Judges 16:26
in Judges 16Samson said to the servant who held his hand, “Lead me where I can feel the pillars supporting the temple, so I can lean against them.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house resteth, that I may lean upon them.
KJV
And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them.
⋯
This verse in Judges 16
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
More literally, “let me rest, and let me feel the pillars, that I may lean upon them.” He feigned weariness with his dancing and singing, and asked to recover himself by leaning against the pillars. The flat roof, from the top of which, as well as under it, spectators could see what was being done on the stage in front, was mainly supported by two pillars. The lords and principal persons sat UNDER the roof, while the people, to the number of 3,000, stood ON the flat roof.
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.
This site's exposition
Samson said to the servant who held his hand
Barnes gives the Hebrew more literally as a plea to rest and to feel the pillars the temple stood on. He holds that Samson feigned weariness after being made to entertain the crowd. Clarke agrees.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
But in process of time his hair began to grow again; and 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 Awakening3 voices
1 Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there a harlot, and went in unto her. 2 And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they compassed him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:98%@v1-2
And Samson said to the lad that held him by the hand,....
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 words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֨אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| שִׁמְשׁ֜וֹן | shimshon | Samson | H8123 → | 38 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַנַּ֨עַר | hanaar | the young man | H5288 → | 239 times |
| הַמַּחֲזִ֣יק | hamachazik | who kept hold | H2388 → | 291 times |
| בְּיָדוֹ֮ | beyado | on hand his | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| הַנִּ֣יחָה | hanichah | permit ! | H5117 → | 142 times |
| אוֹתִי֒ | ʾoti | <obj.> me | H853 → | 10935 times |
| וַהֲמִשֵׁ֙נִי֙ | vaheimisheni | and let feel me | H4184 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָֽעַמֻּדִ֔ים | haamudim | the pillars | H5982 → | 111 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הַבַּ֖יִת | habayit | the house | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| נָכ֣וֹן | nakhon | [is] established | H3559 → | 217 times |
| עֲלֵיהֶ֑ם | ʾaleihem | on them | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| וְאֶשָּׁעֵ֖ן | veeshaen | so I may lean | H8172 → | |
| עֲלֵיהֶֽם׃ | ʾaleihem | on them | H5921 → | 5755 times |
וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
שִׁמְשׁ֜וֹןSamson
shimshonH8123 →38 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַנַּ֨עַרthe young man
hanaarH5288 →239 times
הַמַּחֲזִ֣יקwho kept hold
hamachazikH2388 →291 times
בְּיָדוֹ֮on hand his
beyadoH3027 →1618 times
הַנִּ֣יחָהpermit !
hanichahH5117 →142 times
אוֹתִי֒<obj.> me
ʾotiH853 →10935 times
וַהֲמִשֵׁ֙נִי֙and let feel me
vaheimisheniH4184 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָֽעַמֻּדִ֔יםthe pillars
haamudimH5982 →111 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
הַבַּ֖יִתthe house
habayitH1004 →2046 times
נָכ֣וֹן[is] established
nakhonH3559 →217 times
עֲלֵיהֶ֑םon them
ʾaleihemH5921 →5755 times
וְאֶשָּׁעֵ֖ןso I may lean
veeshaenH8172 →
עֲלֵיהֶֽם׃on them
ʾaleihemH5921 →5755 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
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; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; 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.