Judges 16:5
And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.
Judges 16:5 belongs to the account of Samson's entanglement with the Philistines, where his friendly ties with them and his attachment to a Philistine woman grew out of self-pleasing choices that weakened his faithfulness to God and darkened his life. His extraordinary strength depended on his Nazarite condition, symbolized by his unshorn hair. It places his relationship with Delilah within his downward course after repeated transgressions, as he seeks sensual pleasure with her and this attachment lures him toward ruin. Delilah's name means consuming or wasting, fitting the danger of the relationship.
The verse belongs to the account of Samson yielding to temptation because he failed to govern his passions and did not rely on God for strength, and his choice led to shame, disaster, and death. That strength which had defended Israel was bound up with his Nazarite consecration. Through sexual temptation and sinful indulgence it was betrayed into the Philistines' hands.
The Philistine lords wanted to learn the secret and source of his great strength and the condition on which it depended, so they could prevail against him, overcome him, and bind, afflict, torment, and subdue him and bring about his ruin through Delilah. They dared not seize him while he retained his strength, so they sought to exploit its condition rather than confront him directly. For this they bribed Delilah to discover and reveal the secret, using a promised reward to enlist her in discovering it and helping them bind and afflict him.
Each of the five rulers offered her eleven hundred shekels or pieces of silver, a total of more than three thousand dollars. Samson's infatuation with Delilah led him to break his lifelong Nazarite vow and, through sexual temptation and sinful indulgence, to betray his strength into her hands and into the Philistines' hands. Her influence separated him from God and helped bring about his ruin. By giving her the love and service due to God he committed idolatry, lost sight of the sacred nature of his calling, and sacrificed his honor, conscience, and other interests to passion.
His blind infatuation sacrificed his reputation, strength, and usefulness, carried him toward destruction, and made him Satan's captive. His vulnerability shows how Delilah's influence was used to deceive and destroy him. It illustrates how Satan can deceive and destroy through the lust of the flesh, and it warns against being blinded and led to ruin by a woman's charm. In the same way the verse warns of the danger of a spouse becoming a Delilah-like snare, where attachment to her can draw a person farther from God and cause his strength to diminish.