Samson

Who Samson is

Samson's birth is announced to the unnamed wife of Manoah, a Danite from Zorah. The child is to be a Nazirite from the womb, with no razor on his head, and will begin to deliver Israel from the Philistines. The story attributes his extraordinary strength in several encounters to the Spirit of the Lord. Later, Samson loves Delilah in the valley of Sorek and eventually discloses his consecration and uncut hair. She arranges the shaving of his seven locks. His strength leaves, and the narrator says the Lord has departed from him. The Philistines blind and imprison him. At a celebration for Dagon, he prays for strength, takes hold of the supporting pillars and brings down the house, dying in the collapse. His family buries him in Manoah's tomb between Zorah and Eshtaol; Judges records twenty years of judging Israel.

Cited passages: Judges 13:2, Judges 13:3, Judges 13:4, Judges 13:5, Judges 13:24, Judges 13:25, Judges 14:6, Judges 15:14, Judges 15:15, Judges 16:4, Judges 16:16, Judges 16:17, Judges 16:18, Judges 16:19, Judges 16:20, Judges 16:21, Judges 16:23, Judges 16:24, Judges 16:25, Judges 16:26, Judges 16:27, Judges 16:28, Judges 16:29, Judges 16:30, Judges 16:31

Historical setting

The account opens during forty years of Philistine domination. Samson's unnamed wife at Timnath, the unnamed woman described as a prostitute at Gaza and Delilah at Sorek belong to distinct encounters. His Timnath marriage leads from a riddle contest to killings and retaliation, including the Philistines' burning of his wife and her father. Men of Judah later bind Samson and deliver him to the Philistines; the Spirit comes upon him, his bonds break and he kills a thousand men with a jawbone. At Gaza he escapes with the city gates before the account introduces Delilah. The account locates his conflict across named towns and repeats his twenty-year period of judging at the close of chapters 15 and 16.

Cited passages: Judges 13:1, Judges 14:1, Judges 14:2, Judges 14:3, Judges 14:10, Judges 14:11, Judges 14:12, Judges 14:13, Judges 14:14, Judges 14:15, Judges 14:16, Judges 14:17, Judges 14:18, Judges 14:19, Judges 14:20, Judges 15:1, Judges 15:2, Judges 15:3, Judges 15:4, Judges 15:5, Judges 15:6, Judges 15:7, Judges 15:8, Judges 15:9, Judges 15:10, Judges 15:11, Judges 15:12, Judges 15:13, Judges 15:14, Judges 15:15, Judges 15:20, Judges 16:1, Judges 16:2, Judges 16:3, Judges 16:4, Judges 16:31

How the story is told

Secrets and pressure recur: Samson withholds the lion-and-honey encounter from his parents, his wife obtains the riddle's answer under threats, and Delilah presses him until he tells her all his heart. The movement from strength to capture includes both the cutting of his hair and the narrator's statement that the Lord has left him. The later notice of hair growing again is followed by a prayer for renewed strength, not an explanation of automatic power in hair. The Philistines praise Dagon for his capture, while Samson's last appeal asks the Lord for vengeance for his eyes. Hebrews later names Samson among figures of faith; its list does not separately vindicate every encounter narrated in Judges.

Cited passages: Judges 14:6, Judges 14:7, Judges 14:8, Judges 14:9, Judges 14:14, Judges 14:15, Judges 14:16, Judges 14:17, Judges 14:18, Judges 16:6, Judges 16:7, Judges 16:8, Judges 16:9, Judges 16:10, Judges 16:11, Judges 16:12, Judges 16:13, Judges 16:14, Judges 16:15, Judges 16:16, Judges 16:17, Judges 16:18, Judges 16:19, Judges 16:20, Judges 16:22, Judges 16:23, Judges 16:24, Judges 16:25, Judges 16:26, Judges 16:27, Judges 16:28, Judges 16:29, Judges 16:30, Hebrews 11:32, Hebrews 11:33, Hebrews 11:34, Hebrews 11:35, Hebrews 11:36, Hebrews 11:37, Hebrews 11:38, Hebrews 11:39, Hebrews 11:40

Story moments

1. A birth and calling announced (Judges 13:5). The messenger says the child will be a Nazirite and begin Israel's deliverance from the Philistines.
2. Strength against the lion (Judges 14:6). The Spirit of the Lord comes upon Samson, and he tears the lion apart with his hands.
3. The bonds break (Judges 15:14). At Lehi, the Spirit comes upon Samson and the cords binding him break.
4. He tells Delilah (Judges 16:17). Samson discloses his Nazirite consecration and the uncut hair associated with his strength.
5. Capture at last (Judges 16:21). The Philistines blind Samson and take him to Gaza, where he grinds in prison.
6. The final prayer (Judges 16:28). Samson asks the Lord to remember and strengthen him, stating his desire for vengeance for his eyes.
7. Death and burial (Judges 16:31). His family brings his body to Manoah's burial place; the account closes with twenty years of judging.

Key passages

Judges 13:24

And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the Lord blessed him.

Judges 14:1

And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.

Judges 14:3

Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.

Judges 14:5

Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against him.

Judges 14:7

And he went down, and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well.

Judges 14:10

So his father went down unto the woman: and Samson made there a feast; for so used the young men to do.

King James Version. 38 indexed passages in total.

For reflection

How does Samson's final prayer read alongside the birth announcement and the intervening acts of strength and violence? Keep his stated desire for vengeance and the narrator's account of the Lord's presence within the same reading.

Books Samson appears in

• Judges
• Hebrews

Related people

• Jacob
• Jesus Christ
• Moses
• Abraham
• David
• Joseph (OT)
• Sarah
• Isaac