Judges 16:13-14

16:13 Delilah said to Samson, “Up to now you have deceived me and told me lies. Tell me how you can be subdued.” He said to her, “If you weave the seven braids of my hair ¹  into the fabric on the loom ²  and secure it with the pin, I will become weak and be like any other man.” 16:14 So she made him go to sleep, wove the seven braids of his hair into the fabric on the loom, fastened it with the pin, and said to him, “The Philistines are here, ³  Samson!” ⁴  He woke up ⁵  and tore away the pin of the loom and the fabric.

Judges 16:17

16:17 Finally he told her his secret. ⁶  He said to her, “My hair has never been cut, ⁷  for I have been dedicated to God ⁸  from the time I was conceived. ⁹  If my head ¹⁰  were shaved, my strength would leave me; I would become weak, and be just like all other men.”

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¹ tn Heb “head” (also in the following verse). By metonymy the head is mentioned in the Hebrew text in place of the hair on it.

² tn Heb “with the web.” For a discussion of how Delilah did this, see C. F. Burney, Judges, 381, and G. F. Moore, Judges (ICC), 353-54.

³ tn Heb “are upon you.”

⁴ tc The MT of vv. 13b-14a reads simply, “He said to her, ‘If you weave the seven braids of my head with the web.’ And she fastened with the pin and said to him.” The additional words in the translation, “and secure it with the pin, I will become weak and be like any other man.’ 16:14 So she made him go to sleep, wove the seven braids of his hair into the fabric on the loom,” which without doubt represent the original text, are supplied from the ancient Greek version. (In both vv. 13b and 14a the Greek version has “to the wall” after “with the pin,” but this is an interpretive addition that reflects a misunderstanding of ancient weaving equipment. See G. F. Moore, Judges [ICC], 353-54.) The Hebrew textual tradition was accidentally shortened during the copying process. A scribe’s eye jumped from the first instance of “with the web” to the second, causing him to leave out inadvertently the intervening words.

⁵ tn The Hebrew adds, “from his sleep.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁶ tn Heb “all his heart.”

⁷ tn Heb “a razor has not come upon my head.”

⁸ tn Or “set apart to God.” Traditionally the Hebrew term נָזִיר (nazir) has been translated “Nazirite.” The word is derived from the verb נָזַר (nazar, “to dedicate; to consecrate; to set apart”).

⁹ tn Heb “from the womb of my mother.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “I.” The referent has been made more specific in the translation (“my head”).