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Bible Text  -  Delilah 

 

 

 











Extra Websites

Delilah as one of the Bible's Top Ten Bad Women
Bible Bad Women: Delilah

She done him wrong: Samson's side of the story
Bible People: Samson

Wealth, and the freedom it gave - this is what Delilah wanted
Bible Archaeology: Jewelry

Samson as one of the ancient world's great fighters
Bible Top Ten Warriors: Samson

Samson as a great Bible hero - though I don't see it myself
Bible Top Ten Heroes: Samson

In depth coverage of Delilah's story: the historical context, and some controversial theories
Bible Women: Delilah



 

 

 

Gold bracelet, ancient piece of jewelry in the form of a double snake

                  Delilah

     A Story of Love and Deceit

                            Judges 16:4-21

 


 

Delilah and Samson's Secret

Judges 16:4-6

Samson and Delilah, Gerrit van Honthorst

Samson and Delilah, 
Gerrit van Honthorst

4 After this he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Deli'lah. 5 And the lords of the Philistines came to her and said to her, "Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to subdue him; and we will each give you eleven hundred pieces of silver." 6 And Deli'lah said to Samson, "Please tell me wherein your great strength lies, and how you might be bound, that one could subdue you." 

Samson's First Lie

Judges 16:7-9

7 And Samson said to her, "If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings which have not been dried, then I shall become weak, and be like any other man." 8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings which had not been dried, and she bound him with them. 9 Now she had men lying in wait in an inner chamber. And she said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" But he snapped the bowstrings, as a string of tow snaps when it touches the fire. So the secret of his strength was not known. 

Coiled ropeSamson's Second Lie

Judges 16:10-12

10 And Deli'lah said to Samson, "Behold, you have mocked me, and told me lies; please tell me how you might be bound." 11 And he said to her, "If they bind me with new ropes that have not been used, then I shall become weak, and be like any other man." 12 So Deli'lah took new ropes and bound him with them, and said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" And the men lying in wait were in an inner chamber. But he snapped the ropes off his arms like a thread. 

Samson's Third Lie

Judges 16:13-14

Assyrian Wall Relief showing men's hairstyle

Assyrian Wall Relief showing men's hairstyle

13 And Deli'lah said to Samson, "Until now you have mocked me, and told me lies; tell me how you might be bound." And he said to her, "If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web and make it tight with the pin, then I shall become weak, and be like any other man." 14 So while he slept, Deli'lah took the seven locks of his head and wove them into the web. And she made them tight with the pin, and said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" But he awoke from his sleep, and pulled away the pin, the loom, and the web. 

Finally, The Truth

Judges 16:15-17

15 And she said to him, "How can you say, 'I love you,' when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and you have not told me wherein your great strength lies." 16 And when she pressed him hard with her words day after day, and urged him, his soul was vexed to death. 17 And he told her all his mind, and said to her, "A razor has never come upon my head; for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother's womb. If I be shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man." 

Delilah Betrays Samson

Samson Blinded, Louis Corinth, 1912

Samson Blinded, Louis Corinth, 1912

Judges 16:18-21

18 When Deli'lah saw that he had told her all his mind, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, "Come up this once, for he has told me all his mind." Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her, and brought the money in their hands. 19 She made him sleep upon her knees; and she called a man, and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him. 20 And she said, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" And he awoke from his sleep, and said, "I will go out as at other times, and shake myself free." And he did not know that the LORD had left him. 21 And the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with bronze fetters; and he ground at the mill in the prison.

 

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