Difference between revisions of "Samson" - New World Encyclopedia

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[[Image:Anthonis van Dyck 052.jpg|thumb|right|320px|''Samson and Delilah'', by [[Anthony van Dyck]] (1599-1641)]]
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{{about|Biblical figure}}
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'''Samson''', '''Shimshon''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: '''שִׁמְשׁוֹן''', <small>[[Hebrew language#Modern Israeli Hebrew|Standard]]</small> ''Šimšon'' <small>[[Tiberian vocalization|Tiberian]]</small> ''{{unicode|Šimšôn}}''; meaning "of the sun" – perhaps proclaiming he was radiant and mighty, or "[One who] Serves [God]") or '''Shama'un''' (Arabic) is the third to last of the [[Biblical judges|Judges]] of the ancient [[Children of Israel]] mentioned in the [[Hebrew Bible]], the Tanach. He is described in the [[Book of Judges]] chapters 13 to 16. Interestingly, while there are many common [[prophet]]s in [[Judiasm|Jewish]], [[Christianity|Christian]] and [[Islam|Islamic]] discourse, stories about Samson are absent in narratives from the [[Qur'an|Quran]], although some Muslims consider Samson a Prophet. Samson is something of a [[Heracles|Herculean]] figure, utilizing massive strength to combat his enemies and perform heroic feats unachievable by ordinary men: wrestling a lion, slaying an entire army with nothing more than a donkey's jawbone, and tearing down an entire building.
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[[Image:Samson-Delilah.jpg|thumb|240px|'''''Samson''' and Delilah'' by [[Gustave Doré]]]]
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'''Samson''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: '''שִׁמְשׁוֹן''', ''Šimšon''), meaning "of the sun," is the third to last of the judges of ancient [[Israel]] mentioned in the [[Hebrew Bible]].
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{{toc}}
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He is described in the [[Judges, Book of|Book of Judges]] 13 to 16. Samson is a [[Hercules|Herculean]] figure, utilizing massive strength to combat his enemies and perform heroic feats unachievable by ordinary men: killing a [[lion]] with his bare hands, slaying an entire army with nothing more than a donkey's jawbone, and tearing down a large [[paganism|pagan]] [[temple]] with his superhuman strength. Samson had two vulnerabilities, however: his attraction to untrustworthy women and his hair, without which he was powerless. These vulnerabilities ultimately proved fatal for him.  
  
 
==Biblical story==
 
==Biblical story==
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===Annuciation and birth===
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Samson is the last of judges mentioned in the [[Book of Judges]], and his story is by far the longest of them. The story begins with a "man of God" appearing to Samson's mother. The narrator states that he is an angel, but Samson's parents do not know this at first. Following the pattern of several other biblical women—[[Sarah]], [[Rebekah]] and [[Hannah]] in the [[Hebrew Bible]] and [[Elizabeth]] in the [[New Testament]]—the unnamed woman is unable to bear children. The angel predicts that, even though she is sterile, she will have a son "who will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines" (Judg. 13:7). In accordance with [[Nazirite|Naziritic]] requirements, she is to abstain from all [[alcohol]]ic beverages and unclean (non-kosher) meat, and her promised child is never to shave or cut his hair. In due time, her son, Samson, is born; and he is reared according to these provisions.
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===Samson's Philistine wife===
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[[Image:Samson-Lion.jpg|thumb|240px|Samson slays a lion on the road to Timnah]]
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When he becomes a young man, Samson visits the town of Timnah, where he becomes infatuated with a [[Philistines|Philistine]] woman. His parents object to the match, but reluctantly agree to accompany him to Timnah to arrange it. On the way to visit his future bride, Samson is attacked by a [[lion]] and kills it with his bare hands. This is the first of his many amazing feats of strength. When he returns later to marry her, Samson notices that bees have nested in the carcass of the lion and have made honey. He eats a handful of the honey and later gives some to his parents.
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At the [[wedding]] feast, Samson proposes that he tell a riddle to his thirty groomsmen (all Philistines). If they can solve it, he will give them each a costly set of clothing and undergarments. On the other hand, if they cannot solve it, Samson will receive a like set of [[clothing]] from each of them. The riddle—"Out of the eater, something to eat; out of the strong, something sweet"—is a veiled account of his second encounter with the [[lion]].
  
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{{Book of Judges}}
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The [[Philistines]] are stumped by the riddle. They threaten Samson's new wife, saying they will burn her and her father's household if she does not discover and share the secret of the riddle. At the urgent and tearful imploring of his bride, Samson tells her the solution; and she promptly tells it to the thirty groomsmen. When they solve his riddle, Samson accuses them of "plowing with my heifer." Filled with the spirit of [[Yahweh]], he goes to the city of Ashkelon, kills thirty Philistines there, and presents their clothing to his his groomsmen back in Timnah. He then returns to his father's house.
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Samson lived when God was punishing the Israelites by giving them "into the hand of the [[Philistine]]s." An [[angel]] from God appears to [[Manoah]], an Israelite from the [[tribe of Dan]], in the city of [[Zorah]], and to his wife, who is sterile. This angel predicts that they will have a son who will begin to deliver the Israelites from the Philistines. In accordance with [[Nazarite|Nazaritic]] requirements, she is to abstain from all [[alcoholic beverage]]s and all [[unclean animals|unclean meat]], and her promised child is not to shave or cut his hair. In due time the son, Samson, is born; he is reared according to these provisions.
 
  
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When he becomes a young man Samson leaves the hills of his people to see the cities of the Philistines. While there, Samson becomes so infatuated with a Philistine woman from [[Timnah]] that, overcoming the objections of his parents, he decides to marry her. The intended marriage is actually part of God's plan to strike at the Philistines. On the way to ask for the woman's hand in marriage, Samson is attacked by a lion and kills it. He continues on to the Philistine's house, winning her hand in marriage. On his way to the wedding, Samson notices that bees have nested in the carcass of the lion and have made honey. He eats a handful of the honey and gives some to his parents. At the wedding-feast, Samson proposes that he tell a riddle to his thirty groomsmen (all Philistines); if they can solve it, he will give them thirty sets of clothes and undergarments. The riddle ("Out of the eater, something to eat; out of the strong, something sweet.") is a veiled account of his second encounter with the lion (at which only he was present). The Philistines are infuriated by the riddle.
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When Samson visits Timnah again at harvest time, he finds that his father-in-law has given his wife to another, apparently one of Samson's Philistine companions. Her father refuses to allow him to see her, and wishes to give Samson his younger daughter instead. Samson retaliates by attaching torches to the tails of three hundred [[fox]]es, leaving the panicked beasts to run through the Philistine fields and [[vineyard]]s. The precious crops are destroyed as a result. The Philistines take revenge by burning Samson's wife and father-in-law to death. Not to be outdone, Samson slaughters many more Philistines, smiting them "hip and thigh."  
  
