Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. He bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell on the lords, and on all the people who were therein. So the dead that he killed at his death were more than those who he killed in his life.
As mentioned previously, the Philistines were very religious. They thanked Dagon, their chief god, for Samson’s capture (Judges 16:23). The Philistines were singing songs that the Israelites should have been singing for Yahweh’s deliverance of them, but they had not trusted and obeyed Him. Samson had given the enemies of Yahweh opportunity to blaspheme Him (cf. 2 Samuel 12:14). Perhaps the writer recorded so much of their praise here because it turned out to be totally without basis very soon.