Judges 16:2

Jdg 16:2 [And it was told] the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they compassed [him] in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him.

Ver. 2. And they compassed him in.] See their sedulity and Samson’s security, but especially God’s superabundant mercy: {1Ti 1:14} the riches of his grace cast in over and above desert or desire. {Eph 2:7 Rom 5:20}

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 16:2. It was told the Gazites, Samson is come hither — The arrival of so extraordinary a man could not be long concealed. And his enemies were willing to improve so favourable an opportunity to destroy him. They compassed him in, &c. — They either beset the house, or lay in wait at the gate of the city; saying, In the morning we will kill him — This, it is probable, they chose to do, rather than to seize upon him in his bed by night; either, because they knew not certainly in what house he was; or, because they thought to do that might cause great terror, and confusion, and mischief among their own people; whereas in the day-time they might more fully discover him, and more certainly use their weapons against him. O that all who indulge any unholy desire might see themselves thus surrounded, and marked for destruction by their spiritual enemies! The more secure they are, the greater is their danger.

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

Or, to the light of the morning.

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

Verse 2. They compassed him in] They shut up all the avenues, secured the gates, and set persons in ambush near them, that they might attack him on his leaving the city early the next morning.

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

(2) And it was told.—Our version rightly supplies these words. They are found in all the versions, and there can be no doubt that the word vayyuggar (Gen_22:20) has in this case accidentally dropped out of the text.

They compassed him in.—They apparently did not know in what house he was. The word might mean “they went round the city” (Psa_59:7), i.e., to look for him.

Were quiet—i.e., they made no attack. Thinking that they had secured him, they seem to have retired to rest. (Comp. Act_9:23-24.)

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

2. And it was told the Gazites] The verb has fallen out by accident; the LXX read it in the text.

all night in the gate] The text makes the Philistines lie in wait all the night, and keep quiet all the night; but there would be no need to keep watch in the gate at night, for the gate would be shut. To relieve the confusion the simplest plan is either to omit the first all the night, or to read all the day. The Philistines patrolled the town and lay in wait [during the day], hoping to catch Samson at the city gate when he went out; at night they could only keep quiet until the morning, and then fall upon their enemy. The last cl. = lit. until the morning dawns and we kill him, until implying the verb wait; for the Hebr. idiom see Driver, Tenses, p. 135, and cf. 1Sa_1:22 etc. Hebrew coordinates clauses which are really subordinate. The marg. ‘or Before’ is not right.

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.

And it was told the Gazites,.... The inhabitants of Gaza, the principal ones of it, the magistrates of the city, either by some persons that saw him come in, who knew him, or by the harlot into whose company he fell, to whom he made himself known:

saying, Samson is come hither; the man so famous for his strength, and such an enemy to the Philistines; his name was well known for his great exploits, and rung throughout Palestine, and was a terror to the whole country:

and they compassed him in; not that they surrounded the house where he was, which perhaps they might not certainly know, but they secured all the avenues and gates of the city, made them fast, and placed guards there, that he might not escape their hands:

and laid wait for him all night in the gate; particularly at that gate, where, if he went out for his country, he must pass:

and were quiet all the night; did not attempt to disturb Samson, or seize on him, if they knew where he was; knowing his great strength, and what a tumult might be raised in the city, they said nothing of it to anybody that passed, what they were placed there for, lest it should come to his ears; they made as if they were deaf and dumb, as some interpret it, and heard and knew nothing:

saying, in the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him; when they should better know him, and make sure their blow at him, and do it suddenly, unawares to him, as he came to the gate, to pass through it.

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

Setting. Hebrew, "they laid wait for him all night in the gate,....and were quiet all night, saying, in the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him." They hoped to seize him unawares, (Haydock) as they were afraid to rouse this lion, and hence probably refrained from setting fire to the house: (Calmet) though they might be deterred from doing this, by the fear of the conflagration spreading to other parts of the city, (Haydock) and by an over-ruling Providence. (Salien)

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).

This they chose to do, rather than to seize upon him in his house and bed by night; either because they knew not certainly in what house or place he was; or because they thought that might cause great terror, and confusion, and mischief among their own people; whereas in the day time they might more fully discover him, and more unexpectedly surprise him, and more certainly direct their blows and use their weapons against him.

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

2. Samson is come hither — Samson may have thought to pass unrecognized in that large town, but his fame was too extended, and too many Philistine eyes had seen him before. His stalwart form and long growth of hair would also, probably, anywhere attract attention.

Compassed him in — Probably, compassed the city about with spies to guard against a sudden and sly departure of their foe.

Quiet all the night — After night set in they supposed he would not be likely to leave the harlot before the morning, and so the watchmen gave so little heed to the gate of the city that Samson carried it off without their knowledge.

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

And it was told. These words have no doubt accidentally fallen out of the Hebrew text, but they are necessary to the sense, and are expressed in all the ancient versions. We have no clue as to the motive of Samson"s visit to Gaza, whether he was meditating its conquest, or an assault upon its inhabitants, or whether he came merely in the wild spirit of adventure, or upon civil business. We only know that he came there, that, with his usual weakness, he fell into the snare of female blandishments, that the Philistines thought to have caught him and killed him, but that he escaped by his supernatural strength. Gaza is about thirteen hours" march from Thimnathah. They compassed him in. The Hebrew does not express this idea, nor is it what the Gazites did. It should be rendered, They went about and lay in wait for him. Instead of attacking him directly, they took a round-about course, and set an ambush for him in the city gates, probably in the guard-room by the side of the gate, intending when he came forth unsuspectingly in the morning, at the hour of opening the gates, to rush upon him and kill him.

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

In the morning - This they chose to do, rather than to seize upon him in his bed by night; either, because they knew not certainly in what house he was; or, because they thought that might cause great terror, and confusion, and mischief among their own people; whereas in the day-time they might more fully discover him, and more certainly use their weapons against him. O that all who indulge any unholy desire, might see themselves thus surrounded, and marked for destruction by their spiritual enemies! The more secure they are, the greater is their danger.

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

The Azites were informed. It was said to the people of Aza.

They were silent [lit. "They were muted"]. They acted in silence.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.