Judges 16:5The lords of the Philistines came up to her, and said to her, "Entice him, and see in which his great strength lies, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and we will each give you eleven hundred pieces of silver."
The setting
Gaza Valley, Palestine, ~1100 BC. Philistine rulers meet in secret, offering Delilah 1,100 pieces of silver each (over $100,000 today) to discover Samson's weakness...
The emotion here: calculating greed disguised as concern
The original word
pathah (פָּתָה) — to entice, seduce, deceive through flattery
Why it matters
Each Philistine lord offered 1,100 silver pieces - with 5 lords, Delilah earned about 5,500 pieces of silver, making her incredibly wealthy
Read with care
What most readers miss in Judges 16:5
This was a military intelligence operation disguised as romance - the first recorded honey trap in history
Common misconceptionPeople think this is about romantic betrayal, but it was actually a coordinated military espionage operation. Five enemy generals hired Delilah as a spy.
The thread continues
Verses that echo Judges 16:5
Bible Genome reading
Judges 16:5 — Bible Genome reading
Emotional genome
Judges 16:5 comes from the book of Judges, written during the judges period. These words are attributed to Philistine_lords. The dominant emotion in this verse is deciding, with a comfort power of 10% and a tone that is commanding. It belongs to the dialogue genre of biblical literature. Key themes include deception, betrayal. Notable phrases: Entice him; great strength lies. This verse contains a command.
Emotionally similar
Verses that meet the same deciding
“"You shall have no other gods before me.”
— Deuteronomy 5:7
“"You shall not murder.”
— Exodus 20:13
“Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
— Matthew 23:12
“For God didn't give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control.”
— 2 Timothy 1:7
“But Peter said, "Silver and gold have I none, but what I have, that I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!"”
— Acts 3:6
Your reflection
What does Judges 16:5 mean to you, today?
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