Judges 16:1 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Samson went to Gaza, and there he saw a prostitute, and he went in to her.

NIV: One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute. He went in to spend the night with her.

NASB: Now Samson went to Gaza and saw a prostitute there, and had relations with her.

CSB: Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute and went to bed with her.

NLT: One day Samson went to the Philistine town of Gaza and spent the night with a prostitute.

KJV: Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot, and went in unto her.

NKJV: Now Samson went to Gaza and saw a harlot there, and went in to her.

Samson was said to have judged (Judges 2:16–19) for twenty years. The "judges" of this book were not lawyers, nor simply leaders, or military commanders. Rather, they were some combination of all three, each with their own unique purpose. The term "judges" comes from the Hebrew sōpetim', from the root shaphat. This includes rescue, support, and even vengeance. Samson's story has already included a great deal of revenge (Judges 15:7, 11). His God-given purpose has been to shake Israel out of complacent subjugation under the Philistines (Judges 13:5; 14:4). We're not given details about what Samson was doing between the events explicitly recorded in the previous two chapters.

Scripture doesn't say how long passed between Samson's slaughter of a Philistine army (Judges 15:14–17) and this moment in Gaza. Nor does it specify when his twenty-year term officially began. What's recorded here, however, is part of the end of his story.

It's unknown why Samson went to Gaza. This was the southernmost Philistine stronghold of the five major Philistine cities (Joshua 13:3), and far from Samson's hometown of Zorah. He was well-known as an enemy of the Philistines. Easy identification such as photographs did not yet exist. Yet only one person who knew him would be enough to sound an alarm. Arriving at Gaza is risky enough. Choosing to stop overnight seems extremely unwise, even without considering who he stays with. Perhaps he planned to pass through quietly and couldn't contain his urges. It would not be his first (Judges 14:1–3) or last (Judges 16:4–5) stumble on account of a woman.

While in Gaza, Samson notices a prostitute, whom he hires for the night. Samson's lifestyle routinely proves he is not interested in walking closely with the Lord. God, however, can and will use Samson for His own ends (Judges 14:4). What happens next provides a vivid warning to the Philistines about their dominance over Israel.

Judges 16:1–3 provides another example of Samson's persistent immorality. This happens some unspecified time after he'd insisted on marrying a Philistine woman in defiance of his parents and common sense (Judges 14:1–4). That led to an escalating cycle of vengeance and a literal pile of Philistine corpses (Judges 15:14–17). When Samson solicits a prostitute, his enemies see it an opportunity for an ambush. Instead, he rips the city gates out of the ground with his bare hands and escapes.

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).