Delilah

Biblical Account

Delilah appears only in Judges 16:4-22. Scripture records that she lived in the valley of Sorek and that Samson loved her. The lords of the Philistines (the rulers of their respective territories) each promised to give her eleven hundred pieces of silver if she discovered the source of Samson's great strength (Judges 16:5).

Delilah asked him four times, and three times Samson answered falsely. First he said that he would become weak if he were bound with seven green withs that had never been dried; next, with new ropes that had never been used; and third, if the seven locks of his head were woven into the web of a loom. When she pressed him day after day, Samson finally confided that he was a Nazirite, consecrated to God from his mother's womb, and that no razor had ever come upon his head (Judges 16:17). Delilah made Samson sleep upon her knees and called for a man to shave off the seven locks of his head. The Philistines seized Samson, now stripped of his strength, put out his eyes, brought him down to Gaza, and made him grind at the mill in the prison house. Delilah does not appear again in the text.

Significance Within Scripture

The text attributes Samson's loss of strength less to his hair itself than to the fact that "he wist not that the LORD was departed from him" (Judges 16:20). The story of Delilah is read as illustrating the consequences that follow when one set apart to God treats that consecration lightly. The New Testament does not mention Delilah. Hebrews 11:32 names Samson among those commended for their faith but says nothing of Delilah.

Interpretation and Points of Discussion

• Identity: The text does not state that Delilah was a Philistine. She is commonly described as a Philistine woman because of her dealings with the Philistine lords, but this is an inference. Her occupation is not recorded either. She is a different person from the harlot of Gaza mentioned just before (Judges 16:1-3), and there is no record that she married Samson.
• Who shaved his head: Paintings and films often depict Delilah herself wielding the scissors, but the text states that she "called for a man" to shave him.
• Meaning of the name: Proposed explanations include a connection with a Hebrew word meaning "to be weak," but there is no consensus.
• Assessment: Traditionally, she has been read as a seductress who betrayed her lover for money. Other interpretations focus instead on Samson's carelessness and disregard for his vow, viewing Delilah as an instrumental figure in the narrative. Denominations do not clearly divide on this question.
• Judges 17:2 also mentions "eleven hundred shekels of silver," and some interpreters connect the two stories, but the text does not specify any relationship between the two figures.

In the Korean Church

In Korean church preaching, the story of Delilah is used chiefly as a text on temptation, spiritual complacency, and keeping one's promises (vows) to God. "Delilah's lap" is frequently used as a metaphor for the alluring temptations of the world. In Sunday school, the story is usually taught as part of the account of Samson.