Exposition of the Whole Bible

N this chapter we have an account of Sam/on’s too great familiarity with two harlots; by the one he was brought into great danger, and narrowly efcaped, ¥. x3. and by the other he was betrayed into the. hands of the Pdilifines, having got the fecret out of him wherein his great ftrength lay, ¥..4—20. who having him in their hands, put. out his eyes, imprifoned him, and in their idol-temple made fport of him, ¥. 21—25. where ptaying for renewed ftrength from the Lord, he pulled dowh the temple, and deftroyed multitudes with the lois of his own life, ¥. 26—31.

my to the Philiftines; his name was well known for his great exploits, and rung throughout Paleine, and was a terror to the whole country: axa they compaffed him in; not that they furrounded the houfe where he was, which perhaps they might not certainly know, but they fecured all the avenues and gates of the city, made them faft, and placed guards there, that he might not efcape their hands: and laid wait for him all night in the gates particularly at that gate, where if he went out for his country, he muit pafs: and were quiet all the night; did not attempt to difturb Sam/on, or feize on him, if they knew where he was; knowing his’ great

¥. 1. Then went Samfon to Gaza, &c.] One of the five principalities of the Pdiliftines, which was 10 miles from A/eelon, as Sandys 4 {ays 5 who alfo defcribes ‘it, as ftanding upon an hill environed with vallies, and theie again well nigh with hills, moft of them planted with all forts of delicate fruits; and, according to Bunting‘, 42 miles from Ramath-lehi, the place where we laft hear of him, fee the notes on 4mos i. 6. and on Zeph. ii. 4. what he went hither for is not eafy to fay; it fhowed great boldnefs and courage, after he had made fuch a flaughter of the Philiftines, to venture himfelf in one of their ftrongeft cities, where he muft expect to be expofed to danger; though it is highly probably this was al long time after his laft rencounter with them: faw there.an harlot, and went in unto her, the Targum renders it an innkeeper, one that kept a victualling-houfe; {0 Kimchi, Ben Gerfom and Ben Melech interpret it; into whofe houfe he went for entertainment and lodging, and very probably in-the dufk of the evening;.and the woman that kept _this houfe might herfelf be an harlot, or Sam/on {aw one in her houfe, with whom he was captivated, and went in unto her, or had criminal! converfation with her; it feems as if he did not turn in thither with any. fuch wicked defign, but on fight of the perfon was infnared to commit Jeudnefs. with her; and, as Lyra fays, there were many hotteffes in fome places, and fo here, who too eafily proftituted themfelves to their guefts..

¥. 2. And it was told the Gazites, &c.] The inhabitants of Gaza, the principal ones of it, the " magiflrates of the,city, either by fome perfons that faw him come in, who knew him, or by the harlot into whofe company he fell, to whom he made himfelf known: /aying, Samfon is come hither; the _ man fo famous for his ftrength, and fuch an eneftrength, and what a tumult might be raifed in the city, they faid nothing of it to any body that paffed, what they were placed there for, left it fhould come to his ears; they made as if they were deaf inclofedjand dumb, as fome interpret it, and heard and knew nothing: faying, in the morning when it is day we foall kill him; when they fhould better know him, and make fure their blow at him, and do it fuddenly, unawares to him, as he came to the gate, to pafs through it.

¥. 3. And Sam/on lay till midnight, and arofe at midnight, &c.] Either not being able to lie any longer through the conviGtion of his confcience for his leudnefs, or being warned by a dream, or having an impulfe upon his fpirit, which fuggettandled to him that wait was laid for him, and the danger he was in; and coming to the gate of the city, which he found fhut and faft barred and bolted, and the watch perhaps afleep, not expecting ‘his coming until day-light: and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two pofts, and went away" with them, bar and all; did not ftand to break however open the doors of the gate, but took the two fidepofts up, on which the folding doors of the gate were hung, out of the ground in which they were faftened, with the bar which went acrofs the doors for the fecurity of them: and carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron; if this hill’ was near Hebron, as the words:thus’ read feem to intimate, he muft carry the gates 20 miles upon his fhoulders, for fo far was Hebron from Gaza; fo Fofepbus fays it was over Hebron; but according to Adrichomius', it was near Gaza, looking towards Hebron; and fo Sandys fays *, in the valley; on the eaft-fide of the city, are: many {trageling buildings, beyond which there is a hill more eminent than the reft, on the north-fide of the way that leads to. Babylon, faid to be that to which

Samfon carried the gates of the city. It is very probable, as fome tnink, that it was between Gaza and Hebron, in fight of both eities, which may be meant by the phrafe defore, or on. the face of; being fo high might be feen as far as Hebron, as well as at Gaza. This was an emblem of Chrift’s refurrection, of whom. Samfon was a. type, who being encompafied in a fepulchre, and. fealed ‘and watched by foldiers, broke through the bars of death and the grave, and carried off the doors in triumph; and in a fhort time afcended to heaven, whereby he declared himfelf to be the Son of God. with power. It was ufual for doors and bars of gates to be carried in triumph, and laid up in temples”; and the ews fay, thefe doors were not lefs than 60 cubits, and fuppofe Sam/on’s fhoulders to be as broad *. ‘ ' y. 4. And it came to pafs afterwards, that be loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, &c.] Which, according to Adrichomius’, was but half a mile from the brook jacol, from whence the fpies brought a bunch of grapes, as a fpecimen of the fruit of the land of Canaan; and this valley of Sorek feems to have been famous for the beft wine, and hither Sam/on retired for refrefhment and pleafure; but, according to Ferom, it was on the north of Eleutheropolis, where, he fays, was fhewn a vil lage in his time called Caphar-forech, near the village Zorah, from. whence Samfon was; and Bunting * makes it to. be 12 miles from Hebron, and 12 from Ferufalem,; where he met with a woman he loved; whether fhe was an J/rae/ite, or one of the daughters of the Philiflines, they now being the rulers of J/rae/, is not faid; moft likely the latter, as fay Ben Gerfom and Abarbinel, fince the lords of the Philifiines were fo intimate with her, and were entertained in her houfe, and fhe fhewed more refpeét to them than to Samfon. The Jews ‘ays, the became a profelyte, but if fhe did, there is very little evidence of her being a fincere one: fome have thought, that the courtfhip to her was alawful conjugal love; that falling in love with her, he courted and married her; but this is not very likely, fince no mention is made of his marriage to her, nor did he take her home, but dwelt in her houfe: it rather feems to be an impure and unlawful love he had to her, and that fhe was an harlot, as fofephus®; and all her conduct and. behaviour confirm the fame: whofe name was Delilah; the ews fay °, fhe was fo called, becaufe fhe weakened the heart and fpirit of Samfon, and weakened his ftrength, and weakened. his works; and therefore if this had not been her name, they fay it was one very proper for her., y¥. 5. And the lords of the Philiftines came up unto ber, &c.] Having heard that Samjon kept company with her, fhe being a noted. ftrumpet, like Lais among the Grecians. Thefe were in number five, as. appears from ch. iii, 3. and had under them five principalities, into which Paleftine was divided; and thefe, if not united in their government, which poffibly might be the cafe at this time, yet were united againft their common enemy Samfon; and being great perfonages, it is thought by fome they came not themfelves to this harlot’s houfe, but fent a deputation of five perfons in their names, though the text is very exprefs here and after: they are faid to come up to her, becaufe

W ——— facris in poftibus arma: & portarum ingentia clauftra.

their country lay on the fhore of the fea, and lower than Judea: and faid unto her, entice him, perfuade him with foothing and flattering words; take an opportunity when in an amorous mood to improve her intereft in his affections: and fee wherein bis great firength lieth, for it might not appear by the bignefs of his body, or from his natural conftitution, and in the common aétions of life, but only at certain times, and as it fhould feem when he pleafed; and he might have been heard to fay that it was a fecret he kept to himéelf, and no man knew it; or they might fufpect fomething of magic in the cafe, that he carried fomething about him, which if it could. be got from him, would deprive him of his ftrength: and by what means we may prevail againft him, that we may bind him to afi him; to humble him, bring him low, and reduce him to the common condition of men; they did not propofe to kill him, which they might think fhe would not agree to, and fo reject their propofal at once, but at moft to diftrefs him, and to chaftize him with mockings and {courgings, bonds and. imprifonment, for the mifchief he had indeed done them, and prevent him from doing more: and we will give thee, every one of us, 1100 pieces of filver; or fhekels; it may feem ftrange that they fhould promife each 1100: fome think their principalities offered each 1000 fhekels, and the princes themfelves 100; but Abarbinel fappoles, that this was on fome account or another, in thofe times an ufual fum or computation, fince the Jame is mentioned in the following chapter; though it may be obferved, that thefe five feveral fums put together, make a round number 5500 pieces of filver; which, taking them to be thekels, according to Wa/erus *, they amounted to 1375 rix-dollars, and of He/vetian money 3666 pounds, and a little more, and of our money near 700 pounds fterling; a confiderable bribe, and very tempting to a perfon of fuch a character, and which fhe readily embraced, as appears by what follows.

¥. 6. And Delilah faid to Samfon, &e.] Ata proper opportunity, when in his cups and carefiés, as Fofephus relates *, and introduced it in an artful manner, admiring his ftrange exploits, and won- ‘dering how he could perform them: sel) me, I pray thee, wherein thy great ftrength lieth; which fhe propofed feemingly out of mere curiofity, and as it would be a proof of his affection to her, to impart the fecret to her: and wherewith thon mightiot be bound to afflict thee; not that fhe fugge{ted to him that fhe was defirous to have him afflicted, or to try the experiment herfelf in order to afflict him, but to know by what means, if he was bound, it would be afflicting to him, fo that he could not relieve himfelf; fhe knew he might be bound, if le would admit of it, as he had been, but fhe wanted to know how he might be bound, fo as to be held, and could not loofe himfelf.

