The story of Samson is filled with numerous fascinating features. First and foremost, it showcases the power of God and His ability to work through imperfect individuals. Samson, despite his flaws and weaknesses, becomes a vessel of God’s strength and serves as a symbol of hope and deliver
Samson was a man in the Bible who possessed great physical strength. Unfortunately, his weaknesses and his decision to reject the will of God ultimately brought him down. His story is one of the best-known in the Old Testament, and he is one of the best-known Judges. These were the tribal leaders of Israel.
He was captured, blinded, and enslaved by the Philistines, but in the end God granted Samson his revenge; through the return of his old strength, he demolished the great Philistine temple of the god Dagon in Gaza, destroying his captors and himself (Judges 16:4–30).
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The Story Of Samson In The Bible KJV
The good news of Samson’s story is the same message many of us sing to our children: we are weak, but God is strong. If we put our hope in ourselves or others we become like Samson: weak and enslaved. Samson is a reminder that our true strength and hope is found in the Lord.
Samson’s life is one of contradiction. He was a man of great physical strength yet displayed great moral weakness. He was a judge for 20 years and “a Nazirite, set apart to God from birth” (Judges 13:5), yet he continually broke the rules of a Nazirite. The Spirit of God came upon him many times, giving him great strength to fight the Philistines, the oppressors of the Israelites. This in spite of the fact that Samson was a womanizer and a vengeful man. Samson’s life illustrates the necessity of saying “no” to fleshly temptation, God’s use of even flawed, sinful men to accomplish His will, the consequences of sin, and the mercy of God.
Story of Samson In The Bible Summary
Samson is a legendary Israelite warrior and judge, or divinely inspired leader, renowned for the prodigious strength that he derived from his uncut hair. He is portrayed in the biblical Book of Judges (chapters 13–16) 1. Samson was a Nazirite and was set apart with supernatural strength from God to do His work in the nation of Israel. His story is given in Judges 13–16. Delilah betrayed Samson by cutting his hair while he was sleeping, and the Philistines later captured, blinded, and enslaved him. In the end, God granted Samson his revenge by returning his old strength, and he demolished the great Philistine temple of the god Dagon at Gaza, destroying his captors and himself 2.
Samson was born in Zorah, a town in the tribe of Dan, on the border of Judah. During a difficult time for the Israelites, an angel announced his birth. Israel was under the rule and oppression of the Philistines. Samson’s mother was barren, but an angel appeared to her and told her that she would have a son who would be a Nazirite from birth.
Samson was a man of great strength and courage. God chose him to lead the Israelites in battle against the Philistines. He was a Nazirite from birth, which meant that he was set apart for God and was not allowed to drink wine or cut his hair.
What Does The Story of Samson Symbolize
The life of Samson: sin has consequences
God’s purpose of defeating the Philistines was advancing through Samson, but Samson was still held accountable for his sin, and he experienced consequences for his foolishness and disobedience. Samson met and fell in love with a Philistine named Delilah. The rulers of the Philistines bribed Delilah to discover the secret of Samson’s strength and betray him into their hands (Judges 16:5). Delilah began to beg Samson to know the secret of his strength. After telling her some lies, Samson finally revealed that his strength was due to his separation to the Lord; specifically, the fact that his hair had never been cut (see Numbers 6:5). Delilah informed the Philistine rulers of Samson’s secret and then waited until Samson was asleep, and she called for someone to come shave his head. She woke him with a cry: “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” (verse 20). Samson stood up to fight, “but he did not know that the LORD had left him” (verse 20).
Samson’s continual, willful disobedience had reached an end. He had grown confident in his strength to the point that he felt he could spurn any law; it seems he finally reached the point that he thought he did not need God. As a result, “the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding grain in the prison” (Judges 16:21). Samson finally had to face the consequences of his actions.
The life of Samson: God is merciful
The Philistines thought they would celebrate their great victory over Samson, and the rulers assembled in the temple of their god, Dagon, to praise him for delivering Samson into their power (Judges 16:23). During the festivities, they brought Samson from prison to entertain them. Leaning against the support pillars of the pagan temple, “Samson prayed to the LORD, ‘O Sovereign LORD, remember me. O God, please strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes’” (verse 28). God mercifully granted Samson’s request. Samson “pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it” (verse 30). Samson killed more when he died—about 3,000 Philistines—than while he lived.
