Judges 16:27
in Judges 16Now the temple was full of men and women; all the lords of the Philistines were there, and about three thousand men and women were on the roof watching Samson entertain them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport.
KJV
Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport.
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This verse in Judges 16
Commentary
9 notes on this verseNow the house was full of men - It was either the prison-house, house of assembly, or a temple of Dagon, raised on pillars, open on all sides, and flat-roofed, so that it could accommodate a multitude of people on the top.
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
the temple was full of men and women
The five lords were in the house. Matthew Henry names them as the men who had bribed Delilah, and Adam Clarke pictures a building raised on pillars, open on all sides, with a flat roof that held a crowd. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown rest its weight on two central beams and two close pillars.
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 Awakening4 voices
), who had by bribes corrupted Delilah to betray Samson to them. Evil pursued those sinners. Many of the people likewise, to the number of 3000, and among them a great many women, one of whom, it is likely, was that harlot of Gaza mentioned,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
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
Now the house was full of men and women,....
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.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
In the middle there are two large beams, on which the whole weight of the structure lies, and these beams are supported by two pillars placed almost close to each other, so that when these are unsettled or displaced, the whole pile must tumble to the ground.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהַבַּ֗יִת | vehabayit | and the house | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| מָלֵ֤א | male' | was full | H4390 → | 249 times |
| הָֽאֲנָשִׁים֙ | haanashim | <the> men | H582 → | 566 times |
| וְהַנָּשִׁ֔ים | vehanashim | and <the> women | H802 → | 781 times |
| וְשָׁ֕מָּה | veshamah | and [were] there <towards> | H8033 → | 834 times |
| כֹּ֖ל | kol | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| סַרְנֵ֣י | sarnei | [the] rulers of | H5633 → | 22 times |
| פְלִשְׁתִּ֑ים | felishtim | [the] Philistines | H6430 → | 287 times |
| וְעַל־ | veal- | and [were] on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַגָּ֗ג | hagag | the roof | H1406 → | |
| כִּשְׁלֹ֤שֶׁת | kishloshet | about three | H7969 → | 432 times |
| אֲלָפִים֙ | ʾalafim | thousand<s> | H505 → | 505 times |
| אִ֣ישׁ | ʾish | man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| וְאִשָּׁ֔ה | veishah | and woman | H802 → | 781 times |
| הָרֹאִ֖ים | haroim | who were looking | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| בִּשְׂח֥וֹק | bischok | when sported | H7832 → | |
| שִׁמְשֽׁוֹן׃ | shimshon | Samson | H8123 → | 38 times |
וְהַבַּ֗יִתand the house
vehabayitH1004 →2046 times
מָלֵ֤אwas full
male'H4390 →249 times
הָֽאֲנָשִׁים֙<the> men
haanashimH582 →566 times
וְהַנָּשִׁ֔יםand <the> women
vehanashimH802 →781 times
וְשָׁ֕מָּהand [were] there <towards>
veshamahH8033 →834 times
כֹּ֖לall
kolH3605 →5413 times
סַרְנֵ֣י[the] rulers of
sarneiH5633 →22 times
פְלִשְׁתִּ֑ים[the] Philistines
felishtimH6430 →287 times
וְעַל־and [were] on
veal-H5921 →5755 times
הַגָּ֗גthe roof
hagagH1406 →
כִּשְׁלֹ֤שֶׁתabout three
kishloshetH7969 →432 times
אֲלָפִים֙thousand<s>
ʾalafimH505 →505 times
אִ֣ישׁman
ʾishH376 →1663 times
וְאִשָּׁ֔הand woman
veishahH802 →781 times
הָרֹאִ֖יםwho were looking
haroimH7200 →1300 times
בִּשְׂח֥וֹקwhen sported
bischokH7832 →
שִׁמְשֽׁוֹן׃Samson
shimshonH8123 →38 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
2 Samuel 11:2One evening David got up from his bed and strolled around on the roof of the palace. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing—a very beautiful woman.
it leads to
- Matthew 5:28
But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
- Psalms 119:37
Turn my eyes away from worthless things; revive me with Your word.
- Proverbs 6:25
Do not lust in your heart for her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes.
- Acts 10:9
The next day at about the sixth hour, as the men were approaching the city on their journey, Peter went up on the roof to pray.
- 1 John 2:16
For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world.
- Matthew 5:28
Through
Deuteronomy 22:8If you build a new house, you are to construct a railing around your roof, so that you do not bring bloodguilt on your house if someone falls from it.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 19:13
The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be defiled like that place, Topheth—all the houses on whose rooftops they burned incense to all the host of heaven and…
- Isaiah 22:1
This is the burden against the Valley of Vision: What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the rooftops,
- Mark 2:4
Since they were unable to get to Jesus through the crowd, they uncovered the roof above Him, made an opening, and lowered the paralytic on his mat.
- Jeremiah 19:13
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 on the Old Testament; Ambrose of Milan, Letter 19; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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.