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The thirty groomsmen tell Samson's new wife that they will burn her and her father's household if she does not discover the answer to the riddle. At the urgent and tearful imploring of his bride, Samson tells her the solution, and she tells it to the thirty groomsmen. When they solve his riddle, Samson flies into a rage, saying that they would not have been able to solve the riddle if they hadn't "plowed with [his] heifer." Filled with the spirit of [[Yahweh]], he kills thirty Philistines of [[Ashkelon]] for their garments, which he gives his thirty groomsmen. Still in a rage, he returns to his father's house, and his bride is given to the best man as his wife.
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Samson then takes refuge in a cave in the rock of Etam, near [[Bethlehem]]. A force of three thousand men from the [[Judah, Tribe of|Tribe of Judah]] (a vassal of the Philistines), agree to a Philistine demand to deliver Samson to them. Samson allows them to tie him with two new ropes. They are about to hand him over to the Philistines when the spirit of [[Yahweh]] comes upon him again, and he breaks free. Using the jawbone of a [[donkey]], he slays one thousand Philistines.
  
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When Samson returns to Timnah, he finds his father-in-law has given his wife to one of Samson's companions. Her father refuses to allow him to see her, and wishes to give Samson the younger sister. Samson attaches torches to the tails of three hundred foxes, leaving the panicked beasts to run through the fields and vineyards of the Philistines, burning all in their wake. The Philistines find out why Samson burned their crops, and they burn Samson's wife and father-in-law to death. In revenge, Samson slaughters many more Philistines, smiting them "hip and thigh."
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Later, Samson goes to the Philistine town of [[Gaza]] where he spends the night with a [[prostitution|prostitute]]. His enemies wait at the gate of the city to ambush him, but he rips the gate up and carries it away to safety.
  
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Samson then takes refugein a cave in the rock of [[Etam]]. An army of Philistines went up and demanded from 3,000 men of [[Tribe of Judah|Judah]] to deliver them Samson. With Samson's consent, they tie him with two new ropes and are about to hand him over to the Philistines when he breaks free. Using the jawbone of a donkey, he slays one thousand Philistines. At the conclusion of ''Judges'' 15 it is said that "Samson led Israel for twenty years in the days of the Philistines."
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===Samson and Delilah===
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[[Image:Francesco Morone 001.jpg|thumb|left|Samson and Delilah, by Francesco Morone]]
 
  
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Later, Samson goes to [[Gaza]] where he stays with a prostitute. His enemies wait at the gate of the city to ambush him, but he rips the gate up and carries it to "the hill that is in front of [[Hebron]]."
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Continuing the theme of his fatal attraction to the wrong type of women, Samson then falls in love with the beautiful [[Delilah]]. Hearing of this, the [[Philistines]] approach Delilah and bribe her to find the secret of Samson's strength. Three times he falsely informs her to bind him in various ways; three times she does so; and three times he escapes her trap. Eventually Samson tells Delilah the that he will lose his strength if his hair is cut. Delilah calls for a servant to shave Samson's seven locks while he sleeps. The story implies that Samson probably thinks this, too, will not work. But since he has allowed his mother's oath to be broken, [[Yahweh]] now leaves him. Samson is promptly captured by the Philistines, who successfully bind him and gouge out his eyes. They then bring him to [[Gaza]], where he is [[prison|imprisoned]] and put to work grinding grain.
  
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He then falls in love with [[Delilah]] at the [[Brook of Sorek]]. The Philistines approach Delilah and induce her to try to find the secret of Samson's strength. Samson tells her that he can be bound with fresh bowstrings. She does so while he sleeps, but when he wakes up he snaps the strings. She persists, and he tells her he can be bound with new ropes. She binds him with new ropes while he sleeps, and he snaps them, too. She asks again, and he says he can be bound if his locks are woven together. She weaves them together, but he undoes them when he wakes. Eventually Samson tells Delilah that he will lose his strength at the loss of his [[hair]]. Delilah calls for a servant to shave Samson's seven locks. Since that breaks the Nazarite oath, Yahweh leaves him, and Samson is captured by the Philistines. They gouge out his eyes. After being blinded, Samson is brought to Gaza, imprisoned, and put to work grinding grain.
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Later, the Philistine leaders assemble in the temple [[Dagon]] for a religious sacrifice celebrating their capture of Samson. They summon Samson so that he may entertain them. Three thousand additional people gather on the roof to watch. However, Samson's hair has now grown back, and his strength has returned.
  
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One day the Philistine leaders assemble in a temple for a religious sacrifice to [[Dagon]], their god, for having delivered Samson into their hands. They summon Samson so that he may entertain them. Three thousand more men and women gather on the roof to watch. Once inside the temple, Samson asks the servant who is leading him to the temple's central pillars if he may lean against them.
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<blockquote>Then Samson prayed to the [[Yahweh|Lord]], "O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes..." Down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. (Judg. 16:28&ndash;30).</blockquote>
  
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:"Then Samson prayed to the [[Yahweh|Lord]], 'O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.' (''Judges'' 16:28)." "Samson said, 'Let me die with the Philistines!' (''Judges'' 16:30) Down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more as he died than while he lived." (''Judges'' 16:30).  
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After his death, Samson's family recovers his body from the rubble and buries him near the tomb of his father. He is reported to have judged Israel for 20 years.
  
