Judges 16:3

And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Samson	שִׁמְשׁוֹן֮ shim.shOn	H8123	Shimshon · proper noun, a man's name
lay	וַיִּשְׁכַּ֣ב vai.yish.Kav	H7901	to lie down (for rest · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
midnight	חֲצִ֣י cha.Tzi	H2677	the half or middle · noun, common masculine singular construct
arose	וַיָּ֣קָם vai.Ya.kom	H6965	to rise (in various applications · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
midnight	בַּחֲצִ֣י ba.cha.Tzi	H2677	the half or middle · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
took	וַיֶּאֱחֹ֞ז vai.ye.'e.Choz	H270	to seize (often with the accessory idea of holding in p… · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
doors	בְּדַלְת֤וֹת be.dal.Tot	H1817	something swinging · preposition + noun, common feminine plural construct
gate	שַֽׁעַר sha.'ar-	H8179	an opening · noun, common masculine singular construct
city	הָעִיר֙ ha.'Ir	H5892	a city (a place guarded by waking or a watch) in the wi… · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
two	וּבִשְׁתֵּ֣י u.vish.Tei	H8147	two · conjunction + preposition + noun, common feminine dual construct
posts	הַמְּזוּז֔וֹת ha.me.zu.Zot	H4201	a door-post (as prominent) · definite article + noun, common feminine plural absolute
away	וַיִּסָּעֵם֙ vai.yi.sa.'Em	H5265	properly · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
bar	הַבְּרִ֔יחַ ha.be.Ri.ach	H1280	a bolt · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
put	וַיָּ֖שֶׂם vai.Ya.sem	H7760	to put (used in a great variety of applications · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
shoulders	כְּתֵפָ֑יו ke.te.Fav	H3802	the shoulder (proper · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
up	וַֽיַּעֲלֵם֙ vai.ya.'a.Lem	H5927	to ascend · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
top	רֹ֣אשׁ rosh	H7218	the head (as most easily shaken) · noun, common masculine singular construct
hill	הָהָ֔ר ha.Har	H2022	a mountain or range of hills (sometimes used figurative… · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
before	פְּנֵ֥י pe.Nei	H6440	the face (as the part that turns) · noun, common masculine plural construct
Hebron	חֶבְרֽוֹן chev.Ron	H2275	Chebron · proper noun, a place name

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

Psalms 107:16 For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder.
Acts 2:24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
Isaiah 63:1-5 Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his…
Micah 2:13 The breaker is come up before them: they have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it: and their king shall pass…

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Judges 16:1-3

Here is, 1. Samson's sin, Jdg 16:1. His taking a Philistine to wife, in the beginning of his time, was in some degree excusable, but to join himself to a harlot that he accidentally saw among them was such a profanation of his honour as an Israelite, as a Nazarite, that we cannot but blush to read it. Tell it not in Gath. This vile impurity makes the graceful visage of this Nazarite blacker than a coal, Lam 4:7, Lam 4:8. We find not that Samson had any business in Gaza; if he went thither in quest of a harlot it would make one willing to hope that, as bad as things were otherwise, there were no prostitutes among the daughters of Israel. Some think he went thither to observe what posture the…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Judges 16:3

Samson . . . arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city--A ruinous pile of masonry is still pointed out as the site of the gate. It was probably a part of the town wall, and as this ruin is "toward Hebron," there is no improbability in the tradition. carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron--That hill is El-Montar; but by Hebron in this passage is meant "the mountains of Hebron"; for otherwise Samson, had he run night and day from the time of his flight from Gaza, could only have come on the evening of the following day within sight of the city of Hebron. The city of Gaza was, in those days, probably not less than three-quarters of an hour distant from…

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John Gill on Judges 16:3

And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight,.... Either not being able to lie any longer through the conviction of his conscience for his lewdness, or being warned by a dream, or having an impulse upon his spirit, which suggested 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 shut and fast barred and bolted, and the watch perhaps asleep, not expecting his coming until daylight: and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all; did not stand to break open the doors of the gate, but took the two side posts up, on which the folding doors of the gate were hung, out of the…

The Church Fathers

But Samson knowing their design, in the middle of the night forestalling the snare which had been laid for him, took the pillars of the house in his arms, and carried the whole structure and the weight of the roof on his back, up to a high hill above Hebron, a city inhabited by the Hebrews.
— Ambrose of Milan, Letter 19: To Vigilius

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Doors — Moved on pivots of wood fastened in sockets above and below (Prov. 26:14). They were fastened by a lock (Judg. 3:23, 25; Cant. 5:5) or by a bar (Judg. 16:3; Job 38:10). In the interior of Oriental…
Fenced cities — There were in Palestine (1) cities, (2) unwalled villages, and (3) villages with castles or towers (1 Chr. 27:25). Cities, so called, had walls, and were thus fenced. The fortifications consisted of…
Gate — (1.) Of cities, as of Jerusalem (Jer. 37:13; Neh. 1:3; 2:3; 3:3), of Sodom (Gen. 19:1), of Gaza (Judg. 16:3). (2.) Of royal palaces (Neh. 2:8). (3.) Of the temple of Solomon (1 Kings 6:34, 35; 2…
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…
Friends · . — .
Miracles Wrought Through Servants Of God · Gideon: The gates of Gaza carried away — Gideon: The gates of Gaza carried away
Samson · Philistines to overcome him — Philistines to overcome him

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Judges 16:3

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Judges 16:1-3

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Judges 16:3

John Gill on Judges 16:3

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Judges 16:3

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Judges 16:1-3

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Judges 16:3

John Gill on Judges 16:3

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Judges 16:1-3

Rashi on Judges 16:3