Judges 16 · Verse 1

Judges 16:1

Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot, and went in unto her.
Judges 16:1, King James Version

Judges 16:1 in other translations

BSBOne day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute and went in to spend the night with her.
WEBSamson went to Gaza, and saw there a prostitute, and went in to her.
ASVAnd Samson went to Gaza, and saw there a harlot, and went in unto her.
YLTAnd Samson goeth to Gaza, and seeth there a woman, a harlot, and goeth in unto her;
DARBYAnd Samson went to Gazah, and saw there a harlot, and went in to her.
BBENow Samson went to Gaza, and there he saw a loose woman and went in to her.
WebsterThen went Samson to Gaza, and saw there a harlot, and went in to her.

What does Judges 16:1 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Judges 16:1-2

Jud 16:1-3. Samson Carries Away the Gates of Gaza.

1-2. Gaza--now Guzzah, the capital of the largest of the five Philistine principal cities, about fifteen miles southwest of Ashkelon. The object of this visit to this city is not recorded, and unless he had gone in disguise, it was a perilous exposure of his life in one of the enemy's strongholds. It soon became known that he was there; and it was immediately resolved to secure him. But deeming themselves certain of their prey, the Gazites deferred the execution of their measure till the morning.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Introduction

Samson comes to Gaza; they lay wait for him; he rises by night, and carries away the city gates, Jdg 16:1-3. Falls in love with Delilah, Jdg 16:4. The lords of the Philistines promise her money if she will obtain from Samson the secret in which his strength lay, Jdg 16:5. By various artifices she at last obtains this; and communicates it to the Philistines, who seize and bind him, put out his eyes, and cause him to grind in the prison-house, vv. 6-21. At a public festival to Dagon he is brought out to make sport; when, being weary, he requests to be placed between the two pillars which supported the roof of the house, on which three thousand men and women were stationed to see him make sport, Jdg 16:22-27. He prays to God to strengthen him, and pulls down the pillars; by which (the house falling) both himself, the lords of the Philistines, and a vast multitude of the people, are slain, Jdg 16:28-30. His relatives come and take away his body, and bury it, Jdg 16:31. Verse 1 Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there a harlot - The Chaldee, as in the former case, renders the clause thus: Samson saw there a woman, an inn-keeper. Perhaps the word זונה zonah is to be taken here in its double sense; one who keeps a house for the entertainment of travelers, and who also prostitutes her person. Gaza was situated near the Mediterranean Sea, and was one of the most southern cities of Palestine. It has been supposed by some to have derived its name from the treasures deposited there by Cambyses, king of the Persians; because they say Gaza, in Persian, signifies treasure; so Pomponius Mela and others. But it is more likely to be a Hebrew word, and that this city derived its name, עזה azzah, from עזז azaz, to be strong, it being a strong or well fortified place. The Hebrew ע ain in this word is, by the Septuagint, the Arabic, and the Vulgate, rendered G; hence instead of azzah, with a strong guttural breathing, we have Gaza, a name by which this town could not be recognized by an ancient Hebrew.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Judges 16:1-3
Hitherto Samson's character has appeared glorious, though uncommon. In this chapter we find him behaving in so wicked a manner, that many question whether or not he were a godly man. But the apostle has determined this, He 11:32. By adverting to the doctrines and examples of Scripture, the artifices of Satan, the deceitfulness of the human heart, and the methods in which the Lord frequently deals with his people, we may learn useful lessons from this history, at which some needlessly stumble, while others cavil and object. The peculiar time in which Samson lived may account for many things, which, if done in our time, and without the special appointment of Heaven, would be highly criminal. And there might have been in him many exercises of piety, which, if recorded, would have reflected a different light upon his character. Observe Samson's danger. Oh that all who indulge their sensual appetites in drunkenness, or any fleshly lusts, would see themselves thus surrounded, way-laid, and marked for ruin by their spiritual enemies! The faster they sleep, the more secure they feel, the greater their danger. We hope it was with a pious resolution not to return to his sin, that he rose under a fear of the danger he was in. Can I be safe under this guilt? It was bad that he lay down without such checks; but it would have been worse, if he had laid still under them.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Judges 16:1 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיֵּ֥לֶךְvai.Ye.lekhand he wentH1980
שִׁמְשׁ֖וֹןshim.ShonSamsonH8123
עַזָּ֑תָה'a.Za.tahGaza towardsH5804
וַיַּרְא\־vai.yar'-and he sawH7200
שָׁם֙shamthereH8033
אִשָּׁ֣ה'i.Shaha womanH802
זוֹנָ֔הzo.Naha prostituteH2181
וַיָּבֹ֖אvai.ya.Vo'and he wentH935
אֵלֶֽיהָ\׃'e.Lei.hainto herH413

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Judges 16:1

  • Joshua 15:47

    Ashdod with her towns and her villages, Gaza with her towns and her villages, unto the river of Egypt, and the great sea, and the border thereof:

  • Genesis 38:16-18

    And he turned unto her by the way, and said, Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee; (for he knew not that she was his daughter in law.) And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in unto me? And he said, I will send thee a kid from the flock. And she said, Wilt thou give me a pledge, till thou send it? And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff that is in thine hand. And he gave it her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him.

  • Ezra 9:1-2

    Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass.

  • Genesis 10:19

    And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1 Samson at Gaza escapes, and carries away the gates of the city.
4 Delilah, corrupted by the Philistines, entices Samson.
6 Thrice she is deceived.
15 At last she overcomes him.
21 The Philistines take him, and put out his eyes.
22 His strength renewing he pulls down the house upon the Philistines, and dies.

Gaza.Gaza, a city of great antiquity, was situated between Raphia and Askelon, twenty-two miles north of the former, and sixteen south of of the latter, according to the Antonine Itinerary; three miles from the sea, according to Arrian, and thirty-four from Ashdod or Azotus, according to Diodorus Siculus. It was a place of great strength and importance; and successively belonged to the Philistines, Hebrews, Chaldeans, and Persians; which latter defended it for two months against Alexander the great, who finally took and destroyed it. It was afterwards rebuilt, and alternately possessed by the Egyptians, Syrians, and Jews. The present town, which the Arabs call Razza, is situated on an eminence, and is rendered picturesque by the number of fine minarets which rise majestically above the buildings, with beautiful date trees interspersed. It contains upwards of 2,000 inhabitants.
Ge 10:19; Jos 15:47
an harlot. Heb. a woman an harlot. and went
Ge 38:16-18; Ezr 9:1,2

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Judges 16:1

    Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot, and went in unto her.

  • Judges 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.

Read all of Judges 16

Judges 16:1 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y FUÉ Samsón á Gaza, y vió allí una mujer ramera, y entró á ella.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		*Et Samson alla à Gaza, et il vit là une prostituée et entra vers elle.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und Simson ging nach Gasa, und er sah daselbst eine Hure und ging zu ihr ein.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Abiit quoque in Gazam, et vidit ibi mulierem meretricem, ingressusque est ad eam.