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After his death, Samson's family recovers his body from the rubble and buries him near the tomb of his father Manoah.
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==Assessment==
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[[Image:Samson-Temple.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Samson at Dagon's Temple]]
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While Samson's story is undoubtedly one of the most famous and entertaining in the [[Bible]], he can hardly be called a successful judge. None of his victories is lasting, and they all seem to be based on personal revenge rather than any patriotic motivation. Even his final act cannot be called redemptive in this sense. He uses his strength not for [[God]] or his people, but to avenge himself against the [[Philistines]] for blinding him. He does not unite the [[Israelites]], or even his own [[tribe of Dan]], against their oppressors. Time and again, he is deceived by beautiful women. While his acts of revenge are heroic, they do not seem particularly noble.
  
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===Deuteronomist's prologue===
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The ''Jewish Encyclopedia'' concludes its article on Samson with the following:
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According to the [[documentary hypothesis]], the first verse of the Samson story is an addition by the composer of the [[Deuteronomist|D source]] in the 7th century B.C.E. The original Samson story didn’t include this verse.
 
  
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:Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, so the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years. Judges 13:1
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<blockquote>Ch. xvi. records the disgraceful and disastrous end of Samson... The final and fatal episode, in which Delilah betrays him to his enemies, is similar in its beginnings to the art practiced by the Timnitess. Samson's revenge at the feast of Dagon was the end of a life that was full of tragic events. Despite his heroic deeds he does not seem to have rid his people of the oppression of the Philistines; his single-handed combats were successful, but they did not extricate Israel from Philistine tyranny.<ref>Joseph Jacobs, [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=122&letter=S&search=samson "Samson,"] JewishEncyclopedia.com. Retrieved November 24, 2007.</ref></blockquote>
  
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The original story portrays Samson’s mission as beginning the liberation of the Israelites (Judges 13:5). [[The Lord]] uses Samson to strike at the Philistines. But the prologue says that the Philistines were doing the will of the Lord. This verse reflects the characteristic Israelite concept that the nation’s victories and defeats were both by the will of the Lord.
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==In Rabbinical Literature==
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The [[rabbi]]s give varied and sometimes conflicting additional information about Samson. In the [[Talmud]]ic period, as today, many [[Jew]]s seem to have been skeptical about whether Samson was an historical figure. He was regarded by some as a purely [[mythology|mythological]] character. This opinion was considered heretical by some of the rabbis of the [[Talmud]].
  
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==In rabbinic literature==
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One tradition identifies Samson with Bedan, a judge mentioned by [[Samuel]] in his farewell address (1 Sam. 12:11). The name "Samson" is based on the word ''shemesh'' ("sun"). Thus another rabbinical opinion compares his strength to the power of the sun, which, like Samson's, was derived from God. (Talmud, Tractate Sotah 10a).
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[[Rabbinical literature]] identifies Samson with [[Bedan]]; Bedan was a Judge mentioned by [[Samuel]] in his farewell address ([[Books of Samuel|1 Samuel]] 12:11) among the Judges that delivered Israel from their enemies. However, the name "Bedan" is not found in the Book of Judges. The name "Samson" is derived from ''shemesh'' (= "[[sun]]"), so that Samson bore the name of God, who is also "a sun and shield" ([[Psalms]] 84:12). As God protected Israel, so did Samson watch over it in his generation, judging the people even as did God. Samson's strength was divinely derived (Talmud, Tractate Sotah 10a]). Samson resembled God in requiring neither aid nor help (''[[Midrash Genesis Rabbah]]'' xcviii. 18).
 
  
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Jewish legend records that Samson's shoulders were sixty [[ell]]s broad. He was lame in both feet (Talmud ''Sotah'' 10a), but when the spirit of God came upon him he could step with one stride from [[Zorah]] to [[Eshtaol]], while the hairs of his head arose and clashed against one another so that they could be heard for a like distance (''Midrash Lev. Rabbah'' viii. 2). Samson was said to be so strong that he could uplift two mountains and rub them together like two [[wiktionary:clod|clod]]s of earth (ibid.; ''Sotah'' 9b), yet his superhuman strength, like [[Goliath]]'s, brought woe upon its possessor (''Midrash Eccl. Rabbah'' i., end).
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One legend records that Samson was lame in both feet (Sotah 10a), but when the spirit of God came upon him he could cover several kilometers with one stride. His hair itself was magical, in that his individual strands clashed so violently against one another that the sound could be heard for miles (Midrash Lev. Rabbah 8:2). Samson was so strong that he could lift two mountains and rub them together like two clods of earth (Sotah 9b). Yet, his superhuman strength, like [[Goliath]]'s, brought him no happiness (Midrash Eccl. Rabbah 1).
  
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In licentiousness he is compared with [[Amnon]] and [[Zimri]], both of whom were punished for their sins (''Lev. R''. xxiii. 9). Samson's eyes were put out because he had "followed them" too often (''Sotah'' l.c.). It is said that in the twenty years during which Samson judged Israel he never required the least service from an Israelite (''Midrash Numbers Rabbah'' ix. 25), and he piously refrained from taking the name of God in vain. Therefore, as soon as he told Delilah that he was a Nazarite of God she immediately knew that he had spoken the truth (''Sotah'' l.c.). When he pulled down the temple of Dagon and killed himself and the Philistines the structure fell backward, so that he was not crushed, his family being thus enabled to find his body and to bury it in the tomb of his father (''Midrash Gen. Rabbah'' l.c. § 19). In the Talmudic period many seem to have denied that Samson was an historic figure; he was apparently regarded as a purely mythological personage. This was viewed as heretical by the rabbis of the Talmud, and they refuted this view.
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In licentiousness he is compared with King David's son [[Amnon]] and the evil Israelite King [[Zimri]], both of whom were punished for their sins (Midrash Lev. Rabbah. 23:9). Samson's eyes were put out because he "followed them" too often (Sotah l.c).
  
