Judges 16:21

But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Philistines	פְלִשְׁתִּ֔ים fe.lish.Tim	H6430	a Pelishtite or inhabitant of Pelesheth · noun, gentilic masculine plural absolute
took	וַיֹּאחֲז֣וּהוּ vai.yo.cha.Zu.hu	H270	to seize (often with the accessory idea of holding in p… · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
out	וַֽיְנַקְּר֖וּ vay.na.ke.Ru	H5365	to bore (penetrate · conjunction + verb, piel sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
eyes	עֵינָ֑יו 'ei.Nav	H5869	an eye (literally or figuratively) · noun, common feminine dual construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
down	וַיּוֹרִ֨ידוּ vai.yo.Ri.du	H3381	to descend (literally · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
Gaza	עַזָּ֗תָה 'a.Za.tah	H5804	Azzah · proper noun, a place name + directional suffix
bound	וַיַּאַסְר֙וּהוּ֙ vai.ya.'as.Ru.hu	H631	to yoke or hitch · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
brass	בַּֽנְחֻשְׁתַּ֔יִם ban.chush.Ta.yim	H5178	copper · preposition with the article + noun, common feminine dual absolute
grind	טוֹחֵ֖ן to.Chen	H2912	to grind meal · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
prison	הָאֲסוּרִֽים ha.'a.si.rim	H631	to yoke or hitch · definite article + verb, qal passive participle, masculine plural absolute
house	בְּבֵ֥ית be.Veit	H1004	a house (in the greatest variation of applications · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct

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

Proverbs 2:19 None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.
Proverbs 14:14 The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself.
Exodus 11:5 And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of…
Isaiah 47:2 Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers.
Matthew 24:41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
2 Kings 25:7 And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him t…
2 Chronicles 33:11 Wherefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him wi…
Psalms 107:10-12 Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron;

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Judges 16:18-21

We have here the fatal consequences of Samson's folly in betraying his own strength; he soon paid dearly for it. A whore is a deep ditch; he that is abhorred of the Lord shall fall therein. In that pit Samson sinks. Observe, 1. What care Delilah took to make sure of the money for herself. She now perceived, by the manner of his speaking, that he had told her all his heart, and the lords of the Philistines that hired her to do this base thing are sent for; but they must be sure to bring the money in their hands, Jdg 16:18. The wages of unrighteousness are accordingly produced, unknown to Samson. It would have grieved one's heart to have seen one of the bravest men then in the world sold and b…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Judges 16:21

THE PHILISTINES TOOK HIM AND PUT OUT HIS EYES. (Jdg 16:21-22) the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes--To this cruel privation prisoners of rank and consequence have commonly been subjected in the East. The punishment is inflicted in various ways, by scooping out the eyeballs, by piercing the eye, or destroying the sight by holding a red-hot iron before the eyes. His security was made doubly sure by his being bound with fetters of brass (copper), not of leather, like other captives. he did grind in the prison-house--This grinding with hand-millstones being the employment of menials, he was set to it as the deepest degradation.

John Gill on Judges 16:21

But the Philistines took him,.... Being assured by Delilah that his strength was gone from him, of which perhaps she had made trial by binding him, and found he could not free himself from the bonds till she loosed them; or otherwise they would have been afraid to have ventured to lay hold upon him: and put out his eyes; that should his strength return to him, be might not be able to see where and whom to strike, and so be incapable of doing much mischief any more; the word signifies, they "dug" or "bored them" (i) out; they plucked or cut out his eye balls, so that it was impossible his sight should ever be recovered; according to the Arabic version, they blinded him by putting fire to his…

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Dictionary and topics

Brass — Which is an alloy of copper and zinc, was not known till the thirteenth century. What is designated by this word in Scripture is properly copper (Deut. 8:9). It was used for fetters (Judg. 16:21; 2…
Chain — (1.) A part of the insignia of office. A chain of gold was placed about Joseph’s neck (Gen. 41:42); and one was promised to Daniel (5:7). It is used as a symbol of sovereignty (Ezek. 16:11). The…
Dagon — Little fish; diminutive from dag = a fish, the fish-god; the national god of the Philistines (Judg. 16:23). This idol had the body of a fish with the head and hands of a man. It was an…
Eye — (Heb. ‘ain, meaning “flowing”), applied (1) to a fountain, frequently; (2) to colour (Num. 11:7; R.V., “appearance,” marg. “eye”); (3) the face (Ex. 10:5, 15; Num. 22:5, 11), in Num. 14:14, “face to…
Gaza — Called also Azzah, which is its Hebrew name (Deut. 2:23; 1 Kings 4:24; Jer. 25:20), strong, a city on the Mediterranean shore, remarkable for its early importance as the chief centre of a great…
Grind — (Ex. 32:20; Deut. 9:21; Judg. 16:21), to crush small (Heb. tahan); to oppress the poor (Isa. 3:5). The hand-mill was early used by the Hebrews (Num. 11:8). It consisted of two stones, the upper…
Prison — The first occasion on which we read of a prison is in the history of Joseph in Egypt. Then Potiphar, “Joseph’s master, took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were…
Brass · .Fetters — .Fetters
Brass, Or Copper · Made into: Fetters — Made into: Fetters
Captive · .Blin — .Blin
Conspiracy · . — .
Eye, The

Judges 16:21

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Judges 16:18-21

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Judges 16:21

John Gill on Judges 16:21

Dictionary and topics

Judges 16:21

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Judges 16:18-21

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Judges 16:21

John Gill on Judges 16:21

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Judges 16:4-21

Rashi on Judges 16:21