The Philistines laid hold on him, and put out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison-house.
Samson posed a great threat to the Philistines. The leading lords of the Philistines initiated the plan to capture him, and they offered a reward that would have made Delilah rich (Judges 16:5). "Eleven hundred . . . of silver" was a fortune since a person could live comfortably on "10 . . . of silver" a year (Judges 17:10).