Who was Samson

Born in 1118 B.C. Sorah (Israel)
He died 1078 B.C. C.Gaza
Cause of death Died in a cave-in
israeli citizenship

In the story, Samson is characterized by fighting against his extraordinarily strong and strong character. . and he performs heroic feats that ordinary people cannot achieve, such as fighting a lion with just his bare hands, destroying an entire army with just the jaws of a donkey, and even destroying the temple of the Philistines with his own strength. When the biblical text mentions his deeds, expressions such as “the spirit of the Lord entered him” (Judges 1, 19) or “the spirit of the Lord came upon him” (Judges 15, 1) are used, with which the biblical Se they use writers. suggestions that Samson’s superhuman strength came solely from doing God’s will.

The Israelites again worshiped Baal and Asherah, and for this reason the Lord God, God, delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years. An angel of the Lord appeared in the city of Korah to Manoah of the tribe of Dan and his wife (Hatslelponi), who was barren. The angel prophesied that his son would save Israel from the Philistines. According to him, the pregnant woman should not drink wine or strong drink or eat anything unclean, and the unborn child should not cut its hair. As a young man, Samson leaves his town to visit the cities of the Philistines, where he falls in love with a woman from the city of Timnat, whom he decides to marry despite the opposition of his parents, who favor the young man. Israelite. This decision is presented as part of Yahweh’s plan to attack the Philistines. On the way to the marriage proposal, he is attacked by a lion, which he kills by splitting it in two.

On the way to the wedding, he observes a swarm of bees with honey among the bones of a lion, which he tastes and then offers to his father. At the wedding feast organized by Samson, the hero presents a riddle to thirty young Philistines; if they fixed it, he would give them thirty bisins and the same amount of clothes. If not, they would give the same gift to Samson. They had seven days to solve it. The enigma is this: “From the one who eats came food, and from the strong came sweetness.” The riddle is a reference to the lion he killed and the mind that sprung from him. Since only Samson was present at the battle, the thirty young men cannot receive an answer for three days. On the fourth day, they approach the woman and threaten to set fire to her and her father’s house if he doesn’t find a solution. Faced with the cries of his wife, Samson decides to tell her the answer on the seventh day and gives it to his compatriots. Before sunset of this seventh day, the Philistines said to him: What is sweeter than honey, what is stronger than a lion? Samson replies: “If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have guessed my riddle.”

Then he goes to Ashkelon, kills thirty men, steals their clothes and gives them to the young men. Disappointed, he leaves and arrives at his father’s house. His wife is given to another man. When Samson wants to see her, her mother-in-law refuses, but he offers her the younger sister of the most beautiful woman. In revenge, the Israelite hunts three hundred foxes, tying them twice by the tails and placing a mark between both tails, he releases the animals in the field, burning all the enemy’s crops. In turn and in revenge, the Philistines burn his wife and his father’s house, to which Samson responds by beating many of them.

Francesco Morone: “Samson and Delilah”. Milan, Poldi Pezzoli Museum.
Later, he takes refuge in Ethan’s rock. Meanwhile, the Philistines arrive in Judah and demand the surrender of Samson. Three thousand men from this city find him and promise not to kill him, tie him up and prepare to hand him over. But when that happens, Samson cuts the ropes, breaks free, and kills a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey. After that he was judge of Israel for twenty years.

After that, Samson flees to Gaza, living in a house of prostitution, which would be the only residence for a foreigner and an Israelite. His enemies wait for him at the entrance of the city to kill him, but taking advantage of the night, he breaks down the city gates and takes her to the hill in front of Hebron, leaving the defenseless city in charge of the problem. the same. his enemies lose the main port of him. There he falls in love with Delilah (a Philistine woman). The Philistines bribe him with silver coins (Judges 16:5,18) and encourage Samson to reveal the secret of his power. Samson betrays him and replies that he would win if they tied him up with seven wet ropes. Delilah complies and ties him up, but he easily cuts the ropes. She asks again, to which he replies that in order to become a normal man, it would be enough to tie him up with new ropes. She obeys him and he easily breaks them again. Delilah demands to know his secret, and Samson lies to her again, telling her that he would be weak if his seven braids were tied with threads and held together with nails. He tries and fails a third time.

At her insistence, Samson confesses that he will lose all his strength when they cut his hair. So does the servant and leaves him without extraordinary powers. It is noteworthy that behind his authority was the oath of the Nazarenes (Judges 13:25; 15:18), which Samson himself broke by allowing Delilah to cut her hair (Deuteronomy 7: 3,).

Samson did not know that this woman was unworthy (Judges 16:8,12,1). The Philistines captured him, gouged out his eyes, and took him to Gaza, where he ground grain for his enemies as a prisoner. However, his hair grows back, thus restoring the symbol of his relationship with God.

One day the leaders of the Philistines gathered in the temple to offer a sacrifice to Dagon, because they had delivered their enemies into his hands. They invite Samson to entertain them and the three thousand present. Israel asks the young man who led him to leave him between the pillars on which the building rests so that he can rest. Samson prays to Jehovah: O Jehovah! please remind me Give me strength once more, and I will avenge all the Philistines with one blow.” Applying strength to the pillars, he added, “Let me die with the Philistines.”

The building collapsed, killing more people inside. house. death that he had in all the killings of him during his life. His relatives search for his corpse and bury him in the tomb of his father Manoa. It should be noted that the Philistines were greatly weakened by the fall of the Temple, because all the political, military, and religious leaders were dead and had lost much of their control and influence in Israel.

What was the name of Samson’s wife?
Samson fell in love with a Philistine named Timna. When he went in search of a woman to become his wife, he came across a roaring lion and killed it with his bare hands. She had extraordinary strength, so he did great feats in the battle against the Philistines.

who betrayed samson
Judges 16: -20: Delilah betrays Samson and he loses his power.