Difference between revisions of "Samson"

<p> <strong> SAMSON </strong> (LXX [Note: Septuagint.] and Vulg. [Note: Vulgate.]; Heb. <em> Shimshôn </em> ; probably derived from <em> shemesh </em> , ‘sun,’ either as a diminutive, or better ‘sun-man’). [[Mentioned]] in OT in &nbsp; Judges 13:1-25; &nbsp; Judges 14:1-20; &nbsp; Judges 15:1-20; &nbsp; Judges 16:1-31 , and in NT in &nbsp; Hebrews 11:32 . </p> <p> <strong> 1. The story </strong> need not be recapitulated, but certain details require explanation. &nbsp; Judges 13:25 seems to be the prelude to a first exploit, now lost. &nbsp; Judges 13:14 is not clear as it stands; probably ‘his father and his mother’ in &nbsp; Judges 13:5-6 b, &nbsp; Judges 13:10 a are glosses introduced to avoid the appearance of disobedience. He goes down alone, meets the lion alone, returns to his home after his visit to his bride (&nbsp; Judges 13:8 ‘to take her’ being another gloss); then after an interval he goes back to celebrate the marriage he has arranged; &nbsp; Judges 13:10 a is particularly absurd as it stands. The ‘thirty companions’ of &nbsp; Judges 13:11 are the ‘friends of the bridegroom,’ chosen on this occasion from the bride’s people (see below, § 4); the companion of &nbsp; Judges 13:20 is their leader, ‘the best man.’ The ‘linen garments’ of &nbsp; Judges 13:12 are pieces of fine linen, costly and luxurious (&nbsp; Proverbs 31:24 , &nbsp; Isaiah 3:23 ); ‘the changes’ are gala dresses. The [[Philistines]] give up the riddle ‘after three days’ (&nbsp; Judges 13:14 ), and appeal to the woman on the seventh (&nbsp; Judges 13:15; LXX [Note: Septuagint.] Syr. ‘fourth’); yet she weeps for the whole week, imploring [[Samson]] to tell her (&nbsp; Judges 13:17 ). Perhaps the figures of &nbsp; Judges 13:14-15 are interpolations, the Philistines giving up at once. ‘Before the sun went down’ (&nbsp; Judges 13:18 ) is ungrammatical in Heb., with a rare word for ‘sun‘; with best modern edd., read by a slight alteration ‘before he went into the bridal-chamber’ (cf. &nbsp; Judges 15:1 ). In ch. 16, words, variously represented by LXX [Note: Septuagint.] , have fallen out between &nbsp; Judges 15:13 and &nbsp; Judges 15:14; the sense is ‘… and beat them up with the pin, I shall become weak, So while he was asleep she took the seven locks and wove them into the web, and beat them tight with the pin,’ etc. We are to imagine an upright loom with a piece of unfinished stuff; <strong> [[Delilah]] </strong> weaves the hair into this, and heats it tight with the ‘pin.’ Samson pulls up the posts of the loom by his hair which is fastened to the web. For &nbsp; Judges 13:21 , cf. the blinding of captives as shown on Assyr. [Note: Assyrian.] monuments; to be put to the mill was a frequent punishment of slaves. Nothing is known of the worship of [[Dagon]] (cf. &nbsp; 1 Samuel 5:1-12 ); the etymology ‘fish-god’ and the connexion with the Assyr. [Note: Assyrian.] god ‘Dagan’ are uncertain. </p> <p> <strong> 2. Origin and nature of the story </strong> . ( <em> a </em> ) The narrative seems to belong entirely to J″ [Note: Jahweh.] , the Judæan source of the early history of Israel; there are no traces of a double source, as in other parts of Judges. It has been but slightly revised by the Deuteronomic editor. Ch. 16, though an integral part of the original cycle of stories, was apparently at one time omitted by the compiler; see the repeated note in &nbsp; Judges 15:20; &nbsp; Judges 16:31 . Perhaps it gave too unfavourable a picture of the hero’s love-affairs. ( <em> b </em> ) Though it is said that Samson ‘judged [[Israel]] twenty years’ (&nbsp; Judges 15:20 ), and that he should ‘begin to deliver’ his nation from the Philistines (&nbsp; Judges 13:5 ), there is no hint of his ever having held any official position, nor does he appear as a leader of his people; on the contrary, he is disowned by his neighbours of Judah (&nbsp; Judges 15:11 ). His exploits have only a local significance, and are performed single-handed in revenge for his private quarrels. The story evidently belongs to the class of popular tales, common to every country-side. Every people has its hero of prodigious strength, to whom marvellous feats are ascribed, and it becomes a hopeless task to discover the precise historical basis of the legends, which in this case are undoubtedly of great antiquity. ( <em> c </em> ) It is not necessary to look for a further explanation in the theory of a ‘solar myth.’ The name ‘Samson,’ and the existence of a ‘Beth-shemesh’ (‘house of the sun’) near his home, offer an obvious temptation to such a theory, but it is entirely unnecessary and is now generally abandoned. ( <em> d </em> ) It is more probable that in ch. 15 we find the workings of folk-etymology (‘ætiological myth’), <em> i.e. </em> stories suggested by the fancied meaning of names. <em> [[Ramath-Lehi]] </em> (‘the height of Lehi’) is taken to mean ‘the casting away of the jawbone’; <em> En-hakkore </em> (‘Partridge spring’), ‘the spring of him who called’; and incidents are suggested to explain the supposed meanings. ( <em> e </em> ) The parallels with other popular stories, especially the exploits of Hercules, are obvious, <em> e.g </em> . the killing of the lion, the miraculous satisfying of the hero’s thirst, and his ruin at the hand of a woman. For the lion episode, cf., further, the stories of Polydamas, David (&nbsp; 1 Samuel 17:34 ), [[Benaiah]] (&nbsp; 2 Samuel 23:20 ); for the sacred hair or lock, cf. the story of Nisus. [[Ovid]] ( <em> [[Fasti]] </em> , lv. 681 712) has a remarkable parallel to the burning of the corn by the foxes (or jackals?); at the Cereaila, foxes with lighted torches tied to their tails were let loose in the Circus; he explains the custom as originally due to the act of a mischievous boy, who burned his father’s corn in the same way. The conclusion to be drawn from such parallels is not necessarily identity of origin, but the similar working of the mind and imagination under similar conditions. </p> <p> <strong> 3. [[Historical]] value </strong> . [[Regarded]] as a picture of early conditions and customs, the narrative is of the greatest significance. <em> Politically </em> it takes us to the time when Dan, perhaps weakened by the departure of its 600 men of war (&nbsp; Judges 1:34; &nbsp; Judges 1:18 ) acquiesces in the rule of the Philistines; [[Timnah]] is in their hands. There is no state of war between the two peoples, but free intercourse and even intermarriage. As already pointed out, Samson is in no sense the leader of a revolt against the foreign dominion, and his neighbours of Judah show no desire to make his private quarrels an excuse for a rising (&nbsp; Judges 15:11 ); there is no union even between the tribes of the south. None the less, his exploits would be secretly welcomed as directed against the common foe, and remembering that &nbsp; Judges 17:1-13; &nbsp; Judges 18:1-31; &nbsp; Judges 19:1-30; &nbsp; Judges 20:1-48; &nbsp; Judges 21:1-25 is an appendix, we see how the narrative paves the way for the more defined efforts of Saul and David in 1Samuel to shake off the foreign yoke. <em> Sociatly </em> the story gives us a picture of primitive marriage customs. Ch. 14 is the clearest OT example of a <em> sadika </em> marriage (see Marriage, § 1). We get a good idea of the proceedings, essentially the same as in the East to-day. The feast lasts for a week, and is marked by lavish eating and drinking, songs, riddles, and not very refined merriment. The whole story gives us a valuable insight into the life of the people; we note the grim rough humour of its hero, so entirely natural (ch. 14, the three deceptions of ch. &nbsp; Judges 16; &nbsp; Judges 16:28 RVm [Note: Revised Version margin.] ). </p> <p> <strong> 4. [[Religious]] significance </strong> . Samson is a popular hero, and we shall expect the directly religious interest of the story to be subordinate. It appears in the account of his birth, perhaps hardly a part of the original cycle, but added later to justify his inclusion among the Judges. As a child of promise, he is in a peculiar sense a gift of God, born to do a special work; an overruling providence governs his acts (&nbsp; Judges 14:4; &nbsp; Judges 16:30 ). The source of