¥. 7. And Samfon faid unto ber, 8c.) In anfwer to her preffling folicitations: if they bind me with feven green withs, that were never dried; the word is fometimes ufed for nerves, and cords or ropes; but neither of thefe can be here meant, fince thefe, if moiftened or made wet, are the lefs fit to bind with, and the drier the better; but rods or branches of trees juft cut off, fuch as faggots are bound up with, or green ofiers, which are

Ch,/; 1 f i cae: g f | 7 Se jx. ¥8—14, FUDGE SF. 33% eafilyy bent and twifted, and may bind with; #ofog us * calls them vine-branches: then fhall I be ~ weak, and be as another man; which can’t well be excufed from a lye; for Sam/on knew full well, that being bound would not weaken his ftrength; but as he had fallen into one fin, it isno wonder he was drawn into another: unlefs this can be underftood, as it is by fome, as jefting with her; however, it fhews that he was compos mentis, as Jofepbus * obferves, and was upon his guard with re- {pect to the fecret of his ftrength.

did not attempt to bind him, fuppofing that he would not admit them to do it, if aware of them; and they might fear, if afleep, he might awake fore they could do it, and fall upon them and deftroy them; but as-for Delilab, if the had been found atit, fhe could have excufed it asa piece curiofity, being willing to try whether he told her in fuch a manner: now tell me, I pray thet, wherewith thou mighteft be bound, {fo as to be held.

Y. 11. And he faid untoher, 8c.) Abarbinel reprefents Samfon replying to her, that he had told her the truth at firft, only forgot one circumftance, that the cords, for fo he takes the word for withs to fignify, fhould be new, fuch as were never wied a8 follows: if they bind me faft with new ropes, #hat never were occupied; the word fignifies thick ropes, which according to Kimchi and Ben Melech were trebled, or made of three cords twifted toe gether, and thofe fuch as were juft made, and had never been put to any ufe, and fo ftrong and firm: then foall I be weak, and be as another man, {ee ¥- 7.

y. 8. Lhen the lords of the Philiftines brought up to her, &c.] To the chamber where fhe was with Samfon, the having acquainted them with what he had told her: feven green withs, which bad not been dried; jutt fuch as he had defcribed and directed to: and fhe bound him with them, taking an opportunity, very likely, when he was afleep, and drunk too, according to Fofephus*:

_ ¥. 12. Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him therewith, &c.] Tried this experiment with the Philiftines him, according to his directions, being very defi: rous of getting the fum of money offered her: and /aid unto him, the Philiftines be upon thee, Samjon; be-' ufing the fame words, and with the fame view as fhe had done before, y¥. 9. (and there were liers in wait abiding in the chamber); as before, ready upof on occafion to ruth in upon him, as foon as any her notice was given them: and be brake them from off truth or no. his arms like a thread; as eafily as a thread of linen y¥. 9. Now there were men lying in wait, 8&c.] Very likely fome of the fervants of the lords of the Philiftines, who were placed privately on that when an opportunity offered, they might rufh out, and fall upon Samjon, Jofepbus’ calls them foldiers: abiding with her in the chamber, ina private part of it, or otherwife they could not be faid to lie in wait 5 iv it may mean near it; perhaps it was inthe next apartment to hers, where they were fet: and fhe faid unto him, the Philiftines be upon thee, Samfon; are juft ready to fall upon and feize thee; this fhe faid to aroufe him, and try whether he could break the withs or no, before the called’in the men that lay in wait, and he had told her the truth or no: and he brake the withs as a thread of tow is broken, when it toucheth the fire 5 or fmells it *, as foon as it comes near it; a thread of tow or linen catches the fire fently, it being fo weak that it can’t ftand before the _ Jeaft force of it; fo eafily did the withs give way, and were broken, when Sam/fon did but juft himfelf, and move his arms: fo his ftrength was not known by Delilab, nor by the Philiftines, that is, whereit lay, foas that it might be weakened, for otherwife it was known by the eafy breaking of the Can be fnapped afunder.

¥.13. dad Delilah faid unto Samfon, &c.] At purpofe, another time, when fhe thought it moft proper to upbraid him with his deception of her: bitber'so thou haft mocked me, and told me lies; both the times that fhe had folicited him to impart the fecret of his {treneth to her: tell me wherewith thow mighte/t be bound; tell me the real truth, and de ceiveme no more: and be faid unto ber, if thou wea- \veft the feven locks of my head with the web; it feems thee, that Sam/fon’s hair was parted into feven locks, which no doubt hung down very long; and now he tells her, that if thefe were interwoven with whether the warp which was upon the beam in a loom hard by; perhapsin the fame room, where Delilah ufed to weave, as was the cuftom of thofe times, and in various nations *; his ftrength would be weakenpre-jed; for Braunius * is miftaken in fuppofing this to be the beam about which the web was rolled, as he is alfo in the pin next mentioned, which he takes ftir!to be the /patha, or lathe, with which the threads are knocked together.

