From Nave’s Topical Bible
Samson
Every passage the 1896 Nave’s Topical Biblegathers under this heading, in Nave’s own arrangement and then in Bible order. MannaFest has not written this page — it is the older index, transcribed, with the Word travelling beside each reference.
- 18Passages listed
- 2Books of the 66
- 1896Nave's edition
How Nave’s arranged it
- A judge (leader, hero) of IsraelJudges 16:31
- A Danite, son of Manoah; miraculous birth of; a Nazarite from his mother' s womb; the mother forbidden to drink wine or strong drink, or to eat any ceremonially unclean thing during gestationJudges 13:2–7Judges 13:24Judges 13:25
- Desires a Philistine woman for his wife; kills a lionJudges 14:1–7
- His marriage feast and the riddle propoundedJudges 14:8–19
- Kills thirty PhilistinesJudges 14:19
- Wife of, estrangedJudges 14:20Judges 15:1Judges 15:2
- Is avenged for the estrangement of his wifeJudges 15:3–8
- His great strengthJudges 15:7–14Hebrews 11:32
- Kills one-thousand Philistines with the jawbone of a donkeyJudges 15:13–17
- Miraculously supplied with waterJudges 15:18Judges 15:19
- Cohabits with Delilah, a prostitute; her machinations with the Philistines to overcome himJudges 16:1–20
- Is blinded by the Philistines and confined to hard labor in prison; pulls down the pillars of the temple, meets his death, and kills a multitude of his enemiesJudges 16:21–31Hebrews 11:32
The passages, in Bible order (18)
The same references, sorted Genesis to Revelation. The first 16 are quoted in full; the rest are one click beneath them, book by book.
- Judges 13:2–7
Now there was a man from Zorah named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, whose wife was barren and had no children.
Commentary on Judges 13:2–72 voices
Dan signifies a judge or judgment, Gen. xxx. And probably it was with an eye to Samson that dying Jacob foretold, Dan shall judge his people, that is, "he shall produce a judge for his people, though one of the sons of the handmaids, as one, as well as any one, of the tribes of Israel," Gen. xlix.
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible, 1710Puritan
Zorah - See the marginal reference. His wife was barren - To mark more distinctly the high providential destiny of the child that was eventually born. Compare the similar circumstances of the birth of Isaac, Jacob, Samuel, and John the Baptist.
Albert Barnes· Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)Evangelical
- Judges 13:24
So the woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson. The boy grew, and the LORD blessed him.
Commentary on Judges 13:242 voices
And the woman bare a son, and called name Samson,.... After these appearances were over, Manoah and his wife returned to their habitation, and she soon became pregnant, and at the usual course of time brought forth a son, and she gave him the name of Samson; for what reason it is not easy to determine.
John Gill· Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)Reformed
And called his name Samson - The original שמשון shimshon, which is from the root שמש shamash, to serve, (whence shemesh, the sun), probably means either a little sun, or a little servant; and this latter is so likely a name to be imposed on an only son, by maternal fondness, that it leaves but little doubt of the propriety of the etymology. And the Lord blessed him - Gave evident proofs that the child was under the peculiar protection of the Most High; causing him to increase daily in stature and extraordinary strength.
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the BibleEvangelical
- Judges 13:25
And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him at Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
Commentary on Judges 13:252 voices
And why should i speak of all one by one? Samson, born by the divine promise, had the Spirit accompanying him, for we read: "The Lord blessed him, and the Spirit of the Lord began to be with him in the camp." And so foreshadowing the future mystery, he demanded a wife of the aliens, which, as it is written, his father and mother knew not of, because it was from the Lord.
Ambrose of Milan· On the Holy Spirit 2, Introduction, 5Patristic
In the camp of Dan - Rather, “Mahaneh-Dan” (see the margin). The impulses of the Spirit of the Lord perhaps took the shape of burning indignation at the subjection of his brethren, and thoughts and plans for their deliverance, but especially showed themselves in feats of strength (Jdg 14:6; Jdg 15:14; Jdg 16:30. Compare Act 7:23-25).