his strength is supernatural; at times it is represented as due to a demonic frenzy, an invasion of the spirit of J″ [Note: Jahweh.] (&nbsp; Judges 13:25 , &nbsp; Judges 14:6; &nbsp; Judges 14:19 , &nbsp; Judges 15:14 ), but in 13, 16 it lies in his hair; he is a [[Nazirite]] of God. The rules for the Nazirite are given in &nbsp; Numbers 6:1; those in &nbsp; Judges 13:1-25 are the same, with the general prohibition of ‘unclean’ food. The essence of the conception lay in a vow to sacrifice the <strong> hair </strong> at a sacred shrine, the life-long vow being probably a vow to do so at stated periods. The hair, like the blood, was regarded as a seat of life, and was a common offering not only among the Semites, but in all parts of the world. In [[Arabia]] the vow to leave the locks unshorn was particularly connected with wars of revenge (&nbsp; Deuteronomy 32:42 RVm [Note: Revised Version margin.] , &nbsp; Psalms 68:21 ). As soon as a vow was taken, the life of the votary became a continuous act of religion; particularly must the body, which nourishes the hair (now the property of the deity), be kept clean from all defilement; the taboo of the vine and its products is esp. common (cf. &nbsp; Amos 2:11-12 ). In the story itself no stress is laid on any such precautions on the part of Samson ( <em> e.g </em> . in &nbsp; Judges 14:8 he eats from a carcase), and hence no doubt the taboos were transferred to his mother (&nbsp; Judges 13:4 ). There is unfortunately little basis for the religious feeling with which Milton has invested the character of Samson. He is a popular hero, and the permanent value of the story is to be sought in its <em> ethical lessons </em> . It is true, its morality is on a low level; revenge is Samson’s ruling idea, and his relations with women have been a stumbling-block to apologists. But once we recognize the origin of the story, we shall not feel bound to justify or explain away these traits, and the lessons stand out clearly. The story emphasizes the evils of foreign marriages (&nbsp; Judges 14:3 ), of laxity in sexual relations, and of toying with temptation. It teaches that bodily endowments, no less than spiritual, are a gift from God, however different may be our modern conception of the way in which they are bestowed, and that their retention depends on obedience to His laws. But if Samson stands as an example ‘of impotence of mind in body strong,’ he also stands, in Milton’s magnificent conception, as an example of patriotism and heroism in death, to all who ‘from his memory inflame their breast to matchless valour and adventures high.’ </p> <p> C. W. Emmet. </p>

<p> (See [[Manoah]] .) ("awe inspiring".) (&nbsp;Judges 13:6; &nbsp;Judges 13:18-20) or else "sunlike" (Gesenius): compare &nbsp;Judges 5:31, "strong" (Josephus Ant. 5:8, section 4). Judge of Israel for 20 years (&nbsp;Judges 15:20; &nbsp;Judges 16:31), namely, in the [[Danite]] region near Philistia. Judah and Dan, and perhaps all Israel, were subject then to the Philistines (&nbsp;Judges 13:1; &nbsp;Judges 13:5; &nbsp;Judges 15:9-11, "knowest thou not the Philistines are rulers over us?" &nbsp;Judges 15:20). His 20 years' office was probably included in the "40 years" of [[Philistine]] rule. At the time of the angel's announcement to his mother (&nbsp;Judges 13:5) they ruled, and as his judgeship did not begin before he was 20 it must have nearly coincided with the last 20 years of their dominion. However their rule ceased not until the judgeship of Samuel, which retrieved their capture of the ark (&nbsp;1 Samuel 7:1-14). So the close of Samson's judgeship must have coincided with the beginning of Samuel's, and the capture of the ark in Eli's time must have been during Samson's lifetime. [[Correspondences]] between their times appear. </p> <p> '''(1)''' The Philistines are prominent under both. </p> <p> '''(2)''' Both are [[Nazarites]] (&nbsp;1 Samuel 1:11), Samson's exploits probably moving [[Hannah]] to her vow. Amos (&nbsp;Amos 2:11-12) alludes to them, the only allusion elsewhere to Nazarites in the Old [[Testament]] being &nbsp;Lamentations 4:7. </p> <p> '''(3)''' Dagon's