‘ Then his brothers, and all the house of his father, came down, and took him and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol, in the burying place of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years.'
Samson's body was collected by his near kin and was given a respectable burial, and he was gathered to his fathers in the family tomb. It was to the Philistines credit that his body was released. Possibly it was due to the great respect that they had for him as a notable enemy once he was dead. Or it may have been due to the chaos while new Tyrants were appointed. But more likely it was a fear in view of his terrible cry that they had been punished by the God of Israel for their treatment of Samson and did not want any more of it. Respectable burial was considered very important in ancient days, and they wanted him buried and out of the way and at rest where he could do no more harm.
“And he judged Israel twenty years.” Repeated from Judges 15:20 this summed up his life, cut short in its prime. For most of his life he was seemingly faithful to his vow as a Nazirite, and after his vivid beginning he appears to have ruled soberly until he went astray towards the end when his sexual proclivities proved too much for him. Possibly his ventures with women at the end were an attempt to revive the glories of his youth, and were intended to result in further activity against the Philistines, but if so they backfired dreadfully for he was no longer a vibrant man of faith. However on his repentance God did turn them to good so that Samson retained his reputation as a man of faith and achieved a remarkable final contribution towards the deliverance of Israel.