Judges 16:9
in Judges 16While the men were hidden in her room, she called out, “Samson, the Philistines are here!” But he snapped the bowstrings like a strand of yarn seared by a flame. So the source of his strength remained unknown.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Now she had liers-in-wait abiding in the inner chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withes, as a string of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known.
KJV
Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withs, as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known.
⋯
This verse in Judges 16
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
the source of your great strength
on Judges 16:6-9
Four attempts run to one shape: she asks, he answers, men hide in her room, and she calls out that the Philistines are here. Seven runs through the chapter, from the “seven fresh bowstrings” here to the seven braids of verses 13 and 19. His answers move inward by stages, from bowstrings to new ropes to the braids woven into a loom and at last to the hair itself.
This site's exposition
While the men were hidden in her room
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown render the Hebrew for her room as the inner or most secret part of the house. Adam Clarke holds that the hidden men never showed themselves, as Samson broke free the moment she cried out. His secret stayed hidden too.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
When the Philistines learnt this from Delilah, they bound him while asleep with green withs, and then awoke him as though on a sudden, but found that he had not fallen off from his accustomed fortitude, but bursting its bonds his freed strength was able to resist and drive back a host of assailants.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
But first, it is probable, that Samson had in some measure repented of his sin, and begged of God pardon and assistance. 2.This singular strength and courage was not in itself a grace, but a gift, and it was such a gift as did not so much depend on the disposition of his mind, but on the right ordering of his body, by the rule given to him, and others of that order.
With her - That is, in a secret chamber within her call. Nor is it strange that they did not fall upon him in his sleep, because they expected an opportunity for doing their work more certainly, and with less danger.
Now there were men lying in wait,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
there were men lying in wait, abiding . . . in the chamber--The Hebrew, literally rendered, is, "in the inner," or "most secret part of the house."
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Men lying in wait - They probably did not appear, as Samson immediately broke his bonds when this bad woman said, The Philistines be upon thee.
The words behind it
21 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָאֹרֵ֗ב | vehaorev | and the ambusher | H693 → | 41 times |
| יֹשֵׁ֥ב | yoshev | [was] sitting | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| לָהּ֙ | lah | of <the> her | ||
| בַּחֶ֔דֶר | bacheder | in the chamber | H2315 → | 38 times |
| וַתֹּ֣אמֶר | vatomer | and she said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵלָ֔יו | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| פְּלִשְׁתִּ֥ים | pelishtim | [the] Philistines | H6430 → | 287 times |
| עָלֶ֖יךָ | ʾaleikha | [are] on you | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| שִׁמְשׁ֑וֹן | shimshon | O Samson | H8123 → | 38 times |
| וַיְנַתֵּק֙ | vaynatek | and he tore apart | H5423 → | 27 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַיְתָרִ֔ים | haytarim | the cords | H3499 → | 102 times |
| כַּאֲשֶׁ֨ר | kaasher | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יִנָּתֵ֤ק | yinatek | it is torn apart | H5423 → | 27 times |
| פְּתִֽיל־ | petil- | <the> thread of | H6616 → | |
| הַנְּעֹ֙רֶת֙ | haneoret | <the> tow | H5296 → | |
| בַּהֲרִיח֣וֹ | baharicho | when smells it | H7306 → | |
| אֵ֔שׁ | ʾesh | fire | H784 → | 378 times |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נוֹדַ֖ע | noda' | it was known | H3045 → | 945 times |
| כֹּחֽוֹ׃ | kocho | strength his | H3581 → | 126 times |
וְהָאֹרֵ֗בand the ambusher
vehaorevH693 →41 times
יֹשֵׁ֥ב[was] sitting
yoshevH3427 →1079 times
לָהּ֙of <the> her
lah
בַּחֶ֔דֶרin the chamber
bachederH2315 →38 times
וַתֹּ֣אמֶרand she said
vatomerH559 →5305 times
אֵלָ֔יוto him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
פְּלִשְׁתִּ֥ים[the] Philistines
pelishtimH6430 →287 times
עָלֶ֖יךָ[are] on you
ʾaleikhaH5921 →5755 times
שִׁמְשׁ֑וֹןO Samson
shimshonH8123 →38 times
וַיְנַתֵּק֙and he tore apart
vaynatekH5423 →27 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַיְתָרִ֔יםthe cords
haytarimH3499 →102 times
כַּאֲשֶׁ֨רjust as
kaasherH834 →5497 times
יִנָּתֵ֤קit is torn apart
yinatekH5423 →27 times
פְּתִֽיל־<the> thread of
petil-H6616 →
הַנְּעֹ֙רֶת֙<the> tow
haneoretH5296 →
בַּהֲרִיח֣וֹwhen smells it
baharichoH7306 →
אֵ֔שׁfire
ʾeshH784 →378 times
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
נוֹדַ֖עit was known
noda'H3045 →945 times
כֹּחֽוֹ׃strength his
kochoH3581 →126 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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
Psalms 58:9Before your pots can feel the burning thorns— whether green or dry— He will sweep them away.
it leads to
- Proverbs 10:25
When the whirlwind passes, the wicked are no more, but the righteous are secure forever.
- Psalms 118:12
They swarmed around me like bees, but they were extinguished like burning thorns; in the name of the LORD I cut them off.
- Ecclesiastes 7:6
For like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This too is futile.
- Isaiah 17:13
The nations rage like the rush of many waters. He rebukes them, and they flee far away, driven before the wind like chaff on the hills, like tumbleweeds before a gale.
- Jeremiah 23:19
Behold, the storm of the LORD has gone out with fury, a whirlwind swirling down upon the heads of the wicked.
- Proverbs 10:25
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; Ambrose of Milan, Letter 19; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.