Judges 16:17

16:17 Finally he told her his secret. ¹  He said to her, “My hair has never been cut, ²  for I have been dedicated to God ³  from the time I was conceived. ⁴  If my head ⁵  were shaved, my strength would leave me; I would become weak, and be just like all other men.”

Judges 16:19

16:19 She made him go to sleep on her lap ⁶  and then called a man in to shave off ⁷  the seven braids of his hair. ⁸  She made him vulnerable ⁹  and his strength left him.

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¹ tn Heb “all his heart.”

² tn Heb “a razor has not come upon my head.”

³ 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”).

⁴ tn Heb “from the womb of my mother.”

⁵ tn Heb “I.” The referent has been made more specific in the translation (“my head”).

⁶ tn Heb “on her knees.” The expression is probably euphemistic for sexual intercourse. See HALOT 160-61 s.v. בֶּרֶךְ.

⁷ tn Heb “she called for a man and she shaved off.” The point seems to be that Delilah acted through the instrumentality of the man. See J. A. Soggin, Judges (OTL), 254.

⁸ tn Heb “head.” By metonymy the hair of his head is meant.

⁹ tn Heb “She began to humiliate him.” Rather than referring to some specific insulting action on Delilah’s part after Samson’s hair was shaved off, this statement probably means that she, through the devious actions just described, began the process of Samson’s humiliation which culminates in the following verses.