Samson lay until midnight, and arose at midnight, and laid hold of the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and plucked them up, bar and all, and put them on his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of the mountain that is before Hebron.
It is not clear how far Samson carried the gates. The mountain "opposite Hebron" (Judges 16:3) is the site in question. Some writers believed Samson carried the gates 40 miles to a hill opposite Hebron. [Note: E.g., Block, Judges . . ., p. 451.] Many commentators believed that the writer had in mind a hill overlooking Gaza in the direction toward Hebron. [Note: E.g., Wood, Distressing Days . . ., p. 326; and Lindsey, p. 407.] This is the traditional interpretation. Hebron stood about 38 miles east of Gaza and at a higher elevation. It occupied the highest hill in southern Canaan. While Samson may have been able to carry the gates all the way to Hebron, his purpose in transporting them seems to have been to mock the men of Gaza. He would probably have impressed them significantly enough if he had planted the gates at the top of the nearby hill that was clearly visible from Gaza. The traditional interpretation appeals to me for this reason. Here the emphasis is on Samson’s superhuman physical strength.