temple is alluded to under both (&nbsp;1 Samuel 5:2; &nbsp;Judges 16:23). </p> <p> '''(4)''' The Philistine lords (&nbsp;1 Samuel 7:7; &nbsp;Judges 16:8; &nbsp;Judges 16:18; &nbsp;Judges 16:27). </p> <p> Samson roused the people from their servile submission, and by his desultory blows on the foe prepared Israel for the final victory under Samuel. "He shall begin to deliver Israel" (&nbsp;Judges 13:5) implies the consummation of the deliverance was to be under his successor (&nbsp;1 Samuel 7:1-13). "The Lord blessed him" from childhood (&nbsp;Judges 13:24); type of Jesus ''('' &nbsp;Luke 2:52 '', Compare '' &nbsp;Luke 1:80 '', John The [[Baptist]] The New Testament Nazarite)'' . "The Spirit of the Lord" is stated to be the [[Giver]] of his strength (&nbsp;Judges 13:25; &nbsp;Judges 14:6; &nbsp;Judges 14:19; &nbsp;Judges 15:14). Samson was not of giant size as were some of the Philistines (1 Samuel 17); his strength was not brute natural strength, but spiritual, bound up with fidelity to his [[Nazarite]] vow. An embodied lesson to Israel that her power lay in separation from idol lusts and entire consecration to God; no foe could withstand them while true to Him, but once that they forsook Him for the fascinations of the world their power is gone and every enemy should triumph over them (&nbsp;1 Samuel 2:9). </p> <p> Still even Samson's falls, as Israel's, are in God's wonderful providence overruled to Satan's and his agents' confusion and the good of God's elect. Samson slays the lion at Timnath, and through his Philistine wife's enticement they told the riddle; then to procure 30 tunics he slew 30 Philistines, the forfeit. His riddle "out of the eater came forth meat ''(Carcasses In The East Often [[Dry]] Up Without Decomposition)'' , and out of the strong (&nbsp;Matthew 12:29) came forth sweetness," is the key of Samson's history and of our present dispensation. Satan's lion-like violence and harlot-like subtlety are made to recoil on himself and to work out God's sweet and gracious purposes toward His elect. [[Deprived]] of his wife, Samson by the firebrands attached to 300 "jackals" ( '''''Shual''''' ), avenged himself on them. The Philistines burnt her and her father with fire; then he smote them with great slaughter at Etam. Then under the Spirit's power with an donkey bone (for the Philistines let Israel have no iron weapons: &nbsp;1 Samuel 13:19) he slew a thousand Philistines. </p> <p> This established his title as judge during the Philistine oppression ''("In The Days Of The Philistines": '' &nbsp;Judges 15:20 '')'' . (See [[Delilah]] for his fall.) By lust Samson lost at once his godliness and his manliness; it severed him from God the strength of his manhood. Samson set at nought the legal prohibition against affinity with idolatrous women (&nbsp;Exodus 34:15-16; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 7:3). [[Parting]] with the Nazarite locks of his consecration was virtual renunciation of his union with God, so his strength departed. [[Prayer]] restored it. The foes' attribution of their victory over "Samson the destroyer of their country" to their god Dagon provoked God's jealousy for His honour. A Philistine multitude, including all their lords, congregated in the house, which was a vast hall, the roof resting on four columns, two at the ends and two close together at the center; 3,000 men and women on the roof beheld while Samson made sport. Samson by pulling down the house slew at his death more than in his life. Type of Christ (&nbsp;Colossians 2:15; &nbsp;Matthew 27:50-54). </p> <p> [[Fulfilling]] Jacob's prophecy of Dan, his tribe (&nbsp;Genesis 49:16-17). A token that Israel's temporary backslidings, when repented of, shall issue in ultimate victory. Samson, the physically strong Nazarite, prepared the way for Samuel, the spiritual hero Nazarite, who consummated the deliverance that Samson began. Samson wrought what he did by faith, the true secret of might (&nbsp;Hebrews 11:32; &nbsp;Matthew 21:21). The Phoenicians carried to [[Greece]] the story of Samson, which the [[Greeks]] transferred to their idol Hercules. The Scholion on Lycophron (Bochart Hieroz. 