) y. 14. dnd foe faftened it with the pin, &e.} Thatis, after fhe had interwoven the locks of his hair into the warp, fhe faftened the beam on which withs. it was with the pin, that ic might not roll back;

y. 10.. And Delilah faid untoSamfon, 8&c.] Not on the fame day, but fome time after, as Kimcbi obferves, when an opportunity offered, and he was in like circumftances as before; for had the immediately attacked him, it might have created fome fufpicion in him of a defign againft him: bebold, thou baft mocked me, and told me lies; deceived her with lies, by telling her the other day that if he was bound with green withs, he fhould become as weak as other men; which fhe, out of curiofity as fhe might pretend, hadtried, and had ‘found to be falfe; and which, the might add, was an argument of want of true love to her, tomock or elfe her machine or loom to the ground, that it might ftand more firmly; or the web into which the hair was woven, with the hair itfelf; which of them is right, it is difficult to fay: but if the addition of the Sepiwagint verfion can be admitted as genuine, which fupplies fome things which feem to be wanting, and which beft agrees with what follows, the whole will be plain and eafy, and which after the preceding verfe runs thus; ‘* and fafteneft sem with a pin to the wall, then fhall I be weak Jas another man; and it came to pafs when he flept, and Delilah took feven locks of his head, and wove zhem in the web, and faftened them with a pin to the wall,” and then it follows as here:, joined a Nazarite was, that he fhould not be thalged, ‘ Sana- and faid unto him, the Philiftines be upon thee, Samfon; as the had twice before: and be awaked out of bis fleep 3 in which he was during her weaving his locks into the web; and thismakes it probable, | that he was in the fame circumftances when fhe] Fo bound him both with withs and ropes, though is not exprefled: and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web; carried off not the pin of the beam only, but the beam itfelf, and the warp onit, and the whole web into which his hair was woven. The Septuagint verfion is, he took the pin of the web out of the wall;

y.15. And foe faid unto him, bow canft thou fay I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? &c. She took an opportunity, when he was carefling her, to upbraid him with diffembled love, and a falfe heart: thou baft mocked me thefe three times; the had urged him to tell her where his ftrength lay, and by what it might be weakened, firft tending it might be done by binding him with green withs, and then with new ropes, anda third time by weaving his locks into the web: and bafi not told me wherein thy great firength lieth; the thing fo frequently and fo importunately reand which had been teligioufly obferved in; /on; and whereas abftinence from wine and {trong drink, was another part of the law of Nazarite- Oip, or what fuch perfons were obliged unto, what ephus {ays concerning Sam/on being drunk in the it;above cafes, could not be true; fince his Nazeritehip would have been made void by it, and fo have affeéted his ftrength: but it muft be owned, that there were other things Nazarites were obliged to, which were difpenfed with, as has been obferved in the cafe of Sam/on, a perpetual Nazaandthe Vulgate) rite; and therefore it is probable, that the principal thing he was to regard, and upon which his ftrength was continued, was not fhaving his head: \if I be foaven then my ftrength will go from me, and 7 fhall become weak, and be like any other man; in which he fays more than he ever did before, namely, that his ftrength fhould go from him; for tho’ — that did not arife from his hair, yet the keeping on pre-jof that was the condition of his retaining it.

Latin, the pin with the hairs and web.

y. 18. And when Delilah faw that he had told ber all bis heart, &c.] Which the perceived by his countenance, and the ferious manner in which he expreffed himfelf; and Abarbinel conjectures that he might fwear to her, that what he faid was quetted. _ {truth; and who obferves from their Radbbins, as yx. 16. And it came to pafs, when fhe preffed daily with her words, and urged him, &c.] Lay at him day after day to communicate the fecret to him, gave him no reft, but was inceffant in her applications to him: fo that his foul was vexed unto death, could hardly bear to live, but wifhed to die, being in the utmoft perplexity what to do between two different paffions, love and fear; on the one hand chained by his luft to this harlot, that was continually teazing him, and whom he had not an heart to leave, or otherwife that would have cleared him of his difficulties; and on the other hand,| fhould he difclofe the fecret, he feared, and was in danger of lofing his ftrength, in which his glory lay: or bis foul was foortened unto death“; it was the means of fhortening his days, and haftening| his death. barbinel thinks that Sam/on was fenfible of this, that his days were fhort, and the time of his death at hand; which made him the more willing to impart the feeret. This may put in mind of the ftory of Milo, a man famous for his great ftrength, faid to carry an ox upon his fhoulders a furlong without breathing; of whom ic is reported, that none of his adverfaries could deliver themfelves out of his hands, but his whore could, often contending with him; hence it is obferved of him, that he was ftrong in body, but not ofa manly foul’; and there are many other things faid* of him concerning his great ftrength, which feem to be taken from this hiftory of Sam/on.

