Introduction:
When the events of this story took place, Samson is in the Philistine prison in Gaza (16:21); his head was shaved and he was bound in fetters of bronze (brass, KJV). He was sentenced to grind (grain?) in the prison house. Even worse, he was blind—the Philistines had put out his eyes so that even if he did escape (how?) he could never find his way back to Israel again.
This turn of events must have made the Philistines overjoyed. Samson had slain over 1000 of their men before this time and had caused the destruction of an entire year’s grain crop (chapter 15:3-5). Now they had him, firmly, and they weren’t going to let him go.
Even so, Samson was still a chosen vessel to and for the LORD. His time in prison apparently made him realize how much he had failed. Admittedly, he had committed some awful sins and violated his Nazarite vow at least twice. Even so, he was finding his way back to God. He didn’t know what his last days on earth would be, but he knew that not being right with God was no way to live. He had learned that lesson the hard way.
So, even in prison, even now handicapped and with limited mobility, Samson renewed his commitment to at least his Nazarite vow.
[Judges 16:22, KJV] 22 Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.
This one verse links the evil which Delilah and the Philistines had done to Samson with his submission to the LORD. One of the first things Delilah had done was to have Samson’s head shaved (Judges 16:19), which had never happened before. Certainly his strength had nothing whatsoever to do with his hair but it had everything to do with obedience to the LORD. For whatever reason, Samson decided to, and deliberately, let his hair grow again.
The length of time between his head being shaved, the re-growth of his hair, and the events of the final day of his life in the verses to follow, is not known. Perhaps the Philistines were in no hurry, apparently, to end the misery Samson was going through at the time. They left him, bound and blind, grinding grain in Gaza’s prison house. They were content to keep him out of the way.
But that changed, when the Philistines decided to have, basically, a national religious holiday!
[Judges 16:23] Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand. 24 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.
The five lords of the Philistines decided to make a great sacrifice to their national god, Dagon. This shows how blind they really were to the True God and His dealings with the human race. Dagon was (obviously) an idol, made by human hands but worshipped by the Philistines for a long time. Paul wrote in Romans 1 how the human race started on a long, downward slide away from knowing God to embracing idols—and worse (Romans 1:18-32).
This may not have always been the case: Abimelech, king of Gerar, spoke with the God of Abraham, calling him “Lord (Gen. 20:3-4)” but we are not told if he was ever a believer in the God of Abraham, or if he worshipped Dagon or any other pagan deity. We could hope Abraham led him to faith in the True God but we do not know.
Yet we do know the Philistines credited an idol, made by human hands, with giving Samson into their hands. Incredible! Did they forget that Delilah sold him to the other Philistines for 5500 pieces of silver (worth, perhaps, a fortune in those days) and made sure he was helpless? Dagon had absolutely nothing to do with having Samson made blind, or fettered, or grinding (grain?) in the Gaza prison house, but the spiritually blinded Philistines simply didn’t get it.
Now notice how cruel they were once they saw Samson. There he was, blinded, fettered, and not having any idea where he was. The Philistines began praising Dagon for all he had done! At least they got part of it right: Samson had indeed destroyed part of their country (the grain harvest, vineyards, and olives around Timnath and maybe elsewhere) and had indeed slain many of the Philistines. He killed 30 in Ashkelon to honor his wager at the wedding feast (14:12-19), then an unspecified number whom he “smote hip and thigh (15:8)”, and 1000 more at Lehi when he used a donkey’s jawbone as a weapon (15:15). An estimated 1100 or so may not seem like much but considering one man, alone, did this, no wonder they sang Dagon’s praises when Samson was finally captured and rendered, basically, unfit for combat!
[Judges 16:25] And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars. 26 And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them.
One wonders how the hearts of these Philistines became “merry”. Perhaps vendors made certain beverages available, or, since this was a religious holiday, there was plenty of food and drink available at the temple. We do not know.
Again, showing how insensitive they really were, they called for Samson so the he could “make sport” for them. What this means is not certain but to make fun of a blind person, maybe calling, “Hey! Look over here!” and the blind person not knowing where the voices came from is cruel beyond words. It didn’t matter to them: this was their time, Samson was at their mercy, and they were going to enjoy this day of rejoicing.