Samson was a man of faith—he is mentioned in the Bible’s “Hall of Faith” (Hebrews 11:32). At the same time, he was a man of the flesh, and his many mistakes serve as a warning to those who would play with fire and expect not to get burned. The life of Samson shows us the importance of relying on God’s strength, not our own power; following God’s will, not our own stubbornness; and seeking the Lord’s wisdom, not our own understanding.
The life of Samson: God will use even flawed, sinful men to accomplish His will
Samson willingly went into situations that led to sin, but, each time, God used him for His glory. Even our sin cannot prevent God’s sovereign will from coming to pass. Samson, full of anger and vengeance, swore to “get even with the Philistines” for stealing his wife from him (Judges 15:3). He burned the Philistines’ crops (verses 4–5) and, later, after the Philistines murdered his wife, “attacked them viciously and slaughtered many of them” (verse 8).
Samson hid out in Judah for a while, but the Judeans, worried that Samson was worsening their situation with the Philistines, tied him up and delivered him to the enemy (Judges 15:8–13). As the Philistines approached their incapacitated prey, “the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon [Samson]. The ropes on his arms became like charred flax, and the bindings dropped from his hands” (verse 14). Samson picked up the jawbone of a donkey and slaughtered 1,000 Philistines with it (verse 15).
In Gaza, Samson hired a prostitute. That night, the people of Gaza learned that Samson was in their city, and they lay in wait to kill him at dawn. Samson escaped by rising in the middle of the night, when “he got up and took hold of the doors of the city gate, together with the two posts, and tore them loose, bar and all. He lifted them to his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron” (Judges 16:3).
The life of Samson: from temptation to sin
The book of Judges then jumps ahead in Samson’s story to his search for a wife. He wanted to marry a Philistine woman despite his parents’ protests and in violation of God’s law against intermarriage with pagans. His mother and father accompanied Samson to Timnah to make the arrangements for his betrothal. On the way a lion attacked Samson. “The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands” (Judges 14:6). Later, Samson passed by the carcass of the lion and found it filled with a honeycomb, which he ate. This was a violation of the Nazirite law: “Throughout the period of his separation to the Lord he must not go near a dead body” (Numbers 6:6). Samson seemed to know he had done wrong because, when he gave the honey to his parents, “he did not tell them that he had taken the honey from the lion’s carcass” (Judges 14:9).
The customary wedding feast described in Judges 14:10 was, literally, a “drinking party.” As a Nazirite, Samson was to “abstain from wine and other fermented drink” (Numbers 6:3). Although the author of Judges does not indicate whether Samson personally drank wine or fermented drink at this feast, it was yet another occasion that led to sin. During the feast, Samson offered a wager: whoever could solve his riddle would receive thirty changes of clothes and thirty linen garments (Judges 14:12). Samson’s new Philistine wife betrayed him and gave the answer to his riddle to her countrymen. Furious, Samson killed thirty Philistines and gave their possessions to those who had “solved” the riddle. Samson’s wife was then given to another man. God made use of the entire scandalous situation for His purposes: “This was from the Lord, who was seeking an occasion to confront the Philistines” (verse 4).
Story of Samson In The Bible Verse
Judges 16:30 ESV / 732 helpful votes
And Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” Then he bowed with all his strength, and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life.
Judges 16:28 ESV / 677 helpful votes
Then Samson called to the Lord and said, “O Lord God, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes.”
Hebrews 11:32 ESV / 620 helpful votes
And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets—
Judges 16:1 ESV / 572 helpful votes
Samson went to Gaza, and there he saw a prostitute, and he went in to her.
Judges 16:20 ESV / 560 helpful votes
And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him.
Judges 15:18 ESV / 560 helpful votes
And he was very thirsty, and he called upon the Lord and said, “You have granted this great salvation by the hand of your servant, and shall I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?”
Judges 15:1 ESV / 548 helpful votes
After some days, at the time of wheat harvest, Samson went to visit his wife with a young goat. And he said, “I will go in to my wife in the chamber.” But her father would not allow him to go in.
Judges 16:1-31 ESV / 538 helpful votes
Samson went to Gaza, and there he saw a prostitute, and he went in to her. The Gazites were told, “Samson has come here.” And they surrounded the place and set an ambush for him all night at the gate of the city. They kept quiet all night, saying, “Let us wait till the light of the morning; then we will kill him.” But Samson lay till midnight, and at midnight he arose and took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two posts, and pulled them up, bar and all, and put them on his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that is in front of Hebron. After this he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, “Seduce him, and see where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to humble him. And we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver.” …
Judges 13:5 ESV / 515 helpful votes
For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.”
