And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they compassed him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him.

JUDGES 16:2KJV
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Judges 16:2 (KJV)

What does Judges 16:2 mean?

Judges 16:2 describes a planned attack on Samson after the people of Gaza learn that he is in their city. They surround him and wait through the night, intending to kill him when daylight comes.

After Samson enters Gaza in verse 1, word of his arrival reaches the Gazites. The city gate is the place where they take up their watch. Their words, “we shall kill him,” reveal the purpose behind their quiet wait.

The Hebrew behind Judges 16:2

  • “quiet” — חָרַשׁ (ḥarash): This word can mean to be silent. Here, it pictures the Gazites keeping still rather than raising an immediate alarm while they wait.
  • “gate” — שַׁעַר (shaʿar): This means a gate or entrance. A city gate was a controlled way through the surrounding wall, so watching it could help the Gazites intercept someone leaving.

Why Judges 16:2 matters

  • The threat comes from people who have learned where Samson is. The report, “Samson is come hither,” sets their plan in motion.
  • The Gazites choose to wait for daylight. Their words, “In the morning, when it is day,” make the timing part of their plan, not an accidental delay.
  • The plan sets up the surprise in the next verse. Samson rises at midnight and carries away the city gate, before the time the Gazites had chosen for the attack.

Where else these words appear

“Gazites” Hebrew H5841 · used in 2 verses

  • Joshua 13:3 From Sihor, which is before Egypt, even unto the borders of Ekron northward, which is counted to the Canaanite: five lords of the Philistines; the Gazathites, and the Ashdothites, the Eshkalonites, the Gittites, and the Ekronites; also the Avites:

“Samson” Hebrew H8123 · used in 37 verses

  • Judges 13:24 And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him.
  • Judges 15:4 And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails.
  • Judges 16:10 And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound.

“wait” Hebrew H693 · used in 40 verses

  • Deuteronomy 19:11 But if any man hate his neighbour, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him mortally that he die, and fleeth into one of these cities:
  • Judges 16:12 Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And there were liers in wait abiding in the chamber. And he brake them from off his arms like a thread.
  • Psalms 10:9 He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den: he lieth in wait to catch the poor: he doth catch the poor, when he draweth him into his net.

“quiet” Hebrew H2790 · used in 66 verses

  • Genesis 24:21 And the man wondering at her held his peace, to wit whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not.
  • Esther 7:4 For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my tongue, although the enemy could not countervail the king's damage.
  • Proverbs 6:18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,