Bible Strands
Judges 16:6
So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me the source of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Delilah confronts Samson immediately after the Philistine lords bribe her to entice him and discover the secret of his strength and the method for binding him. She directly questions him about the origin of his power and the means to subdue him.
The words — The imperative הַגִּידָה (ha.gida) commands “tell,” modified by the enclitic נָא (na) meaning “please.” The interrogative phrase בְּ/מֶה כֹּחֲךָ (be/me ko'kha) literally translates as “in what [is] your strength.”
The thread — The pattern of deceptive enticement and hidden motives appears in Psalms 12:2, Micah 7:2, and Proverbs 6:26. The narrative sequence continues in Judges 16:7 with Samson’s false disclosure about seven fresh bowstrings.
Why it lands — The text records a direct inquiry about vulnerability and subjugation without moral commentary. It requires the reader to observe how the question functions as a tactical probe rather than a genuine request for knowledge.
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 to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee.
Cross-references
- Psalms 12:2 They lie to one another; they speak with flattering lips and a double heart.
- Micah 7:2 The godly man has perished from the earth; there is no one upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; they hunt one another with a net.
- Proverbs 6:26 For the levy of the prostitute is poverty, and the adulteress preys upon your very life.
- Proverbs 7:21 With her great persuasion she entices him; with her flattering lips she lures him.
- Proverbs 22:14 The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit; he who is under the wrath of the LORD will fall into it.
- Proverbs 26:28 A lying tongue hates those it crushes, and a flattering mouth causes ruin.
- Jeremiah 9:2 If only I had a traveler’s lodge in the wilderness, I would abandon my people and depart from them, for they are all adulterers, a crowd of faithless people.
- Micah 7:5 Do not rely on a friend; do not trust in a companion. Seal the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your arms.