Judges 16:27 ESV / 512 helpful votes
Now the house was full of men and women. All the lords of the Philistines were there, and on the roof there were about 3,000 men and women, who looked on while Samson entertained.
Judges 15:20 ESV / 498 helpful votes
And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.
Judges 16:31 ESV / 490 helpful votes
Then his brothers and all his family came down and took him and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had judged Israel twenty years.
Judges 13:25 ESV / 486 helpful votes
And the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
Judges 14:19 ESV / 478 helpful votes
And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon and struck down thirty men of the town and took their spoil and gave the garments to those who had told the riddle. In hot anger he went back to his father’s house.
Judges 15:16 ESV / 468 helpful votes
And Samson said, “With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps upon heaps, with the jawbone of a donkey have I struck down a thousand men.”
Judges 16:23 ESV / 462 helpful votes
Now the lords of the Philistines gathered to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to rejoice, and they said, “Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hand.”
Judges 16:25 ESV / 461 helpful votes
And when their hearts were merry, they said, “Call Samson, that he may entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison, and he entertained them. They made him stand between the pillars.
Judges 13:1-16:31 ESV / 461 helpful votes
And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, so the Lord gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years. There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. And his wife was barren and had no children. And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. Therefore be careful and drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.” …
Judges 15:19 ESV / 446 helpful votes
And God split open the hollow place that is at Lehi, and water came out from it. And when he drank, his spirit returned, and he revived. Therefore the name of it was called En-hakkore; it is at Lehi to this day.
Judges 15:13-17 ESV / 440 helpful votes
They said to him, “No; we will only bind you and give you into their hands. We will surely not kill you.” So they bound him with two new ropes and brought him up from the rock. When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting to meet him. Then the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and the ropes that were on his arms became as flax that has caught fire, and his bonds melted off his hands. And he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, and put out his hand and took it, and with it he struck 1,000 men. And Samson said, “With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps upon heaps, with the jawbone of a donkey have I struck down a thousand men.” As soon as he had finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone out of his hand. And that place was called Ramath-lehi.
Judges 13:24 ESV / 427 helpful votes
And the woman bore a son and called his name Samson. And the young man grew, and the Lord blessed him.
Judges 16:29 ESV / 425 helpful votes
And Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and he leaned his weight against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other.
Judges 15:14 ESV / 412 helpful votes
When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting to meet him. Then the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and the ropes that were on his arms became as flax that has caught fire, and his bonds melted off his hands.
Judges 16:21-31 ESV / 407 helpful votes
And the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles. And he ground at the mill in the prison. But the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved. Now the lords of the Philistines gathered to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to rejoice, and they said, “Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hand.” And when the people saw him, they praised their god. For they said, “Our god has given our enemy into our hand, the ravager of our country, who has killed many of us.” And when their hearts were merry, they said, “Call Samson, that he may entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison, and he entertained them. They made him stand between the pillars. …
Revelation 1:1 ESV / 404 helpful votes
The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,
Jeremiah 15:15 ESV / 393 helpful votes
O Lord, you know; remember me and visit me, and take vengeance for me on my persecutors. In your forbearance take me not away; know that for your sake I bear reproach.
Judges 13:1 ESV / 389 helpful votes
And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, so the Lord gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.
Judges 13:7 ESV / 377 helpful votes
But he said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. So then drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’”
Judges 15:7 ESV / 362 helpful votes
And Samson said to them, “If this is what you do, I swear I will be avenged on you, and after that I will quit.”
Judges 16:3 ESV / 361 helpful votes
But Samson lay till midnight, and at midnight he arose and took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two posts, and pulled them up, bar and all, and put them on his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that is in front of Hebron.
Judges 14:6 ESV / 361 helpful votes
Then the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and although he had nothing in his hand, he tore the lion in pieces as one tears a young goat. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done.
Judges 16:18 ESV / 350 helpful votes
When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up again, for he has told me all his heart.” Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hands.
Judges 16:13 ESV / 330 helpful votes
Then Delilah said to Samson, “Until now you have mocked me and told me lies. Tell me how you might be bound.” And he said to her, “If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web and fasten it tight with the pin, then I shall become weak and be like any other man.”