 
==Other cultural references==
 
==Other cultural references==
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===Israeli culture===
 
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"[T]he figure of "Samson the hero" played a role in the construction of Zionist collective memory, and in building the identity of the 'new Jew' who leaves behind exilic helplessness for Israeli self-determination," Benjamin Balint, a writer in Jerusalem, has written. [[Vladimir Jabotinsky]] (1880&ndash;1940), the founder of Revisionist [[Zionism]] wrote a 1926 novel in Russian (English translation in 1930), ''Samson'' in which the author makes Samson an assimilated Jew attracted by the surrounding, more sophisticated (and un-philistine) Philistine culture. Some important Twentieth century [[Hebrew]] poems have also been written about the Bible hero. More recently, elite Israeli combat units have been named "Samson", and the Israeli nuclear program was called the "Samson Option".<ref name=balent>Balent, Benjamin, "Eyeless in Israel: Biblical metaphor and the Jewish state," review of ''Lion's Honey: The Myth of Soloman,'' by David Grossman, ''[[The Weekly Standard]]'', [[October 30]], [[2006]], pages 35&ndash;36</ref>
 
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Noam Chomsky and others have said Israel suffers from a "Samson complex" which could lead to the destruction of itself as well as its Arab enemies.<ref name=balent/>
 
  
 
===Literature===
 
===Literature===
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*In [[1671]], [[John Milton]] made him the sympathetic hero of his blank verse tragedy ''[[Samson Agonistes]]''.  
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*In 1671, [[John Milton]] made Samson the hero of his blank verse tragedy ''Samson Agonistes''.  
  
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*In 1724, [[Moshe Chaim Luzzatto]] wrote the first [[Hebrew]] play ever written on the subject of Samson.<ref name=balent/>
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*In 1724, Moshe Chaim Luzzatto used Samson as the subject of the first known Hebrew play.
  
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*In 1926, [[Vladimir Jabotinsky]] published his historical novel, ''Samson'' (see "Israeli culture" above for details), which earned him a credit on the 1949 Hollwood movie [[Samson and Delilah (1949 film)|Samson and Delilah]].<ref name=balent/>
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*In 1926, Vladimir Jabotinsky published the historical novel, ''Samson'', which earned him a credit on the 1949 Hollwood movie ''Samson and Delilah''.
  
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*In 2006, [[David Grossman|David Grossman's]] novel, ''Lion's Honey: The Myth of Samson'' was published.
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===Music===
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*[[George Frideric Handel]] wrote his [[oratorio]], ''Samson'', in 1743.
  
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===Classical Music===
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*[[Camille Saint-Saëns]] wrote the opera ''Samson et Dalila'' between 1868 and 1877.
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[[Handel]] wrote his oratorio ''Samson'' in [[1743]]. [[Camille Saint-Saëns]] wrote an [[opera]], ''[[Samson et Dalila]]'' between [[1868]] and [[1877]].
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* Numerous references are made to Samson in modern [[popular music]].
  
 
===Art===
 
===Art===
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Samson has been a popular subject for paintings. Among them:
  
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Samson has been a popular subject for paintings:<ref>[http://www.textweek.com/art/samson.htm] "The Text This Week
 
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Lectionary, Scripture Study and Worship Links and Resources" Web site, Web page titled "Links to Images of Samson",, accessed [[November 2]], [[2006]]</ref>
 
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*[[Alexander Anderson]], ''Samson Fighting the Lion'', ca. 1800 [[Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco]]
 
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*[[Jean Audran]], after [[F. Verdier]], ''The Burial of Samson'', ca. 1700 [[Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco]]
 
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*[[Giovanni Francesco Barbieri]] (Guercino), ''Samson and the Honeycomb'', ca. 1657 [[Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco]]
 
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*[[Niccolu Boldrini]], after [[Titian]], ''Samson and Delilah'', ca. 1540-1545, [[Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco]]
 
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*[[Boucicaut Master]], ''Samson and the Lion'', 1415, [[Getty Museum]]
 
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*[[Hans Burgkmair the Elder]], ''Samson and Delilah'', ca. 1500 [[Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco]]
 
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*[[Lovis Corinth]], ''Samson Blinded'', 1912
 
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*[[Giuseppe Caletti]] ([[Il Cremonese]]), ''Samson and Delilah'', ca. 1625 [[Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco]]
 
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*[[Lucas Cranach the Elder]], ''Samson and Delilah'', 1529
 
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**''Samson's Fight with the Lion'', 1520-25
 
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*[[Salomon de Bray]], ''Samson with the Jawbone'', 1636 [[Getty Museum]]
 
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*[[Gerard de Jode]], ''Samson Tying the Firebrands to the Foxes' Tails'', ca. 1550 [[Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco]]
 
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*[[Etienne Delaune]], ''Samson Setting Fire to the Wheat of the Philistines'', ca. 1575 [[Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco]]
 
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* [[H.B.]] ([[John Doyle]]), ''Samson and Delilah'', ca. 1800 [[Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco]]
 
 
*[[Gustave Doré]], ''Death of Samson'', 1865  
 
*[[Gustave Doré]], ''Death of Samson'', 1865  
 
**''Samson and Delilah'', 1865
 
**''Samson and Delilah'', 1865
Line 83: Line 75:
 
**''Samson Destroying the Philistines'', 1865
 
**''Samson Destroying the Philistines'', 1865
 
**''Samson Destroys the Temple'', 1866
 
**''Samson Destroys the Temple'', 1866
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**''Samson Fighting with the Lion'', ca. 1496  
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**''Samson Fighting with the Lion'', c. 1496  
 
**''Samson Slaying a Lion'', 1865
 
**''Samson Slaying a Lion'', 1865
 
*[[Albrecht Dürer]], ''Delilah Cuts Samson's Hair'', 1493
 
*[[Albrecht Dürer]], ''Delilah Cuts Samson's Hair'', 1493
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*[[Josephus Farmer]], ''Samson'', 1982, [[Smithsonian American Art Museum]]
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*[[Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton|Lord Frederic Leighton]], Illustrations for Dalziel's Bible Gallery, 1881, Tate Gallery:
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*[[Philip Galle]], ''Samson Fighting the Lion'', ca. 1600 [[Lutheran Brotherhood's Collection of Religious Art]]
 
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*[[Luca Giordano]], ''Samson and Delilah'', ca. 1675 [[Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco]]
 
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*[[Guercin]], ''Samson Captured by the Philistines'' 
 
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*[[Reinhold Hoberg]], ''Samson and Delilah'', ca. 1900 [[Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco]]
 
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*[[Lord Frederic Leighton]], Illustrations for [[Dalziel's Bible Gallery]], 1881, [[Tate Gallery]]:  
 
