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Delilah

Woman living before Israel's Monarchy

Delilah was a Philistine woman who deceived Samson into revealing the secret of his strength, leading to his capture.

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Delilah, a Philistine woman from the Valley of Sorek, is known for her role in the downfall of Samson, one of Israel's judges. Samson fell in love with Delilah, and the Philistine rulers, seeing an opportunity to defeat their enemy, offered Delilah a substantial sum of money to discover the secret of Samson's strength (Jdg.16.4-5).

Delilah repeatedly asked Samson to reveal the source of his strength, but he deceived her three times. First, he told her that if he were bound with seven fresh bowstrings, he would become weak, but when she did so, he broke them easily (Jdg.16.6-9). Next, he claimed that new ropes would render him helpless, but he snapped them as well (Jdg.16.10-12). Finally, he said that weaving his hair into a loom would take away his strength, but this too proved false (Jdg.16.13-14).

Frustrated by Samson's deception, Delilah persistently pressed him for the truth, wearing him down with her words day after day. Eventually, Samson revealed that his strength came from his uncut hair, a sign of his Nazirite vow to God (Jdg.16.15-17). Delilah lulled Samson to sleep, called for a man to shave his head, and his strength left him (Jdg.16.18-19).

The Philistines captured the weakened Samson, gouged out his eyes, and forced him to work as a grinder in prison (Jdg.16.20-21). Delilah's betrayal ultimately led to Samson's humiliation and imprisonment, though he later regained his strength and brought down the Philistine temple, killing many Philistines and himself in the process (Jdg.16.22-30).

Delilah's story serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of temptation, deception, and the consequences of betraying one's vows to God. It also highlights the weakness of even the strongest man when he allows himself to be swayed by the wiles of a woman.

Family

Spouse or partner
Samson

Connections

Part of: Judges era and the road to David

Samson and Delilah

RoleStated in the text

Samson loved Delilah, who was paid by the Philistine rulers to learn the secret of his strength. After three false answers he revealed that his hair, sign of his Nazirite vow, was the source. He was blinded and imprisoned, then died toppling Dagon's temple.

SamsonA JudgeDelilahPhilistine woman who betrayed Samson
Where the text shows it: Judg 16:4-6 — Delilah hired by Philistine lordsJudg 16:17-21 — Secret revealed; Samson capturedJudg 16:28-30 — Samson's death

Sources: Judg 16:4-6 · Judg 16:17-21 · Judg 16:28-30

More background: search Wikipedia ↗

Bible dictionary

Delilah Easton Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897)

Languishing, a Philistine woman who dwelt in the valley of Sorek (Judg. 16:4-20). She was bribed by the “lords of the Philistines” to obtain from Samson the secret of his strength and the means of overcoming it (Judg. 16:4-18). She tried on three occasions to obtain from him this secret in vain. On the fourth occasion she wrung it from him. She made him sleep upon her knees, and then called the man who was waiting to help her; who “cut off the seven locks of his head,” and so his “strength went from him.” (See SAMSON.)

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Delilah, Or Delilah Smith Smith’s Bible Dictionary (1863)

(languishing) a woman who dwelt in the valley Of Sorek, beloved by Samson. (Judges 16:4-18) There seems to be little doubt that she was a Philistine courtesan. [SAMS0N] (B.C. 1141.)

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Delilah Hitchcock Hitchcock’s Bible Names Dictionary (1869)

poor; small; head of hair

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Delilah Hastings Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible (1898)

DEL'ILAH (pining with desire), a harlot of the valley of Sorek, in the tribe of Judah, and near the borders of the Philistines, with whom Samson associated, and who was the instrument of betraying him to his enemies. Jud 16:4-18. See Samson.

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Delilah Schaff Schaff’s Dictionary of the Bible

DEL'ILAH (pining with desire), a harlot of the valley of Sorek, in the tribe of Judah, and near the borders of the Philistines, with whom Samson associated, and who was the instrument of betraying him to his enemies. Jud 16:4-18. See Samson.

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Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.

Where Delilah appears

6 verses in 1 book · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H1807

Judges6

Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.