The Philistine Lords Approach Delilah
The Philistine lords turn Samson’s attachment to Delilah into a paid effort to make him vulnerable.
Judges 16:4-6 (BSB)
4Some time later, Samson fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
5The lords of the Philistines went to her and said, “Entice him and find out the source of his great strength and how we can overpower him to tie him up and subdue him. Then each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver.”
6So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me the source of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued.”
Historical Context
The Valley of Sorek is the setting for Samson’s relationship with Delilah and the lords’ approach.
Literary Context
Samson had escaped a Gazite murder plan by removing the city gate (16:1-3). The Sorek scene introduces a new, organized attempt to overpower him through a trusted relationship. Bowstrings, unused ropes, and woven hair become successive tests in 16:7-14 before the secret is disclosed in 16:15-17.
What is the big idea of Judges 16:4-6?
The Philistine lords turn Samson’s attachment to Delilah into a paid effort to make him vulnerable.
Understanding the Big Idea
After Gaza, Samson loves Delilah in the Valley of Sorek. Philistine rulers offer her eleven hundred pieces of silver from each lord if she discovers why Samson is strong and how they can bind and subdue him. She asks Samson the practical question they supplied. The text reports his love but neither her reciprocal feeling nor her ethnicity, and the offer's per-lord amount is not an established grand total.
Authorial Intent
To introduce Delilah and the Philistine lords’ paid plan to discover and neutralize Samson’s strength, distinguishing Samson’s love from Delilah’s unreported feelings.
How does Judges 16:4-6 point to Christ?
Samson’s attachment and the Philistines’ offer are not a gospel allegory. Christ died for sins and was raised (1 Corinthians 15:3-4); this scene calls for truthful reading of coercive planning, not generalized suspicion of relationships.
Questions for Reflection
- What feeling does the narrator attribute to Samson?
- Who approaches Delilah, and what is their goal?
- How much does each lord offer?
- What does Delilah ask Samson?
- Which common assumptions about Delilah are not stated here?
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.