Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withs, as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known. (Judges 16:9)
The Hebrew has the singular here, but likely in the collective sense as in Judges 20:37; Joshua 8:14. Some have doubted that Delilah would have been able to conceal more than one spy without Samson’s becoming aware of it, but this is questionable.
Philistines be upon thee.
It is not stated that the men came out of hiding when this cry was uttered, but at least the circumstances were such that Samson had the clearest evidence that the Philistines were leagued with Delilah (see PP 566).
Tow.
The weak, broken part of flax which is usually discarded because of its weakness.