Judges 16:17-19

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.” 16:18 When Delilah saw that he had told her his secret, ⁶  she sent for ⁷  the rulers of the Philistines, saying, “Come up here again, for he has told me ⁸  his secret.” ⁹  So the rulers of the Philistines went up to visit her, bringing the silver in their hands. 16:19 She made him go to sleep on her lap ¹⁰  and then called a man in to shave off ¹¹  the seven braids of his hair. ¹²  She made him vulnerable ¹³  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 “all his heart.”

⁷ tn Heb “she sent and summoned.”

⁸ tc The translation follows the Qere, לִי (li, “to me”) rather than the Kethib, לָהּ (lah, “to her”).

⁹ tn Heb “all his heart.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “on her knees.” The expression is probably euphemistic for sexual intercourse. See HALOT 160-61 s.v. בֶּרֶךְ.

¹¹ 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.

¹² tn Heb “head.” By metonymy the hair of his head is meant.

¹³ 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.