And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the LORD had left him.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The most chilling detail here is Samson's casual assumption that he could just "shake himself free" as usual. He completely missed that his power wasn't in his hair, but in God's presence, and the profound truth is that he was so unaware of God's departure, he still acted like nothing had changed.
And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the LORD had left him.
English Standard Version (ESV)
After being repeatedly deceived, Samson finally reveals the secret of his strength to Delilah: his hair, never cut as a sign of his vow to God. Delilah seizes this moment, cuts his hair while he sleeps, and then taunts him with the cry that the Philistines are upon him, unaware that his divine strength has left him. This leads to his capture and blinding, marking a devastating low point where his connection to God is broken, though he doesn't yet grasp the full extent of his loss.
Samson woke up, ready to fight, thinking everything was normal. But something vital was gone. What happens when God quietly withdraws His presence?
This verse delivers a chilling blow: "But he did not know that the LORD had left him." Samson's strength wasn't just physical; it was a divine gift tied to his consecration to God. When he broke his vows through repeated disobedience and compromised his integrity with Delilah, he grieved the Holy Spirit. The Spirit didn't rage or make a grand exit; He simply withdrew. Samson, lulled into a false sense of security by habit and his own assumptions, didn't realize the source of his power had been cut off until it was too late. This highlights a profound truth: God's presence can be grieved and withdrawn long before we are aware of the devastating loss. Our spiritual senses can become dulled to His absence.
Samson confidently declared he'd 'go out as at other times.' He relied on past victories and familiar routines. Why is past faithfulness no guarantee of present power?
Samson's response, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free,” reveals a dangerous reliance on habit over ongoing communion with God. He expected to replicate past feats of strength simply because he had done so before. However, his strength wasn't an inherent quality he could summon at will; it was a direct result of the Lord's Spirit empowering him for specific tasks. His repeated dalliances with Delilah and the eventual shaving of his hair severed that connection. This serves as a stark warning against spiritual presumption. We cannot coast on yesterday’s anointing or assume God’s favor will automatically continue if we are not actively maintaining our relationship with Him. True strength isn't found in routine, but in a fresh dependence on God's Spirit each day.
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Samson's hair was famous, but was it the real source of his might? Discover the crucial difference between a symbol and the divine power it represents.
The narrative often presents Samson’s long hair as the source of his strength. However, the commentary rightly points out that his strength wasn't in his hair itself. The unshorn hair was a visible sign of his Nazarite vow – his complete dedication to the Lord. The power came from God, bestowed upon Samson as a consecrated servant. When his hair was cut, it wasn't the physical loss that doomed him, but the symbolic destruction of his vow and the severing of his unique relationship with God. He was so entangled with Delilah and worldly compromises that he forgot the true origin of his power. This teaches us that outward religious practices or symbols are meaningless without the inner reality of devotion and dependence on God’s Spirit. The symbol points to the Source, but it is the Source alone that sustains.
Understand the original words
YHWH · Hebrew Proper Noun
The personal, covenantal name of the God of Israel. It denotes His self-existent, eternal, and unchanging nature, and His faithfulness to His covenant promises.
suwr · Hebrew Verb
The state of being separated from God's presence, protection, or influence. In a biblical context, it signifies the removal of the Spirit’s empowerment or the withdrawal of divine favor due to disobedience or the breaking of a covenantal vow.
Samson's tragic fall wasn't just about physical weakness, but about the profound departure of God's presence due to his compromise and carelessness, a stark reminder that spiritual vitality depends on wholehearted devotion, not just outward symbols.
c. 1100 BC
Philistine Domination of Canaan
Following their settlement in Canaan, the Philistines became a dominant military power, frequently clashing with and oppressing the Israelites.
During Samson's lifetime
Samson's Nazirite Vow
Samson was set apart by God from birth with a special Nazirite vow, symbolized by his uncut hair, intended to begin Israel's deliverance from Philistine oppression.
Samson's betrayal by Delilah— this verse
Samson's Strength Revealed
Under pressure from Delilah, Samson repeatedly revealed aspects of his vow and the source of his strength, culminating in the shaving of his hair.
Samson's capture and blinding
Samson's Exploitation by Philistines
After his hair was cut and God's Spirit departed, Samson was captured, his eyes were gouged out, and he was enslaved to grind grain in Gaza.
Samson's final act of vengeance
Destruction of the Philistine Temple
In a final act of defiance, Samson prayed for strength one last time, toppled the pillars of a great Philistine temple, killing himself and thousands of Philistines.
This passage describes how the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him, paralleling Samson's loss of strength and awareness after the Lord's departure.
1 Samuel 28:15-16Similar to Samson, Saul is in deep distress and seeks counsel, only to be told by the medium that the Lord will not answer him because He has departed from Saul and become his enemy.
Numbers 14:42-43This passage illustrates a similar theme of presumption and rejection, where the Israelites tried to go up to the promised land after God's command, but the Lord was not with them and they were struck down.
Jeremiah 2:13This verse speaks of forsaking the Lord, the fountain of living waters, and hewing out broken cisterns, highlighting the spiritual blindness that comes from turning away from God, much like Samson's unawareness of his loss.
ellicottJudges 16:20: "And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him."
(20) And he wist not that the Lord was departed from him. —A deeply tragic clause. Men do not know how much they are changed “when the Lord departs from them” until they feel the effects of that departure in utter shame and weakness. (Comp. Numbers 14:43 ; 1Samuel 16:14 .) Samso…
barnesJudges 16:20: "And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him."
The possession of his extraordinary strength is ascribed (e. g. Judges 13:25 ) to the presence of the Spirit of the Lord. Now the Lord, or the Spirit of the Lord, had departed from him, and so his strength had gone too. The practical lesson against the presumption of self-depend…
The most chilling detail here is Samson's casual assumption that he could just "shake himself free" as usual. He completely missed that his power wasn't in his hair, but in God's presence, and the profound truth is that he was so unaware of God's departure, he still acted like nothing had changed.
After being repeatedly deceived, Samson finally reveals the secret of his strength to Delilah: his hair, never cut as a sign of his vow to God. Delilah seizes this moment, cuts his hair while he sleeps, and then taunts him with the cry that the Philistines are upon him, unaware that his divine strength has left him. This leads to his capture and blinding, marking a devastating low point where his connection to God is broken, though he doesn't yet grasp the full extent of his loss.
After being repeatedly deceived, Samson finally reveals the secret of his strength to Delilah: his hair, never cut as a sign of his vow to God. Delilah seizes this moment, cuts his hair while he sleeps, and then taunts him with the cry that the Philistines are upon him, unaware that his divine strength has left him. This leads to his capture and blinding, marking a devastating low point where his connection to God is broken, though he doesn't yet grasp the full extent of his loss.
"And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the LORD had left him." — The most chilling detail here is Samson's casual assumption that he could just "shake himself free" as usual. He completely missed that his power wasn't in his hair, but in God's presence, and the pr…
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Last reviewed October 2026