Judges 16:24 ESV / 320 helpful votes
And when the people saw him, they praised their god. For they said, “Our god has given our enemy into our hand, the ravager of our country, who has killed many of us.”
Judges 13:2 ESV / 312 helpful votes
There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. And his wife was barren and had no children.
Judges 14:17 ESV / 311 helpful votes
She wept before him the seven days that their feast lasted, and on the seventh day he told her, because she pressed him hard. Then she told the riddle to her people.
Judges 13:3-5 ESV / 309 helpful votes
And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. Therefore be careful and drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.”
Judges 14:3 ESV / 307 helpful votes
But his father and mother said to him, “Is there not a woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you must go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes.”
Judges 14:20 ESV / 304 helpful votes
And Samson’s wife was given to his companion, who had been his best man.
Judges 15:1-20 ESV / 299 helpful votes
After some days, at the time of wheat harvest, Samson went to visit his wife with a young goat. And he said, “I will go in to my wife in the chamber.” But her father would not allow him to go in. And her father said, “I really thought that you utterly hated her, so I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please take her instead.” And Samson said to them, “This time I shall be innocent in regard to the Philistines, when I do them harm.” So Samson went and caught 300 foxes and took torches. And he turned them tail to tail and put a torch between each pair of tails. And when he had set fire to the torches, he let the foxes go into the standing grain of the Philistines and set fire to the stacked grain and the standing grain, as well as the olive orchards. …
Judges 16:21 ESV / 296 helpful votes
And the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles. And he ground at the mill in the prison.
Judges 16:14 ESV / 296 helpful votes
So while he slept, Delilah took the seven locks of his head and wove them into the web. And she made them tight with the pin and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he awoke from his sleep and pulled away the pin, the loom, and the web.
Judges 16:7 ESV / 296 helpful votes
Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, then I shall become weak and be like any other man.”
Judges 16:6 ESV / 296 helpful votes
So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength lies, and how you might be bound, that one could subdue you.”
Judges 14:10 ESV / 296 helpful votes
His father went down to the woman, and Samson prepared a feast there, for so the young men used to do.
Judges 16:10 ESV / 295 helpful votes
Then Delilah said to Samson, “Behold, you have mocked me and told me lies. Please tell me how you might be bound.”
Judges 15:4 ESV / 293 helpful votes
So Samson went and caught 300 foxes and took torches. And he turned them tail to tail and put a torch between each pair of tails.
Judges 15:3 ESV / 293 helpful votes
And Samson said to them, “This time I shall be innocent in regard to the Philistines, when I do them harm.”
Judges 14:7 ESV / 293 helpful votes
Then he went down and talked with the woman, and she was right in Samson’s eyes.
Judges 16:9 ESV / 291 helpful votes
Now she had men lying in ambush in an inner chamber. And she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he snapped the bowstrings, as a thread of flax snaps when it touches the fire. So the secret of his strength was not known.
Judges 16:12 ESV / 288 helpful votes
So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And the men lying in ambush were in an inner chamber. But he snapped the ropes off his arms like a thread.
Judges 16:26 ESV / 287 helpful votes
And Samson said to the young man who held him by the hand, “Let me feel the pillars on which the house rests, that I may lean against them.”
Judges 14:5 ESV / 287 helpful votes
Then Samson went down with his father and mother to Timnah, and they came to the vineyards of Timnah. And behold, a young lion came toward him roaring.
Judges 14:1 ESV / 286 helpful votes
Samson went down to Timnah, and at Timnah he saw one of the daughters of the Philistines.
Judges 15:10 ESV / 285 helpful votes
And the men of Judah said, “Why have you come up against us?” They said, “We have come up to bind Samson, to do to him as he did to us.”
Judges 14:12 ESV / 285 helpful votes
And Samson said to them, “Let me now put a riddle to you. If you can tell me what it is, within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes,
Judges 15:12 ESV / 283 helpful votes
And they said to him, “We have come down to bind you, that we may give you into the hands of the Philistines.” And Samson said to them, “Swear to me that you will not attack me yourselves.”
Judges 13:24-25 ESV / 275 helpful votes
And the woman bore a son and called his name Samson. And the young man grew, and the Lord blessed him. And the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
Judges 13:3 ESV / 273 helpful votes
And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son.
