1. Judges 16:1–31 (ESV)
  2. Structure and outline

Parallels between chapter 16 and chapters 14 and 15

Judges 16:1–31 (ESV)

1 Samson went to Gaza, and there he saw a prostitute, and he went in to her.

Judges 16:1–31 bears a number of parallels with Judges 14:1 – 15:20. For one, both start and end similarly. Judges 14:1–20, which marks the start of the first cycle of Samson’s conflict with the Philistines, begins with his going down to Timnah, where he sees one of the daughters of the Philistines (Judges 14:1), something that sets in motion the following events in chapters Judges 14:1–20 and Judges 15:1–20. The second and final cycle of his conflict with the Philistines begins with his going to Gaza, where once again he sees a Philistine woman, a prostitute (Judges 16:1). And both chapters Judges 15:1 – 16:31 conclude with the massive slaughter of Philistines, at Lehi (Judges 15:15–16) and in the temple of Dagon in Gaza (Judges 16:29–30). These parallels are not unintentional, but are the way that writer purposefully structures and frames the narrative.1

Some further parallels are as follows, with indebtedness to J. Cheryl Exum for these.

  1. The motif of telling and not telling is central to both parts, as shown by the repetition of tell. In both stories, the woman wants Samson to tell her the secret. And in both cases Samson tells her because she harasses him (Judges 14:17; Judges 16:16–17).

  2. Both women use love as bait (Judges 14:16; Judges 16:15).

  3. The Timnite tries to learn the answer from Samson for the seven days of the feast; Delilah works on him every day until he reveals his secret (Judges 14:17; Judges 16:16).

  4. The Philistines are behind each woman’s attempt to learn Samson’s secret: they tell the Timnite to entice Samson, and they use the same word in telling Delilah to entice him (Judges 14:15; Judges 16:5).

  5. In both accounts the Philistines need the help of a third party to capture Samson.

  6. The Judahites bind Samson in the first story (Judges 15:12); Delilah binds him in the second (Judges 16:8, Judges 16:12). This provides a parallel between the Judahites and Delilah.

  7. The Judahites and Delilah each use new ropes to bind Samson (Judges 15:13; Judges 16:12).

  8. Twice the Judahites say that they have come to give Samson into the hands of the Philistines (Judges 15:12–13). Twice the Philistines say that Dagon has given Samson into their hands (Judges 16:23–24). At this point in both accounts, when Samson appears defeated, he turns and with the aid of the Lord kills the Philistines.

  9. At the end of both stories, and only at this point in the narrative, Samson calls upon God, once to save him, and once to let him die.2