 
**''Samson and the Lion''
 
**''Samson and the Lion''
 
**''Samson Carrying the Gates''
 
**''Samson Carrying the Gates''
 
**''Samson at the Mill''  
 
**''Samson at the Mill''  
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*[[Andrea Mantegna]], ''Samson and Delilah'', ca. 1500  
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*Andrea Mantegna, ''Samson and Delilah'', c. 1500  
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*[[Jacob Matham]] after [[Peter Paul Rubens]], ''Samson and Delilah'', 1613  
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*Jacob Matham after Peter Paul Rubens, ''Samson and Delilah'', 1613  
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*[[Matthaeus Merian the Elder]], 1625-30, ''Samson and Delilah''
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*[[Michelangelo]], ''Samson and Two Philistines'', c. 1530-50  
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**''Samson and the Gates''
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*[[Rembrandt]] van Rijn, ''The Blinding of Samson'', 1636  
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**''Samson's Strange Weapon''
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**''Delilah Calls the Philistines'', c. 1655  
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**''Samson Slays a Lion''
 
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*[[Michelangelo]], ''Samson and Two Philistines'', ca. 1530-50  
 
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*[[Aureliano Milani]], ''Samson Slaying the Philistines'', 1720 [[National Gallery]], Canada
 
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*[[Erasmus Quellinus]], ''Samson Killing the Lion'', ca. 1650 [[Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco]]
 
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*[[Archie Rand]], ''Samson'', contemporary [[Bernice Steinbaum Gallery]]
 
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*[[Guido Reni]], ''The Triumph of Samson'', 1611-12 
 
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*[[Rembrandt van Rijn]], ''The Blinding of Samson'', 1636  
 
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**''Delilah Calls the Philistines'', ca. 1655  
 
 
**''The Sacrifice of Menoah'', 1641
 
**''The Sacrifice of Menoah'', 1641
 
**''Samson Accusing His Father-In-Law'', 1635  
 
**''Samson Accusing His Father-In-Law'', 1635  
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**''Samson Betrayed by Delilah'', 1629-30
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**''Samson Betrayed by Delilah'', 1629-1630
 
**''Samson Putting Forth His Riddles at the Wedding Feast'', 1638
 
**''Samson Putting Forth His Riddles at the Wedding Feast'', 1638
−
*[[Kirk Richards]], ''Delilah'', 1997
+
*[[Peter Paul Rubens]], ''The Death of Samson'', c. 1605, Getty Museum  
−
*[[Paul Roorda]], ''Samson'', contemporary
+
**''Samson is Seized'', 1609-1610
−
*[[Peter Paul Rubens]], ''The Death of Samson'', ca. 1605 [[Getty Museum]]
+
*[[James Tissot]], 1896-1900, Christian Theological Seminary, Indianapolis, ''Samson Breaks His Cords''  
−
**''Samson is Seized'', 1609-10
 
−
*[[Jacob Savery I]], ''Samson Wrestling with the Lion'', (after), ca. 1595 [[Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco]]
 
−
*[[Hans Leonhard Schaufelein]], ''Samson Destroying the Temple'', Fifteenth to Sixteenth centuries [[Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco]]
 
−
*[[Jan Steen]], ''Samson and Delilah'', 1667-70
 
−
*[[Matthias Stom]], ''Samson and Delilah'', 1630s
 
−
*[[James Tissot]], 1896-1900. [[Christian Theological Seminary]], Indianapolis, ''Samson Breaks His Cords''  
 
 
**''Samson Kills a Young Lion''  
 
**''Samson Kills a Young Lion''  
 
**''Samson Puts Down the Pillars''
 
**''Samson Puts Down the Pillars''
 
**''Samson Slays a Thousand Men''
 
**''Samson Slays a Thousand Men''
−
*[[Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld]], 1851-60' [[World Mission Collection]], ''The Death of Samson''
 
−
**''Samson Kills the Lion''
 
−
**''Samson Kills the Philistines''
 
−
**''Samson is Seized''
 
−
*[[Christiaen vanCouwenbergh]], ''The Capture of Samson'', 1630
 
−
*Sir [[Anthony Van Dyck]], ''Samson and Delilah'', 1620
 
−
*[[Gerrit van Honthorst]], ''Samson and Delilah'',  ca. 1615
 
−
*[[Israhel van Meckenem the Younger]], ''Samson and the Lion'', ca. 1475 [[National Gallery of Art]]
 
−
*[[Frans van den Wyngaerde]], ''Samson Killing the Lion'', ca. 1650 [[Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco]]
 
−
*[[Claes Jansz Visscher the Elder]], ''Delilah Cutting Samson's Hair'', ca. 1610. [[Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco]]
 
−
*[[Les Drysdale]], ''Samson'', contemporary
 
−
 
−
'''Anonymous:'''
 
−
*''Samson Destroying the Pillars of the Philistine Temple'', ca. 1600 [[Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco]]
 
−
*Display Cabinet (with figure of Delilah cutting Samson's Hair), 1620s [[Getty Museum]].
 
−
* ''The Women at the Tomb'' (with scene from Samson and the Lion), Unknown German, c. 1170s. [[Getty Museum]] 
 
−
*''Samson Destroys the Temple'', Unknown German [[Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco]]
 
−
 
−
==In popular culture==
 
−
===Film===
 
−
The most detailed film version of the Biblical Samson was the 1949 [[Cecil B. deMille]] film ''[[Samson and Delilah]]'', starring [[Victor Mature]] as Samson.
 
−
 
−
The Samson character was later featured in a series of 5 sword-and-sandal adventure films made in Italy in the 1960s, as follows:
 
−
 
−
*''Samson'' (1961)
 
−
 
−
*''Samson vs. Hooley Dooleys'' (1963) a/k/a ''Samson and the Sea Beast''
 
−
 
−
*''Samson Challenges Hercules'' (1963) a/k/a ''Hercules, Samson and Ulysses''
 
−
 
−
*''Samson vs. the Black Pirate'' (1963) a/k/a ''Hercules and the Black Pirate''
 
−
 
−
*''Samson and the Mighty Challenge'' (1965) a semi comedy/satire co-starring Hercules, Ursus & Maciste
 
  
−
The name Samson was inserted into the U.S. film titles of 6 Italian sword-and-sandal movies when they were dubbed in English and retitled for distribution in the USA, although these films all featured the adventures of famed Italian muscleman hero Maciste.
+
==See also==  
−
 
+
*[[Judges, Book of|Book of Judges]]
−
''Samson Marries Ionko'' (1962), ''Son of Samson'' (1960), ''Samson and the Slave Queen'' (1963), ''Samson and the Seven Miracles of the World'' (1961), ''Samson vs. The Giant King'' (1964), and ''Samson in King Solomon's Mines'' (1964) were all retitled "Maciste" movies, because the American distrubtors didn't feel the name Maciste in the titles would be marketable to American filmgoers.
 
