pretty, you may take her for a wife. Shave her head, cut her nails, and change her clothes. Give her one month to mourn for her family, then enter into her and she will be your wife. But at this point if you change your mind:
Deuteronomy 21:14 G2532 And G1510.8.3 it shall be G1437 if G3361 you should not want G2309 G1473 her, G1821 you shall send G1473 her G1658 free, G2532 and G4237.2 for sale G3756 you shall not G4097 sell her G694 for silver, G3756 you shall not G114 disrespect G1473 her, G1360 for G5013 you humbled G1473 her.
Moses’ instructions for dealing with adulterers is to stone them. In this scenario the woman was not being raped and did not yell out. The man and woman equally participated in sleeping together even though each was married. But if a man forces/rapes a pais, a child, a young boy or girl, they were to kill the man only.
Deuteronomy 22:23 G1437 And if G1161 G1096 there be G3816 [2child G3933 1a virgin] G3423 being espoused G435 to a man, G2532 and G2147 [2finding G1473 3her G444 1a man] G1722 in G4172 the city G2837 should have gone to bed G3326 with G1473 her;
24 G1806 you shall lead out G297 both G1909 unto G3588 the G4439 gate G3588 G4172 of their city, G1473 G2532 and G3036 they shall be stoned G1722 with G3037 stones, G2532 and G599 they shall die; G3588 the G3494.1 young woman, G3754 for G3756 she did not G994 yell out G1722 in G3588 the G4172 city; G2532 and G3588 the G444 man, G3754 for G5013 he humbled G3588 the G1135 wife G3588 G4139 of his neighbor; G1473 G2532 and G1808 you shall lift away G3588 the G4190 evil G1537 from G1473 yourselves G1473 of them.
25 G1437 But if G1161 G1722 in G3977.1 a plain G2147 [2should find G444 1a man] G3588 G3816 a girl, G3588 G3423 being espoused; G2532 and G971 using force G2837 should go to bed G3326 with G1473 her, G615 you shall kill G3588 the G444 man, G3588 the one G2837 going to bed G3326 with G1473 her G3440 only;
This was Moses’ solution for sexual assault on a child. Pedophiles were to be killed. Sexual predators should be killed outside the city. If we had laws like this today we would see a lot less pedophilia and rape. Moses is very specific here as he first speaks of a child who is promised in marriage but not yet married. Next Moses tells everyone if a child is not promised in marriage and is raped then the man will pay the girl’s father money and the girl will be his wife.
Deuteronomy 22:28 G1437 And if G1161 G5100 any G2147 should find G3588 the G3816 [2child G3588 G3933 1virgin], G3748 whoever G3756 was not G3423 espoused, G2532 and G971 using force G1473 on her, G2837 he went to bed G3326 with G1473 her, G2532 and G2147 he should be found,
29 G1325 [6shall give G3588 1the G444 2man G3588 G2837 3going to bed G3326 4with G1473 5her] G3588 to the G3962 father G3588 of the G3494.1 young woman G4004 fifty G1323 double-drachmas G694 of silver, G2532 and G1473 she will be his G1510.8.3 G1135 wife, G446.2 because G5013 he humbled G1473 her; G3756 he will not be able G1410 G1821 to send G1473 her away G3588 G537 at any G5550 time.
Rape is an awful crime, and one that was given strong punishment. We see the story of Amnon raping Tamar in 2 Samuel. This time the translators change the word humbled to abased, but it is the same Greek word.
2 Samuel 13:12 G2532 And G2036 she said G1473 to him, G3361 No, G80 O my brother, G3361 you should not G5013 abase G1473 me, G1360 for G3756 it shall not G4160 be done G3779 so G1722 in G* Israel. G3361 You should not G4160 do G3588 G877 this folly. G3778
13 G2532 And G1473 I, G4226 where G667 shall I carry away G3588 G3681 my scorn? G1473 G2532 And G1473 you G1510.8.2 will be G5613 as G1520 one G3588 of the G878 fools G1722 in G* Israel. G2532 And G3568 now, G2980 speak G1211 indeed G4314 to G3588 the G935 king! G3754 for G3766.2 in no way G2967 will he restrain G1473 me G575 from G1473 you.
14 G2532 And G3756 [2did not G2309 3want G* 1Amnon] G3588 G5219 to hear G3588 G5456 her voice. G1473 G2532 And G2901 he powered G5228 over G1473 her, G2532 and G5013 abased G1473 her, G2532 and G2837 went to bed G3326 with G1473 her.
