Who was Delilah in the Bible?

Delilah was a Philistine woman from the Valley of Sorek who became romantically involved with the Israelite judge Samson. She is infamous for being bribed by Philistine rulers to discover and betray the secret of Samson's supernatural strength (Judges 16:4-5).

What did Delilah do to Samson?

Delilah repeatedly pressed Samson to tell her the secret of his strength. After he finally revealed it was his uncut hair, a sign of his Nazirite vow to God, she had his hair cut while he slept, allowing the Philistines to capture and blind him (Judges 16:17-21).

Why is Delilah's story significant?

Delilah's story is a pivotal lesson on betrayal, temptation, and the consequences of breaking a sacred vow to God. Her actions directly led to Samson's downfall, but also set the stage for his final act of faith and strength, destroying the Philistine temple (Judges 16:28-30).

Delilah

Old TestamentFemale

Delilah was a Philistine woman who deceived Samson into revealing the secret of his strength, leading to his capture. (Jdg.16.4,6,10,12,13,18)

Delilah

Biography

Delilah was a woman from the Valley of Sorek whose association with the Philistines led her to betray Samson, the Israelite judge renowned for supernatural strength (Judges 16:4–22). The lords of the Philistines approached her with a bribe of eleven hundred pieces of silver each to discover the source of Samson's power. Through repeated, patient questioning across several failed attempts, during which Samson playfully lied, she finally wore him down, and he confessed that his uncut hair, as the sign of his Nazirite consecration to God, was the secret of his strength. She arranged for his hair to be shaved while he slept, called the Philistines, and the now-weakened Samson was captured, blinded, and imprisoned at Gaza.

Significance

Delilah is one of Scripture's most iconic figures of betrayal, her name becoming synonymous across cultures with seductive deception. Theologically, her role in Judges 16 functions as the culmination of Samson's long pattern of spiritual compromise, his repeated involvement with foreign women who drew him away from covenantal fidelity. Yet the narrative is not simply a morality tale about romantic danger. It ultimately frames Samson's downfall as the consequence of disclosing what was sacred to one who had no reverence for it. Paradoxically, Samson's capture led to his greatest act of faith-driven destruction (Judges 16:28–30), suggesting that God's redemptive purposes advance even through catastrophic human failure and betrayal.

Authority Records

Wikidata VIAF Library of Congress GND

Verse Appearances (6)

Judg

Judg 16:4 Judg 16:6 Judg 16:10 Judg 16:12 Judg 16:13 Judg 16:18

References

Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Individualised Proper Names with all References (TIPNR). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
Wikidata contributors (n.d.) Wikidata. Available at: https://www.wikidata.org. [CC0]
Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]

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