The mighty Samson (Shimshon, in Hebrew) was a judge who led and rescued the people of Israel from Philistine oppression. Samson, a Nazirite from birth, battled the Philistines, who were occupying the Land of Israel, using the herculean strength that God had given him. Before his wife, Delilah, betrayed him and the Philistines captured him, Samson ruled the people for 20 years. Blinded and mocked by his captors, Samson’s life ended when he knocked down the pillars supporting the building he had been taken to, killing himself and the thousands of Philistines inside
Lessons from Samson’s Story
- Strength and Weakness: Samson’s story teaches us about the balance between strength and weakness in human nature. While he was physically powerful, his downfall came from his emotional vulnerabilities.
- God’s Faithfulness: Despite his flaws, God remained faithful to Samson and used him for His purposes. This reminds us that God can work through imperfect people to accomplish His plans.
- Sacrificial Love: Samson’s willingness to sacrifice himself for his people demonstrates the ultimate form of love and selflessness. His death symbolizes redemption and the defeat of evil.
Historical Background
After Moses’ successor, Joshua, passed away, he was followed by a series of Jewish leaders known as the shoftim, or “judges.” The period of the judges lasted for approximately 350 years, from 2516–2871 (1245-890 BCE). Samson was the seventh judge and ruled his people for 20 years, from 2811–2831 (951–931 BCE).
The story of Samson is recorded in the book of Judges, chapters 13–16. And although little is recorded regarding his role in leading the Jews, the verses recount many stories of his great strength and his various skirmishes with the Philistines. Note that the Philistines have no connection to the current-day Palestinians.
Birth of a Leader
From the tribe of Dan, Samson was born to his parents, Moanoah and Zealphonis, in their old age, after they had been childless for many years. One day, in the small town of Zorah, an angel appeared to them and declared that Zealphonis would give birth to a son who would grow up to save the Jews from the marauding Philistines. The angel told the couple that the boy was special and that from his birth he was to be dedicated to God as a Nazirite for his entire life. He was not to consume any wine or other grape byproduct, and no razor was to ever touch his hair.
In due course, Zealphonis conceived and gave birth. She named him Shimshon (Samson), from the term shemesh u’magen, “wall and protector,” or from the word shemesh, “sun.” His name foreshadowed the man he would become: a mighty sun who would shield and protect his people.
Samson’s Youth
Even in his early youth, Samson displayed remarkable physical strength. One day, as he wandered through the woods, a lion pounced on him. Feeling the spirit of God resting upon him and strengthening him, Samson slew the lion with his bare hands. Realizing that he had been endowed with this strength in order to help his people, Samson sought an occasion to engage the Jews’ enemy, the Philistines.
The Philistines were a nation of marauders living in the west of the Holy Land. They were constantly harassing and pillaging the Jews. For 40 years, the Jews suffered terribly under the heavy Philistine hand until, finally, Samson took a stand.
Samson was too modest to undertake the leadership of a Jewish army. He also did not want to provoke the Philistines into further terrorization of his Jewish brethren. He decided that he would avenge them himself by engaging in personal conflicts, intimidating them and preventing them from harassing the Jews. He began seeking ways to get into close contact with the Philippines.
The Wedding and the Riddle
The first occasion for him to confront the Philistines arrived when, one day, on one of his frequent roaming expeditions, he arrived in Timnah, a Philistine village. There he saw a Philistine maiden whom he decided to take as a wife. Although his parents attempted to dissuade him, Samson resolved to marry her (after she converted).
At the wedding feast, Samson saw an opportunity to put his plan into action. He challenged 30 Philistine guests to answer a riddle he would pose to them. If they could guess the answer, he would give them each a suit of clothes, and if they could not, they would give him 30 suits. The Philistines agreed. Samson presented his riddle, and the Philistines were unable to answer it. On his way to Timnah, Samson had passed the spot where he slew the lion, and he noticed that a swarm of bees had turned the carcass into their hive. Samson scooped out some honey, ate, and went on his way. As a result, he posed the following riddle: “From the eater came food, and out of the strong came sweetness. What is it? The eater refers to a lion, the predator of all predators, and the sweetness refers to honey. Thus on the seventh day, when the Philistines came to Samson they answered him “What is sweeter than honey and what is stronger than a lion?”
Requesting a few days to come up with the answer, the Philistines approached Samson’s bride. They demanded that she coax the answer from her husband and deliver it to them, or they would burn down her father’s house. Samson’s wife pressured her husband to tell her the answer to the riddle, and so he did.
When the Philistines came to Samson and presented the answer, he understood at once what had transpired. Leaving the city in anger, Samson went to Ashkelon, another Philistine town, and killed 30 Philistines. Then he stripped them and sent their robes to the men who had won the wager.
Revenge
Samson returned to Timnah for his wife, but in his absence, she had been given to another man. When he confronted his father-in-law, he offered Samson her younger sister instead. Samson grew incensed to discover that not even one person had protested the scandalous act. It was the time of the wheat harvest, so Samson rushed into the fields and caught 300 foxes. He tied them in pairs, and placed burning torches in their tails. Then he let them loose, and they ran in all directions, setting the crops ablaze.
