Shofetim 16:13

13 And Delilah said unto Shimshon, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me kezavim; tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the sheva braids of my head with the web [fabric on the loom],

Shofetim 16:13 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 16:13

And Delilah said unto Samson
At another time, when she thought it most proper to upbraid him with his deception of her:

hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies;
both the times that she had solicited him to impart the secret of his strength to her:

tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound;
tell me the real truth, and deceive me no more:

and he said unto her, if thou weavest the seven locks of my head with
the web;
it seems that Samson's hair was parted into seven locks, which no doubt hung down very long; and now he tells her, that if these were interwoven with the warp which was upon the beam in a loom near by; perhaps in the same room, where Delilah used to weave, as was the custom of those times, and in various nations ^F1; his strength would be weakened; for Braunius ^F2 is mistaken in supposing this to be the beam about which the web was rolled, as he is also in the pin next mentioned, which he takes to be the "spatha", or lathe, with which the threads are knocked together.

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FOOTNOTES:

F1 "Arguto conjux" Virgil. Georgie. l. 1. v. 294. So Penelope in Homer, Minerva & Arachne in Ovid. Metamorph. l. 6. fab. 1. v. 55, &c. Vid. Pignorium de servis, p. 418. Braunium de Vest. Sacerd. Hebr. l. 1. c. 17. sect. 33.
F2 "De Vest". Sacerd. Hebr. l. 1. c. 16. sect. 8.

Shofetim 16:13 In-Context

11 And he said unto her, If they bind me fast with avotim chadashim that never were used, then shall I be weak, and be as any adam.

12 Delilah therefore took avotim chadashim, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Pelishtim be upon thee, Shimshon. For there were ambushers lying in wait abiding in the cheder. And he broke them from off his arms like thread.

13 And Delilah said unto Shimshon, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me kezavim; tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the sheva braids of my head with the web [fabric on the loom],

14 And fasten it with the pin... Again she called to him, The Pelishtim be upon thee, Shimshon. And he awakened out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the loom, and with the web.

15 And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine lev is not with me? Thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy ko’ach gadol lieth.