Amnon overpowered Tamar and abased her, or humbled her. This caused quite a controversy in the kingdom. Two years later Absalom, Tamar’s brother, had Amnon killed because he raped Tamar. Raping someone is a humbling experience, it brings people low, which is the intent of the word. Therefore to be humbled in this context is rape.
Delilah is now going to try to trick Samson because the governors and princes want to humble Samson. What do they want to do to him? They want to somehow thwart his power, but they don’t want to kill him as we will see.
Judges 16:6 And Dalida said to Sampson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein is thy great strength, and wherewith thou shalt be bound that thou mayest be humbled. 7 And Sampson said to her, If they bind me with seven moist cords that have not been spoiled, then shall I be weak and be as one of ordinary men. 8 And the princess of the Philistines brought to her seven moist cords that had not been spoiled, and she bound him with them. 9 And the liers in wait remained with her in the chamber; and she said to him, the Philistines are upon thee, Sampson: and he broke the cords as if any one should break a thread of tow when it has touched the fire, and his strength was not known.
We might think that Samson would have left Delilah as she had done the same thing to him as his wife did. But he stayed with her. Delilah acts like she was the one mocked because he lied to her. Once he knew what her intentions were we might think he should be angry at her.
Judges 16:10 And Dalida said to Sampson, Behold, thou hast cheated me, and told me lies; now then tell me wherewith thou shalt be bound. 11 And he said to her, If they should bind me fast with new ropes with which work has not been done, then shall I be weak, and shall be as another man. 12 And Dalida took new ropes, and bound him with them, and the liers in wait came out of the chamber, and she said, The Philistines are upon thee, Sampson: and he broke them off his arms like a thread.
Once again she beguiles him into telling her his source of strength, but he has deceived her again.
Judges 16:13 And Dalida said to Sampson, Behold, thou hast deceived me, and told me lies; tell me, I intreat thee, wherewith thou mayest be bound: and he said to her, If thou shouldest weave the seven locks of my head with the web, and shouldest fasten them with the pin into the wall, then shall I be weak as another man. 14 And it came to pass when he was asleep, that Dalida took the seven locks of his head, and wove them with the web, and fastened them with the pin into the wall, and she said, The Philistines are upon thee, Sampson: and he awoke out of his sleep, and carried away the pin of the web out of the wall.
This time Delilah presses him continually. She nags him as if she was working at a job. Samson finally gives in.
Judges 16:15 And Dalida said to Sampson, How sayest thou, I love thee, when thy heart is not with me? this third time thou hast deceived me, and hast not told me wherein is thy great strength. 16 And it came to pass as she pressed him sore with her words continually, and straitened him, that his spirit failed almost to death.
Judges 16:16 G2532 And G1096 it came to pass G3753 when G2716 she worked G1473 him G1722 by G3588 G3056 her words G1473 G3650 the whole G3588 G3571 night, G2532 and G3926 troubled G1473 him, G2532 so that G3641.3 he was faint-hearted G2193 unto G1519 G2288 death.
3926 LSJ Gloss:παρενοχλέω to trouble greatly
Dodson:παρενοχλέωI trouble I trouble, cause disturbance to, annoy, harass.
Thayer:
1) to cause trouble in a matter, to trouble, annoy
παρενοχλέω
parenochleō par-en-okh-leh'-o From G3844 and G1776; to harass further, that is, annoy KJV Usage: trouble.
Delilah harassed and annoyed Samson until he was fainthearted and near death. Samson then tells her of his Nazarite vow. Part of Samson’s vow was to not shave his head. Although in a Nazarite vow there is a shaving of the head. Samson’s vow was a little different. The Philistines may have known he was a Nazarite as he had long hair, but they did not know that his hair was a source of strength. Once he told this to Delilah then the Holy Spirit’s strength leaves him.
Judges 16:17 Then he told her all his heart, and said to her, A razor has not come upon my head, because I have been a holy one of God from my mother’s womb; if then I should be shaven, my strength will depart from me, and I shall be weak, and I shall be as all other men.
