Judges 16:17

That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother’s womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
told	וַיַּגֶּד vai.ya.ged-	H5046	properly · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
heart	לִבּ֗וֹ li.Bo	H3820	the heart · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
said	וַיֹּ֤אמֶר vai.Yo.mer	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
come	עָלָ֣ה 'a.Lah	H5927	to ascend · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
razor	מוֹרָה֙ mo.Rah	H4177	a razor · noun, common feminine singular absolute
head	רֹאשִׁ֔י ro.Shi	H7218	the head (as most easily shaken) · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
Nazarite	נְזִ֧יר ne.Zir	H5139	separate · noun, gentilic masculine singular construct
God	אֱלֹהִ֛ים 'E.lo.Him	H430	gods in the ordinary sense · noun, common masculine plural absolute
mother’s	אִמִּ֑י 'i.Mi	H517	a mother (as the bond of the family) · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix
womb	מִבֶּ֣טֶן mi.Be.ten	H990	the belly · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct
shaven	גֻּלַּ֙חְתִּי֙ gu.Lach.ti	H1548	properly · verb, pual perfect, 1st person common singular
strength	כֹחִ֔י kho.Chi	H3581	vigor · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
go	וְסָ֣ר ve.Sar	H5493	to turn off (literal or figurative) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
weak	וְחָלִ֥יתִי ve.cha.Li.ti	H2470	properly · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 1st person common singular
man	הָאָדָֽם ha.'a.Dam	H120	ruddy i.e. a human being (an individual or the species · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Micah 7:5 Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.
Judges 13:5 For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb:…
Proverbs 12:23 A prudent man concealeth knowledge: but the heart of fools proclaimeth foolishness.
Numbers 6:5 All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth h…
Acts 18:18 And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Pris…
Numbers 6:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to sepa…
Proverbs 29:12 If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Judges 16:4-17

The burnt child dreads the fire; yet Samson, that has more than the strength of a man, in this comes short of the wisdom of a child; for, though he had been more than once brought into the highest degree of mischief and danger by the love of women and lusting after them, yet he would not take warning, but is here again taken in the same snare, and this third time pays for all. Solomon seems to refer especially to this story of Samson when, in his caution against uncleanness, he gives this account of a whorish woman (Pro 7:26), that she hath cast down many wounded, yea, many strong men have been slain by her; and (Pro 6:26) that the adulteress will hunt for the precious life. This bad woman,…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Judges 16:17

if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me--His herculean powers did not arise from his hair, but from his peculiar relation to God as a Nazarite. His unshorn locks were a sign of his Nazaritism, and a pledge on the part of God that his supernatural strength would be continued.

John Gill on Judges 16:17

That he told her all his heart,.... All that was in his heart concerning this affair, all that he knew relating to it; he had told her something before, or at least 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 told her all, which is as follows: and said unto her, there hath not come a razor upon mine head; his head had never been shaved since he was born; which was the order of the angel that foretold his birth, and it had been carefully observed to that time: for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb; one condition of which, or what was enjoined a Nazarite, was, that he should not be shaved, and whic…

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Keil & Delitzsch on Judges 16:4-21

Samson and Delilah. - Jdg 16:4. After this successful act, Samson gave himself up once more to his sensual lusts. He fell in love with a woman in the valley of Sorek, named Delilah (i.e., the weak or pining one), to whose snares he eventually succumbed. With reference to the valley of Sorek, Eusebius affirms in the Onom. (s. v. Σωρήχ), that there was a village called Βαρήχ (l. Καφὰρ σωρήχ according to Jerome) near Zorea, and ἐν ὁρίοις (l. βορείοις according to Jerome, who has ad septentrionalem plagam); and also (s. v. Σωρήκ) that this place was near to Eshtaol. Consequently the Sorek valley would have to be sought for somewhere in the neighbourhood of Samson's birthplace (Jdg 13:1)…

Dictionary and topics

Delilah — Languishing, a Philistine woman who dwelt in the valley of Sorek (Judg. 16:4-20). She was bribed by the “lords of the Philistines” to obtain from Samson the secret of his strength and the means of…
Delilah, Or Delilah — (languishing) a woman who dwelt in the valley Of Sorek, beloved by Samson. (Judges 16:4-18) There seems to be little doubt that she was a Philistine courtesan. [SAMS0N] (B.C. 1141.)
Samson — Of the sun, the son of Manoah, born at Zorah. The narrative of his life is given in Judg. 13-16. He was a “Nazarite unto God” from his birth, the first Nazarite mentioned in Scripture (Judg. 13:3-5;…
Abstinence, Total · .Sam — .Sam
Beard · Sam — Sam
Conspiracy · . — .
Deception · . — .
Delilah · Sam — Sam
Friends · . — .
Hair, The · Of Nazarites: Not to be cut or shorn during their vow — Of Nazarites: Not to be cut or shorn during their vow
Nazarite · INSTANCES OF .Sam — INSTANCES OF .Sam
Nazarites · Prohibited from: Cutting or shaving the head — Prohibited from: Cutting or shaving the head
Samson · Philistines to overcome him — Philistines to overcome him

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Judges 16:4-17

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Judges 16:17

John Gill on Judges 16:17

Keil & Delitzsch on Judges 16:4-21

Dictionary and topics

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Judges 16:4-17

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Judges 16:17

John Gill on Judges 16:17

Keil & Delitzsch on Judges 16:4-21

Dictionary and topics

Rashi on Judges 16:16