New International Version
Judges 16:3
3But Samson lay there only until the middle of the night. Then he got up and took hold of the doors of the city gate, together with the two posts, and tore them loose, bar and all. He lifted them to his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron.
Judges 16:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron.
- English Standard Version (ESV)But Samson lay till midnight, and at midnight he arose and took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two posts, and pulled them up, bar and all, and put them on his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that is in front of Hebron.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And Samson lay low till midnight; then he arose at midnight, took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two gateposts, pulled them up, bar and all, put them on his shoulders, and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron.
- New Living Translation (NLT)But Samson stayed in bed only until midnight. Then he got up, took hold of the doors of the town gate, including the two posts, and lifted them up, bar and all. He put them on his shoulders and carried them all the way to the top of the hill across from Hebron.
Context of Judges 16:3
1One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute. He went in to spend the night with her. 2The people of Gaza were told, “Samson is here!” So they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate. They made no move during the night, saying, “At dawn we’ll kill him.” But Samson lay there only until the middle of the night. Then he got up and took hold of the doors of the city gate, together with the two posts, and tore them loose, bar and all. He lifted them to his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron. 4Some time later, he fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah. 5The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, “See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver.”
Read all of Judges 16Judges 16:3 word by word
וַיִּשְׁכַּ֣ב שִׁמְשׁוֹן֮ עַד־חֲצִ֣י הַלַּיְלָה֒ וַיָּ֣קָם׀ בַּחֲצִ֣י הַלַּ֗יְלָה וַיֶּאֱחֹ֞ז בְּדַלְת֤וֹת שַֽׁעַר־הָעִיר֙ וּבִשְׁתֵּ֣י הַמְּזוּז֔וֹת וַיִּסָּעֵם֙ עִֽם־הַבְּרִ֔יחַ וַיָּ֖שֶׂם עַל־כְּתֵפָ֑יו וַֽיַּעֲלֵם֙ אֶל־רֹ֣אשׁ הָהָ֔ר אֲשֶׁ֖ר עַל־פְּנֵ֥י חֶבְרֽוֹן׃ פRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And Samsonשִׁמְשׁוֹןshimshôn · SamsonH8123
- layשָׁכַבshâkab · to lie down: sleepH7901
- till midnightלַ֫יְלָהlayil lêyl layelâh · nightH3915
- till midnightחֲצִיchêtsîy · halfH2677
- and aroseקוּםqûm · to arise: riseH6965
- and tookאָחַז'âchaz · to graspH270
- the doorsדֶּ֫לֶתdeleth · doorH1817
- of the gateשַׁ֫עַרsha‛ar · gateH8179
- of the cityעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
- and the twoשְׁנַ֫יִםshenayim shettayim · twoH8147
- postsמְזוּזָהmezûzâh mezûzâh · doorpostH4201
- and went awayנָסַעnâsa‛ · to set outH5265
- with them, barבְּרִיחַberîyach · barH1280
- and all, and putשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: putH7760
- upon his shouldersכָּתֵףkâthêph · shoulderH3802
- and carried them upעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: establishH5927
- to the topרֹאשׁrô'sh · head: topH7218
- of an hillהַרhar · mountain: mountH2022
- beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
- Hebronחֶבְרוֹןchebrôn · HebronH2275
Cross-references for Judges 16:3
- Psalms 107:16for he breaks down gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron.
- Isaiah 63:1Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah, with his garments stained crimson? Who is this, robed in splendor, striding forward in the greatness of his strength? “It is I, proclaiming victory, mighty to save.”
- Micah 2:13The One who breaks open the way will go up before them; they will break through the gate and go out. Their King will pass through before them, the Lord at their head.”
- Acts 2:24But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.
Commentaries on Judges 16:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3Took the doors of the gate - Though Samson was a very strong man, yet we do not find that he was a giant; consequently we may conjecture that the gates of the city were not very large, as he took at once the doors, the two posts, and the bar, with him. The cities of those days would appear to disadvantage among modern villages. A hill - before Hebron - Possibly there were two Hebrons; it could not be the city generally understood by the word Hebron, as…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3Instead of forcing the doors open, he tore the posts up, as it were, by the roots, with the barred doors attached to them. The word rendered “went away with them,” means “to pluck up the tent-pins,” and hence, “to remove.” The present town of Gaza (Ghuzzeh) is an open town, without gates or walls, but the sites of the ancient gates still remain visible. One of these, on the southeast, is shown as the gate carried off by Samson. A partially-isolated hill…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3Samson lifted the entire gate system, which was six to twelve feet wide, and carried it to the hills across from Hebron, a town about forty miles away. Samson embarrassed the Philistines but did not defeat them.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. Samson ... arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city--A ruinous pile of masonry is still pointed out as the site of the gate. It was probably a part of the town wall, and as this ruin is "toward Hebron," there is no improbability in the tradition. carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron--That hill is El-Montar; but by Hebron in this passage is meant "the mountains of Hebron"; for otherwise Samson, had he run…Read the comment
Topics related to Judges 16:3
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Judges 16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- Darby Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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