−
 
 
−
There was also an Italian muscleman film called ''Samson and the Treasure of the Incas'' (1964), but this story was apparently set in the days of the Old West in South America, and the lead muscleman character apparently had no connection with the mythological/ Biblical Samson. The film was apparently never dubbed in English and is very scarce.
 
−
 
 
−
"Samson" was a generic comic-book hero sparsely appearing in Marvel Comic books; the nickname "Doc Samson" was awarded to a physicist who developed super-strength following a nuclear accident. While earlier in his career Doc Samson was cast against The Incredible Hulk, he later on assisted Bruce Banner, the Hulk's alter ego, to evade military forces in Peter David's surprisingly literary story-lines.
 
−
 
 
−
===Music===
 
−
 
 
−
[[Indie Rock]] band [[mewithoutYou]] references to Samson in the song "In A Market Dimly Lit" from the album ''[[Brother, Sister]]'' released September of 2006.
 
−
 
 
−
The British singer/songwriter [[Donovan]] refers to Samson's strength in his song Ferris Wheel, which appears on his 1966 US released [[Sunshine Superman]] album.
 
−
 
 
−
The Atlantic Canada Teen Christian Rock Group "The Judges" Featuring Eric Rogers, Matt Forrest, Mike Gray, Kyle Ross and Jon Jays , Make Many refrences to Samson and the other judes form the bible in many of their songs based on biblical bases.
 
−
 
 
−
Samson is also mentioned in the song "[[Empire City]]" by [[Indie Rock|indie rock]] band [[Bishop Allen]].
 
−
 
 
−
The song "[[Gouge Away]]" from the album ''[[Doolittle (album)|Doolittle]]'' by the [[Pixies]] retells the story of Samson.
 
−
 
 
−
The song "[[Someday We'll Know]]" by late 90's one-hit wonder [[New Radicals]] asks the hypothetical question "Someday we'll know why Samson loved Delilah".
 
−
 
 
−
[[Regina Spektor]] has a song titled "Samson" (included on her 2002 album ''[[Songs (Regina Spektor album)|Songs]]'' and on her 2006 album ''[[Begin to Hope]]'') which, in the style of many of her songs, tells a short story about him, from the point of view of Delilah. The line 'Well I cut his hair myself one night, with a pair of dull scissors in the yellow light, he told me that I'd done alright, and kissed me 'till the morning light' references his demise.
 
−
 
 
−
[[Leonard Cohen]]'s song "[[Hallelujah (song)|Hallelujah]]" which has been covered by various artists makes a reference to Samson: "She tied you to her kitchen chair, she broke your throne and she cut your hair."
 
−
 
 
−
Samson and Delilah are mentioned in the [[Pointer Sisters]]' song, "Fire."
 
−
 
 
−
PJ Harvey's song "Hair" is about Samson and Delilah, told in the voice of Delilah.
 
−
 
 
−
Indie rock band [[tunnelkid]] performed a song called "Samson" on the album "hang me now or shoot me later."
 
−
 
 
−
The [[Grateful Dead]] played the song "Samson & Delilah" from the mid-1970s and throughout their career. The
 
−
song is a traditional song which [[Bob Weir]] learned from Reverend [[Gary Davis]]<ref>{{cite web
 
−
|title=Grateful Dead Lyric & Song Finder
 
−
|publisher=Lyrics for the traditional song "Samson & Delilah"
 
−
|url=http://www3.clearlight.com/~acsa/songfile/SAMSON.HTM#note1
 
−
}}</ref>. The lyrics cover some parts of the history around Samson, notably his fight with the lion.
 
−
 
 
−
===Other references===
 
−
 
 
−
From 1939 to 1942, [[Fox Feature Syndicate]] published the adventure of a modern day [[Samson (Fox Feature comics|Samson]], who was a direct descendant of the Biblical hero.
 
−
 
 
−
The character of [[Doc Samson]] in the [[Marvel Comics|Marvel]] comic ''[[The Incredible Hulk]]'' is based on the Biblical Samson as his powers stem from the length of his hair.
 
−
 
 
−
The ''[[Simpsons]]'' episode "[[Simpson and Delilah]]" gets its name from this story. In the episode, Homer grows long hair, which he believes is the sources of his success at work.
 
−
 
 
−
In the [[Television]] cartoon ''[[The Venture Brothers]]'', [[Brock Samson]] can be seen as a clear reference to the biblical version. In the show, Brock is a bodyguard for the feeble Dr. Venture and kills a veritable army of Monarch Henchmen in the premiere episode, [[Dia de los Dangerous]]. He has superhuman strength, and wears a [[Mullet (haircut)|mullet]].
 
−
 
 
−
In the animated cartoon [[Thundercats]] by [[Rankin/Bass]], Samson is the name of one of the giant frog robots who protect the Great Oceanic Plug in the season one episode "Dr. Dometone".
 
−
 
 
−
[[Thomas Harris]], the writer behind the novels concerning the terrifying psychiatrist Dr. [[Hannibal Lecter]] who was made famous through the [[Jonathan Demme]] movie [[The Silence of the Lambs]] in 1991, writes in his novel "[[Hannibal]]" about the Doctor writing a letter to [[FBI]] investingator [[Clarice Starling]]. In this, the doctor states that she is "the answer to Samson's riddle: La miele dentro la leonessa, the honey in the lion."
 
