Bible Strands
Judges 16:26
Samson said to the servant who held his hand, “Lead me where I can feel the pillars supporting the temple, so I can lean against them.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Samson addresses the young man holding his hand, requesting to be moved toward the temple’s structural pillars during his forced entertainment before the Philistine assembly.
The words — הַמַּחֲזִיק (ha.ma.cha.Zik) denotes the one who kept hold of him, while הַנִּיחָה (ha.Ni.cha/h) commands the young man to permit or allow Samson to proceed.
The thread — The structural role of temple pillars recurs in 1 Kings 7:21 and 2 Chronicles 3:17, where Jachin and Boaz mark the entrance of Solomon’s temple.
Why it lands — The text records Samson’s precise request to locate the load-bearing supports before acting, leaving the outcome unexplained and placing the burden of response on the reader.
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 Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them.