Judges 13:8 ESV / 268 helpful votes
Then Manoah prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, please let the man of God whom you sent come again to us and teach us what we are to do with the child who will be born.”
Judges 14:4 ESV / 247 helpful votes
His father and mother did not know that it was from the Lord, for he was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines. At that time the Philistines ruled over Israel.
Judges 16:5 ESV / 229 helpful votes
And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, “Seduce him, and see where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to humble him. And we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver.”
Judges 13:2-7 ESV / 229 helpful votes
There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. And his wife was barren and had no children. And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. Therefore be careful and drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.” Then the woman came and told her husband, “A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God, very awesome. I did not ask him where he was from, and he did not tell me his name, …
Judges 15:2 ESV / 228 helpful votes
And her father said, “I really thought that you utterly hated her, so I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please take her instead.”
Judges 14:9 ESV / 220 helpful votes
He scraped it out into his hands and went on, eating as he went. And he came to his father and mother and gave some to them, and they ate. But he did not tell them that he had scraped the honey from the carcass of the lion.
Judges 14:15 ESV / 217 helpful votes
On the fourth day they said to Samson’s wife, “Entice your husband to tell us what the riddle is, lest we burn you and your father’s house with fire. Have you invited us here to impoverish us?”
Proverbs 4:23 ESV / 210 helpful votes
Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.
Judges 14:1-20 ESV / 209 helpful votes
Samson went down to Timnah, and at Timnah he saw one of the daughters of the Philistines. Then he came up and told his father and mother, “I saw one of the daughters of the Philistines at Timnah. Now get her for me as my wife.” But his father and mother said to him, “Is there not a woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you must go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes.” His father and mother did not know that it was from the Lord, for he was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines. At that time the Philistines ruled over Israel. Then Samson went down with his father and mother to Timnah, and they came to the vineyards of Timnah. And behold, a young lion came toward him roaring. …
Judges 16:2 ESV / 206 helpful votes
The Gazites were told, “Samson has come here.” And they surrounded the place and set an ambush for him all night at the gate of the city. They kept quiet all night, saying, “Let us wait till the light of the morning; then we will kill him.”
Judges 15:6 ESV / 198 helpful votes
Then the Philistines said, “Who has done this?” And they said, “Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken his wife and given her to his companion.” And the Philistines came up and burned her and her father with fire.
Judges 15:11 ESV / 197 helpful votes
Then 3,000 men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and said to Samson, “Do you not know that the Philistines are rulers over us? What then is this that you have done to us?” And he said to them, “As they did to me, so have I done to them.”
Judges 15:15 ESV / 185 helpful votes
And he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, and put out his hand and took it, and with it he struck 1,000 men.
Judges 15:7-14 ESV / 184 helpful votes
And Samson said to them, “If this is what you do, I swear I will be avenged on you, and after that I will quit.” And he struck them hip and thigh with a great blow, and he went down and stayed in the cleft of the rock of Etam. Then the Philistines came up and encamped in Judah and made a raid on Lehi. And the men of Judah said, “Why have you come up against us?” They said, “We have come up to bind Samson, to do to him as he did to us.” Then 3,000 men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and said to Samson, “Do you not know that the Philistines are rulers over us? What then is this that you have done to us?” And he said to them, “As they did to me, so have I done to them.” …
Judges 15:3-8 ESV / 183 helpful votes
And Samson said to them, “This time I shall be innocent in regard to the Philistines, when I do them harm.” So Samson went and caught 300 foxes and took torches. And he turned them tail to tail and put a torch between each pair of tails. And when he had set fire to the torches, he let the foxes go into the standing grain of the Philistines and set fire to the stacked grain and the standing grain, as well as the olive orchards. Then the Philistines said, “Who has done this?” And they said, “Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken his wife and given her to his companion.” And the Philistines came up and burned her and her father with fire. And Samson said to them, “If this is what you do, I swear I will be avenged on you, and after that I will quit.” …
Judges 14:1-7 ESV / 183 helpful votes
Samson went down to Timnah, and at Timnah he saw one of the daughters of the Philistines. Then he came up and told his father and mother, “I saw one of the daughters of the Philistines at Timnah. Now get her for me as my wife.” But his father and mother said to him, “Is there not a woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you must go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes.” His father and mother did not know that it was from the Lord, for he was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines. At that time the Philistines ruled over Israel. Then Samson went down with his father and mother to Timnah, and they came to the vineyards of Timnah. And behold, a young lion came toward him roaring. …
Judges 14:8-19 ESV / 153 helpful votes
After some days he returned to take her. And he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and behold, there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey. He scraped it out into his hands and went on, eating as he went. And he came to his father and mother and gave some to them, and they ate. But he did not tell them that he had scraped the honey from the carcass of the lion. His father went down to the woman, and Samson prepared a feast there, for so the young men used to do. As soon as the people saw him, they brought thirty companions to be with him. And Samson said to them, “Let me now put a riddle to you. If you can tell me what it is, within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes, …
Judges 16:4 ESV / 147 helpful votes
After this he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
Judges 16:17 ESV / 146 helpful votes
And he told her all his heart, and said to her, “A razor has never come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If my head is shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man.”
