Bible Strands
Judges 16:13
Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have mocked me and lied to me all along! Tell me how you can be tied up.” He told her, “If you weave the seven braids of my head into the web of a loom and tighten it with a pin, I will become as weak as any other man.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Delilah confronts Samson after his previous escapes, demanding the true method for restraining him. Samson responds by describing a specific binding technique involving his hair and a loom.
The words — The Hebrew הֵתַ֤לְתָּ (he.Tal.ta) literally means "you have deceived," while וַ/תְּדַבֵּ֤ר (va./te.da.Ber) translates to "and you have spoken." These terms frame Delilah’s accusation of repeated trickery.
The thread — This verse continues the escalating cycle of deception and restraint in Judges 16, where Samson repeatedly reveals false binding methods before Delilah attempts them. The motif of woven hair and loom imagery recurs in the immediate narrative sequence at Judges 16:14.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition of how Samson’s own words enable his capture. It requires the reader to track the precise mechanics of the trap without romanticizing the betrayal.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web.