−
 
 
−
== See also ==
 
−
*[[Biblical judges]]
 
−
*[[Book of Judges]]
 
−
*[[sword and sandal]] (film genre)
 
−
*[[Solar deity]]
 
−
*[[Suicide attack]]
 
−
*[[Samson Option]]
 
  
 
==Notes==
 
==Notes==
 
<references/>
 
<references/>
  
−
==External links==
+
==References==
−
*[http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/picture-of-month/displaypicture.asp?venue=2&id=1 'Samson'] by Solomon Solomon
+
*Biblical Text [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=judges%2013&version=31 (Book of Judges 13-16)]
−
*[http://www.biroz.net/words/flood.htm "The House Of The Sky"] - An article exploring ancient astronomy in which the story of Samson figures prominently.
+
* Grossman, David. ''Lion's Honey: The Myth of Samson''. Canongate U.S., 2006. ISBN 978-1841957425
 +
* Jacobs, Joseph. [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=122&letter=S&search=samson "Samson."] Jewish Encyclopedia. Retrieved November 24, 2007.
 +
* Maine, David. ''The Book of Samson'' (historical novel). St. Martin's Press, 2006. ISBN 978-0312353391
 +
* Matthews, Victor J. ''Judges and Ruth''. Cambridge University Press, 2004. ISBN 978-0521000666
 +
* Smith, R. Houston. "The Book of Judges," in ''The Interpreters One-Volume Commentary on the Bible''. Abingdon Press, 1984. ISBN 0687192994
 +
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{{s-hno|[[Tribe of Dan]]}}
 
 
{{s-bef|before=[[Abdon (Judges)|Abdon]]}}
 
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{{s-ttl|title=[[Biblical judges|Judge of Israel]]}}
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{{s-ttl|title=[[Judges, Book of|Judge of Israel]]}}
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{{s-aft|after=[[Eli (Biblical Priest)|Eli]]}}
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{{s-aft|after=[[Eli]]}}
 
{{end}}
 
{{end}}
  
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[[Category:Judges of ancient Israel]]
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[[category:history]]
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[[Category:Suicide]]
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[[category:religion]]
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[[Category:Sun myths]]
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[[Category:Bible]]
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[[Category:Judaism]]
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[[ceb:Samson]]
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Latest revision as of 16:35, 13 August 2015


Samson and Delilah by Gustave Doré

Samson (Hebrew: שִׁמְשׁוֹן, Šimšon), meaning "of the sun," is the third to last of the judges of ancient Israel mentioned in the Hebrew Bible.

He is described in the Book of Judges 13 to 16. Samson is a Herculean figure, utilizing massive strength to combat his enemies and perform heroic feats unachievable by ordinary men: killing a lion with his bare hands, slaying an entire army with nothing more than a donkey's jawbone, and tearing down a large pagan temple with his superhuman strength. Samson had two vulnerabilities, however: his attraction to untrustworthy women and his hair, without which he was powerless. These vulnerabilities ultimately proved fatal for him.

Biblical story

Annuciation and birth

Samson is the last of judges mentioned in the Book of Judges, and his story is by far the longest of them. The story begins with a "man of God" appearing to Samson's mother. The narrator states that he is an angel, but Samson's parents do not know this at first. Following the pattern of several other biblical women—Sarah, Rebekah and Hannah in the Hebrew Bible and Elizabeth in the New Testament—the unnamed woman is unable to bear children. The angel predicts that, even though she is sterile, she will have a son "who will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines" (Judg. 13:7). In accordance with Naziritic requirements, she is to abstain from all alcoholic beverages and unclean (non-kosher) meat, and her promised child is never to shave or cut his hair. In due time, her son, Samson, is born; and he is reared according to these provisions.

Samson's Philistine wife

Samson slays a lion on the road to Timnah

When he becomes a young man, Samson visits the town of Timnah, where he becomes infatuated with a Philistine woman. His parents object to the match, but reluctantly agree to accompany him to Timnah to arrange it. On the way to visit his future bride, Samson is attacked by a lion and kills it with his bare hands. This is the first of his many amazing feats of strength. When he returns later to marry her, Samson notices that bees have nested in the carcass of the lion and have made honey. He eats a handful of the honey and later gives some to his parents.

At the wedding feast, Samson proposes that he tell a riddle to his thirty groomsmen (all Philistines). If they can solve it, he will give them each a costly set of clothing and undergarments. On the other hand, if they cannot solve it, Samson will receive a like set of clothing from each of them. The riddle—"Out of the eater, something to eat; out of the strong, something sweet"—is a veiled account of his second encounter with the lion.

The Philistines are stumped by the riddle. They threaten Samson's new wife, saying they will burn her and her father's household if she does not discover and share the secret of the riddle. At the urgent and tearful imploring of his bride, Samson tells her the solution; and she promptly tells it to the thirty groomsmen. When they solve his riddle, Samson accuses them of "plowing with my heifer." Filled with the spirit of Yahweh, he goes to the city of Ashkelon, kills thirty Philistines there, and presents their clothing to his his groomsmen back in Timnah. He then returns to his father's house.

When Samson visits Timnah again at harvest time, he finds that his father-in-law has given his wife to another, apparently one of Samson's Philistine companions. Her father refuses to allow him to see her, and wishes to give Samson his younger daughter instead. Samson retaliates by attaching torches to the tails of three hundred foxes, leaving the panicked beasts to run through the Philistine fields and vineyards. The precious crops are destroyed as a result. The Philistines take revenge by burning Samson's wife and father-in-law to death. Not to be outdone, Samson slaughters many more Philistines, smiting them "hip and thigh."

Samson then takes refuge in a cave in the rock of Etam, near Bethlehem. A force of three thousand men from the Tribe of Judah (a vassal of the Philistines), agree to a Philistine demand to deliver Samson to them. Samson allows them to tie him with two new ropes. They are about to hand him over to the Philistines when the spirit of Yahweh comes upon him again, and he breaks free. Using the jawbone of a donkey, he slays one thousand Philistines.

Later, Samson goes to the Philistine town of Gaza where he spends the night with a prostitute. His enemies wait at the gate of the city to ambush him, but he rips the gate up and carries it away to safety.

