Judges 16:9

Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withs, as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
wait	וְהָאֹרֵ֗ב ve.ha.'o.Rev	H693	to lurk · conjunction + definite article + verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
abiding	יֹשֵׁ֥ב yo.Shev	H3427	properly · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
chamber	בַּחֶ֔דֶר ba.Che.der	H2315	an apartment (usually literal) · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
said	וַתֹּ֣אמֶר va.To.mer	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular
Philistines	פְּלִשְׁתִּ֥ים pe.lish.Tim	H6430	a Pelishtite or inhabitant of Pelesheth · noun, gentilic masculine plural absolute
Samson	שִׁמְשׁ֑וֹן shim.Shon	H8123	Shimshon · proper noun, a man's name
brake	וַיְנַתֵּק֙ vay.na.Tek	H5423	to tear off · conjunction + verb, piel sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
withs	הַיְתָרִ֔ים hay.ta.Rim	H3499	properly · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
thread	פְּתִֽיל pe.til-	H6616	twine · noun, common masculine singular construct
tow	הַנְּעֹ֙רֶת֙ ha.ne.'O.ret	H5296	something shaken out · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
broken	יִנָּתֵ֤ק yi.na.Tek	H5423	to tear off · verb, niphal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
toucheth	בַּהֲרִיח֣וֹ ba.ha.ri.Cho	H7306	properly · preposition + verb, hiphil infinitive construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
fire	אֵ֔שׁ 'Esh	H784	fire (literally or figuratively) · noun, common both genders singular absolute
strength	כֹּחֽוֹ ko.Cho	H3581	vigor · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
known	נוֹדַ֖ע no.Da'	H3045	to know (properly · verb, niphal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular

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 58:9 Before your pots can feel the thorns, he shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living, and in his wrath.

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 16:9

there were men lying in wait, abiding . . . in the chamber--The Hebrew, literally rendered, is, "in the inner," or "most secret part of the house."

John Gill on Judges 16:9

Now there were men lying in wait,.... Very likely some of the servants of the lords of the Philistines, who were placed privately on purpose, that when an opportunity offered, they might rush out, and fall upon Samson; Josephus (y) calls them soldiers: abiding with her in the chamber; in a private part of it, or otherwise they could not be said to lie in wait; in it may mean near it; perhaps it was in the next apartment to hers, where they were set: and she said unto him, the Philistines be upon thee, Samson; are just ready to fall upon thee, and seize thee; this she said to arouse him, and try whether he could break the withs or not, before she called in the men that lay in wait, and whet…

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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.)
Tow — (Judg. 16:9). See FLAX.
Conspiracy · . — .
Deception · . — .
Delilah · Sam — Sam
Friends · . — .
Samson · Philistines to overcome him — Philistines to overcome him
Tow · (A piece of string) — (A piece of string)

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).

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Judges 16:4-17

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Judges 16:9

John Gill on Judges 16:9

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 16:9

John Gill on Judges 16:9

Keil & Delitzsch on Judges 16:4-21

Dictionary and topics

Rashi on Judges 16:9