Judges 16:4 - Printer Friendly

ESV: After this he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.

NIV: Some time later, he fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah.

NASB: After this it came about that he was in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.

CSB: Some time later, he fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who lived in the Sorek Valley.

NLT: Some time later Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who lived in the valley of Sorek.

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

NKJV: Afterward it happened that he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.

This relatively short verse is packed with symbolism and foreshadowing.

Samson has returned to his home region after humiliating the Philistine town of Gaza by carrying away their city gates (Judges 16:1–3). The Valley of Sorek is west of Jerusalem. The name of this location is supposedly related to a specific type of grape. This is subtle foreshadowing: Samson was meant to live as a Nazirite (Judges 13:4–5). That vow required total abstinence from all grapes and grape products (Numbers 6:1–4). In this valley, he will finally encounter a temptation which neither his cleverness nor strength can overcome.

Samson has fallen for another woman in this territory, though the name of the specific town is not given. When Samson was involved with other women, Scripture noted only that he "saw" them (Judges 14:1; 16:1). This corresponds to his uncontrolled, lustful urges. Now, however, the Bible says Samson "loved" a woman. His connection to her is deeper than mere attraction. As the rest of this passage shows, he is vulnerable and honest with her. What would otherwise be a good sign, and a step of maturity, will be the last and most disastrous mistake of Samson's life.

The woman's name is recorded as "Delilah." She was likely yet another Philistine. How and why Samson came to love her is not stated. Nor are we told anything about her life prior to meeting Samson. Her name, however, can be interpreted in several ways. In some languages, Delilah would imply a worshipper of Ishtar, a pagan goddess. In Hebrew, the word dalal can mean "weak," making it a counter to Samson's strength. Some commentators suggest Delilah is an alias chosen by the writer of Judges. The Hebrew word laylah means "night," while Samson's name is related to the word shemesh, meaning "sun." Any or all of these imply her influence on Samson: leading him away from God, sapping his strength, and blinding him (Judges 16:21).

Delilah acts as a mirror image of women like Jael (Judges 4:17–18). Jael, loyal to Israel, tricked an infamous enemy leader into letting down his guard, then destroyed him (Judges 4:19–21). As did Jael, Delilah will use clever manipulation to outsmart and defeat someone who otherwise seemed invincible. Samson possessed supernatural strength from God (Judges 14:5–6, 19; 15:14–15; 16:3). Yet he never overcame the mundane, common weakness of many men: an appetite for women. This weak point is fully exploited by Delilah and her Philistine sponsors, leading to Samson's eventual capture and death.

Judges 16:4–22 finds Samson falling in love with Delilah. In exchange for an outrageous sum of money, she agrees to seduce him so she can pass along the secret of Samson's strength to his Philistine enemies. This begins a pattern Samson probably thought was a lover's game, where he repeatedly lies about his secret. Eventually, however, he tells her the truth: shaving his head will make him weak. She has his head shaved as he sleeps and then turns him over to the Philistines, who gouge his eyes out and make him into a slave.

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).