שופטים, פרק ט״ז, פסוק י״ט

The decisive moment in the relationship between Samson and Delilah reaches its climax when she finally succeeds in neutralizing his supernatural strength. To ensure her plot works, Delilah lulls Samson to sleep. This tactic was not a new strategy. She had used this method during all her previous attempts to capture him, ensuring he would not resist or kick while being tied [רד״ק].

Once he is deeply asleep, Delilah moves to execute her plan and calls for a man who was prepared in advance for this specific task [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Opinions differ on this man's identity. He may have been a messenger sent by the Philistine lords [רש״י], or simply a professional barber [רד״ק, מצודת דוד]. The primary approach among commentators is that Delilah did not cut Samson's hair herself. Rather, she ordered this man to shave him, and the action is credited to her because she orchestrated the event [מצודת דוד, אברבנאל, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. However, a differing view suggests that Delilah might have taken the scissors from the barber and shaved Samson with her own hands [רד״ק].

Immediately following the removal of his hair, Delilah begins to torment him. The exact nature of this initial affliction is understood in a few different ways. One perspective is that the act of shaving was itself the beginning of his torment, because at that very moment his strength left him, leaving him entirely vulnerable to the upcoming torture by the Philistines [מצודת דוד]. Another explanation is that Delilah started to bother him with minor annoyances while he slept, testing his reactions to confirm that his strength had truly vanished [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Others suggest she began to actively bind and physically hurt him. Because his strength was gone, Samson did not fully register the pain until he woke up [אברבנאל]. Conversely, there is a view that Samson actually felt the torment, the sudden weakness, and the loss of his power the instant his hair was cut, even while he remained deep in sleep [רד״ק, אברבנאל].