Nothing can be more plain from the history, than that it was the artful intrigue of a woman which had been the instrument for delivering Samson into the hands of the Philistines; but yet a dunghill god must have the credit. To what a desperate state of ignorance, as well as sin, is the mind capable of arriving, when the glory of God, and his honor is not acknowledged. See an awful account of this by Paul, Romans 1:22 , etc. read more
Dagon. Probably the derceto, whom Diodorus (3,) represents with the head of a woman, and the rest of the body like a fish, the chief object of adoration at Ascalon. (Calmet) --- Dagon may signify "wheat;" and hence Eusebius (pr'e6p. 1,) styles him "the ploughing Jupiter," or "a fish." --- Hands. For this purpose they were offering sacrifices of thanksgiving, (Menochius) which they did not only when they first took Samson, but probably on all their great festivals, till the hero's death. They... read more
22-24 Samson's afflictions were the means of bringing him to deep repentance. By the loss of his bodily sight the eyes of his understanding were opened; and by depriving him of bodily strength, the Lord was pleased to renew his spiritual strength. The Lord permits some few to wander wide and sink deep, yet he recovers them at last, and marking his displeasure at sin in their severe temporal sufferings, preserves them from sinking into the pit of destruction. Hypocrites may abuse these examples,... read more
The end of Samson v. 22. Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven, literally, as when he was shaven. for it came out again in a very short while, and the Philistines did not remember the significance of this. v. 23. Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon, their god, and to rejoice, as over a great victory, to be celebrated with a general feast of thanksgiving; for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson,... read more
Samson’s end. He slays more Philistines in his death than he had done in lifeJudges 16:21-3121But [And] the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza [’Azzah], and bound him with fetters of brass;22 and he did grind in the prison-house. 22Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after23 he was 23shaven. Then [And] the lords [princes] of the Philistines gathered them [themselves] together, for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice:... read more
Judges STRENGTH PROFANED AND LOST Jdg_16:21 - Jdg_16:31 . Nobody could be less like the ordinary idea of an Old Testament ‘saint’ than Samson. His gift from ‘the spirit of the Lord’ was simply physical strength, and it was associated with the defects of his qualities. His passions were strong, and apparently uncontrolled. He had no moral elevation or religious fervour. He led no army against the Philistines, nor seems to have had any fixed design of resisting them. He seeks a wife among... read more
Dying with the Philistines Judges 16:15-31 It may be that the razor has already severed your union with Christ. If we abide not in living union with Him, we are cast out as branches from the vine, and wither. This is bad enough, but it is still worse when we are not aware of it. See Hosea 7:9 . Some of our greatest spiritual experiences may be like sunrise or sunset. “There is no speech nor language; their voice is not heard,” but the effect, for good or ill, soon shows itself. We may be... read more
Here we have the sad and awful account of Samson's relapse and final fall. He went to Gaza. It is easy to imagine how much there must have been in Gaza which should have appealed to one acting for the fulfillment of the divine purpose. There were idolatries and evil things against which he should have flung himself in force. But he did not. He was still swayed by the strength of his animal nature, and the tragic sentence is written, ". . . Samson went to Gaza, and saw there a harlot." In the... read more
‘ And the lords of the Philistines gathered themselves together in order to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to celebrate, for they said, “Our god has delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.” The taking of Samson was seen as a cause for great celebration. So at their next great festival at which great sacrifices would normally be offered to Dagon, the god that they had adopted from the Canaanites, they declared a celebration. He it was, they believed, who had handed Samson... read more
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The People's Bible by Joseph Parker - Judges 16:1-31
Samson Light and Shadow Judges 14-16 IT would be unjust to consider this as a finished picture of the man of strength. In all that we have said we have endeavoured to establish by good reasoning and clear reference. But it would be unjust to pronounce upon any life after merely looking at a few incidental points in its course. That is a danger to which all criticism is exposed. We are prone to look upon vivid incidents, and to omit all the great breadths and spaces of the daily life, and to... read more