Facts About Delilah: Are They True or False? Quiz

Answer: False

False. According to Judges 16:4, Delilah was from the Valley of Sorek. There is no indication in Scripture she was originally from any other place. According to Wikipedia, Sorek forms the border between the ancient Philistines and the Tribe of Dan. Wikipedia also reports the area is known in Arabic as Wadi Surar.

Answer: True

True. Judges 16:1-3, in the NIV, tells of Samson's dalliance and his brute strength: "One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute. He went in to spend the night with her. The people of Gaza were told, 'Samson is here!' So they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate. They made no move during the night, saying, 'At dawn we'll kill him.' But Samson lay there only until the middle of the night. Then he got up and took hold of the doors of the city gate, together with the two posts, and tore them loose, bar and all. He lifted them to his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron."

Notes in the NKJV Study Bible state "given the large size of the gates, Samson's feat was astounding." The notes go on to state that Samson's trip to the top of a hill that faces Hebron would have taken the better part of a day.

Verse 4 goes on to state "some time later" Samson fell in love with Delilah. It would prove to be the beginning of the end for the judge of Israel.

Answer: True

True. Judges 16:5, in the NIV, states: "The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, 'See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver.'"

Make no mistake about it. Delilah was bribed with a massive amount of money to betray Samson. It's as if no price was too high for the rulers of the Philistines to bring him down.

It's worth noting the offer of eleven hundred shekels of silver each was multiplied by five. In other words, she was offered 5,500 pieces of silver from the five rulers. According to notes in the NKJV Study Bible, the reward would have amounted to more than a hundred pounds of silver!

Answer: True

True. Judges 16:6-14, in the NIV Bible, tells of the three incidents in which Samson fooled Delilah:

"So Delilah said to Samson, 'Tell me the secret of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued.' Samson answered her, 'If anyone ties me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, I'll become as weak as any other man.' Then the rulers of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she tied him with them. With men hidden in the room, she called to him, 'Samson, the Philistines are upon you!' But he snapped the bowstrings as easily as a piece of string snaps when it comes close to a flame. So the secret of his strength was not discovered. Then Delilah said to Samson, 'You have made a fool of me; you lied to me. Come now, tell me how you can be tied.' He said, 'If anyone ties me securely with new ropes that have never been used, I'll become as weak as any other man.' So Delilah took new ropes and tied him with them. Then, with men hidden in the room, she called to him, 'Samson, the Philistines are upon you!' But he snapped the ropes off his arms as if they were threads. Delilah then said to Samson, 'All this time you have been making a fool of me and lying to me. Tell me how you can be tied.' He replied, 'If you weave the seven braids of my head into the fabric on the loom and tighten it with the pin, I'll become as weak as any other man.' So while he was sleeping, Delilah took the seven braids of his head, wove them into the fabric and tightened it with the pin. Again she called to him, 'Samson, the Philistines are upon you!' He awoke from his sleep and pulled up the pin and the loom, with the fabric."

Answer: True

Yes, it's true. It appears Delilah was unstoppable in her quest to find the secret to Samson's strength. According to Judges 16:16, "with such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was sick to death of it."

Scripture goes on to tell of her success.

Answer: True

Judges 16:19 states: "After putting him to sleep on her lap, she called for someone to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him. And his strength left him."

According to notes in the NKJV Study Bible, Delilah was the third Philistine woman that Samson became "entangled" with. The two others are mentioned in Judges 14:1 and Judges 16:1.

Answer: False

False. There is no mention in Scripture about Delilah's family. It's unknown if she had three sisters, let alone whether they were all married to Israelites.

Answer: False

False. There is no indication in Scripture about Delilah being one of the casualties. Delilah is not mentioned after Samson's capture.

The story of Samson is one of the most colorful ones in the Old Testament. According to Scripture, his long hair was the secret to his strength and when his locks were cut by Delilah, he lost his power. However, with his hair partially grown back, Samson had his final hurrah in the 16th chapter of Judges as he used his remaining strength to get revenge against the Philistines who had taken him captive. While the Philistine rulers were offering "a great sacrifice" to Dagon their god, it was decided to bring out Samson for "entertainment" purposes. A crucial mistake was made when Samson was placed by the pillars that supported the temple. Judges 16:30 in the NIV Bible states: "Samson said, 'Let me die with the Philistines!' Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived."

Answer: False

False. There is only one Delilah in the Old Testament. According to Christiananswers.net, her name means languishing.

Incidentally, Delilah's name is mentioned in a number of different modern songs, movies and Broadway productions, according to Wikipedia. The Web site, for example, reports Neil Sedaka wrote a song titled 'Run, Samson, Run' which claims "there's a little of Delilah in each and every gal."

Answer: False

There is no mention of Delilah in the New Testament. In fact, her name appears in only the 16th chapter of Judges where it appears seven times. Incidentally, Samson's name appears once in the New Testament. In the 11th chapter of Hebrews, he is saluted for his faith.