‏ Judges 13

Summary for Judg 14:1-16:31: 13:1–16:31  ^a Samson, who receives more attention in the book of Judges than any other judge, is even more of an enigma than Jephthah. Samson reflects a high level of inspiration as a leader. He also personifies the inexorable march toward chaos that highlights the need for a more centralized society under a godly ruler. 13:1  ^b Though mentioned earlier, the Philistines (3:3  ^c; 10:7  ^d) were a relatively new presence in the territory of Canaan, which would later be named for them (Palestine). This warlike race of sea people were of Greek rather than Canaanite ancestry and settled into the southwestern coastal areas about 1200 BC. From then on, Philistia was Israel’s natural enemy and increasingly threatened its national existence. Israel’s institutions, such as kingship, developed partly in response to the Philistine challenge.
13:2  ^e Prior to their migration to the extreme north (ch 18  ^f), the tribe of Dan attempted to settle in Israel’s southwest (Josh 19:40-48  ^g). This put them in direct conflict with the incoming Philistines.

• Zorah was west of Judah, in the area newly occupied by the Philistines. Both Dan and neighboring Judah submitted to Philistine dominance (Judg 14:4  ^h; 15:11  ⁱ).
Summary for Judg 13:3-5: 13:3-5  ^j Manoah’s wife was promised a son who was to be set aside from his birth as a Nazirite (see Num 6:1-21  ^k; cp. 1 Sam 1:11  ^l). The requirement that Samson’s hair must never be cut would be central to his story.
13:4  ^m any forbidden food: See Lev 11  ⁿ.
Summary for Judg 13:6-7: 13:6-7  ^o Several times in Scripture, an angel appeared to women who were unable to become pregnant (13:2  ^p) to announce divine intervention through the birth of a child (see Luke 1:5-25  ^q; cp. Gen 18  ^r; 1 Sam 1  ^s).
Summary for Judg 13:12-13: 13:12-13  ^t In light of 13:4-5  ^u, Manoah’s question may seem redundant, but from 13:8  ^v it is apparent that Manoah felt a keen personal responsibility for raising such a child. The angel responded graciously, but again stressed the wife’s responsibility, which explains why it was she, not Manoah, who was first approached.
Summary for Judg 13:15-16: 13:15-16  ^w Manoah would only send a visitor on his way after providing a meal, in accord with eastern hospitality. The angel insisted that any food be given as a sacrifice to the Lord. That and his reluctance to eat (cp. Gideon’s visitor, 6:17-22  ^x) suggest that this was a theophany (an appearance of God). To that point, Manoah had failed to recognize his visitor’s divinity.
Summary for Judg 13:17-18: 13:17-18  ^y The Lord’s name is a divine secret (Gen 32:29  ^z; Exod 3:13-14  ^aa). God knows our names, but in addressing him we are limited to terms of wonder and adoration, for the true essence of the infinite cannot be expressed or understood by the finite.
Summary for Judg 13:19-22: 13:19-22  ^ab It is not possible for human beings to take in the full revelation of God’s holy presence and still live (cp. 6:20-24  ^ac; Exod 19:21  ^ad; 33:20  ^ae). The Old Testament frequently reports divine visitations on earth in human form; these visitations foreshadow the full appearance of God on earth in the incarnation of Jesus.
13:25  ^af Inspired leaders are filled with the divine Spirit. In spite of Samson’s evident failures, the Spirit’s presence was powerfully at work in him.

• Mahaneh-dan (literally camp of Dan) is mentioned again in 18:12  ^ag; the phrase could describe a temporary settlement rather than a fixed location.

• Zorah (13:2  ^ah) and Eshtaol were in the valley of Sorek, about fifteen miles west of Jerusalem at the pass that leads down to Philistine territory.

‏ Judges 14

Summary for Judg 14:1-15:17: 14:1–15:20  ^ai Samson’s choice to marry a Philistine woman was the Lord’s means (14:4  ^aj) of beginning to confront the Philistine challenge (see 13:5  ^ak). One thing led to another, punctuated by three occasions when the Spirit came powerfully upon him (14:6  ^al, 19  ^am; 15:14  ^an). Throughout these events, Samson was a powerful but flawed hero. 14:1  ^ao Timnah was probably about four miles down the valley of Sorek from Mahaneh-dan, at the intersection of the Israelite and Philistine territories.
14:2  ^ap Samson’s choice of a bride was informed only by his pleasure in her appearance. Intermarriage was a significant mark of covenant infidelity (Josh 23:12-13  ^aq), but God is able to work through human sinfulness.
14:3  ^ar The epithet pagan (literally uncircumcised) was regularly applied to Philistines, who, unlike many nations in the Middle East, did not practice any form of circumcision.
Summary for Judg 14:5-6: 14:5-6  ^as Samson was first explicitly empowered by the Spirit (cp. 13:25  ^at) when he was attacked by a lion.
14:11  ^au The reason for thirty ... companions is not clear (cp. 2 Sam 23:13  ^av). Companions, a word that normally means “friends,” may lend a touch of irony here (Judg 14:12-20  ^aw).
14:12  ^ax Riddles were common tests of skill or a form of entertainment that usually employed double meanings. Despite some evidence for bees building hives in the bodies of dead animals, there was no apparent way to crack the mystery apart from knowing what Samson knew.
Summary for Judg 14:14-19: 14:14-19  ^ay Israel’s hero, like Sisera, was defeated by a woman (4:21  ^az; see study note on 8:20-21).
14:18  ^ba It was common to answer a riddle with another riddle. In this case, the Philistines used a similar poetic couplet, not to reveal all they knew, but simply to win the contest.
14:19  ^bb Samson kept his side of the deal (cp. 1 Sam 18:20-27  ^bc). He apparently returned home without consummating his marriage, which traditionally would have happened at the end of the seven days of feasting.
14:20  ^bd According to some ancient customs, giving the bride to the best man, even if the marriage was not consummated, was forbidden. The father’s action appears to have been treacherous (cp. 15:2-3  ^be, 6  ^bf).