2:5, section 12) blends the stories of Samson and Jonah, and makes [[Hercules]] come out of the belly of the sea monster with the loss of his hair. Hercules was "son of the sun" in Egypt ''('' '''''Shemesh''''' '') Related To Sam-Son)'' . Ovid (Fasti 54) describes the custom of tying a torch between two foxes in the circus, in memory of damage once done to a harvest by a fox with burning straw. Hercules dies by the hand of his wife; but every fault is atoned by suffering, and at last he ascends to heaven. His joviality and buffoonery answer to the last scene in the life of Samson. The history is taken probably from the tribe of Daniel. (See [[Timnath]] .) </p>

<p> [[Samson]] ( ''Săm'Son'' ), ''Sunlike.'' The son of Manoah, and noted as the strongest man. He was judge of a portion of Israel for 20 years, during the latter part of "the 40 years" period, and partly contemporary with Ell and Samuel. Judg. chaps. 13-16. His birth was miraculously foretold; he was a Nazirite from infancy; celebrated for his fearless and wonderful exploits, for his moral infirmities, and for his tragical end. He was not a giant in size; his exploits were wrought by special divine aid; "the Spirit of God came mightily upon him." &nbsp;Judges 13:25; &nbsp;Judges 14:6; &nbsp;Judges 14:19; &nbsp;Judges 15:14; &nbsp;Judges 16:20; &nbsp;Judges 16:28. The providence of God was signally displayed in overruling for good the hasty passions of Samson, the cowardice of his mends, and the malice of his enemies. Samson is ranked with the heroes of the faithful. &nbsp;Hebrews 11:32-33. But we must, of course, not judge him from the standpoint of the New Testament. He lived in the wild anarchial period of the judges, when might was right, and he was just the man for that time. </p>

<p> ''''' sam´sun ''''' ( שׁמשׁון , <i> ''''' shimshōn ''''' </i> ). </p> 1. Name: <p> Derived probably from שׁמשׁ , <i> ''''' shemesh ''''' </i> , "sun" with the diminutive ending ון -, - <i> ''''' on ''''' </i> , meaning "little sun" or "sunny," or perhaps "sun-man"; Σαμψών , <i> ''''' Sampsṓn ''''' </i> ; Latin and English, Samson: His home was near Bethshemesh, which means "house of the sun." Compare the similar formation שׁמשׁי , <i> ''''' shimshay ''''' </i> (&nbsp; Ezra 4:8 , &nbsp;Ezra 4:9 , &nbsp;Ezra 4:17 , &nbsp;Ezra 4:23 ). </p> 2. Character: <p> Samson was a judge, perhaps the last before Samuel. He was a Nazirite of the tribe of Dan (&nbsp;Judges 13:5 ); a man of prodigious strength, a giant and a gymnast - the Hebrew Hercules, a strange champion for Yahweh! He intensely hated the Philistines who had oppressed Israel some 40 years (&nbsp;Judges 13:1 ), and was willing to fight them alone. He seems to have been actuated by little less than personal vengeance, yet in the New Testament he is named among the heroes of faith (&nbsp;Hebrews 11:32 ), and was in no ordinary sense an Old Testament worthy. He was good-natured, sarcastic, full of humor, and fought with his wits as well as with his fists. Milton has graphically portrayed his character in his dramatic poem <i> Samson Agonistes </i> (1671), on which Handel built his oratorio, <i> Samson </i> (1743). </p> 3. Story of His Life: <p> The story of Samson's life is unique among the biographies of the Old Testament. It is related in &nbsp;Judges 13 through 16. Like Isaac, Samuel and John the Baptist, he was a child of prayer (&nbsp; Judges 13:8 , &nbsp;Judges 13:12 ). To Manoah's wife the angel of [[Yahweh]] appeared twice (&nbsp;Judges 13:3 , &nbsp;Judges 13:9 ), directing that the child which should be born to them should be a Nazirite from the womb, and that he would " <i> begin </i> to save Israel out of the hand of the Philistines" (&nbsp; Judges 13:5 , &nbsp;Judges 13:7 , &nbsp;Judges 13:14 ). The spirit of Yahweh first began to move him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and [[Eshtaol]] (&nbsp;Judges 13:25 ). On his arriving at manhood, five remarkable circumstances are recorded of him. </p> <p> (1) His marriage with a Philistine woman of Timnah (&nbsp;Judges 14 ). His parents objected to