order of the angel that foretold his birth, and it had been carefully obferved to that time: have been @ Naxarite unto Ged from my motber’s womb, one condition of which, or what was enhim) does alfo Kimchi, that the concluded he had told her the truth, by his making mention of the name of God, faying’ he was a Nazarite unto God, whofe name fhe knew he would not take in vain: and with the account he gave agreed the long hair he wore: fhe fent and called for the lords of thesP bilifitnat, faying, come up this once; for it feemsas échey. were returned home, finding that fhe could do nothing with him, and was not able to get the fecret out of him; but now believing the had it, fends to them, and intreats them to come once more, being very defirous of having the money they had offered her: for be bath fhewed me all bis heart; there is a double reading of this claufe; the Keri or marginal reading, which our verfion follows, is, bath hewed me, as being the words of Delilah to the lords of the Pbilifines; but the Cetid or textual reading is, be hath fhewed er, as being the words of the meflengers to them: shen the lords of the Philiftines came up unto ber; thatis, from their own country; for it can hardly be underftood of their coming up into her room, or chamber; and efpecially fince it follows, and brought money in their and; 1100 fhekels of filver a piece, the fum they firft propofed to give her; and now being pretty well affured of fuccefs, brought it along with them to pay her for the fervice done. 3 y¥. 19. And fhe made him Sleepupon ber knees, &c.} Giving him, as fome think, a fleepy potion. Or however encouraged him to take a nap oct iee knees, and by her fondnefs lulled him to fleep: and /he called for a man; a barber; in former times to fhave was the work of a fervant f, and fometimes of a woman; fhe gave orders for one to be fent for; for Farchi calls him a meffenger of the lords of the Philistines: and She caufed him, to foave off the feven locks of bis head; this fhews that they were not * wove into one another, and made but one lock as which was thel fome interpret what fhe was before directed todo: and fhe began to offi? him; as his hair was thaving for Iloff; though he was afleep, yet he difcovered fome uneafinefs, the effects of it began to appear: tha’ the word degan here may be redundant, as in Numb,

¥.17. That be told ber all bis heart, &cc.] All that was. in his heart concerning this affair, all that he knew relating to it; he had told her fomething before, or at leaft what came nearer to the truth of the matter, when he directed her to the weaving of his locks into the web; but now he toldher all, which is as follows: and faid unto ber, there hath not come a rafor upon mine bead, his head had never been fhaved fince he was born;

xh 1. Fudg. xx. 40. and then the meaning is, hat fhe afflicted him, or again afflicted him; for fhe had affli€ted him, or at leaft attempted it three times before, and therefore did not begin now; this Hebraifm is ufed in Mar, iv. 1. and frequently in Yewifh writings®: and bis ftrength went from him, fenfibly and gradually; though fome underftand it of her fhaking him ina violent manner to awake him, and fhrieking and crying out terribly to affrighthim, with her.old cry of the Philiftines being on him, and of her binding him though not exprefied; whereby fhe perceived his ftrength was gone, and he could not loofe himéelf.

y¥.20. And fhe faid, the Philiftines be upon thee, Samfon, &c.] In like manner as fhe had before, that fhe might have full proof that the cafe was really fuch, that his ftrength was gone from him: and he awoke out of bis fleep; wpon the cry fhe made: and faid,; within himfelf, purpofing and determining in his own mind: J will go out as at other times before, as he had done at the three former times, and did not meet with any Philiflines to fall upon him, and fo concluded it would be the cafe now, and he, if he did, fhould be able to defend himfelf againft them: and shake myfelf, that he might be thoroughly awake, and be on his

Philiftines put out his eyes: and brought bin down to Gaza; which lay on the fea-coaft, and therefore they are faid to bring him down to it; here he had been before of his own will, now againft it; here in one inftance he had aéted to his own fhame, by going in to an harlot; and in another, to the fhame and difgrace of the city, and the inhabitants of it, by carrying off their city-gates; through whicli they now brought him in triumph, in order to repair the difhonour done them: ‘though perhaps the true reafon of carrying him thither was, that he might be at the greater diftance from the Jf raelites, fhould they think of refcuing him out of their hands; and efpecially becaufe it was a very ftrong fortified city, it had its name from ftrength; hence Mela ‘calls it Munita admodum Gaza, and fays, that when Camby/es made war in Egypt, he carried his wealth and money to this place: and bound him with fetters of brafs; the Targum calls them chains of brafs, and the word being of the dual number, it is probable there were two of them, with which he was bound for the greater fecurity: and he did grind in the prifon-houfe,; the motion of mills by water or wind was as yet not invented, but it was ufual, as it is ftill in the eaftern countries, to grind with hand-mills, at which one guard and defence: and he wift not that the Lord or more worked; or with mills moved around by qwas departed from him, might have forgot what he had told Delilah of, and knew not what had been done to him, that his hair was fhaved off;. or if he did, was not fenfible that the Lord had removed from him:; but might hope that he would beafts or flaves, and was a work prifoners were employed in, Exod. xi. 5. and xii. 29. fee If x)vii. 1,2. and Sam/on being a {trong man, they might expect much fervice from him this way. The Ta/- mudifts = underitand this in a criminal fenfe, as théy renew his ftrength, when he fhould ftand in need do Yod xxxi. 10. but this is juftly rejeGted' by Kimof it; but he foon found his miftake; he was|chi.

quickly taken by the Philifines, and illufed, and in a little time loft his life.