In addition to avenging his own grievance, he did this to teach the Philistines a lesson for their frequent pillaging of the Land of Israel.
Samson the Tzaddik
The sages of the Talmud teach that Samson was not simply a man of brute strength. He was a nazirite, a man whose entire life was dedicated to God. His strength was supernatural and hinged on his ultimate commitment to God. God gave him instructions for everything, including his marriage to Philistine converts. The Talmud describes how the Divine Presence would ring before him like a bell, escorting him wherever he went. He was incredibly modest, and in the 20 years of his rule, he never once took advantage of his position by asking anyone to do anything for him.
Some say the Samson was in fact lame in both legs and struggled to walk. Yet, when necessary, the spirit of God would rest on him, and for that moment he would be healed and supernaturally strengthened to fight the Philistines.
Remarkable Strength of Samson
The scriptures tell many other stories involving Samson’s strength. One night, when he had wandered into Gaza, one of the chief Philistine cities, his enemies surrounded the walls and barred the gates, intending to attack and kill him in the morning. Samson guessed their evil designs, so he arose at midnight, unhinged the two giant gates, placed them on his shoulders bar and all, and carried them far away.
Another time, after the incident with the foxes, the Philistines tried to mollify Samson’s anger by burning the houses of his unfaithful wife and her father. But when Samson heard what they had done, he refused to accept their belated repentance. He attacked the Philistines and killed a great number of them.
The Philistines amassed a great army and camped by the Judean town of Lehi, where Samson was hiding. They sent a message to the Jews, threatening them to either hand Samson over or be killed
When the frightened men of Judah related to Samson the Philistines’ threat, he was unperturbed. At Samson’s own suggestion, they bound him and brought him to the Philistine camp. The joyful Philistines rose to capture him, but at that moment he tore off the cords as though they were burnt flax. Grabbing the first thing he saw, a donkey’s jawbone, he killed a thousand men.
After that spectacular victory, the Jews realized that Samson was chosen by G‑d to lead them, and they appointed him as judge over them.
Delilah and Samson’s Downfall
Samson’s downfall ultimately came at the hands of another Philistine convert he married, Delilah.
One day, the Philistine lords came to Delilah and offered her great wealth if she were to discover the secret to her husband’s strength. If she would aid them in capturing him, they would reward her handsomely. Delilah agreed.
Every day, Delilah would torment her husband, trying to lure his secret from him. A few times, Samson gave her made up explanations, but Delilah was relentless.
“If you bind me with seven moist ropes, then my strength will dissipate,” Samson told her. “If you bind me with new ropes that were never used, I will become like an ordinary man.” “If you place my hair on a weaving rod, I will become weak.” Each time, Delilah would try the methods on Samson while he slept. Each time, she would cry, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” and Samson would rise to his full might, completely unaffected by whatever she tried.
Tearfully, Delilah told him, “How can you say ‘I love you,’ while your heart is not with me? These three times you have mocked me, and you have not told me wherein is your strength so great.”
Finally, Samson told her the secret of his strength. “A razor has never come upon my head, for I am a nazirite to G‑d from my mother’s womb. If I will be shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like any man.”
This time, the treacherous Delilah knew that Samson was telling her the truth. She hastened to summon the Philistine lords to her house. When Samson was asleep, one of the men cut his locks off, and then Delilah cried: “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!”
Samson jumped up, prepared to defend himself. But the Divine strength he had possessed had departed from him, and the men who lay in wait easily overcame him. The heartless Philistines gouged out his eyes and led him to Gaza in chains.
The Talmud teaches that Samson was punished in his eyes because he looked at the Philistine women and desired them. Although G‑d desired that he marry them, nevertheless, his personal motives were not entirely pure, as he also desired them for himself.
Death of a Hero
Gathered in the great hall in Gaza, the Philistines made a great feast to celebrate their victory over Samson. They sang and danced and gave thanks to their gods for delivering him into their hands. Then they sent for the blind Samson to entertain them. Tormented and cruelly humiliated, he could not bear their rude jests and idol worship.
Turning to his guide, he said, “Lead me to the pillars, so that I may lean upon them and rest for a minute.” The boy obeyed.
Samson, afire with anger and pain, prayed to G‑d: “O, G‑d, give me strength this once. Let me avenge myself on these cruel Philistines that they may know that you are the only G‑d. It matters not if I die with them!”
Suddenly, he once again felt the spirit of G‑d in him. Samson stretched out his hands, tearing down the pillars supporting the building. The next instant, the walls and the roof came crashing down, destroying the entire building. Every single Philistine, together with Samson himself, was killed in the great crash. That day, Samson killed more Philistines than he had throughout his entire life.
Who was Samson?