Samson and Delilah

Continuing the theme of his fatal attraction to the wrong type of women, Samson then falls in love with the beautiful Delilah. Hearing of this, the Philistines approach Delilah and bribe her to find the secret of Samson's strength. Three times he falsely informs her to bind him in various ways; three times she does so; and three times he escapes her trap. Eventually Samson tells Delilah the that he will lose his strength if his hair is cut. Delilah calls for a servant to shave Samson's seven locks while he sleeps. The story implies that Samson probably thinks this, too, will not work. But since he has allowed his mother's oath to be broken, Yahweh now leaves him. Samson is promptly captured by the Philistines, who successfully bind him and gouge out his eyes. They then bring him to Gaza, where he is imprisoned and put to work grinding grain.

Later, the Philistine leaders assemble in the temple Dagon for a religious sacrifice celebrating their capture of Samson. They summon Samson so that he may entertain them. Three thousand additional people gather on the roof to watch. However, Samson's hair has now grown back, and his strength has returned.

Then Samson prayed to the Lord, "O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes..." Down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. (Judg. 16:28–30).

After his death, Samson's family recovers his body from the rubble and buries him near the tomb of his father. He is reported to have judged Israel for 20 years.

Assessment

Samson at Dagon's Temple

While Samson's story is undoubtedly one of the most famous and entertaining in the Bible, he can hardly be called a successful judge. None of his victories is lasting, and they all seem to be based on personal revenge rather than any patriotic motivation. Even his final act cannot be called redemptive in this sense. He uses his strength not for God or his people, but to avenge himself against the Philistines for blinding him. He does not unite the Israelites, or even his own tribe of Dan, against their oppressors. Time and again, he is deceived by beautiful women. While his acts of revenge are heroic, they do not seem particularly noble.

The Jewish Encyclopedia concludes its article on Samson with the following:

Ch. xvi. records the disgraceful and disastrous end of Samson... The final and fatal episode, in which Delilah betrays him to his enemies, is similar in its beginnings to the art practiced by the Timnitess. Samson's revenge at the feast of Dagon was the end of a life that was full of tragic events. Despite his heroic deeds he does not seem to have rid his people of the oppression of the Philistines; his single-handed combats were successful, but they did not extricate Israel from Philistine tyranny.[1]

In Rabbinical Literature

The rabbis give varied and sometimes conflicting additional information about Samson. In the Talmudic period, as today, many Jews seem to have been skeptical about whether Samson was an historical figure. He was regarded by some as a purely mythological character. This opinion was considered heretical by some of the rabbis of the Talmud.

One tradition identifies Samson with Bedan, a judge mentioned by Samuel in his farewell address (1 Sam. 12:11). The name "Samson" is based on the word shemesh ("sun"). Thus another rabbinical opinion compares his strength to the power of the sun, which, like Samson's, was derived from God. (Talmud, Tractate Sotah 10a).

One legend records that Samson was lame in both feet (Sotah 10a), but when the spirit of God came upon him he could cover several kilometers with one stride. His hair itself was magical, in that his individual strands clashed so violently against one another that the sound could be heard for miles (Midrash Lev. Rabbah 8:2). Samson was so strong that he could lift two mountains and rub them together like two clods of earth (Sotah 9b). Yet, his superhuman strength, like Goliath's, brought him no happiness (Midrash Eccl. Rabbah 1).

In licentiousness he is compared with King David's son Amnon and the evil Israelite King Zimri, both of whom were punished for their sins (Midrash Lev. Rabbah. 23:9). Samson's eyes were put out because he "followed them" too often (Sotah l.c).

Other cultural references

Literature

  • In 1671, John Milton made Samson the hero of his blank verse tragedy Samson Agonistes.
  • In 1724, Moshe Chaim Luzzatto used Samson as the subject of the first known Hebrew play.
  • In 1926, Vladimir Jabotinsky published the historical novel, Samson, which earned him a credit on the 1949 Hollwood movie Samson and Delilah.

Music

  • Numerous references are made to Samson in modern popular music.

Art

Samson has been a popular subject for paintings. Among them:

  • Gustave Doré, Death of Samson, 1865
    • Samson and Delilah, 1865
    • Samson Carrying Away the Gates of Gaza, 1865
    • Samson Destroying the Philistines, 1865
    • Samson Destroys the Temple, 1866
    • Samson Fighting with the Lion, c. 1496
    • Samson Slaying a Lion, 1865
  • Albrecht Dürer, Delilah Cuts Samson's Hair, 1493
  • Lord Frederic Leighton, Illustrations for Dalziel's Bible Gallery, 1881, Tate Gallery:
    • Samson and the Lion
    • Samson Carrying the Gates
    • Samson at the Mill
  • Andrea Mantegna, Samson and Delilah, c. 1500
  • Jacob Matham after Peter Paul Rubens, Samson and Delilah, 1613
  • Michelangelo, Samson and Two Philistines, c. 1530-50
  • Rembrandt van Rijn, The Blinding of Samson, 1636
    • Delilah Calls the Philistines, c. 1655
    • The Sacrifice of Menoah, 1641
    • Samson Accusing His Father-In-Law, 1635
    • Samson Betrayed by Delilah, 1629-1630
    • Samson Putting Forth His Riddles at the Wedding Feast, 1638
  • Peter Paul Rubens, The Death of Samson, c. 1605, Getty Museum
    • Samson is Seized, 1609-1610
  • James Tissot, 1896-1900, Christian Theological Seminary, Indianapolis, Samson Breaks His Cords
    • Samson Kills a Young Lion
    • Samson Puts Down the Pillars
    • Samson Slays a Thousand Men

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Joseph Jacobs, "Samson," JewishEncyclopedia.com. Retrieved November 24, 2007.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Biblical Text (Book of Judges 13-16)
  • Grossman, David. Lion's Honey: The Myth of Samson. Canongate U.S., 2006. ISBN 978-1841957425
  • Jacobs, Joseph. "Samson." Jewish Encyclopedia. Retrieved November 24, 2007.
  • Maine, David. The Book of Samson (historical novel). St. Martin's Press, 2006. ISBN 978-0312353391
  • Matthews, Victor J. Judges and Ruth. Cambridge University Press, 2004. ISBN 978-0521000666
  • Smith, R. Houston. "The Book of Judges," in The Interpreters One-Volume Commentary on the Bible. Abingdon Press, 1984. ISBN 0687192994
Preceded by:
Abdon 		Judge of Israel Succeeded by: Eli

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