Judges 16:29 (WEB)

Passage

Samson took hold of the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and leaned on them, the one with his right hand, and the other with his left.

Nearby Context

Judges 16:27 Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were on the roof about three thousand men and women, who saw while Samson performed.

Judges 16:28 Samson called to Yahweh, and said, “Lord Yahweh, remember me, please, and strengthen me, please, only this once, God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.”

Judges 16:29 Samson took hold of the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and leaned on them, the one with his right hand, and the other with his left.

Judges 16:30 Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” He bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell on the lords, and on all the people who were therein. So the dead that he killed at his death were more than those who he killed in his life.

Judges 16:31 Then his brothers and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the burial site of Manoah his father. He judged Israel twenty years.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "samson", "took", "hold", "middle", "pillars", "house", "rested", and "leaned". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "samson" and "took", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 28's "Samson called to Yahweh and said Lord..." into verse 30's "Samson said Let me die with the...", so "samson" and "took" belong inside that flow. In Judges context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "samson" and "took" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.