This is the first time Scripture suggests that Samson's supernatural, Spirit-empowered strength was directly connected to his hair. Yet Samson clearly understood that to be true. He somehow knew that if this requirement of his Nazirite life were broken, the Lord would remove his strength. This is not because God imbued the hair, itself, with magical power. Rather, the uncut hair was a sign of submissive obedience to God. That knowledge is key to understanding why God will take away Samson's power, though his hair is cut without his knowledge (Judges 16:18–20). Foolishly revealing the secret is, itself, a sign of rebellious disobedience. By telling Delilah how to erase his God-given strength, Samson might as well have shaved his own head. Samson seems to assume Delilah loves him, so she won't follow through as she had done with the earlier, less-extreme incidents. He's tragically wrong on both accounts. Judges 16:4–22 finds Samson falling in love with Delilah. In exchange for an outrageous sum of money, she agrees to seduce him so she can pass along the secret of Samson's strength to his Philistine enemies. This begins a pattern Samson probably thought was a lover's game, where he repeatedly lies about his secret. Eventually, however, he tells her the truth: shaving his head will make him weak. She has his head shaved as he sleeps and then turns him over to the Philistines, who gouge his eyes out and make him into a slave.