the alliance (&nbsp;Judges 14:3 ), but Samson's motive in marrying her was that he "sought an occasion against the Philistines" At the wedding feast Samson propounded to his guests a riddle, wagering that if they guessed its answer he would give them 30 changes of raiment. Dr. Moore felicitously renders the text of the riddle thus: </p> <p> 'Out of the eater came something to eat, </p> <p> And out of the strong came something sweet' (&nbsp;Judges 14:14 ). </p> <p> The Philistines threatened the life of his bride, and she in turn wrung from Samson the answer; whereupon he retorted (in Dr. Moore's version): </p> <p> 'If with my heifer ye did not plow, </p> <p> Ye had not found out my riddle, I trow' (&nbsp;Judges 14:18 ). </p> <p> Accordingly, in revenge, Samson went down to Ashkelon, slew some 30 men, and paid his debt; he even went home without his wife, and her father to save her from shame gave her to Samson's "best man" (&nbsp;Judges 14:20 ). It has been suggested by W. R. Smith ( <i> Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia </i> , 70-76) that Samson did not from the first intend to take his bride to his home, his marriage being what is known among the Arabs as a <i> ''''' cadı̄ḳat ''''' </i> , or gift marriage, by which is meant that the husband becomes a part of the wife's tribe. This assumes that the social relations of the Hebrews at that time were matriarchate, the wife remaining with her family, of which custom there are other traces in the Old Testament, the husband merely visiting the wife from time to time. But this is not so obvious in Samson's case in view of his pique (&nbsp;Judges 14:19 ), and especially in view of his parents' objection to his marrying outside of Israel (&nbsp;Judges 14:3 ). Not knowing that his bride had been given by her father to his friend, Samson went down to Timnah to visit her, with a kid; when he discovered, however, that he had been taken advantage of, he went out and caught 300 jackals, and putting firebrands between every two tails, he burned up the grain fields and olive yards of the Philistines. The Philistines, however, showed they could play with fire, too, and burned his wife and her father. Thereupon, Samson smote the Philistines in revenge, "hip and thigh" (&nbsp;Judges 15:1-8 ). </p> <p> (2) When he escaped to Etam, an almost vertical rock cliff in Judah (by some identified with <i> ''''' ‛Araḳ ''''' </i> <i> ''''' Ismain ''''' </i> ) not far from Zorah, Samson's home, the Philistines invaded Judah, encamped at Lehi above Etam, and demanded the surrender of their arch-enemy. The men of Judah were willing to hand Samson over to the Philistines, and accordingly went down to the cliff Etam, bound Samson and brought him up where the Philistines were encamped (&nbsp; Judges 15:9-13 ). When Samson came to Lehi the Philistines shouted as they met him, whereupon the spirit of Yahweh came mightily upon him, so that he broke loose from the two new ropes with which the 3,000 men of Judah had bound him, and seizing a fresh jawbone of an ass he smote with it 1,000 men of the Philistines, boasting as he did so in pun-like poetry, 'With the jawbone of an ass, m-ass upon m-ass'; or, as Dr. Moore translates the passage, 'With the bone of an ass, I ass-ailed my ass-ailants' (&nbsp;Judges 15:16 ). At the same time, Samson reverently gave Yahweh the glory of his victory (&nbsp;Judges 15:18 ). Samson being thirsty, Yahweh provided water for him at a place called En-hakkore, or "Partridge Spring," or "the Spring of the Caller" - another name for partridge (&nbsp;Judges 15:17-19 ). </p> <p> (3) Samson next went down to Gaza, to the very stronghold of the Philistines, their chief city. There he saw a harlot, and, his passions not being under control, he went in unto her. It was soon noised about that Samson, the Hebrew giant, was in the city. Accordingly, the Philistines laid wait for him. But Samson arose at midnight and laid hold of the doors of the gate and their two posts, and carried them a full quarter of a mile up to the top of the mountain that looketh toward Hebron (&nbsp;Judges 16:1-3 ). </p> <p> (4) From