“After this, he fell in love with a woman who lived in the Sorek Valley, whose name was D’lilah.”-Judges 16:4
So we’re told that Samson fell head over heels for a woman named Delilah who lived in an area called the Sorek Valley.
Interestingly, this place wasn’t far from the village of Timnah where Samson’s failed attempt to marry another Philistine girl occurred.
Now I must admit, during my research for this article, I’ve been having a heck of a time to nail down the correct meaning of the name Delilah.
Some folks say Delilah means “poor”, “small” or “head of hair”.
Other folks say it means “weak” or “fragile”.
Yet, some other folks say it means “ravishing”, “delight” or even “temptress”…
This would seem to be more in line with Delilah’s deceptive character when she tricked Samson into revealing the source of his strength.
So which one is right?
Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of consensus as to the correct meaning of the word.
Although a minority opinion, some people claim Delilah has to be a Philistine name because she was Philistine.
I don’t buy that.
Etymologically speaking, the name is clearly of semitic origins (Hebrew or Arabic).
And given what we know about how the Bible labels gentile characters, “Delilah” was most likely a nickname given to her by the Hebrews and probably a derogatory one at that.
Interestingly, although Scripture paints Delilah in quite an unflattering light, her name is one of the most popular Hebrew names for girls in the United States.
According to 2020 data from the Social Security Administration, Delilah is the 69th most popular name for girls in the United States.
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