Albert Barnes· Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)Evangelical
- Judges 14:1–7
One day Samson went down to Timnah, where he saw a young Philistine woman.
Commentary on Judges 14:1–72 voices
And Samson went down to Timnath,.... A city which by lot fell to the tribe of Judah, but was afterwards given to the tribe of Dan, and now in the hands of the Philistines, Jos 15:57. Judah is said to go up to it, because the place where he lived lay below it, Gen 38:13, but Samson is said to go down to it, because he lived above it.
John Gill· Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)Reformed
Went down to Timnath - A frontier town of the Philistines, at the beginning of the lands belonging to the tribe of Judah, Jos 15:57; but afterwards given up to Dan, Jos 19:43. David took this place from the Philistines, but they again got possession of it in the reign of Ahaz, 2Ch 28:18.
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the BibleEvangelical
- Judges 14:8–19
When Samson returned later to take her, he left the road to see the lion’s carcass, and in it was a swarm of bees, along with their honey.
Commentary on Judges 14:8–192 voices
IT was a singular circumstance that a man unarmed should have slain a lion in the prime of its vigor and yet, more strange that a swarm of bees should have taken possession of the dried carcass and have filled it with their honey. In that country, what with beasts, birds, insects and the dry heat, a dead body is soon cleansed from all corruption and the bones are clean and white. Still, the killing of the lion and the finding of the honey make up a remarkable story.
Charles Spurgeon· The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1703: “Hands Full of Honey” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition), 1883
After a time - Hebrew. after days; that is, either after some days: or, rather, after a year, as that word often signifies; when the flesh of the lion, (which by its strong smell is offensive to bees) was wholly consumed, and nothing was left but the bones.
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament, 1765Evangelical
- Judges 14:19
Then the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, killed thirty of their men, took their apparel, and gave their clothes to those who had solved the riddle. And burning with anger, Samson returned to his father’s house,
Commentary on Judges 14:192 voices
HE SLAYS THIRTY PHILISTINES. 19, 20. went down to Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them--This town was about twenty-four miles west by southwest from Timnah; and his selection of this place, which was dictated by the Divine Spirit, was probably owing to its bitter hostility to Israel. took their spoil--The custom of stripping a slain enemy was unknown in Hebrew warfare.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, 1871Reformed
The Spirit of the Lord came upon him - “The spirit of fortitude from before the Lord.” - Targum. He was inspired with unusual courage, and he felt strength proportioned to his wishes. He - slew thirty men - and took their spoils - He took their hayks, their kumjas, and caftans, and gave them to the thirty persons who, by unfair means, had solved his riddle; thus they had what our version calls thirty sheets, and thirty changes of raiment. See the note on Jdg 14:12.
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the BibleEvangelical
- Judges 14:20
and his wife was given to one of the men who had accompanied him.
Commentary on Judges 14:201 voice
But Samson’s wife was given to his companion - This was the same kind of person who is called the friend of the bridegroom, Joh 3:29. And it is very likely that she loved this person better than she loved her husband, and went to him as soon as Samson had gone to his father’s house at Zorah. She might, however, have thought herself abandoned by him, and therefore took another; this appears to have been the persuasion of her father, Jdg 15:
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the BibleEvangelical
- Judges 15:1
Later on, at the time of the wheat harvest, Samson took a young goat and went to visit his wife. “I want to go to my wife in her room,” he said. But her father would not let him enter.
Commentary on Judges 15:12 voices
It was the dry season, dry far beyond our experience, and the grain in a most combustible state. Samson visited his wife with a kid--It is usual for a visitor in the East to carry some present; in this case, it might be not only as a token of civility, but of reconciliation. he said--that is, to himself.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, 1871Reformed
Visited his wife with a kid - A common present (see Gen 38:17; Luk 15:29). From Samson’s wife being still in her father’s house, it would seem that she was only betrothed, not actually married, to his companion.
Albert Barnes· Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)Evangelical
- Judges 15:2
“I was sure that you thoroughly hated her,” said her father, “so I gave her to one of the men who accompanied you. Is not her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please take her instead.”