Samson says that he has been a holy one of God from his mother’s womb. Samson knew that he was a holy one of God so we would think he would have lived his life better. We would think he would not go to prostitutes or marry Philistine women. When Samson first found out that he was strong enough to kill a lion with his bare hands, we would assume he would simply kill all the Philistines one by one. Yet now, close to forty years later, Samson is about to lose his strength. Samson claims the strength is his and not from the Holy Spirit. It may be that by this time he believed this strength was his own and not from God.
Judges 16:18 And Dalida saw that he told her all his heart, and she sent and called the princess of the Philistines, saying, Come up yet this once; for he has told me all his heart. And the chiefs of the Philistines went up to her, and brought the money in their hands. 19 And Dalida made Sampson sleep upon her knees; and she called a man, and he shaved the seven locks of his head, and she began to humble him, and his strength departed from him.
Delilah humbled him by having his head shaved. This brought him low. Samson probably became depressed after this. We see that he does not realize his strength is gone. Now the Philistines pull out his eyes and bring him to Gaza. This was certainly humiliating as now he had no sight and could only be led around by his enemies. Yet they didn’t kill him.
Judges 16:20 And Dalida said, The Philistines are upon thee, Sampson: and he awoke out of his sleep and said, I will go out as at former times, and shake myself; and he knew not that the Lord was departed from him. 21 And the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he ground in the prison-house.
Samson was now a work horse for the Philistines. This tells us he had some strength, just not super strength. I’m sure he was abused in many ways prior to his death. Samson was helpless.
Judges 16:22 And the hair of his head began to grow as before it was shaven.
No one expected that Samson would regain his strength. They assumed that he was never going to be strong again. This is a faulty assumption on the part of the Philistines. This tells us that the devil is not all-knowing like Yahweh. This tells us that Yahweh might just have a plan that the children of the devil do not know and can’t comprehend. The devil would not have suffered the loss of so many of his children if he only knew that Samson would regain his strength. The devil would have simply killed Samson. But instead the devil inspired the people to use Samson as a punching bag for their various types of humiliation. Yahweh is toying with the Philistines though the Nazarite Samson.
Judges 16:23 And the chiefs of the Philistines met to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon, and to make merry; and they said, God has given into our hand our enemy Sampson. 24 And the people saw him, and sang praises to their god; for our god, said they, has delivered into our hand our enemy, who wasted our land, and who multiplied our slain.
As the Philistines celebrated and sacrificed and thought they had a victory, they were instead quite close to death. The devil is enjoying this so much he is inspiring the people to drink and then bring out Samson from the prison for fun.
Judges 16:25 And when their heart was merry, then they said, Call Sampson out of the prison-house, and let him play before us: and they called Sampson out of the prison-house, and he played before them; and they smote him with the palms of their hands, and set him between the pillars.
Judges 16:25 G2532 And G1096 it came to pass G3753 when G18.2 [2was feeling good G3588 G2588 1their heart], G1473 G2532 that G2036 they said, G2564 Call G3588 G* Samson G1537 from out of G3624 the house G5438 of the prison, G2532 and G3815 let him play G1799 before G1473 us! G2532 And G2564 they called G3588 G* Samson G1537 from out of G3624 the house G1201 of the jail, G2532 and G1702 they sported G1473 with him. G2532 And G2476 they stood G1473 him G303.1 in between G3588 the G1417 two G4769 posts.
3815 LSJ Gloss:παίζω to play like a child, to sport, play
Dodson:παίζω I play, sport I play, sport (includes singing and dancing), play in the manner of children.
Thayer:
1) to play like a child
2) to play, sport, jest
3) to give way to hilarity, esp. by joking singing, dancing
παίζω
paizō paheed'-zo From G3816; to sport (as a boy) KJV Usage: play.
3816
παῖς
pais paheece Perhaps from G3817; a boy (as often beaten with impunity), or (by analogy) a girl, and (generally) a child; specifically a slave or servant (especially a minister to a king; and by eminence to God) KJV Usage: child, maid (-en), (man) servant, son, young man.
3817
παίω
paiō pah'-yo A primary verb; to hit (as if by a single blow and less violently than G5180); specifically to sting (as a scorpion) KJV Usage: smite, strike.
1702 LSJ Gloss:ἐμπαίζω to mock at, mock
Dodson:ἐμπαίζω I mock I mock, ridicule.
