Judges 16:31 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then his brothers and all his family came down and took him and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had judged Israel twenty years.

NIV: Then his brothers and his father’s whole family went down to get him. They brought him back and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had led Israel twenty years.

NASB: Then his brothers and all his father’s household came down and took him, and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah. So he had judged Israel for twenty years.

CSB: Then his brothers and all his father’s family came down, carried him back, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah. So he judged Israel twenty years.

NLT: Later his brothers and other relatives went down to get his body. They took him back home and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol, where his father, Manoah, was buried. Samson had judged Israel for twenty years.

KJV: 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.

NKJV: And his brothers and all his father’s household came down and took him, and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah. He had judged Israel twenty years.

Samson is dead. Powerful Philistine leaders and influencers lay crushed along with him in the rubble of a collapsed temple (Judges 16:24–30). Israel is still under Philistine control, but the Lord has accomplished His exact purposes through Samson's life. He has used Samson to begin to save Israel from the Philistines (Judges 13:5). The Philistines had grown lazy and comfortable in their rule over Israel (Judges 13:1). Samson's chaotic life shattered that sense of security, and his death was a catastrophe which wiped out innumerable Philistine leaders. This will set the stage for later heroes, such as Samuel, to complete Israel's liberation from their oppressors (1 Samuel 7:11–14).

For the first time in many years, Samson's family makes an appearance. The text reminds us that Samson's formerly barren mother had more sons after him (Judges 13:2–4). Those sons, Samson's brothers, come to Gaza to collect his body. Perhaps they were given permission from the Philistines. Or, more likely, Samson's act of self-sacrifice has scrambled the Philistine power structure; in the immediate aftermath, there's no one with enough authority to stop them.

The family brings Samson's body back to the place where he grew up. They bury him between Zorah and Eshtaol (Joshua 15:33; 19:40–41), perhaps near the place where the Spirit of the Lord first began to stir in him (Judges 13:25). He is buried in the family tomb alongside his father Manoah.

Samson was unique among the judges of Israel (Judges 2:16–19). Yet, like all the others, he was God's chosen instrument, and the designated rescuer of his people during this twenty year stretch of Israel's history.

Judges 16:23–31 begins with a great Philistine celebration in Gaza. This honors the false god, Dagon, for the capture of Samson. Samson, blind and humiliated, is put on display in the crowded temple for the entertainment of thousands of men and women, including the Philistine lords. He asks to lean against the pillars that support the building and prays to the Lord for one more burst of strength to avenge his eyes. With God's strength, he knocks the pillars down, killing thousands of Philistines and himself. He is buried near his hometown of Zorah.

After escaping an ambush in the Philistine city of Gaza, Samson rips the city gates out and walks away with them. When he falls deeply in love with Delilah, Philistine nobles pay her a fortune to seduce Samson into revealing the secret of his strength. She eventually succeeds, shaving his head while he sleeps. The Philistines gouge out Samson's eyes and put him in prison in Gaza. He is put on display at a celebration for the Philistine idol Dagon. God grants a last moment of supernatural power in response to Samson prayer. Samson collapses the support beams of the temple, crushing himself along with thousands of Philistine leaders.

Samson's story began in chapter 14 and will end here. His time as a judge lasted twenty years (Judges 15:20), but Scripture records only a few major incidents from his life. No specific times are assigned to these events. Samson humiliates Gaza by ripping out the city gates with his bare hands. He then falls for Delilah, who finds out the secret of his strength and betrays him. The Philistines blind Samson and enslave him in a prison near Gaza. They then parade him around during a noblemen's celebration in the temple of Dagon. With power from the Lord, granted as a last request, Samson collapses the temple's support pillars. This kills everyone inside, including himself. This begins the process of Israel's liberation (Judges 13:5), which later men such as Samuel will complete (1 Samuel 7:11–14).

The Book of Judges describes Israel's history from the death of Joshua to shortly before Israel's first king, Saul. Israel fails to complete God's command to purge the wicked Canaanites from the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4). This results in a centuries-long cycle where Israel falls into sin and is oppressed by local enemies. After each oppression, God sends a civil-military leader, labeled using a Hebrew word loosely translated into English as "judge." These appointed rescuers would free Israel from enemy control and govern for a certain time. After each judge's death, the cycle of sin and oppression begins again. This continues until the people of Israel choose a king, during the ministry of the prophet-and-judge Samuel (1 Samuel 1—7).