JUDGES - Christian Identity Forum

Samson: Blindness, Judgment, Restoration 269
The story of Samson and Delilah is connected to the story of
the Gaza prostitute. This is indicated in the text by the connective
statement in verse 4, “after this.” Samson is continuing on
one course, downhill.
We are not expressly told that Delilah was a Philistine
woman, though that has usually been assumed. We might also
guess, because of the context, that she was a professional prostitute.
This may not be so, however. Thomas Kirk comments,
“There are several things, however, which may well lead us to
doubt the correctness of this opinion, and to believe that she
was an Israelite. First of all, there is her residence, which seems
to have been within the territory occupied by the tribe of Judah;
then there is the confidence placed in her by Samson, which
would be highly improbable on the supposition that she was a
Philistine; and then there is the largeness of the bribe with which
she was tempted by the lords of the Philistine — a fact which
can be most easily explained on the supposition that she was an
Israelite, whose patriotism had to be overcome.”4 To these arguments
we can add that the theme here is betrayal, and we would
not expect a betrayal from someone outside the camp. A
betrayer has to stand within the inner circle, as Judas did with
Jesus. This adds to the likelihood that Delilah was an Israelite.
Finally, there is, as we have noted, a parallel between what
Delilah does and what Judah did in betraying Samson in Judges
15. This again lends force to the notion that Delilah was an
Israelite, indeed perhaps of the royal tribe.
If an Israelite by birth, Delilah was a Philistine in heart. By
identifying herself with God’s enemies, she came to be counted
as one herself. Spirituality, if not in fact, Delilah was a Philistine
indeed. Moreover, even if she was not a prostitute by profession,
her acceptance of money from the Philistine certainly
puts her in the same category.
The five lords of the Philistine prevailed upon her by
offering her 5500 pieces of silver, to betray her lover. (We commented
on possible meanings of the number 1100 on page 29
above.) This is the second betrayal for money in Judges (see
Jud. 9:4).
4. Thomas Kirk, Samon: His Lt~e and Work (Edinburgh: Andrew Elliot,
1891 [reprint, Minneapolis: Klock & Klock, 1983]), p. 163.