Thayer:
1) to play with, trifle with
1a) to mock
1b) to delude, deceive
ἐμπαίζω
They were so confident with having captured Samson that they wanted him to play in front of them so they could mock and ridicule him. The word empaizō means “in” or “on sport”, but if we notice the root word paizō, it means as a “child”, in “beating” or “striking a child”. So their game of sport or play was as beating a blind child. Somehow this was fun. They would then mock and ridicule him. Isn’t this what the Romans did to Jesus? Didn’t they mock Jesus and call out for him to prophesy as to who hit him? Jesus received the same beating and mockery.
Judges 16:26 And Sampson said to the young man that held his hand, Suffer me to feel the pillars on which the house rests, and I will stay myself upon them. 27 And the house was full of men and woman, and there were all the chiefs of the Philistines, and on the roof were about three thousand men and woman looking at the sports of Sampson.
Judges 16:27 G3588 And the G1161 G3624 house G1510.7.3 was G4134 full G3588 of the G435 men G2532 and G1135 women, G2532 and G1563 [6 were there G3956 1all G3588 2the G4568.2 3satraps G3588 4of the G246 5Philistines]. G2532 And G1909 upon G3588 the G1430 roof G5616 were about G5153 three thousand G435 men G2532 and G1135 women, G1689 looking at G1702 and mocking G3588 G* Samson.
The Philistines wanted to humble Samson; certainly beating and mocking him is humbling, and so is rape. Rape is the culture of the Philistines. So at some point in this sporting event, they may have gang raped him as well. This event certainly gathered a crowd of important people. The house probably held a lot more people than the roof did which makes this a very large place.
Judges 16:28 And Sampson wept before the Lord, and said, O Lord, my lord, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, O God, yet this once, and I will requite one recompense to the Philistines for my two eyes. 29 And Sampson took hold of the two pillars of the house on which the house stood, and leaned on them, and laid hold of one with his right hand, and the other with his left. 30 And Sampson said, Let my life perish with the Philistines: and he bowed himself mightily; and the house fell upon the princes, and upon all the people that were in it: and the dead whom Sampson slew in his death were more than those whom he slew in his life.
31 And his brethren and his father’s house went down, and they took him; and they went up and buried him between Saraa and Esthaol in the sepulchre of his father Manoe; and he judged Israel twenty years.
How were they mocking and sporting with Samson? We don’t know. Since it seems Samson was standing in one place it could be that they were all taking turns humbling him. Whatever they did, Samson cried out to the Lord. Samson killed more Philistines in his death than when he had super strength and long hair. Yahweh was able to work through Samson to subdue Israel’s enemy. Samson did not look like a conventional savior but he was part of the plan, as dirty, messy, and seemingly uncontrolled as he was.
Who stirred the people up against Samson? Indirectly it was the devil, more specifically it was demons, commanded by the satan. The Philistines were not used to being defeated, they were used to being the dominators. Now that they had Samson in a weakened position they goaded him. We should learn to expect this behavior from our earthly enemies as well as our spiritual enemies. We should keep in mind that the Philistines were descendants of the fallen angels. There has always been contention between the sons of Yahweh and the fallen spiritual beings. Even today there is an evident battle between good and evil. The people siding with good will have to rise up when the Lord calls them so that they can subdue evil.
There may be many Samson’s among us, who are ready to wage war, who may be living an unconventional life. They may look like a mess, but the Holy Spirit is coming upon them for the purpose of the Lord. These Samson’s of today have parents who were dedicated to the Lord and dedicated their children to the Lord. These parents of our modern Samson’s may become sad and bewildered as to their child’s choices. The religious people of our day probably make it worse by judging and pointing fingers at our Samson’s and their parents, claiming that these Samson’s are sinful and their parents did not raise them correctly. What we see in Samson’s story is very concerned parents raising a child in the best way possible, and then the Lord using that child in a most un-religous way. We must broaden our thinking regarding those we believe have left the ways of the Lord, and remember Samson and his parents. Sometimes people rise up among us and lead us unconventionally in the Lord’s way. Yet the hyper-religious condemn these Samson’s their entire life until the people reap the benefits of the Samson’s life work. We must remember who is infinite and who is finite, and we must remember that Yahweh will utilize a willing human to sport with the devil. This is the key. We do not want to go too far in the opposite direction as to believe that everything everyone does is the will of Yahweh. We do have to balance this idea as the Holy Spirit is the one doing the inspiring. The point for Samson is that when he broke his vow, the Holy Spirit left. Yahweh sports with the devil through what looks like tragedies, betrayals, and non-religious behaviors, for the benefit of His children.
