Judges 16:13

Old Testament Historical ASV (1901)

What does Judges 16:13 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web.
Judges 16:13 — American Standard Version

Context — Judges 16

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
13And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And Delilah said unto Samson, etc.] At another time, when she thought it most proper to upbraid him with his deception of her: hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies; both the times that she had solicited him to impart the secret of his strength to her: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound; tell me the real truth, and deceive me no more: and he said unto her, if thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web; it seems that Samson’s hair was parted into seven locks, which no doubt hung down very long; and now he tells her, that if these were interwoven with the warp which was upon the beam in a loom near by; perhaps in the same room, where Delilah used to weave, as was the…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“If thou weavest the seven locks of my head--braids or tresses, into which, like many in the East, he chose to plait his hair. Working at the loom was a female employment; and Delilah's appears to have been close at hand. It was of a very simple construction; the woof was driven into the warp, not by a reed, but by a wooden spatula. The extremity of the web was fastened to a pin or stake fixed in the wall or ground; and while Delilah sat squatting at her loom, Samson lay stretched on the floor, with his head reclining on her lap--a position very common in the East.”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“Web - Or, thread which is woven about a weaver's loom: or, with a weaver's beam. If my hair, which is all divided into seven locks, be fastened about a weaver's beam; or interwoven with weaver's threads: then I shall be weak as another man. Judges 16:15”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“with the web: It is evident that this verse ends abruptly, and does not contain a full sense. Houbigant has particularly noticed this, and corrected the text from the Septuagint, which adds after these words: και εγκρουσης τω πασσαλω εις τον τοιχον, και εσομαι ως εις των ανθρωπων ασθενης και εγενετο εν τω κοιμασθαι αυτον και ελαβε Δαλιδα τας επτα σειρας της κεφαλης αυτου, και υφανεν εν τω διασματι, κ.τ.λ. "and shall fasten them with the pin in the wall, I shall become weak like other men, and so it was, that when he slept, Dalida took the seven locks of his head, and wove them with the web," etc. This is absolutely necessary to complete the sense; else Delilah would appear to do something…”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification