Samson (1155-1117 BC) was an Israelite warrior who, from 1137 to 1117 BC, resisted the Philistine occupation of Israel after being cheated out of his marriage to the Philistine woman Semadar. He was later seduced by Semadar's sister Delilah, who cut his hair - which had grown long as part of his Nazirite vow, and which was said to have granted him God-given superhuman strength - before betraying him to the Philistine Saran of Gaza. Samson was taken into captivity, blinded, and tortured, but, during a sacrifice at the Temple of Dagon where Samson was displayed in chains, a repentant Delilah helped Samson locate the pillars of the temple so that he could charge them and bring them down, thus causing the temple to collapse on himself, Delilah, and all the 3,000 Philistines gathered there.
Biography[]
Samson killing the lion
Samson was born in Zorah in the Judean foothills, the son of Manoah and Hazelelponit. He was born two years after the Philistines conquered Israel and oppressed the Israelites, and it was said that an angel from God instructed Hazelelponit that her son was to take Nazirite vows, not to drink alcohol, and not to shave or cut his hair. As a young adult, Samson fell in love with the Philistine girl Semadar from Timnah, and - in spite of his parents' objections - he decided to marry her in 1137 BC. On his way to propose to her, he slew a lion with his bare hands, though he kept the supposed miracle to himself. Samson became betrothed to Semadar shortly after, having persuaded the Saran of Gaza - who witnessed his might when Samson took down his wrestler Garmiskar - to choose him over Prince Ahtur as Semadar's husband. The Saran dispatched 30 soldiers to ensure that the troublemaking Danite Samson's wedding went smoothly, and Ahtur was among the guests, as he was the military Governor of Dan.
Samson sitting with Semedar and Ahtur
At the wedding, tensions between Ahtur and Samson led to Samson proposing that Ahtur answer a riddle: "Out of the eater came something to eat. Out of the strong came something sweet." Ahtur decided to wager his linen on a correct answer, and the other Philistine nobles all volunteered their linens as prizes as well; if Samson lost, however, he would have to buy each of them new linen outfits. Neither Ahtur nor his fellow nobles Targil, Teresh, Gammad, and others could find the answer, but Semadar's sister Delilah - who was jealous of Samson's love for his sister rather than her - advised them to force Semadar to tell them the answer. Ahtur privately met with Semadar and threatened to burn down her and her father's household if she did not divulge the answer, and a tearful Semadar forced Samson to give the answer to her. He revealed that the answers were "honey" and "a lion," as honeybees had feasted on the lion he had slain, and he had gifted a honeycomb to Semadar from the beehive. Semadar then revealed the answer to the nobles, thus forcing Samson to agree to bring thirty linens to the Philistines. An angry Samson told Ahtur, "If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have solved my riddle," before departing.
Samson promptly headed out that same night and slew thirty Philistines at Ashkelon and brought their garments back to Timnah, showering the gifts upon the nobles. However, he found that, in his absence, Ahtur had taken Semadar as his own wife, and her father Tubal offered to give Samson his other daughter, Delilah, as his wife. Samson instead barged in on Ahtur and Semadar, grabbed Ahtur, and threw him from a balcony into the crowd of nobles, starting a chaotic fight. Semadar was accidentally killed by a javelin thrown at Samson by a Philistine soldier, while a fire broke out in the home during the fighting, and Gammad left Tubal to burn with his daughter. Samson lamented that the Philistines had brought death and fire as wedding gifts, and warned that he would repay them in turn. He proceeded to tie torches to the tails of foxes and set them loose throughout Philistine fields, burning their wheat and declaring war on Philistia.
Samson fighting with a jawbone
Over the next year, Samson and a few other Danites waged a guerrilla war against the Philistine occupiers of Israel. The Saran retaliated by having his tax collectors collect extortionate dues - including sheep and cattle - from the Danites until they would turn over Samson, and 3,000 Danites found Samson at a cave at the Rock of Etam and handed him over to Ahtur. Samson was tied to the back of a chariot and dragged towards Gaza, but, as the patrol rested in a valley, Samson summoned God's power and broke free from his bonds, stealing a donkey's jawbone held by a dwarf jester and using it to kill a thousand Philistine soldiers.
The Philistines capturing a shaved Samson
Samson proceeded to launch attacks on Philistine convoys to reappropriate treasures stolen from the Danites through taxes, and the Saran and his nobles agreed to allow for Delilah to seduce Samson and bring him back to Gaza in chains, as it seemed that no man could stop him. Samson encountered Delilah while attempting to rob her caravan tent in the Valley of Sorek, and she seduced him by reminding him of when they met, and revealing that she had fallen in love with him at first sight. The two developed a relationship, but Delilah's many attempts to find Samson's weakness failed, as Samson would tell her of a perceived weakness (such as being bound by fresh bowstrings or new ropes) and then break through it. He ultimately relented and told her about his consecration to God as a Nazirite, which required that he wear his hair long. Delilah wooed Samson to sleep on her lap before cutting his hair as he slept, after which Ahtur and his soldiers arrived at Delilah's tent and took Samson captive. They gouged out his eyes to render him blind and harmless, and they put him to work grinding grain at a mill in Gaza.
The Temple of Dagon collapsing
In 1117 BC, the Philistines decided to hold a sacrificial festival at the Temple of Dagon, commemorating Dagon's supposed help in capturing Samson. All of Philistia's rulers and nobles, some 3,000 people in all, attended the festival, with some even climbing on the temple's open roof to watch Samson be tortured by Garmiskar, by dwarfs dressed in costumes, and even by Delilah herself. However, a repentant Delilah only entered the ring to whisper to Samson that she would guide him to the temple's pillars so that he would know where he could push them down and bring the house down on the Philistine attendees. Samson had regained his strength as his hair grew back, and the crowd initially laughed as he grabbed onto the temple's pillars and began to heave. However, they grew worried as the pillars began to crumble, and Delilah chose to remain in the temple rather than flee. Ultimately, the temple collapsed on Samson, Delilah, the Saran, Ahtur, and all of the Philistine nobles and soldiers, killing over 3,000 people.
