Judges 16:23-25 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Judges 16:22-31

Though the last stage of Samson's life was inglorious, and one could wish there were a veil drawn over it, yet this account here given of his death may be allowed to lessen, though it does not quite roll away, the reproach of it; for there was honour in his death. No doubt he greatly repented of his sin, the dishonour he had by it done to God and his forfeiture of the honour God had put upon him; for that God was reconciled to him appears, 1. By the return of the sign of his Nazariteship (Jdg.... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Judges 16:23

Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together ,.... The five lords, with their friends, not directly upon Samson's being taken and committed to prison, but some time after; perhaps some months: for to get a great sacrifice to Dagon their god ; in later times their god was called Marnas F15 Hicron. in Isa. xvii. fol. 39. K. , which signifies the lord of men, but now Dagon; who also had a temple at Ashdod, another of the five principalities of the Philistines, 1 Samuel... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Judges 16:24

And when the people saw him ,.... In the condition he was, blinded and fettered, of whom and of his great exploits they had heard so much: they praised their god; as Belshazzar did his, Daniel 5:4 in hymns and songs composed for them, the substance of which was as follows: for they said, our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country ; as he had been, by tying firebrands to the tails of three hundred foxes, and letting them go into their cornfields,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Judges 16:25

And it came to pass when their hearts were merry ,.... With wine, for which Gaza is famous in many writers F23 Vid. Rivinum de Majumis, &c.; c. 6. sect. 13. ; with eating and drinking, dancing, and music; for it was usual for the Heathens to feast in their temples, and especially no doubt they would on such an occasion as this: and they said, call for Samson, that he may make us sport ; by which it seems that what is before said, "when the people saw him", Judges 16:24 is... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Judges 16:23

Unto Dagon their god - Diodorus Siculus describes their god thus: Το μεν προσωπον εχει γυναικος, το δ ' αλλο σωμα παν ιχθους ; "It had the head of a woman, but all the rest of the body resembled a fish." Dagon was called Dorceto among the heathens. Horace, in the following lines, especially in the third and fourth, seems to have in view the image of Dagon: - Humano capiti cervicem pictor equinam Pingere si velit; et varias inducere plumas, Undique collatis Inembris;... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Judges 16:25

Call for Samson , that he may make us sport - What the sport was we cannot tell; probably it was an exhibition of his prodigious strength. This seems to be intimated by what is said, Judges 16:22 , of the restoration of his hair; and the exertions he was obliged to make will account for the weariness which gave him the pretense to ask for leave to lean against the pillars. Some think he was brought out to be a laughing-stock, and that he was variously insulted by the... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Judges 16:23

Dagon was the national idol of the Philistines 1 Chronicles 10:10, so called from Dag, a fish. The description of Dagon, in his temple at Ashdod 1 Samuel 5:4, exactly agrees with the representations of a fish-god on the walls of Khorsabad, on slabs at Kouyunjik, and on sundry antique cylinders and gems. In these the figures vary. Some have a human form down to the waist, with that of a fish below the waist; others have a human head, arms, and legs, growing, as it were, out of a fish’s body, and... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Judges 16:24

Our God ... - A portion of the Philistine triumphal song. Compare Judges 5:0; Exodus 15:0. read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Judges 16:25

That he may make us sport - Rather, “that he may play for us,” i. e. dance and make music. At an idolatrous feast, dancing was always accompanied with vocal and instrumental music. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Judges 16:23

Judges 16:23. To offer a great sacrifice They assembled to render honour to their idol, for their triumph over a man who as much detested their idolatry as he did their barbarous oppression of his countrymen. Unto Dagon their god Whose image is supposed to have been, in the upper part, of the human form, and in the lower part like a fish; probably one of the sea-gods of the heathen. The Philistines foolishly attributed to this idol what had come to pass by the will of the God of Israel,... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Judges 16:22-31

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Judges 16:23

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Judges 16:24

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Judges 16:25

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Judges 16:23

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Judges 16:25

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Judges 16:23

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Judges 16:24

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Judges 16:25

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Judges 16:23

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