The name Samson means “of the son”. Samson was the son of Monaoh, born in town of Zorah in the tribe of Dan, on the border of Judah. (B.C. 1161) His home was near Bethshemesh, which means “house of the sun.” Samson’s birth was announced by an angel during a dark time for the Israelites. Israel was under the rule and oppression of the Philistines. Samson was born a Nazirite and was set apart with supernatural strength from God to do His work in the nation of Israel. The narrative of his life is given in Judg. 13-16. He was a “Nazarite unto God” from his birth, the first Nazarite mentioned in Scripture (Judges 13:3-5; Compare Numbers 6:1-21). The first recorded event of his life was his marriage with a Philistine woman of Timnath (Judges 14:1-5 ). Samson takes his place in Scripture, 1. as a judge –an office which he filled for twenty years, 2. as a Nazarite, and 3. as one endowed with supernatural power by the Spirit of the Lord. As a judge his authority seems to have been limited to the district bordering upon the country of the Philistines.
He intensely hated the Philistines who had oppressed Israel some 40 years (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 (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.
Samson became great in his own eyes and began to pursue women outside of God’s plan for his life. During his wedding sermon to a Philistine woman, Samson was so humiliated by her and the wedding guests that he sought revenge by killing 1,000 Philistine men.
Story of Samson In The Bible Summary
Samson was God’s chosen man during a time when the judges ruled Israel. From birth, he was destined to liberate Israel from the Philistines. While Samson was incredibly strong in body, he was very weak in character. Among his character flaws was a fondness for Philippine women. One was named Delilah.
Samson then fell in love with a beautiful Philistine woman named Delilah. The rulers in Philistine came to Delilah and offered her money if she found out what made Samson so strong. Delilah went home, made a great meal for Samson and asked him what made him so strong. Samson responded that if he was tied up with seven new bowstrings that had not been dried, he would lose his strength. Delilah went and told the rulers, who instructed her to tie up Samson in his sleep. To Delilah’s surprise, Samson had tricked her and was able to break free. Samson again told her that he would lose her strength if tied up with bowstrings but that they had to be new and never used. Delilah again tried to trap Samson while he slept but he was able to break free. Samson’s severe hurt caused Delilah to doubt his love for her because he wouldn’t reveal the source of his power.
The next day, Delilah asked Samson continually about his strength and bugged him so much that he finally told her the secret to his strength—that he was given his strength at birth by God and that if his hair was cut, he would lose his strength. That evening, as Samson slept, Delilah cut his hair and called in the Philippines. The Philistine men were able to capture Samson. They barged in, gouged his eyes out, and took him to prison in Gaza.
The Philistines brought Samson out before a great crowd of rulers and thousands of people gathered in the temple to celebrate his capture. Samson’s hair had begun to grow back and as he leaned against the pillars of the temple, he prayed to God for strength once more to defeat the Philistines. Samson used all of his might and pushed down the temple, killing himself and thousands of Philistines and rulers.
God forgave Samson and still accomplished great things through Samson. It was through Samson’s destruction of the temple and his death that the Israelites were freed from the Philistine rule. Read more about the Bible story of Samson and Delilah in the Scripture below and use the articles and videos to understand the meaning behind this teachable event in the Bible.
Was Delilah Samson’s Greatest Weakness?
Samson was strong. Time and again the Bible tells us that the power of God came upon him and he was able to take down a lion and snap the ropes that bound him as though they were little strings. Somewhere along the way, Samson began to believe his own press release! He began to believe his strength was his alone. He could rely on his own muscles and power. So coming up against Delilah, a woman no less, was a joke to Samson. He’d been able to conquer anyone else who had gotten in his way, he was certain he could make quick work against Delilah, too. But what a terrible mis-judgment on the part of Samson, for Delilah was not like the other women for whom Samson had shown utter contempt. Delilah was different and tomorrow, we will find out that she was well-chosen.
In order to better understand what Samson was up against, I went to my Hebrew dictionary to find out what Delilah’s name meant. In Biblical times, a great deal of effort was given to choosing a name for a child. Often names were given which described the child’s calling from God. Other times names seemed to carry an almost prophetic description of a child’s future. What I found out about Delilah supports the fact that the meaning of her name fittingly described her effect on those she met.
The Hebrew meaning of Delilah is “languishing.” I didn’t really understand exactly what this word meant so I checked my trusty Webster’s Dictionary and was in for a surprise. “Languishing” means to become weak or feeble. To waste away. To exist in miserable and disheartening conditions. I couldn’t believe what I was reading, however, I realized immediately that the reason God told Samson to stay away from the Valley of Sorek, the Valley of the Vine, was not that God was trying to be arbitrary or demanding or narrow. It was that God knew that Delilah lived in that Valley. God knew that “weakness” resided in the Valley of the Vine and God understood, even when Samson didn’t, that on forbidden territory, Samson’s strength would be turned into weakness. Blinded by his love for Delilah, Samson became weak – unable to resist and flee. (excerpt by Dorothy Valcarcel, Transformation Garden)
Lessons from Samson’s Life
- 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 (Judges 13:8). Whatever our estimate of his personality is, Samson was closely linked to the covenant.
- He was endowed with the Spirit of Yahweh–the spirit of personal patriotism, the spirit of vengeance upon a foe of 40 years’ standing (Judges 13:1,25; 14:6:19; 15:14).
- He also prayed, and Yahweh answered him, though in judgment (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.
- 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.