- Judges 15:3–8
Samson said to them, “This time I will be blameless in doing harm to the Philistines.”
Commentary on Judges 15:3–82 voices
Now shall I, &c. - Because they have first provoked me by an irreparable injury: but although this may look like an act of private revenge; yet it is plain Samson acted as a judge (for so he was) and as an avenger of the publick injuries of his people.
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament, 1765Evangelical
See the margin. Before, when the Philistines injured him he was in covenant with the Timnathites through his marriage and by the rites of hospitality, for which reason he went off to Ashkelon to take his revenge Jdg 14:19. But now the Philistines themselves had broken this bond, and so he was free to take his revenge on the spot.
Albert Barnes· Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)Evangelical
- Judges 15:7–14
And Samson told them, “Because you have done this, I will not rest until I have taken vengeance upon you.”
Commentary on Judges 15:7–141 voice
Samson said . . ., Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you--By that act the husbandmen had been the instruments in avenging his private and personal wrongs. But as a judge, divinely appointed to deliver Israel, his work of retribution was not yet accomplished.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, 1871Reformed
- Judges 15:13–17
“No,” they answered, “we will not kill you, but we will tie you up securely and hand you over to them.” So they bound him with two new ropes and led him up from the rock.
Commentary on Judges 15:13–172 voices
Then the Philistines went up--to the high land of Judah. and spread themselves in Lehi--now El-Lekieh, abounding with limestone cliffs; the sides of which are perforated with caves. The object of the Philistines in this expedition was to apprehend Samson, in revenge for the great slaughter he had committed on their people.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, 1871Reformed
That, by being delivered up to the Philistine, he might have an opportunity of making a slaughter among them. That he might be a type of Christ, who, when he had shown what he could do, in striking those down that came to seize him, yielded to be bound and led as a lamb to the slaughter.
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible, 1710Puritan
- Judges 15:18
And being very thirsty, Samson cried out to the LORD, “You have accomplished this great deliverance through Your servant. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?”
Commentary on Judges 15:181 voice
And perhaps there was the hand of God therein, to chastise him for not making mention of God in his song, and to keep him from being proud of his strength. One would have thought that the men of Judah would have met him with bread and wine: but they so little regarded him, that he is fainting for want of a draught of water!
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament, 1765Evangelical
- Judges 15:19
So God opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When Samson drank, his strength returned, and he was revived. That is why he named it En-hakkore, and it remains in Lehi to this day.
Commentary on Judges 15:191 voice
An hollow place that was in the jaw - The right translation is, “the hollow place which is in Lehi.” The word translated “hollow place,” means a “mortar” Pro 27:22, and is here evidently a hollow or basin among the cliffs of Lehi, which, from its shape, was called “the mortar.” A spring, on the way from Socho to Eleutheropolis, was commonly called Samson’s spring in the time of Jerome and writers in the 7th, 12th, and 14th centuries.
Albert Barnes· Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)Evangelical
- Judges 16:1–20
One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute and went in to spend the night with her.
Commentary on Judges 16:1–201 voice
Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there a harlot - The Chaldee, as in the former case, renders the clause thus: Samson saw there a woman, an inn-keeper. Perhaps the word זונה zonah is to be taken here in its double sense; one who keeps a house for the entertainment of travelers, and who also prostitutes her person. Gaza was situated near the Mediterranean Sea, and was one of the most southern cities of Palestine.
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the BibleEvangelical
- Judges 16:21–31
Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, where he was bound with bronze shackles and forced to grind grain in the prison.
Commentary on Judges 16:21–312 voices
But the one who has taken root as "a fruitful olive tree in the house of God" composes those words against the tyrant which we have heard in the psalm, saying, "Why do you glory in evil, you who are mighty in iniquity," whose "tongue" is "like a sharp razor." It was by means of these two things that [Samson] was led off, after [Delilah] had removed the beauty of his hair and cut off the "seven locks of curls" in which our strength lies.
Gregory of Nyssa· ON THE INSCRIPTIONS OF THE PSALMS 2.13.183Patristic
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.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, 1871Reformed
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