Judges 16:19-21

Hebrew Key Terms:

• H1548 גָּלַח (gālaḥ) - "shave" - she called a man to shave
• H3581 כֹּחַ (kōaḥ) - "strength" - his strength left him
• H5493 סוּר (sûr) - "depart/turn aside" - the LORD had departed from him
• H3045 יָדַע (yāḏaʿ) - "know" - he did not know
• H5782 עָוַר (ʿāwar) - "blind/put out eyes" - they gouged out his eyes

Context: After persistent pressure, Samson revealed his secret: "If I am shaved, my strength will leave me" (16:17). Delilah lulled him to sleep on her lap and called a man to shave his seven braids. "In this way she began to subdue him, and his strength left him" (16:19). When Philistines attacked, Samson thought "I will escape as I did before"—"but he did not know that the LORD had departed from him" (וְהוּא לֹא יָדַע כִּי יְהוָה סָר מֵעָלָיו). They seized him, gouged out his eyes, and enslaved him in Gaza.

OT-to-OT Development:

• The LORD's "departing" echoes 1 Samuel 16:14—"The Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul"
• The blindness anticipates prophetic warnings about spiritual blindness (Isaiah 6:9-10)
• The tragic phrase "he did not know" warns of spiritual insensitivity from compromise

Connections:

• TO:
• 1 Samuel 16:14 - Spirit departs from Saul
• Isaiah 59:2 - sins separate from God
• FROM OT:
• Proverbs 5:22-23 - "the cords of his sin hold him fast...he dies for lack of discipline"
• FROM NT:
• 1 Corinthians 10:12 - "let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall"
• Galatians 6:7 - "whatever one sows, that will he also reap"

Christological Connection: Samson's spiritual failure provides dramatic contrast with Christ. Where Samson compromised his consecration, Jesus remained "holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners" (Hebrews 7:26). Where the Spirit departed from Samson, the Spirit remained upon Jesus without limit (John 3:34). Where Samson "did not know" his condition, Jesus perfectly knew the Father's will and executed it. Samson's failure magnifies Christ's faithfulness. Both faced temptation (Samson through Delilah, Jesus in the wilderness and Gethsemane), but only Christ endured without compromise. Samson lost divine presence through unfaithfulness; Christ maintained unbroken communion with the Father even unto death.

Connection Method(s): Contrast — Samson's loss of the Spirit through unfaithfulness magnifies Christ's perfect faithfulness, as Christ remained "holy, innocent, unstained" and the Spirit rested upon Him without measure.

Trajectory Table: 137 - Samson (Spirit-Empowered Deliverer)