‏ Judges 15

15:1  ^bg Wheat harvest came at the end of May; how long this was after the wedding feast is not known. There was some precedent for a bride’s remaining in her parents’ home for a few months before moving to the groom’s home, while allowing conjugal visits.
15:2  ^bh The father may have thought that his daughter had been abandoned (see study note on 14:20). The father’s offer of the younger sister might have been an attempt to remedy his own treachery.
Summary for Judg 15:3-5: 15:3-5  ^bi In revenge, Samson devastated the harvest of grain, wine (vineyards), and cooking oil (olive groves).
Summary for Judg 15:6-10: 15:6-10  ^bj The chain of revenge was complicated (cp. 9:7-21  ^bk). First, Samson took revenge on the community of Philistines, not on his in-laws. Next, the Philistines accepted that Samson was a victim of injustice (see study note on 14:20) and took revenge on Samson’s in-laws, which then led Samson to avenge his in-laws by attacking the Philistines. It all triggered a potential war with Israel. God was beginning to rescue Israel through Samson (13:5  ^bl; cp. 1 Sam 7:3  ^bm).
15:11  ^bn Completely missing what might have been a divine opportunity to throw off Philistine oppression, the tribe of Judah showed itself ready to continue living under foreign occupation. We can only wonder what might have happened if the Judeans had been fully committed to the Lord’s covenant, which provided for them to take the land and drive out the inhabitants (see study note on 1:1).
15:12  ^bo promise that you won’t kill me: Samson’s superhuman abilities might have been limited to use against the enemies of Israel; he broke these ropes only after the Spirit of the Lord came upon him (15:14  ^bp).
15:13  ^bq New ropes were stronger, more pliable, and less brittle than older ones.
Summary for Judg 15:14-15: 15:14-15  ^br Both Samson and the Judeans seem to have been satisfied with this relatively small victory and did not follow up by overthrowing Philistine oppression. This failure reflects Israel’s declining confidence in God’s promises.
15:16  ^bs Like other warrior-heroes (e.g., Moses, Deborah, and David), Samson celebrated his victory in poetry, a short couplet that combines colorful speech with wordplay. “Lehi” (15:9  ^bt) and jawbone are the same Hebrew word (lekhi), as are heaps and donkey (Hebrew khamor).

• piled them in heaps! Or made donkeys of them.
15:18  ^bu Samson cried out to the Lord, as he feared dying of thirst and falling prey to the defeated pagans (literally uncircumcised ones; see study note on 14:3). Samson twice prayed deep and passionate prayers, once when he feared being attacked, and once when he was attacking others (16:28-30  ^bv).
15:20  ^bw Though this summary formula is repeated in 16:31  ^bx, its occurrence here indicates that Samson’s period as judge was effectively over (cp. 10:2  ^by, 3  ^bz; 12:7  ^ca). He had done little more than show Israel the potential of rescue; the Philistines still dominated the land.

‏ Judges 16:1-21

Summary for Judg 16:1-31: 16:1-31  ^cb There is nothing of judgeship in this last chapter of Samson’s checkered history. Samson effectively abandoned his calling and was eventually stripped of his gifting as well. Only in his final encounter, when he again turned to the Lord in prayer, did any of his heroic stature revive.
Summary for Judg 16:2-3: 16:2-3  ^cc City gates of the period were locked during the night to prevent passage in or out, and the men of the city, having seen the gates locked, probably slept (kept quiet) in one of the gate houses, thinking that they could resume their vigil in the morning.
16:3  ^cd Samson had to pick up the entire six- to twelve-foot-wide gate system and take it to the hills across from Hebron, a town about forty miles distant. Samson humiliated the Philistines but did nothing to defeat them.
Summary for Judg 16:4-22: 16:4-22  ^ce Samson’s dissipation and defeat by Delilah the temptress has the universal appeal of great tragedy.
16:5  ^cf The Philistine rulers knew that direct confrontation with Samson would not succeed, so they resorted to subterfuge. The generous offer by the rulers (literally lords) of the five Philistine cities (3:3  ^cg) shows how seriously the Philistines took this matter.
16:6  ^ch The desire for silver rather than self-preservation (cp. 14:15  ^ci) seems to have motivated Delilah; she apparently did not reciprocate Samson’s love.
16:7  ^cj Bowstrings were commonly made of dried animal tendons or gut. Seven was a symbolic number, perhaps connected with the Philistines’ sense of magical power. Samson seems more at home in a Philistine cultural setting than in keeping his Israelite vows that bound him as a Nazirite.
16:11  ^ck Brand-new ropes had already been tried (15:13-14  ^cl).
Summary for Judg 16:13-14: 16:13-14  ^cm Possibly Samson’s hair was woven into the fabric as weft on the loom’s warp, which was then tightened as in normal weaving.
16:16  ^cn Samson should have recognized his danger (cp. 14:17  ^co), but spiritual blindness had led to mental exhaustion.
Summary for Judg 16:17-19: 16:17-19  ^cp Samson’s hair was the sign of his vow to the Lord; when his hair was shorn, his vow would be broken. The seven braided locks were only a sign; the Lord’s presence was the reality behind his strength.
16:18  ^cq After being fooled three times, the rulers had given up and left. Now, however, they returned with the money in their hands—they knew that this was the moment they had dreamed of.
16:20  ^cr Like the remorseful but presumptuous earlier Israelites (Num 14:40-45  ^cs), Samson didn’t realize that his hair was gone and that the divine presence had departed (cp. Hos 7:9  ^ct).