Study Desk

So Delilah took new ropes and tied him up with them. The men were hiding in the inner room as before, and again Delilah cried out, "Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!" But again Samson snapped the ropes from his arms as if they were thread.

Then she tightened it with the loom shuttle. Again she cried out, "Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!" But Samson woke up, pulled back the loom shuttle, and yanked his hair away from the loom and the fabric.

Then she cried out, "Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!" When he woke up, he thought, "I will do as before and shake myself free." But he didn't realize the Lord had left him.

But before long, his hair began to grow back.

They renamed the town Dan after their ancestor, Israel's son, but it had originally been called Laish.

But she became angry with him and returned to her father's home in Bethlehem. After about four months,

On the fourth day the man was up early, ready to leave, but the woman's father said to his son-in-law, "Have something to eat before you go."

The man got up to leave, but his father-in-law kept urging him to stay, so he finally gave in and stayed the night.

But this time the man was determined to leave. So he took his two saddled donkeys and his concubine and headed in the direction of Jebus (that is, Jerusalem).

so they stopped there to spend the night. They rested in the town square, but no one took them in for the night.

That evening an old man came home from his work in the fields. He was from the hill country of Ephraim, but he was living in Gibeah, where the people were from the tribe of Benjamin.

"We have been in Bethlehem in Judah," the man replied. "We are on our way to a remote area in the hill country of Ephraim, which is my home. I traveled to Bethlehem, and now I'm returning home. But no one has taken us in for the night,

"You are welcome to stay with me," the old man said. "I will give you anything you might need. But whatever you do, don't spend the night in the square."

Here, take my virgin daughter and this man's concubine. I will bring them out to you, and you can abuse them and do whatever you like. But don't do such a shameful thing to this man."

But they wouldn't listen to him. So the Levite took hold of his concubine and pushed her out the door. The men of the town abused her all night, taking turns raping her until morning. Finally, at dawn they let her go.

He said, "Get up! Let's go!" But there was no answer. So he put her body on his donkey and took her home.

Give up those evil men, those troublemakers from Gibeah, so we can execute them and purge Israel of this evil." But the people of Benjamin would not listen.

But Benjamin's warriors, who were defending the town, came out and killed 22,000 Israelites on the battlefield that day.

But the Israelites encouraged each other and took their positions again at the same place they had fought the previous day.

but the men of Benjamin killed another 18,000 Israelites, all of whom were experienced with the sword.