The Pulpit Commentary — Judges — Section 157

once B strong pince, but now n Ie.rge open Hebron "was about nine geographical, or town. It was the 111st town in South-West between ten and eleven English, miles from Palestine on the road from J eruse.lem to Gaza, sitnated in a deep, narrow valley, with Egypt (Acts viii. 26, 27). It played e.n im- high hills on either side." It is approached portant pa.rt in history in all a.gee-in the from Gaza over a high ridge, from the top of times of the Phare.ohs, the Seleucidm, the which Hebron becomes visible, lying in the Maccnbees, the Rome.ns, the Khalife, and the valley below at fifty m'l.nutes' distance. This Crusaders. It Wll.8 within the limits of the spot would suit very well the description, tribe of Judah (Josh. xv. 47). It is first "the hill that is before Hebron." Some, mentioned in Gen. x. 19, as the south-west however, think that the hill called el Montar, border of the Canaanites. Its reo.l trans- about three-quarters of an hour from Gaza, literation from the Hebrew is' Azzah, as it is on the road to Hebron, is here meant, and actually expressed in the A. V. of Dent. ii. that the plain before Hebron merely means 23, and 1 Kings iv. 24. Gaza is the Greek wwards, a.sin Gen. xviii. 16; Dent. xxxii. 49. form. Ver. 4.-Sorek. See eh. xiv. 5, note. Ver. 2.-And it was told. These words The name has not yet been discovered as have no doubt accidentally fallen out of the applied to any existing spot; but Eusebius Hebrew text, but they are necessary to the in the 'Onomasticon' speaks of a village sense, and are expressed in all the ancient Caphar-sorek as still existing near Zorah. versions. We ho.ve no clue as to the motive The term valley (nachal) describes a wady, of Samson's visit to Gaza, whether he was i. e. a narrow valley with a stream. meditating its conquest, or an assault upon Ver. 5.-Lords. See eh. iii. 3, note;· His its inhabitants, or whether he came merely great strength lieth-literally, wherein (or in the wild spirit of adventure, or upon civil by wlw,t meam) hiA strength is great. Thev business. We only know that he came guessed that it was through some charm or there, the.t, with his usual weakness, he fell secret amulet that his Herculean might was into the snare of female ble.ndishments, that nourished. Eleven hundred pieces, or the Philistines thought to have caught him shekels, of silver. The whole sum promised and killed him, but that he escaped by his by the five lords would be no less than supernatural strength. Gaza is about thir- 6500 shekels, equal to about £620 of our teen hours' march irom Thimnathah. They money. The curious notation, eleven hun- compassed him in. The Hebrew does not dred pieces, occurs again eh. xvii. 2. The express this idea, nor is it what the Gazites reason of it is unknown. did. It should be rendered, They we:nt ab01tt Ver. 7.-AB another man-literally, as one and lay in wait for him. Instead of attack- of men, i. e. of mankind, not different from ing him directly, they took a round-about other men. As regards the word rendered course, and set an ambush for him in the withs, it is not certain whether strings of cat- city gates, probably in the guard-room by gut are not meant. In Ps. xi. 2 the same the side of the gate, intending when he came word is used of a bow-string. The word forth unsuspectingly in the morning, at the rendered green means fresh or new, and hour of opening the gates, to rush upon him might be equally applied to catgut strings and kill him. or withs. Ver. 3. -Samson arose at midnight. Ver. 9.-There were men lying in wait- Possibly the woman had learnt the plot, and literally, and the liers in wait were abiding gave Samson warning, after the manner of for her in the chamber. She had hid som~ Rahab; or she may have been his betrayer, three or four men in the chamber unlmowu and reckoned upon retaining him till the to Se.mson, that they might be ready to fall morning; anyhow he a.rose at midnight, upon him should his strength really have when the liers in we.it were sleeping securely, departed from him. The word for liers in nnd tearing up the two gate-posts, with the wait is in the singular number, but is to bo gates and the cross-bar attached to them, taken collectively, as in eh. xx. 33, 36-3S. walked off with them "as for as the top of the In eh. xx. 37 it is joined to a plural verb. hill that is before Hebron." Took the doors, It is to be presumed that through some con- &c. Rather, laid hold of. For went away certed signal the liars in wnit did not dis- with them, tmnslate plucked them up. It cover themselves. is the technical word for Jillucking up the tent Ver. 10.-Wherewith, or rather, as in pins. Bar and all, or, with the bar. The bar ver. 8, IJ'IJ what means. Wll.8 probably a strong iron or wooden cross- Ver. 11.-Ropes-liternlly, twisted things; be.r, which was e.ttached to the posts by a hence cords or ropes, ns Ps. ii. 3 ; Isa. v. lock, and could only be removed by one that 18. Oocupied-nn old obsolete phrase, for bad the key. Samson tore up the posts which we should now say used. with the barred gates attached to them, and, Ver.12.-Took now ropes. She hnd them putting the whole mass upon his be.ck, walked by her, apparently, or could easily procure Qtf with it. The hill that is before Hebron. them, 11s it is not said that the lords brought  16B THE BOOK JF JUDGES. [CH. XVI, 1-22.