Judges 16:25
in Judges 16And while their hearts were merry, they said, “Call for Samson to entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison to entertain them. And they stationed him between the pillars.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison-house; and he made sport before them. And they set him between the pillars:
KJV
And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars.
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This verse in Judges 16
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
That he may make us sport - Rather, “that he may play for us,” i. e. dance and make music. At an idolatrous feast, dancing was always accompanied with vocal and instrumental music.
This site's exposition
Call for Samson to entertain us
on Judges 16:25-27
A servant leads him by the hand, as a blind man was led, and his request to feel the pillars sounds like a tired man wanting something to lean on. Verse 27 puts “about three thousand men and women” on the roof, a gallery. A Philistine temple dug at Tell Qasile, in Amihai Mazar's report, has two central pillar bases close enough for one man to reach both.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
On the occasion of a great feast Samson is brought out of prison to the assembly of the Philistines, and set in sight of the people. There were nearly three thousand in number, men and women; and they insulted him with bitter reproaches, and carried him about in mockery, a trial harder to be borne than the very reality of captivity by a man conscious of innate power. For to live and die is natural, to be a laughing stock is counted a disgrace.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And it came to pass when their hearts were merry,....
How unrighteous soever the Philistines were, he could not but own that God was righteous. He had sported himself in his own deceivings and with his own deceivers, and justly are the Philistines let loose upon him to make sport with him. Uncleanness is a sin that makes men vile, and exposes them to contempt.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Call for Samson, that he may make us sport - What the sport was we cannot tell; probably it was an exhibition of his prodigious strength. This seems to be intimated by what is said, Jdg 16:22, of the restoration of his hair; and the exertions he was obliged to make will account for the weariness which gave him the pretense to ask for leave to lean against the pillars. Some think he was brought out to be a laughing-stock, and that he was variously insulted by the Philistines; hence the version of the Septuagint: και ερραπιζον αυτον, and they buffeted him. Josephus, Antiq. Jud. lib. v., cap. 8, s. 12, says: He was brought out, ὁπως ενυβρισωσιν αυτον παρα τον ποτον, that they might insult him in their cups.
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַֽיְהִי֙ | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כְּט֣וֹב | ketov | like good | H2895 → | 45 times |
| לִבָּ֔ם | libam | heart their | H3820 → | 595 times |
| וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| קִרְא֥וּ | kiru | summon | H7121 → | 733 times |
| לְשִׁמְשׁ֖וֹן | leshimshon | <to> Samson | H8123 → | 38 times |
| וִישַֽׂחֶק־ | visachek- | so he may make sport | H7832 → | |
| לָ֑נוּ | lanu | for <the> us | ||
| וַיִּקְרְא֨וּ | vaiyikreu | and they summoned | H7121 → | 733 times |
| לְשִׁמְשׁ֜וֹן | leshimshon | <to> Samson | H8123 → | 38 times |
| מִבֵּ֣ית | mibeit | from [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| הָאֲסוּרִ֗ים | haasirim | those imprisoned | H631 → | 72 times |
| וַיְצַחֵק֙ | vaytzachek | and he made sport | H6711 → | |
| לִפְנֵיהֶ֔ם | lifneihem | <to> before them | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| וַיַּעֲמִ֥ידוּ | vaiyaamidu | and they made stand | H5975 → | 521 times |
| אוֹת֖וֹ | ʾoto | <obj.> him | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בֵּ֥ין | bein | between | H996 → | 407 times |
| הָעַמּוּדִֽים׃ | haamudim | the pillars | H5982 → | 111 times |
וַֽיְהִי֙and it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
כְּט֣וֹבlike good
ketovH2895 →45 times
לִבָּ֔םheart their
libamH3820 →595 times
וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּand they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
קִרְא֥וּsummon
kiruH7121 →733 times
לְשִׁמְשׁ֖וֹן<to> Samson
leshimshonH8123 →38 times
וִישַֽׂחֶק־so he may make sport
visachek-H7832 →
לָ֑נוּfor <the> us
lanu
וַיִּקְרְא֨וּand they summoned
vaiyikreuH7121 →733 times
לְשִׁמְשׁ֜וֹן<to> Samson
leshimshonH8123 →38 times
מִבֵּ֣יתfrom [the] house of
mibeitH1004 →2046 times
הָאֲסוּרִ֗יםthose imprisoned
haasirimH631 →72 times
וַיְצַחֵק֙and he made sport
vaytzachekH6711 →
לִפְנֵיהֶ֔ם<to> before them
lifneihemH6440 →2123 times
וַיַּעֲמִ֥ידוּand they made stand
vaiyaamiduH5975 →521 times
אוֹת֖וֹ<obj.> him
ʾotoH853 →10935 times
בֵּ֥יןbetween
beinH996 →407 times
הָעַמּוּדִֽים׃the pillars
haamudimH5982 →111 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
Hebrews 11:36Still others endured mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 20:2
he had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put in the stocks at the Upper Gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the LORD.
- Genesis 39:20
So Joseph’s master took him and had him thrown into the prison where the king’s prisoners were confined. While Joseph was there in the prison,
- Jeremiah 37:15–21
The officials were angry with Jeremiah, and they beat him and placed him in jail in the house of Jonathan the scribe, for it had been made into a prison.
- 2 Chronicles 30:10
And the couriers traveled from city to city through the land of Ephraim and Manasseh as far as Zebulun; but the people scorned and mocked them.
- Jeremiah 20:2
Through
Judges 19:6So they sat down and the two of them ate and drank together. Then the girl’s father said to the man, “Please agree to stay overnight and let your heart be merry.”
it leads to
- Judges 19:9
When the man got up to depart with his concubine and his servant, his father-in-law, the girl’s father, said to him, “Look, the day is drawing to a close. Please spend the night. See,…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ruth 3:7
After Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then Ruth went in secretly, uncovered his feet, and…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Judges 19:9
Through
2 Samuel 13:28Now Absalom had ordered his young men, “Watch Amnon until his heart is merry with wine, and when I order you to strike Amnon down, you are to kill him. Do not be afraid.…
it leads to
- Judges 19:6
So they sat down and the two of them ate and drank together. Then the girl’s father said to the man, “Please agree to stay overnight and let your heart be merry.”
- Judges 19:22
While they were enjoying themselves, suddenly the wicked men of the city surrounded the house. Pounding on the door, they said to the old man who owned the house, “Bring out the man who…
- Judges 19:6
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); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Ambrose of Milan, Letter 19; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.