¥. 22. Howbeit the hair of bis head began to grow

And from hence it is |jagain after be was fhaven; thought fprung the ftory of Ni/us, king of the garenfes, who is fuppofed to reign about this ef whom it is reported", that the hair of his “head was of a purple colour, and was told by the oracle, that fo long as that was kept on he fhould be fafe, but if it was fhaved off he fhould die; and fo it was, that when the Cretians befieged him, his daughter falling in love with Minos, the king of the Cretians, cut off her father’s hair, and fo both he and his country were delivered into the hands of the enemy. genuine, of his own good will y. 21. But the Philiftines took him, &c.] Being affured by Delilab, that his ftrength was gone from him, of which perhaps fhe had made trial by binding him, and found he could not free himfelf from the bonds till fhe loofed them; or otherwife they It began to grow im- Me- mediately no doubt, as it naturally would do; but time; jit is, highly probable it grew in an extraordinary manner, and in a fhort time became, as when it was /baved", as it may be rendered, and upon which his ftrength was renewed; not that his ftrength najturally lay in his hair, and fo naturally increafed as that grew; but he being made fenfible of his fin, and repenting of it, renewed his Nazaritebip, of which letting his hair grow was a token; and it. pleafed God, who accepted of his repentance as and pleafure to renew his ftrength; particularly upon his prayer to him, after related.

_.23. Then the lords of the Philiftines gathered them together, &c.] The five lords with their friends; not directly upon Sam/fon’s being taken would have been afraid to have ventured to lay hold upon him: and put out dis eyes; that fhould his ftrength return to him, he might not be able to fee where, and whom to ftrike, and fo be uncapable of doing much milchief any more; the word fignifies, they dug or bored them' out; they plucked or cut out his eye-balls, fo that it was impoffible his fight fhould ever be recovered: accordinc to the Aradicverfion, they blinded him by putting fire to his eyes; the Yews obferve, that this was done in juft retaliation, meafure for meafure; Samfon, they fay *, went after his eyes; that is, by taking one harlot after another; therefore the in his Paradife Loft, 1. 8.

and committed to prifon, but fome time after; perhaps fome months: for to offer a great facrifice to Dagon their god in after times their god was called Marnas °, which fignifies the lord of mea, but now Dagon; who alfo had atemple at Afbdod, another of the five principalities of the Phili fines,

1 Sam. vy. 2. and feems to have been at this time their common and chief deity: according to Farchi in the place referred to, it was in the form of a fith, for Dag in Hebrew fignifies a fith; and Kimchi onthe fame place fays, that from its navel upwards it was in the form of a man, and from thence downwards in the form of a fifh®; and

Dagon his name, fea-monfter, upwards man,

Diedorus Siculus ¢ relates that Derceto, a goddefs of Afcalon, another of the five principalities of lefine, its face was human, and the other part of its body refembled.a fith;

that the Syrians worfhipped a fith, and Porphyry fays they will not eat any; and Gaza being a ma- -ritime city, a fea-port, this might be their fea-god in this form: but Ben Gerfom in the above place fays, it was in the form of a man; and Sanchoniatho' making mention of Dagan, a brother of Saturn, Philo Byblius, who tranflated his hiftoryinto Greek, interprets it by Siton, which fignifies deriving it from Dagan, which fo fignifies; as if this deity prefided over corn, as Ceres in other nations, and Jupiter Frumentarias, or Aratrius; tings; in which he was a type of Chriff. Towa Pa-jdiverfion to them to fee him in his rattling chains, _ groping and blundering along from»poft'to pillar, _ and the fame Lucian Jone perhaps giving him a box of the ear, ora flap of and Cicero ‘ teftifies, the face, another plucking him by his nofe or- *jbeard, and another {pitting in his face; and others taunting at him, and reproaching hint: and they fet im between the pillars, that he might be the better feen, and in which there was the direction of providence to bring about what follows: “——. ¥.26. And Samfon faid to the lad that held him dy he hand, &c.| And led him abouts; as' nothing corn,Jis more common now than for a blind man to be led by a boy: fuffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the boufe ftandeth; he might by information know in what manner the houfe-was built, fays of the Syrian goddefs;

