Judges 16:21
in Judges 16Then 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the Philistines laid hold on him, and put out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison-house.
KJV
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.
⋯
This verse in Judges 16
Commentary
5 notes on this verseon Judges 16:19-21
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.
This site's exposition
and put out his eyes
on Judges 16:21-22
His eyes go first, and they are the organ the account has tracked from the start: 14:1 says he saw a woman, 14:3 has him answer that she pleaseth me well where the Hebrew reads that she was right in his eyes, and 16:1 says he saw an harlot in Gaza. That pairing of right and eyes is the book's own closing sentence at 17:6 and 21:25. Grinding at the mill was the work of slaves and of women, as Exodus 11:5 and Isaiah 47:2 show, and he is set to it in the town whose gate he once carried away. Verse 22 turns on the word howbeit and reports the hair growing without saying what will come of it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
If we sleep in the lap of our lusts, we shall certainly wake in the hands of the Philistines. It is probable they had promised Delilah not to kill him, but they took an effectual course to disable him. The first thing they did, when they had him in their hands and found they could manage him, was to put out his eyes, by applying fire to them, says the Arabic version.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Put out his eyes - Thus effectually, as they thought, preventing any future mischief on his part, while they prolonged their own triumph and revenge. (Compare Num 16:14; 2Ki 25:7; Jer 39:7.) They applied to the two feet fetters of brass 2Sa 3:34; Jer 52:11, and made him “grind” - the special task of slaves and captives Exo 11:5; Isa 47:2; Lam 5:13.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
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.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּאחֲז֣וּהוּ | vaiyochazuhu | and they seized him | H270 → | 67 times |
| פְלִשְׁתִּ֔ים | felishtim | [the] Philistines | H6430 → | 287 times |
| וַֽיְנַקְּר֖וּ | vaynakeru | and they gouged out | H5365 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עֵינָ֑יו | ʾeinav | eyes his | H5869 → | 887 times |
| וַיּוֹרִ֨ידוּ | vaiyoridu | and they brought down | H3381 → | 381 times |
| אוֹת֜וֹ | ʾoto | <obj.> him | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עַזָּ֗תָה | ʾazatah | Gaza towards | H5804 → | 21 times |
| וַיַּאַסְר֙וּהוּ֙ | vaiyaasruhu | and they bound him | H631 → | 72 times |
| בַּֽנְחֻשְׁתַּ֔יִם | banchushtayim | with <the> bronze fetters | H5178 → | |
| וַיְהִ֥י | vayhi | and he was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| טוֹחֵ֖ן | tochen | grinding | H2912 → | |
| בְּבֵ֥ית | beveit | in [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| הָאֲסוּרִֽים׃ | haasirim | those imprisoned | H631 → | 72 times |
וַיֹּאחֲז֣וּהוּand they seized him
vaiyochazuhuH270 →67 times
פְלִשְׁתִּ֔ים[the] Philistines
felishtimH6430 →287 times
וַֽיְנַקְּר֖וּand they gouged out
vaynakeruH5365 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
עֵינָ֑יוeyes his
ʾeinavH5869 →887 times
וַיּוֹרִ֨ידוּand they brought down
vaiyoriduH3381 →381 times
אוֹת֜וֹ<obj.> him
ʾotoH853 →10935 times
עַזָּ֗תָהGaza towards
ʾazatahH5804 →21 times
וַיַּאַסְר֙וּהוּ֙and they bound him
vaiyaasruhuH631 →72 times
בַּֽנְחֻשְׁתַּ֔יִםwith <the> bronze fetters
banchushtayimH5178 →
וַיְהִ֥יand he was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
טוֹחֵ֖ןgrinding
tochenH2912 →
בְּבֵ֥יתin [the] house of
beveitH1004 →2046 times
הָאֲסוּרִֽים׃those imprisoned
haasirimH631 →72 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 14:14The backslider in heart receives the fill of his own ways, but a good man is rewarded for his ways.
it leads to
- Galatians 6:8
The one who sows to please his flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; but the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
- Proverbs 12:14
By fruitful speech a man is filled with good things, and the work of his hands returns to him.
- Hebrews 3:12
See to it, brothers, that none of you has a wicked heart of unbelief that turns away from the living God.
- Jeremiah 8:5
Why then have these people turned away? Why does Jerusalem always turn away? They cling to deceit; they refuse to return.
- Jeremiah 2:19
Your own evil will discipline you; your own apostasies will reprimand you. Consider and realize how evil and bitter it is for you to forsake the LORD your God and to have no fear…
- Galatians 6:8
Through
Isaiah 47:2Take millstones and grind flour; remove your veil; strip off your skirt, bare your thigh, and wade through the streams.
it leads to
- Exodus 11:5
and every firstborn son in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, to the firstborn of the servant girl behind the hand mill, as well…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 11:5
Through
Proverbs 2:19None who go to her return or negotiate the paths of life.
it leads to
- Ecclesiastes 7:26
And I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a net, and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is…
- Ecclesiastes 7:26
Through
Exodus 11:5and every firstborn son in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, to the firstborn of the servant girl behind the hand mill, as well…
it leads to
- Psalms 78:51
He struck all the firstborn of Egypt, the virility in the tents of Ham.
- Psalms 78:51
About Judges
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Gregory of Nyssa, ON THE INSCRIPTIONS OF THE PSALMS 2.13.183; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.