What thoughts Samson may have had during this time is not recorded. What could he think, or do, in that situation?
Now notice the one mistake the Philistines allowed to happen. They brought Samson and set him between the pillars (what were they going to do with him at that location?) These were the main pillars that kept the temple in place (“whereupon the house standeth”).
Something else to notice is that there was at least one decent Philistine among the others. This person was a “lad that held him by the hand”. Whoever this young man was, we can give him credit for at least showing some compassion towards an enemy, in the eyes of his countrymen. There is no record that the lad was rude, mean, or in any other way less than kind to Samson. And the lad may not have had any idea what Samson was going to do; he only asked the lad to take him to the pillars “that I may lean upon them”, as Samson said. Maybe the boy thought Samson was tired after all the “sport” he had done for the other Philistines and thought Samson only wanted to get some rest.
With Samson between the two main pillars of the temple, the stage is now set for his final deed.
[Judges 16:27] Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines [were] there; and [there were] upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport. 28 And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.
The size or dimensions of this temple are unknown. Some have thought it was large, others thought it was small, and others don’t know. Whatever the “footprint” or actual size of the temple, it was large enough to hold the five lords of the Philistines and, perhaps, any staff or other people they had brought along. Besides them, there were 3000 other men and women standing on the roof! The text also adds that the “house was full of men and women”, not counting the 3000 on the roof, so there was a rather large crowd in the temple that day.
Every one of them had a “ring side seat,” so to speak, while Samson made sport for them. Again, how cruel and how heartless these people were towards a basically helpless person. But even though Samson could not see, he could hear, and most of all, he could pray.
And pray he did. Look at his prayer in verse 28: LORD, please remember me (God always would and did), and strengthen me (as You did in the past) only one more time, so that I can be avenged for my eyes. Remember that Samson was an Israelite, living in the land of Israel and under the Law of Moses. Prayers like this one, calling for vengeance, were permitted during this time—witness the “imprecatory Psalms”—but not for believers in these days. We believers in this Age of Grace are told to bless our enemies, not curse them, and pray for them (see Matthew 5:44, Luke 6:28, and Romans 12:14).
Now we see the final act after Samson’s final prayer. Remember, he’s standing by the two main pillars that supported the whole temple. The final chapter is about to be completed.
[Judges 16:29] And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left. 30 And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with [all his] might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that [were] therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than [they] which he slew in his life.
No matter the size of the temple, the pillars appear to be rather small because Samson was able to take hold of them: one with each hand, his right and his left. The translation of this verse is not clear in the KJV: does it mean that Samson’s hands were large enough to wrap around the pillars? Or does it mean that he was able to press against each one, not necessarily wrapping his hands around the pillars? Whatever the translation or meaning, one thing is clear. Samson had found the one weakness in that temple, because the Philistines had made their one mistake, in allowing Samson near these pillars.
Now here are the very last words of Samson, a strange request: “Let me die with the Philistines.” Only he knows why he made that request, or prayer. Could it be that he could hardly expect to make it back to Israel, being blinded? Was there another reason? No matter what, Samson made that prayer and took the explanation with him to the grave.
The last thing Samson did on this earth was to “bow himself with all his might” and cause the temple to come crashing down. The lords of the Philistines were among those who lost their lives, including the 3000 on the roof, when the “house” came crashing down on them. Indeed, Samson did cause the death of many more in this final act of the final chapter of his life than all the other encounters in his life.
As an epilogue, we see that Samson may have died, indeed, with the Philistines but his body wasn’t buried with them.
[Judges 16:31] Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought [him] up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the buryingplace of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years.
Apparently Manoah, Samson’s father, had died sometime before these events. Maybe he died of a broken heart, grieving over a wayward child, one who had such potential but never fully put it to use.
Also, this is the only mention of Samson’s extended family. “Brethren” may be close kin—that seems to be the meaning here—but we have no record of their names or how they related to Samson.
The last sentence closes this final chapter. He was buried near his father, and he had judged Israel for 20 years.
May we learn from Samson’s life, trust God, but don’t copy his errors!
Scripture quotations taken from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV)