Judges 16:1-20 ESV / 145 helpful votes
Samson went to Gaza, and there he saw a prostitute, and he went in to her. The Gazites were told, “Samson has come here.” And they surrounded the place and set an ambush for him all night at the gate of the city. They kept quiet all night, saying, “Let us wait till the light of the morning; then we will kill him.” But Samson lay till midnight, and at midnight he arose and took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two posts, and pulled them up, bar and all, and put them on his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that is in front of Hebron. After this he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, “Seduce him, and see where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to humble him. And we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver.” …
Judges 15:17 ESV / 141 helpful votes
As soon as he had finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone out of his hand. And that place was called Ramath-lehi.
Judges 16:16 ESV / 139 helpful votes
And when she pressed him hard with her words day after day, and urged him, his soul was vexed to death.
Judges 16:8 ESV / 139 helpful votes
Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she bound him with them.
Judges 14:2 ESV / 139 helpful votes
Then he came up and told his father and mother, “I saw one of the daughters of the Philistines at Timnah. Now get her for me as my wife.”
Judges 16:19 ESV / 136 helpful votes
She made him sleep on her knees. And she called a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him.
Judges 13:6 ESV / 134 helpful votes
Then the woman came and told her husband, “A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God, very awesome. I did not ask him where he was from, and he did not tell me his name,
Judges 15:8 ESV / 132 helpful votes
And he struck them hip and thigh with a great blow, and he went down and stayed in the cleft of the rock of Etam.
Judges 14:8 ESV / 132 helpful votes
After some days he returned to take her. And he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and behold, there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey.
Judges 13:4 ESV / 132 helpful votes
Therefore be careful and drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean,
Judges 16:22 ESV / 131 helpful votes
But the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.
Judges 13:1-25 ESV / 131 helpful votes
And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, so the Lord gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years. There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. And his wife was barren and had no children. And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. Therefore be careful and drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.” …
Judges 15:9 ESV / 130 helpful votes
Then the Philistines came up and encamped in Judah and made a raid on Lehi.
Colossians 3:1-25 ESV / 120 helpful votes
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. …
Judges 16:15 ESV / 114 helpful votes
And she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and you have not told me where your great strength lies.”
Judges 16:11 ESV / 98 helpful votes
And he said to her, “If they bind me with new ropes that have not been used, then I shall become weak and be like any other man.”
Judges 14:16 ESV / 97 helpful votes
And Samson’s wife wept over him and said, “You only hate me; you do not love me. You have put a riddle to my people, and you have not told me what it is.” And he said to her, “Behold, I have not told my father nor my mother, and shall I tell you?”
Judges 15:5 ESV / 93 helpful votes
And when he had set fire to the torches, he let the foxes go into the standing grain of the Philistines and set fire to the stacked grain and the standing grain, as well as the olive orchards.
Judges 14:14 ESV / 86 helpful votes
And he said to them, “Out of the eater came something to eat. Out of the strong came something sweet.” And in three days they could not solve the riddle.
Daniel 5:4 ESV / 84 helpful votes
They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.
Judges 15:13 ESV / 84 helpful votes
They said to him, “No; we will only bind you and give you into their hands. We will surely not kill you.” So they bound him with two new ropes and brought him up from the rock.
Judges 14:11 ESV / 80 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful
As soon as the people saw him, they brought thirty companions to be with him.
Conclusion
Samson’s story is one of great triumphs and great failures. He was a man who was chosen by God to do great things, but he was also a man who struggled with temptation and sin. His story is a reminder of the importance of faith and obedience to God’s will.
