THEOSISAmbrose of Milan
Shortly thereafter, the disgraced Dalila yearned to once again harness her allure and assess the depth of her affection.
Judges 16:10Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers
And Dalila said to him: Behold thou hast mocked me, and hast told me a false thing: but now at least tell me wherewith thou mayest be bound.
וַתֹּ֤אמֶר דְּלִילָה֙ אֶל־שִׁמְשׁ֔וֹן הִנֵּה֙ הֵתַ֣לְתָּ בִּ֔י וַתְּדַבֵּ֥ר אֵלַ֖י כְּזָבִ֑ים עַתָּה֙ הַגִּֽידָה־נָּ֣א לִ֔י בַּמֶּ֖ה תֵּאָסֵֽר׃
The Church Fathers on this verse
2 Church Fathers comment on this verse
Paulinus of Nola
The illustrious Samson, endowed with strength from his hair and divine might in his locks, vanquished the Lion, silencing its roars with his mighty hand, and seized the sweet fruit of his renowned triumph from its jaws. May this victory serve as a warning to him against forming alliances with outsiders. The outsider, representing the law of the flesh, ensnares with deceptive and crafty nets. When logic succumbs to that law, sin gains dominion over reason. Deceitful and delightful words can ensnare the souls of men, cloud their understanding, and rob their faith or diminish it entirely. Let our young man escape Samson’s fate, that he may not bind himself and suffer the ensuing blindness, captivity, and weakness that comes from his chains.
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When Samson's locks grew back, may he once again find his stronghold; he was brought from the captives’ confines to face his adversaries. His eyes were shrouded in darkness, yet with the vision of his heart, he called upon God, the Avenger. His strength returned to his hair, and in that moment, he brought down the house of the enemy: the pillars, mightier than stone, collapsed when he embraced them, leading to their ruin. Even in his death, this champion of God triumphed over his foes amid the debris. By the glory of his death, he redeemed himself from the disgrace of a life in bondage. The servant who was derided by his adversaries conquered them and, in death, carried away more enemies than in life. I desire our son to emulate not only his life but also his death. As he dwells in the flesh, may he discipline his body, and while living for God, subdue the sins of the flesh. I wish for him to avoid the clutches of the wicked and never find himself vulnerable and stripped of grace in the grasp of his foes.
Cross references
Passages read together with this verse.
- Judg 16:13And Dalila said to him again: How long dost thou deceive me, and tell me lies? Shew me wherewith thou mayest be bound. And Samson answered her: If thou plattest the seven locks of my head with a lace, and tying them round about a nail, fastenest it in the ground, I shall be weak.
- Prov 24:28Be not witness without cause against thy neighbour: and deceive not any man with thy lips.
- Luke 22:48And Jesus said to him: Judas, dost thou betray the Son of man with a kiss?
- Ezek 33:31And they come to thee, as if people were coming in, and my people sit before thee: and hear thy words, and do them not: for they turn them into a song of their mouth, and their heart goeth after their covetousness.
- Judg 16:15And Dalila said to him: How dost thou say thou lovest me, when thy mind is not with me? Thou hast told me lies these three times, and wouldst not tell me wherein thy greatest strength lieth.
- Judg 16:17Then opening the truth of the thing, he said to her: The razor hath never come upon my head, for I am a Nazarite, that is to say, consecrated to God from my mother's womb: If my head be shaven, my strength shall depart from me, and I shall become weak, and shall be like other men.
- Judg 16:7And Samson answered her: If I shall be bound with seven cords, made of sinews not yet dry, but still moist, I shall be weak like other men.
- Prov 23:7Because, like a soothsayer, and diviner, he thinketh that which he knoweth not. Eat and drink, will he say to thee: and his mind is not with thee.