Judges 16:15

Jdg 16:15 And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart [is] not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength [lieth].

Ver. 15. How canst thou say, I love thee?] This was, it seems, a great word in Samson’s mouth, "I love thee dearly, Delilah." This she twitteth him with, as if only from the teeth outward: and that he did not Medullitus et animitus eam amare. In amore sese comitantur ερως ετ ερις.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Jdg 16:15-16. Thy heart is not with me — Not open to me. His soul was vexed unto death — Being tormented by two contrary passions, desire to gratify her, and fear of betraying himself. So that he had no pleasure of his life.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For this Samson used to say, I love thee.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

(15) How canst thou say, I love thee . . .?—Samson had undergone all these wiles before, and experienced their hollowness (Jdg_14:16), yet he had not learnt wisdom.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And she said unto him, how canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me?.... She took an opportunity, when he was caressing her, to upbraid him with dissembled love, and a false heart: thou hast mocked me these three times; she had urged him to tell her where his strength lay, and by what it might be weakened, first pretending it might be done by binding him with green withs, and then with new ropes, and a third time by weaving his locks into the web:

and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth; the thing so frequently and so importunately requested.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

When thine heart is not with me; when thy love consists only in outward expression, not in affection, and thou wilt not open thy heart to me, as one true friend doth to another.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Thy great strength lieth as before, ver. 6, thy strength is great.

HOMILIES BY W.F. ADENEY Vers. 15-17. Samson"s weariness.

Samson"s weakness is twofold. Through lack of moral strength he reveals the secret of his physical strength, and is thus betrayed into the loss of this also.

I SAMSON"S MORAL WEAKNESS. This is the man"s great failing, apparent throughout his history, but reaching a climax in the present incident. Physical endowments are no guarantees for spiritual graces. Must not some of our young athletic barbarians of the aristocracy, adored by the multitude for chest and muscle, be condemned by true standards of judgment for contemptible weakness of character? Such weakness is far more deplorable than the bodily weakness of palsy and paralysis. St. Paul was considered miserably deficient a physical power and presence, (2Co_10:10) yet his strength of soul exalts the apostle immeasurably above Samson. The moral weakness of Samson is illustrated by the circumstances of his great defeat.

1. Sin. Samson was neglecting his duty and degrading himself with those evil communications which corrupt good manners. There is nothing so enervating as the conscious pursuit of a guilty course.

2. Pleasure. Instead of toiling, fighting, and sacrificing himself for his country, Samson was wasting his hours in pleasure. Apart from the wrongness of this conduct, the lax, self-indulgent spirit it engendered was weakening. In seasons of pleasure we are off our guard.

3. The allurements of false affection. Samson can resist a host of Philistine warriors, but he cannot resist one Philistine woman. Strong against rude violence, he is weak before soft persuasion. Pure love is the loftiest inspiration for self-sacrificing devotion; but love degraded and corrupted is the deadliest poison to purity of character and vigour and independence of action. How many saints and heroes have found their humiliation in the same snares which caught the strong Samson and the famous St. Antony!

4. The self-confidence of strength. Samson plays with the curiosity of Delilah, sure of the power which will come to his aid in the moment of danger, till by degrees he is persuaded to betray the secret of that very power. Had he been less strong, he would have been less rash. Presumption is more dangerous than conscious weakness. (1Co_10:12)

II SAMSON"S PHYSICAL WEAKNESS. This resulted from his moral weakness. In the end the faults of the inner life will bear fruit in trouble to the outer life.

1. Samson"s strength was a Divine gift. He had not attained it by self-discipline nor merited it by service. It was a talent intrusted to his care to be used for God. What God gives God can withhold.

2. Samson"s strength was derived from spiritual sources. Samson was not a mere prodigy of brute force. He was one of God"s heroes, and the glory of his strength lay in this fact, that it was the outcome of an inspiration. The most exalted powers we have for earthly work are derived from spiritual sources. If these sources are cut off, the energies which issue from them will be exhausted. Samson grows weak through the departure of the Spirit of the Lord.

3. Samson"s strength depended on his observance of the Nazarite"s vow. When the vow was broken the strength fled. God has a covenant with his people. He is always true to his side, but if we fail on ours the covenant is void and the blessings dependent on it cease.

(1) The vow of the Nazarite implied consecration to God. God bestows graces on us so long as we live to him, but our departure from him necessitates the just withholding of those graces.

(2) The vow required obedience to certain regulations. These were trivial in themselves; but the obligation of obedience is determined not by the importance of the commands given, but by the authority of the person giving them. Disobedience is shown not to the law, but to the authority. A small test may be sufficient to reveal this. Disobedience to God is the fundamental element of all sin, and, as in Samson" s case, it will be the sure cause of our ruin. A.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Not with me - Not open to me.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

How can you say, 'I love you,' when you do not share your secrets with me?

Delilah asks this question to say that if Samson really loved her he would tell her his secrets. This question can be written as a statement. AT: "When you say 'I love you,' you are lying because you do not share your secrets with me." (See: Rhetorical Question)

pressed him hard ... pressured him

Here the author speaks of how Delilah tries to persuade Samson as if she were putting pressure on him to convince him to tell her what she wants to know. AT: "tried hard to persuade him ... kept trying to persuade him" (See: Idiom)

with her words

"by what she said to him"

that he wished he would die

The author used a hyperbole, an exaggeration, to emphasize how miserable Sampson felt. AT: "that he was completely miserable" or "that he was very unhappy" (See: Hyperbole and Generalization)

translationWords

love

mock

die

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.