Judges 16:2
in Judges 16When the Gazites heard that Samson was there, they surrounded that place and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate. They were quiet throughout the night, saying, “Let us wait until dawn; then we will kill him.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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, Let be till morning light, then we will kill him.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Judges 16
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
he saw a prostitute
on Judges 16:1-3
Gaza is the far southern city of the Philistine coast, and Joshua 11:22 names it as one of three towns where the Anakim were left. The chapter opens as chapter 14 did, with what Samson “saw”, and those two sightings frame everything up to verse 21.
This site's exposition
they surrounded that place and lay in wait
The men of Gaza set their watch at the city gate, counting on the one way out of a walled town. Adam Clarke describes the plan as an ambush at the gates for the morning. The quiet of the night belonged to the trap.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
When Samson went in to the harlot, he was impure if he did so without reason, but if he did so as a prophet it is a mystery. If he did not enter in order to lie with the woman, perhaps he did so because …
When the men of Gaza knew this they did not dissemble or pass it over, but beset his lodging in haste, and guarded all the doors of the house that he might not escape by night.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Samson, in the book of Judges, foreshadowed this by his deeds. When he had entered Gaza, a city of the Philistines, they immediately knew of his entry. They quickly surrounded the city with a blockade and assigned guards, and they rejoiced at having now apprehended Samson who was so extremely strong. But we know what Samson did. At midnight he carried off the gates of the city and ascended to the top of the hill. Whom, dearly beloved, whom does Samson foreshadow by his deed but our Redeemer? What does the city of Gaza signify if not the lower world? What is indicated by the Philistines except the faithlessness of the Jews? When they saw that the Lord was dead and his body had been laid in the sepulcher, they assigned guards there. They were happy that they caught and held him, who shone out as the creator of life, behind the defense of the lower world, as Samson had been held in Gaza. Samson not only went out at midnight but even carried off the gates of the city, because our Redeemer, rising before it was light, not only went out free from the lower world but even destroyed its very defenses. He bore the gates and went up to the top of the hill, because by rising he carried off the defenses of the lower world, and by ascending he passed into the kingdom of heaven.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And it was told the Gazites,....
O that all those who indulge their sensual appetites in drunkenness, uncleanness, or any fleshly lusts, would see themselves thus surrounded, waylaid, and marked for ruin, by their spiritual enemies! The faster they sleep, and the more secure they are, the greater is their danger.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
They compassed him in - They shut up all the avenues, secured the gates, and set persons in ambush near them, that they might attack him on his leaving the city early the next morning.
The words behind it
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לַֽעַזָּתִ֣ים׀ | laazatim | to the Gazites | H5841 → | |
| לֵאמֹ֗ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| בָּ֤א | ba' | he has come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| שִׁמְשׁוֹן֙ | shimshon | Samson | H8123 → | 38 times |
| הֵ֔נָּה | henah | here | H2008 → | |
| וַיָּסֹ֛בּוּ | vaiyasobu | and they surrounded | H5437 → | 161 times |
| וַיֶּאֶרְבוּ־ | vaiyeervu- | and they lay in wait | H693 → | 41 times |
| ל֥וֹ | lo | for <the> him | ||
| כָל־ | khol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַלַּ֖יְלָה | halaylah | the night | H3915 → | 233 times |
| בְּשַׁ֣עַר | beshaar | at [the] gate of | H8179 → | 374 times |
| הָעִ֑יר | hair | the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| וַיִּתְחָרְשׁ֤וּ | vaiyitchareshu | and they were silent | H2790 → | 74 times |
| כָל־ | khol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַלַּ֙יְלָה֙ | halaylah | the night | H3915 → | 233 times |
| לֵאמֹ֔ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| א֥וֹר | ʾor | [the] light of | H216 → | |
| הַבֹּ֖קֶר | haboker | the morning | H1242 → | 214 times |
| וַהֲרְגְנֻֽהוּ׃ | vahargenuhu | and we will kill him | H2026 → | 167 times |
לַֽעַזָּתִ֣ים׀to the Gazites
laazatimH5841 →
לֵאמֹ֗ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
בָּ֤אhe has come
ba'H935 →2568 times
שִׁמְשׁוֹן֙Samson
shimshonH8123 →38 times
הֵ֔נָּהhere
henahH2008 →
וַיָּסֹ֛בּוּand they surrounded
vaiyasobuH5437 →161 times
וַיֶּאֶרְבוּ־and they lay in wait
vaiyeervu-H693 →41 times
ל֥וֹfor <the> him
lo
כָל־all
khol-H3605 →5413 times
הַלַּ֖יְלָהthe night
halaylahH3915 →233 times
בְּשַׁ֣עַרat [the] gate of
beshaarH8179 →374 times
הָעִ֑ירthe city
hairH5892 →1090 times
וַיִּתְחָרְשׁ֤וּand they were silent
vaiyitchareshuH2790 →74 times
כָל־all
khol-H3605 →5413 times
הַלַּ֙יְלָה֙the night
halaylahH3915 →233 times
לֵאמֹ֔ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
עַד־until
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
א֥וֹר[the] light of
ʾorH216 →
הַבֹּ֖קֶרthe morning
habokerH1242 →214 times
וַהֲרְגְנֻֽהוּ׃and we will kill him
vahargenuhuH2026 →167 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
Acts 9:24but Saul learned of their plot. Day and night they watched the city gates in order to kill him.
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 11:32
In Damascus, the governor under King Aretas secured the city of the Damascenes in order to arrest me.
- Acts 25:3
to grant them a concession against Paul by summoning him to Jerusalem, because they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way.
- 2 Corinthians 11:32
Through
1 Samuel 23:26Saul was proceeding along one side of the mountain, and David and his men along the other side. Even though David was hurrying to get away, Saul and his men were closing in on…
it leads to
- Psalms 17:9
from the wicked who assail me, from my mortal enemies who surround me.
- Psalms 22:12
Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
- Psalms 17:9
Through
Acts 23:15Now then, you and the Sanhedrin petition the commander to bring him down to you on the pretext of examining his case more carefully. We are ready to kill him on the way.”
it leads to
- Psalms 37:32–33
Though the wicked lie in wait for the righteous, and seek to slay them,
- Isaiah 59:7
Their feet run to evil; they are swift to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are sinful thoughts; ruin and destruction lie in their wake.
- Proverbs 1:11–12
If they say, “Come along, let us lie in wait for blood, let us ambush the innocent without cause,
- Proverbs 1:16
For their feet run to evil, and they are swift to shed blood.
- Psalms 37:32–33
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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: To Vigilius; Caesarius of Arles, SERMON 118.5; Gregory the Dialogist, Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 21; 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.