The lords of the Philistines are operating with the assumptions that Samson’s strength must have some magic source, and that if this source is not learned, they have no way of handling him. There appears to be more than a whiff of panic in the Philistine proposal; the Tyrants have clearly exhausted their arsenal of normal options.
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5 And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, “Seduce him, and see where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to humble him. And we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver.”