that it was fupported by pillars, if he had never yea, he fays he invented corn and the plough; oe this be, the Philifine princes met together been in it before when he had ‘his fight; and be might underftand by fome means or another; that to facrifice to him, not a common offering, buta great facrifice. It is very probable, that this was a public feftival of the Philiftines, as Fofepbus* fays, he was near thefe pillars, and placed between them; though being blind did not- know which way to di- i rect his hands towards them to feel them, as he an anniverfary one; and perhaps was held ina more grand manner on the prefent occafion, fince it is. added, and to rejoice, for they faid, our God bath delivered Samfon our enemy into. our hands 3, for though Sam/on’s harlot had done it, and they, had paid her for it, yet they attribute it to their God, fuch was-their blindnefs and ftupidity; and yet this may fhame us believers in the true God, whoare fo backward to afcribe to him the great things he does for us, when fuch heathens were fo forward to. give glory to their falfe deities, without foundation for it. onthis occafion:

Afbkelon, more at Timnath, and 1000 with the jawpropofed to do, and therefore defired the lad that \ed him to guide his hands towards them: that I may lean upon them; being, as he might at leaft pretend to be, weary,as ‘Fa/ephus fays*; either by grinding at the mill, or thro’ being led to and fro in this houfe, that all might fee him, and caft their flouts and jeers at him. ‘;

¥. 27. Now the houfe was full of men end women, &c.] Within it, who were gathered together from anyjall parts of the city, and perhaps from other places, and all the lords of the Philipines were s¢here; their five lords, the lords of Gaza, 4/bdod, Afcalon, Gath, and Ekron: and there were apon the roof 3000 men and women; it being a flat roof, as the houfes in Canaan and Phenica, and the places adjacent were; fee Deut. xxii. 8. and there might be fome openings or windows in feveral parts of it, through which the people might: fee who were below them, and were within the houfe, and what was doing there, and particularly | could havea fight of Sam/fon through them as fol- 30 men atjlows: that beheld whilft Samfon made [port; or was made a fport of; whilft he was buffeted and ufed y¥.24. And when the people faw him, &c.] Inthe condition he was, blinded and, fettered, of whom and of his great exploits they had heard fo much: they praifed their god; as Belfhazzar did his, Daz.

v.4, in hymns and fongs compofed for them, the fubftance of which was as follows; for they faid, our God hath delivered into our hands our enemy, aud the deftroyer of our country; as he had been, by tying firebrands to the tails of 300 foxes, and letting them go into their corn-fields, vineyards, and olive-yards: which flew many of us;

bone of.an afs at Lebi. in a ludicrous manner.:

¥.25. And it came to pafs when their hearts were) werry, &c.] With wine, for which Gaza is famous in many writers”; with eating and drinking, daneing, and mufic; for it was ufual for the heathens to feaft in their temples, and efpecially no doubt _ they would on fuch an occafion as this: faid, call for Samfon, that be may make us fport, by which. it feems that what is before faid, when the people faw him, y. 24. is faid by anticipation; for as yet he was ‘not in the temple, but in the prifon; and therefore a motion was made by fome of the great perfonages, that he might be fetched from thence, and they might have fome diverfion with hinr: and they called for Samfon out of the prifonhoufe,; fent fome meffengers to fetch him from thence: and be made them fport, not actively, but paflively; it cannot well be thought, that a man io great a fpirit.as Sam/on was, and in fuch cireumftances as he now.was, would eyer either by. words or geftures do any thing on purpofe to divert his enemies, and make them laugh; but he was the abject of their {port and feorn, and he bore it patiently, their cruel mockings, buffetings, and fpit- y. 28. And Samfon called unto the Lord, &c.} In an ejaculatory, manner, by mental prayer; though he might poffibly exprefs it aloud, without bein heard and obferved by the people, amidft their noife and mirth; and if it was heard, it might and theyjonly furnifh out more ridicule and contempt; and be it as it may, the prayer muft have been pre- {erved by the Lord himfelf, and given by infpiration to the writer of this book; fince there were none that heard it that lived to relate it to others, no not Sam/on himfelf: and faid, O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee; the office that I bear as judge of J/rae/, the reproaches caft upon me, and which fall upon thy people, caufe, and intereft; remember thy loving-kindnefs, formerly exprefled to me, the gracious promifes made unto me, and of!the help and affiftance I have had from thee: aud frrengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God; and it was a prayer of faith, as appears by its be-. ing heard, accepted, and anfwered; and fhews that his ftrength did not come with his hair, but was owing to the immediate communication of it from the Lord: that I may be at once avenged of the

