Thursday, March 3, 2022

The name Delilah comes from the Hebrew name דלילה (deliyláh), where it is the name of the Philistine woman who convinces Samson to share the secret of his strength in Judges 16:4–22. The name דלילה (deliyláh) likely derives from the Hebrew verb דלל (dalal), which means "to hang, be low, languish." Scholars think the name reinforces the literary portrayal of Delilah, describing either that she physically had "loose hair or curls," or metaphorically had "loose morals" that seduced Samson (cf. Judges 14:1–3), or the fact that she "brought Samson low" by convincing him to reveal that the secret of his strength was his uncut hair—the physical manifestation of the Nazirite vow his father had committed him to in Judges 13:5–7, 13–14.