Judges 16:17

Jdg 16:17 That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I [have been] a Nazarite unto God from my mother’s womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any [other] man.

Ver. 17. There hath not come a razor upon my head, &c.] Of Tamerlane, that warlike Scythian, it is storied, that he nourished his hair, which his mother coming of the race of Samson, as he gave it out, willed him to do in token of his descent. This was the cause that made him to be more respected of his men of war, most part of them believing that in those hairs was some rare virtue, or rather some fatal destiny. {a}

{a} Turk. Hist., 236.

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 16:17. There hath not come a razor upon my head — Though we have no account of it before, yet it seems from this, that it had been revealed by God to Samson, either by a dream or in some other manner, that his supernatural strength should continue as long as he continued in a Nazarite state, and did not suffer a razor to come upon his head to take off his hair. If I be shaven — Not that his hair was in itself the cause of his strength, but because it was the chief condition of that covenant whereby God was pleased to engage to fit him for and assist him in that great work to which he had called him. But upon his violation of the condition, God justly withdraws his help.

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

Thus his immoderate affections toward a wicked woman caused him to lose God’s excellent gifts, and become slave unto them whom he should have ruled.

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

if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me--His herculean powers did not arise from his hair, but from his peculiar relation to God as a Nazarite. His unshorn locks were a sign of his Nazaritism, and a pledge on the part of God that his supernatural strength would be continued.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 17. If I be shaven, then my strength will go from me] The miraculous strength of Samson must not be supposed to reside either in his hair or in his muscles, but in that relation in which he stood to God as a Nazarite, such a person being bound by a solemn vow to walk in a strict conformity to the laws of his Maker. It was a part of the Nazarite's vow to permit no razor to pass on his head; and his long hair was the mark of his Nazirate, and of his vow to God. When Samson permitted his hair to be shorn off, he renounced and broke his Nazir vow; in consequence of which God abandoned him, and therefore we are told, in Jdg 16:20, that the Lord was departed from him.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

17. all his heart] i.e. all that he knew about his supernatural secret, Jdg_13:5-7. The heart in the O.T. is the seat not merely of the affections, but of the mind and will; so in Jdg_16:15; Jdg_16:18.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

That he told her all his heart,.... All that was in his heart concerning this affair, all that he knew relating to it; he had told her something before, or at least what came nearer to the truth of the matter, when he directed her to the weaving of his locks into the web; but now he told her all, which is as follows:

and said unto her, there hath not come a razor upon mine head; his head had never been shaved since he was born; which was the order of the angel that foretold his birth, and it had been carefully observed to that time:

for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb; one condition of which, or what was enjoined a Nazarite, was, that he should not be shaved, and which had been religiously observed in Samson; and whereas abstinence from wine and strong drink was another part of the law of Nazariteship, or what such persons were obliged unto, what Josephus says concerning Samson being drunk in the above cases could not be true; since his Nazariteship would have been made void by it, and so have affected his strength: but it must be owned that there were other things Nazarites were obliged to, which were dispensed with, as has been observed in the case of Samson, a perpetual Nazarite; and therefore it is probable, that the principal thing he was to regard, and upon which his strength was continued, was not shaving his head:

if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man; in which he says more than he ever did before, namely, that his strength should go from him; for though that did not arise from his hair, yet the keeping on of that was the condition of his retaining it.

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

Thing. Hebrew and Septuagint, "He told her all his heart." --- That is to say, consecrated, is added by the Vulgate. (Haydock) --- Men. Was the hair the physical, or only the moral, cause of his wonderful strength? It is generally believed that it was only a moral cause, or a token appointed by God, that as long as Samson retained his hair he should be endued with such force. The pagans relate, that the kingdom of Nisus and of Pterelaus depended on a fatal lock of hair, which their daughters cut off. Crinis inhœrebat, magni fiducia regni. (Ovid, Met. viii.; Apoll. 2.) (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Not that his hair was in itself the seat or cause of his strength, but because it was the chief condition of that vow or covenant, whereby as he stood obliged to him, so God was pleased graciously to engage himself to fit him for, and assist him in, that great work to which he called him; but upon his violation of his condition, God justly withdraws his help, and leaves him to himself.

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

17. Told her all his heart — Lust and love conquered at last. “Samson, when strong and brave,” says St. Ambrose, “strangled a lion, but could not strangle his own love. He burst the fetters of his foes, but not the cords of his own lust. He burned up the crops of others, and lost the fruit of his own virtue when burning with the flame enkindled by a single woman.”

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

That he told her. This begins a new sentence. Read, And he told her. Any other man. Rather, like all men. Man, though singular in the Hebrew, is collective as in ver. 7, and as the lier in wait in vers. 9 and 12, and is properly rendered men in English.

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

If I be shaven - Not that his hair was in itself the cause of his strength, but because it was the chief condition of that covenant, whereby God was pleased to ingage himself to fit him for, and assist him in that great work to which he called him: but upon his violation of the condition, God justly withdraws his help. (EFN Isaiah xl, 31 Psalm xxix, 11)

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

told her everything

everything about the source of his strength. This can be stated clearly. AT: "told her the source of his strength" or "told her the truth" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

razor

a sharp blade used to cut hair close to a person's skin

a Nazirite for God

This means that he is devoted to God as a Nazirite. See how you translated a similar phrase in Judges 13:5. AT: "a Nazirite devoted to God" or "devoted to God as a Nazirite" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

from my mother's womb

Here "from my mother's womb" refers to to when he was born. This means that he has been a Nazirite since he was born. AT: "my entire life" (See: Metonymy)

If my head is shaved

This can be stated in active form. AT: "If someone shaves my head" (See: Active or Passive)

shaved

to have had the hair cut close to the skin with a razor

my strength will leave me

Samson speaks about his strength as if it were a person who could leave him. AT: "I will not be strong any more" (See: Personification)

translationWords

Samson

Nazirite

God

womb

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