The Woven-Braid Test Fails
The testing moves closer to Samson’s hair, yet the woven-braid restraint still fails.
Judges 16:13-14 (BSB)
13Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have mocked me and lied to me all along! Tell me how you can be tied up.” He told her, “If you weave the seven braids of my head into the web of a loom and tighten it with a pin, I will become as weak as any other man.”
14So while he slept, Delilah took the seven braids of his hair and wove them into the web. Then she tightened it with a pin and called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are here!” But he awoke from his sleep and pulled out the pin with the loom and the web.
Historical Context
The third test takes place while Samson sleeps, with his hair woven into a loom web.
Literary Context
Undried bindings and unused ropes have failed to restrain Samson (16:7-12). The third attempt moves from external bonds to the hair that will matter in the later disclosure (16:15-17). The cutting and loss of strength belong to 16:18-20, not to this still unsuccessful loom scene.
What is the big idea of Judges 16:13-14?
The testing moves closer to Samson’s hair, yet the woven-braid restraint still fails.
Understanding the Big Idea
After two false answers, Samson tells Delilah to weave the seven braids of his head into a loom. While he sleeps she tests the claim and fastens the woven hair; at her warning he wakes and pulls free. His hair now enters the proposed means of restraint, but it is not cut in this unit, his Nazirite status is not yet disclosed, and no hidden men or new Spirit-coming are explicitly named in this third test.
Authorial Intent
To show the third failed test, in which Samson’s answer first brings his hair into the proposed means of restraint without yet revealing his Nazirite status.
How does Judges 16:13-14 point to Christ?
The woven hair and escape are not a coded gospel image or a guarantee that repeated manipulation can be survived safely. Christ’s death for sins and resurrection remain the gospel (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
Questions for Reflection
- What part of Samson’s body enters the third answer?
- What does Delilah do while he sleeps?
- How does Samson free himself?
- What crucial explanation has he not yet given?
- Which earlier-test detail is not explicitly repeated in verse 14?
Chapter: Judges 16
Samson's Fall, Blindness, Final Prayer, and Death
The LORD can still judge His enemies through a broken deliverer, but Samson's blindness warns that strength without consecrated dependence ends in bondage.