Gaza Samson betook himself to the valley of [[Sorek]] where he fell in love with another Philistine woman, named Delilah, through whose machinations he lost his spiritual power. The Philistine lords bribed her with a very large sum to deliver him into their hands. Three times Samson deceived her as to the secret of his strength, but at last he explains that he is a Nazirite, and that his hair, which has never been shorn, is the secret of his wonderful power. J. G. Frazer ( <i> Golden [[Bough]] </i> , III, 390 ff) has shown that the belief that some mysterious power resides in the hair is still widespread among savage peoples, e.g. the [[Fiji]] Islanders. Thus, Samson fell. By disclosing to Delilah this secret, he broke his covenant vow, and the Spirit of God departed from him (&nbsp; Judges 16:4-20 ). The Philistines laid hold on him, put out his eyes, brought him down to Gaza, bound him with fetters, and forced him to grind in the prison house. [[Grinding]] was women's work! It is at this point that Milton catches the picture and writes, </p> <p> "Eyeless in Gaza, at the mill with slaves." </p> <p> Howbeit, the hair of his head began to grow again; but his eyes did not! (&nbsp;Judges 16:21 , &nbsp;Judges 16:22 ). </p> <p> (5) The final incident recorded of Samson is in connection with a great sacrificial feast which the Philistine lords gave in honor of Dagon, their god. In their joyous celebration they sang in rustic rhythm: </p> <p> 'Our god has given us into our hand </p> <p> The foe of our land, </p> <p> Whom even our most powerful band </p> <p> Was never able to withstand' (&nbsp;Judges 16:24 ). </p> <p> This song was accompanied probably, as Mr. Macalister suggests, by hand-clapping ( <i> [[Gezer]] </i> , 129). When they became still more merry, they called for Samson to play the buffoon, and by his pranks to entertain the assembled multitude. The house of Dagon was full of people; about 3,000 were upon the roof beholding as Samson made sport. With the new growth of his hair his strength had returned to him. The dismantled giant longed to be avenged on his adversaries for at least <i> one </i> of his two eyes (&nbsp; Judges 16:28 ). He prayed, and Yahweh heard his prayer. [[Guided]] by his attendant, he took hold of the wooden posts of the two middle pillars upon which the portico of the house rested, and slipping them off their pedestals, the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people that were therein. "So the dead that he slew at his death were more than they that he slew in his life" (&nbsp;Judges 16:29 , &nbsp;Judges 16:30 ). His kinsmen came and carried him up and buried him near his boyhood home, between Zorah and Eshtaol, in the family burying-ground of his father. "And he judged Israel twenty years" (&nbsp;Judges 16:31 ). </p> 4. Historical Value: <p> The story of Samson is a faithful mirror of his times: "Every man did that which was right in his own eyes" (&nbsp;Judges 17:6; &nbsp;Judges 21:25 ). There was no king in those days, i.e. no central government. Each tribe was separately occupied driving out their individual enemies. For 40 years the Philistines had oppressed Samson's tribal compatriots. Their suzerainty was also recognized by Judah (&nbsp;Judges 14:4; &nbsp;Judges 15:11 ). Samson was the hero of his tribe. The general historicity of his story cannot be impeached on the mere ground of improbability. His deeds were those which would most naturally be expected from a giant, filled with a sense of justice. He received the local popularity which a man of extraordinary prowess would naturally be given. All peoples glory in their heroes. The theory that the record in Judges 13 through 16 is based upon some "solar myth" is now generally abandoned. That there are incidents in his career which are difficult to explain, is freely granted. For example, that he killed a lion (&nbsp;Judges 14:6 ) is not without a parallel; David and Benaiah did the same (&nbsp;1 Samuel 17:34-36; &nbsp;2 Samuel 23:20 ). God always inspires a man in the line of his natural endowments. That God miraculously supplied his thirst (&nbsp;Judges 15:19 ) is no more marvelous than what God did for [[Hagar]] in the wilderness (&nbsp;Genesis 21:19 ). That Samson carried off the doors of the gate of Gaza and their two posts, bar and all, must not confound us till we know more definitely their size and the distance from Gaza of the hill to which he carried them. The fact that he pulled down the roof on which there were 3,000 men and women is not at all impossible, as Mr. Macalister has shown. If we suppose that there was an immense portico to the temple of Dagon, as is quite possible, which was supported by two main pillars of wood resting on bases of stone, like the cedar pillars of Solomon's house (&nbsp;1 Kings 7:2 ), all that Samson, therefore, necessarily did, was to push the wooden beams so that their feet would slide over the stone base on which they rested, and the whole portico would collapse. Moreover, it is not said that the whole of the 3,000 on the roof were destroyed (&nbsp;Judges 16:30 ). Many of those in the temple proper probably perished in the number (R. A. S. Macalister, <i> Bible Side-Lights from the [[Mound]] of Gezer </i> , 1906, 127-38). </p> 5. Religious Value: <p> Not a few important and suggestive lessons are deducible from the hero's life: (1) Samson was the object of parental solicitude from even before his birth. One of the most suggestive and beautiful prayers in the Old Testament is that of Manoah for guidance in the training of his yet unborn child (&nbsp;Judges 13:8 ). Whatever our estimate of his personality is, Samson was closely linked to the covenant. (2) He was endowed with the Spirit of Yahweh - the spirit of personal patriotism, the spirit of vengeance upon a foe of 40 years' standing (&nbsp;Judges 13:1 , &nbsp;Judges 13:25; &nbsp;Judges 14:6 :19; &nbsp; Judges 15:14 ). (3) He also prayed, and Yahweh answered him, though in judgment (&nbsp;Judges 16:30 ). But he was prodigal of his strength. Samson had spiritual power and performed feats which an ordinary man would hardly perform. But he was unconscious of his high vocation. In a moment of weakness he yielded to Delilah and divulged the secret of his strength. He was careless of his personal endowment. He did not realize that physical endowments no less than spiritual are gifts from God, and that to retain them we must be obedient. (4) He was passionate and therefore weak. The animal of his nature was never curbed, but rather ran unchained and free. He was given to sudden fury. Samson was a wild, self-willed man. [[Passion]] ruled. He could not resist the blandishments of women. In short, he was an overgrown schoolboy, without self-mastery. (5) He accordingly wrought no permanent deliverance for Israel; he lacked the spirit of cooperation. He undertook a task far too great for even a giant single-handed. Yet, it must be allowed that Samson paved the way for Saul and David. He began the deliverance of Israel from the Philistines. He must, therefore, be judged according to his times. In his days there was unrestrained individual independence on every side, each one doing as he pleased. Samson differed from his contemporaries in that he was a hero of faith (&nbsp;Hebrews 11:32 ). He was a Nazirite, and therefore dedicated to God. He was given to revenge, yet he was ready to sacrifice himself in order that his own and his people's enemies might be overthrown. He was willing to lay down his own life for the sake of his fellow-tribesmen - not to save his enemies, however, but to kill them. (Compare &nbsp;Matthew 5:43 f; &nbsp; Romans 5:10 .) </p> Literature. <p> (1) Comma. on Jgs, notably those by G. F. Moore, <i> Icc </i> , 1895; Budde, <i> Kurzer Handkommentar </i> , 1897; Nowack, <i> Handkommentar </i> , 1900; E. L. Curtis, <i> The Bible for Home and School </i> , 1913; Bachmann, 1868; Keil, 1862; Farrar in <i> Ellicott's Commentaries </i> ; Watson, <i> Expositor's Bible </i> . (2) Articles on "Samson" in the various Bible [[Dictionaries]] and Encyclopedias; in particular those by Budde, <i> Hdb </i> ; C. W. Emmet, in 1-vol <i> Hdb </i> ; S. A. Cook, <i> New Encyclopedia Brit </i> ; Davis, <i> Dict. of the Bible </i> . </p>