Judges 16:24
in Judges 16And when the people saw him, they praised their god, saying: “Our god has delivered into our hands our enemy who destroyed our land and multiplied our dead.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And when the people saw him, they praised their god; for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hand our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, who hath slain many of us.
KJV
And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us.
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This verse in Judges 16
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
to offer a great sacrifice
on Judges 16:23-24
Dagon is named here, in 1 Samuel 5 where his image falls before the ark. The Philistines credit their god with the deliverance Judges gives the LORD, “Our god has delivered Samson our enemy into our hands”. Albert Barnes derives the name from dag, a fish.
This site's exposition
when the people saw him, they praised their god
Barnes reads the words the people sang as part of a Philistine song of victory, like the song of Deborah in chapter 5. Henry notes that every people praised its own god for its victories. Here the praise goes to Dagon.
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 when the people saw him,....
All people will thus walk in the name of their gods: they will give them the praise of their achievements; and shall not we pay this tribute to our God whose kingdom ruleth over all? Yet, considering what wicked arts they used to get Samson into their hands, it must be confessed it was only such a dunghill-deity as Dagon that was fit to be made a patron of the villany.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Our God ... - A portion of the Philistine triumphal song. Compare Judg. 5; Exo. 15.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּרְא֤וּ | vaiyiru | and they saw | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| אֹתוֹ֙ | ʾoto | <obj.> him | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָעָ֔ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| וַֽיְהַלְל֖וּ | vayhalu | and they praised | H1984 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֱלֹהֵיהֶ֑ם | ʾeloheihem | god their | H430 → | 2601 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אָמְר֗וּ | ʾameru | they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| נָתַ֨ן | natan | he has given | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֤ינוּ | ʾeloheinu | god our | H430 → | 2601 times |
| בְיָדֵ֙נוּ֙ | veyadenu | in hand our | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| א֣וֹיְבֵ֔נוּ | ʾoyvenu | enemy our | H341 → | 282 times |
| וְאֵת֙ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מַחֲרִ֣יב | machariv | [the] desolator of | H2717 → | 40 times |
| אַרְצֵ֔נוּ | ʾartzenu | land our | H776 → | 2504 times |
| וַאֲשֶׁ֥ר | vaasher | and who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הִרְבָּ֖ה | hirbah | he has multiplied | H7235 → | 227 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| חֲלָלֵֽינוּ׃ | chalaleinu | slain [ones] our | H2491 → | 94 times |
וַיִּרְא֤וּand they saw
vaiyiruH7200 →1300 times
אֹתוֹ֙<obj.> him
ʾotoH853 →10935 times
הָעָ֔םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
וַֽיְהַלְל֖וּand they praised
vayhaluH1984 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אֱלֹהֵיהֶ֑םgod their
ʾeloheihemH430 →2601 times
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
אָמְר֗וּthey said
ʾameruH559 →5305 times
נָתַ֨ןhe has given
natanH5414 →2011 times
אֱלֹהֵ֤ינוּgod our
ʾeloheinuH430 →2601 times
בְיָדֵ֙נוּ֙in hand our
veyadenuH3027 →1618 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
א֣וֹיְבֵ֔נוּenemy our
ʾoyvenuH341 →282 times
וְאֵת֙and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
מַחֲרִ֣יב[the] desolator of
macharivH2717 →40 times
אַרְצֵ֔נוּland our
ʾartzenuH776 →2504 times
וַאֲשֶׁ֥רand who
vaasherH834 →5497 times
הִרְבָּ֖הhe has multiplied
hirbahH7235 →227 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
חֲלָלֵֽינוּ׃slain [ones] our
chalaleinuH2491 →94 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
Daniel 5:4As they drank the wine, they praised their gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.
it leads to
- Daniel 5:23
Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. The vessels from His house were brought to you, and as you drank wine from them with your nobles, wives, and concubines, you praised…
- Habakkuk 2:19
Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Awake!’ or to silent stone, ‘Arise!’ Can it give guidance? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, yet there is no breath in it at all.”
- Psalms 135:15–18
The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.
- Daniel 5:23
Through
Isaiah 37:20And now, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, O LORD, are God.”
it leads to
- Psalms 46:10
“Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted over the earth.”
- Psalms 83:17–18
May they be ever ashamed and terrified; may they perish in disgrace.
- Psalms 46:10
Through
1 Samuel 31:9They cut off Saul’s head, stripped off his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news in the temples of their idols and among their people.
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 1:20
Tell it not in Gath; proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, and the daughters of the uncircumcised exult.
- Judges 16:23–24
Now the lords of the Philistines gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon. They rejoiced and said, “Our god has delivered Samson our enemy into our hands.”
- 2 Samuel 1:20
Through
Revelation 11:10And those who dwell on the earth will gloat over them, and will celebrate and send one another gifts, because these two prophets had tormented them.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 18:17
When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?”
- 1 Kings 18:17
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Judges

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, Letter 19; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
