Samson is the ultimate strong man of the Bible, but in some respects, he is also one of its weakest subjects. In classic allegorical style, the story of Samson’s rise and fall exemplifies the magnitude of human weakness and the consequent need to heed the Lord’s commands.

In Judges 13:3, an angel of the Lord visits Samson’s mother-to-be and informs her that, although she is barren, she will have a son, who will deliver the Israelites from the Philistine oppression. Samson’s mother is warned not to drink any wine or other fermented substance, nor eat anything “unclean” during her pregnancy, as her son will be a “Nazirite” from the womb.

Nazirites, whose name derived from the Hebrew word nazir, meaning “dedicated to God,” were Israelites who took a voluntary vow to follow Nazarite law for a designated period of time in service to the Lord. By contrast, Samson’s oath, made on his behalf by his mother, lasts his whole life. Two key stipulations for Nazirites were that they must not cut their hair, nor come into contact with dead bodies. However, during the course of his life, Samson breaks all of these rules and more.

Samson’s strength

In Judges 14:6, Samson encounters a young lion as he is on the way to visit the vineyards of Timnah—now called Tell Batesh—in the Sorek Valley. As the lion charges, Samson is endowed by the Holy Spirit and tears the lion apart with his bare hands.

Samson later returns to the scene of the carnage. As he passes the lion’s carcass, he sees that bees have made a nest in it and gathers some of the fermented honey in his hands. Samson then eats some of the honey as he goes along his way. Here, Samson breaks two key Nazirite laws in swift succession: he touches a corpse and consumes a fermented substance.

Endowed by God with superhuman strength, Samson becomes a leader and judge of the Israelites; he rules the people for 20 years. However, he continues to break his Nazirite vows and provoke the Philistines in a series of conflicts. This culminates in Samson burning their crops and murdering large numbers of them on behalf of the oppressed Israelites. Visiting the cities of Philistia, he also spends time in the house of a harlot, indicating his weakness for women.

Yet Samson receives God’s support in spite of his misdeeds. God provides the strength Samson requires to fulfill his divinely ordained mission of breaking the Philistine yoke.

Imprisonment

Matters come to a head when the Philistines confront Samson about his rampages. When Samson replies that he is only doing to the Philistines what had been done to his own people, the Philistines take Samson prisoner. However, God once more comes to Samson’s aid and he breaks free. Seizing the jawbone of a freshly killed donkey Samson lays waste to 1,000 Philistine men with it. He then mocks the Philistines as donkeys themselves. After this victory, God rewards Samson with a drink from the spring of Lehi—a place named for the great victory, as “Lehi” means “jawbone.”

Samson battles the lion with his bare hands in this 18th-century icon painting from Kargopol, Russia. Many famous depictions of Samson show him bravely reaching into the lion’s mouth to tear it apart by the jaws.

The Philistines

This ancient group fought constantly with the Israelites throughout the 12th and 11th centuries BCE. One of the Sea Peoples who raided the eastern Mediterranean in around 1170 BCE, they were based in the five city states of Ashkelon, Ashdod, and Gaza, situated on the coast of southwestern Canaan, and Ekron and Gath inland. Their origins are unconfirmed. It was once thought the Philistines originated from Asia Minor, but recent evidence supports a theory that they came from the Aegean island of Crete and settled in Canaan around the same time as the Israelites in the 12th century BCE. In the lead-up to the founding of the Northern Kingdom of Israel in around 930 BCE, the Philistines constituted one of the country’s greatest threats.

There has been much debate about the meaning of the name “Philistine,” which translates from the Hebrew Pelesheth, as “sojourners.” The area they occupied was known as Philistia, believed to be the origin of Palestine, the name given to the area by the Greeks.

Samson’s Revenge and Death is a wood engraving from Die Bible in Bildern (The Bible in Pictures) by the German artist Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld. Published in 30 parts between 1852 and 1860, the work contained 240 woodcut illustrations.

Delilah’s treachery

Samson’s fortunes change when he encounters a woman named Delilah in the Valley of Sorek. She is Working for the Philistines, who are determined to find a way of capturing Samson. Delilah seduces Samson in order to persuade him to reveal the secret of his great strength, and how to take it from him. After several abortive attempts—and some creative lying from Samson—Delilah finally learns that if Samson’s hair is shaved off, he will lose his strength. With the Philistines’ help, Delilah cuts off Samson’s hair while he is sleeping. The Philistines then rip out his eyes—a punishment to dissuade prisoners from rebelling—and tie him to a heavy grinding mill that he must heave in circles in order to make flour.

Meanwhile, Samson’s hair steadily begins to grow back, and Samson realizes that his strength is returning. This fact is lost on his Philistine captors, who parade him in triumph at a temple festival in honor of their god Dagon. Three thousand Philistines are gathered in the temple when Samson positions himself between two great pillars supporting the roof. He prays to God for revenge on the Philistines for the loss of his two eyes, asking to die with his captors. God grants Samson the strength he requests. With a mighty heave, Samson pushes over the pillars, the roof collapses, and everyone inside the temple, including Samson, is consigned to a gory end.

Vessel of God

Biblical scholars have long debated the meaning of the tale of Samson. Some see him as a legendary hero, in the mold of Hercules or the Mesopotamian mythological figure Enkidu, or as an archetypal folk hero. Others see him as a real historical figure. The biblical tale of Samson sheds light on how individuals can derive strength from God’s spirit, and illustrates the fundamental nature of human weakness. The contrast between divine strength and mortal frailty is shown by Samson’s story. Through God he is physically strong, but he yearns for and seeks out the company of women and breaks his Nazirite vows. This ultimately brings about his downfall; he fulfills the mission he has been given by God, but he is continually diverted by selfish impulses along the way.

Two important lessons can be taken from this story. First, it makes clear that God has the power to take a human being’s selfish impulses, such as Samson’s lust, and use them to accomplish His will. Although Samson’s life ends in tragedy, he does achieve the goal he has been set. The story also illustrates the dangers of ceaseless retaliation. Samson and the Philistines attack each other back and forth, until all parties involved are destroyed by the endless cycle of vengeance.

Samson and Delilah in popular culture

Delilah, played by Hedy Lamarr, prepares to cut Samson’s hair in the 1949 film, which cast Delilah as the vengeful sister of Samson’s first wife.

The story of Samson—and particularly of his relationship with the woman from the Valley of Sorek, Delilah—is one of the most riveting tales in the Bible. The couple’s love affair and her quest to uncover the secret of his strength have inspired artists, writers, and screenwriters. Delilah has been portrayed as a heartless seductress and a lover torn between loyalties.

Numerous artists, including Michelangelo and Rembrandt, have painted scenes from the lovers’ lives. Popular literature, from The Canterbury Tales to Thackeray’s Vanity Fair, is replete with references to the pair. One of the most lavish representations of the lovers is Cecil B. DeMille’s 1949 Hollywood classic Samson and Delilah, starring Victor Mature as Samson and Hedy Lamarr as Delilah. DeMille created an action-packed drama, casting Lamarr as a minx and Mature as a handsome but simple-minded hulk.

See also: The Prophet Samuel • David and Goliath • Daniel in Babylon