Question 1

Why does Delilah say Samson does not really love her in this passage?

Accepted Answer

Delilah tells Samson, “How can you say, I love you, when your heart is not with me?” because he has kept back the true secret of his strength after she asked him several times. She uses his feelings for her to pressure him, making him feel guilty for not opening his heart fully. Her words sound like a complaint about love, but the passage shows she is really trying to get information for the Philistine rulers in exchange for money. It is emotional manipulation, not real care for Samson’s good.

Question 2

What does it mean that Samson’s soul was vexed unto death?

Accepted Answer

When it says Samson’s soul was vexed unto death, it means he was worn out and deeply troubled by Delilah’s constant nagging and questions. Day after day she pressed him to tell her the truth about his strength. He became so tired and distressed that it felt unbearable, as if he could not go on. This line shows how pressure and temptation often work, not in one big moment, but through steady pushing until a person finally gives in and makes a wrong choice.

Question 3

Why was Samson’s hair so important to his strength in this story?

Accepted Answer

Samson’s hair was important because it was the outward sign of his Nazarite vow, a special promise that he was set apart to God from his mother’s womb. God had joined his unusual physical strength with this visible sign of obedience. When Samson told Delilah that no razor had ever come on his head, he was revealing the link between his calling and his strength. When his hair was shaved, it showed that the vow was broken. The strength left him not because hair is magic, but because he had turned from what God had commanded.

Question 4

What does it mean that the Lord had departed from Samson?

Accepted Answer

When the passage says the Lord had departed from Samson, it means God’s special helping presence and power were no longer with him. Samson thought he could get up and fight the Philistines as before, but he did not realize that his disobedience had driven away the strength God had given. This is not about God suddenly changing, but about Samson breaking the vow that marked his calling. It warns that we cannot live in open disobedience and still expect to walk in the same strength with God as before.

Question 5

Why did the Philistines put out Samson’s eyes and make him grind in prison?

Accepted Answer

The Philistines blinded Samson and forced him to grind grain in prison to shame and control him. Taking his eyes was a harsh punishment that also fits his earlier sins, where he followed what pleased his eyes. Making him grind like a slave showed how far he had fallen from being a mighty judge in Israel to doing the lowest work. This picture of blindness, chains, and hard labor shows the bondage that can follow when someone gives in to sin and turns from the path God set for them.

Question 6

What is the meaning of Samson’s hair beginning to grow again after he was shaven?

Accepted Answer

The note that Samson’s hair began to grow again is more than a small detail about his appearance. It quietly hints that his Nazarite calling is not forgotten and that God is not finished with him, even in his shame. The same outward sign that was linked to his strength starts to return, pointing to coming restoration and one more act of God’s power through him. It suggests that, while sin brings real loss, there can still be hope and a way back when a person is humbled and turns again to God.

Question 7

How does Samson’s fall warn us about trusting in people and ignoring God?

Accepted Answer

Samson’s fall warns us about giving our hearts to someone who does not share our loyalty to God and about trusting human affection more than God’s word. He keeps playing with temptation instead of fleeing from it, and he finally opens his whole heart to a woman who is secretly selling him out for money. At the same time, he seems to assume his strength will always be there. The story shows that when we compromise like this, both in relationships and obedience, we should not be surprised when our strength and freedom are lost.

Question 8

What does this passage teach about the danger of compromise with sin?

Accepted Answer

This passage shows compromise as a slow, wearing process. Samson does not give Delilah the truth at first, but he stays in the same place, keeps listening, and keeps playing with the edge of the secret. Little by little, he moves closer until at last he tells her everything. Once the vow is broken, the loss is huge: God’s presence, freedom, sight, and honor. It teaches that repeated small compromises with known sin can lead to a fall much greater than we expected, and that we need to turn away early instead of seeing how close we can get.

Judges 16:15

¶ And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth.

Delilah Learns the Secret

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Judges 16:15

¶ And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth.

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Delilah Learns the Secret

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