¥.29. And Samfon took bold of the two middle

~ pillars, upon which the houfe fiood, and om which it was borne up, &c.]. Some have objected, that a building fo large and fo capacious as this was, could not be fupported by two pillars, and thofe placed in the middle, and fo near to each other that Sam/on could lay hold on them; on which it has been obferved, that the architecture of the antients is little known to us, and they might have curious and ingenious arts of building now loft, and feveral authors have taken notice of two Roman theatres built by Curio, that held abundantly more people than this houfe did, which were fupported only by a fingle pin or hinge, as Pliny ¥ relates; and our Weftminfter hall,’ which was built by William. Rufus, and is 270 feetlong, and 74 broad’, and has.a roof the largeft in all Europe, is upport- ed without any pillars at all; add to all which, that mention being made of the two middle pillars of this houfe, fuppofes that there were others in other parts of it, though thefe were the main and principal ones, on which the weight of the building chiefly lay. nifies to incline or bend, as if Samfon made the pillars to bend or bow; but it is a better fenfe that he laid hold of them: of the one with bis right hand, and the other with bis left; and thus he ftood with his arms ftretched out, as e/us on the crofs, of whom he was atype, as often obferved. © ~: ¥. 30. And Samfoy faid, let me die with the Philiftines, &c.| He fought their death, and was content to lofe his own life to be avenged on them; ‘in’ neither of which did he act a criminal part as a judge of I/rael, and from a public fpirit he might defire the death of their enemies, and feek to effect it by all means poffible; and was the more juftifiable at this time, as they were not only infulting him, the reprefentative of his nation, but were affronting the moft high God with their idolatries, being now in the temple of their idol, sand facrificing fohim. As for his own death, he did not fimply defire that, only as he could not be avenged on his enemies without it, he was willing to fubmit to it; nor did\he lay hands on himfelf, and can’t be charged with being guilty of fuicide, and did no other than what a man of valour ahd public fpirit will do; who for the good of his country will not only expofe his life to danger in common, but for the fake of that will engage ina defperate enterprize, ‘when he knows moft certainly that he muft perifh in it. “Befides Sam/on faid this, and did what “he dicgpncer ‘the direétion and influence of ‘the Spirit of God and herein was a type of Chrift, who freely laid down his life for his people, that he might deftroy his and their enemies: and

Kimchi obferves, that the word fig-| he bowed bimfelf with all bis might; having freth ftrengthy and a large meafure of it given him at this inftant, which he had faith in, and therefore made the attempt, and for which he is reckoned among the heroes for faith in Hed. xi. 32. and the houfe fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein who were all killed, and Sam/on himfelf; anemblem this of the deftru@ion of Satan, and his principalities and powers by the death of Chrift: fo the dead which be flew at his death, were more than they which he flew in his life, for befides the lords,*and they that were in the houfe, there were 3000, men and women on the roof, which fell in and loft their lives alfo; fo that it is very likely there were at leaft 6 or 7000 fain s Philo Byblius {ays 40,000, which is not probable; whereas in his life we only read of 1000 flain by him with the jaw-bone, befides 30 men at A/calon, and the flaughter made when he fmote hip and thigh, the number of which is not known. As this houfe pulled down by Sam/on is generally: thought to be the templeof Dagon, a traveller* in thofe parts tellswus,* that there is now extant the temple of Dagon ‘in Gaza,*half demolifhed, and the*pillars of it are yet tobe {een but he doubtlefs miftakes an edifice of a later conftruction for it: and another traveller > of our own country fays, on’the north-eaft corner and fummit of the hill, (on which the city is built) are the ruins of huge arches funk low in the earth, and other foundations of a ftately-building;—the Jews, adds he; do fable this place to have been the theatre of Samfon pulled down on the heads of the Philiftines;

but he takes it to be the ruins of a later building; fee the noteon 1 Sam. v. 2.

¥. 31. Lhen his brethren, and all the houfe of bis

Father came down, &c.]. To Gaza, having heard of what had befallen him there. This muft be underftood ef his kindred and near relations, thofe of his father’s family; though it is not- unlikely that he had brethren’ in a'proper fenfe, fince tho’ his mother was barren before his birth, yet afterwards might have manyvchildren, as Hannah had, whofe cafe was fimilar to hers: and took bim and brought bim up; took his body out of the ruins of the houfe, and brought him up on a bier; or fome proper carriage, to, his own country; and perhaps in great funeralepomp, as a judge of J/rzel, nor need it be wondered at that the Philiftines fhould admit of it, it being ufual in all agés, and among all people, to allow even an enemy to bury their dead; befides Sam/on’s friends had done them no ~ injury, only Semjon himfelf, and the J/raelites in general were quiet and peaceable under their government;'add to this, they were now in diftrefs themfelves for their own dead, and might be in fome fear of the J/rae/ites falling upon them, and attempting to deliver themfelves out of their hands, — fince their five lords were dead, and ‘no doubt many more of their principal men with them; fo that they might judge this was not a proper time to refufe fuch a favour, left it fhould occafion a quarrel, which yey were not in a condition to engage in; and had Jrae/ taken this opportunity, in all likelihood they might have freed themfelves from them: and buried him between Zorah and Efbtaol, in the burying-place of Manoab his father; the-former of thefe feems to have been his native place,.. an