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==Biblical narrative==
==Biblical narrative==


Samson lived when God was punishing the Israelites by giving them "into the hand of the [[Philistine]]s." An [[angel]] from God appears to [[Manoah]], an Israelite from the [[tribe of Dan]], in the city of [[Zorah]], and to his wife, who is sterile. <ref name="qqq">{{wwbible|Old Testament, 317}}</ref> This angel predicts that they will have a son who will begin to deliver the Israelites from the Philistines.<ref name="qqq"/> Requirements, were set up by the angel she (as well as the child himself) is to abstain from all [[alcoholic beverage]]s<ref name="qqq"/> and all [[unclean animals|unclean meat]], and her promised child is not to shave or cut his hair. In due time the son, Samson, is born; he is reared according to these provisions.
Samson lived when God was punishing the Israelites by giving them "into the hand of the [[Philistine]]s." An [[angel]] from God appears to [[Manoah]], an Israelite from the [[tribe of Dan]], in the city of [[Zorah]], and to his wife, who is sterile. <ref name="qqq">{{wwbible|Old Testament, 317}}</ref><ref name="ppp"> This angel predicts that they will have a son who will begin to deliver the Israelites from the Philistines.<ref name="qqq"/> Requirements, were set up by the angel that she (as well as the child himself) is to abstain from all [[alcoholic beverage]]s, and her promised child is not to shave or cut his hair. <ref name="qqq"/><ref name="ppp"> In due time the son, Samson, is born; he is reared according to these provisions. <ref name="qqq"/><ref name="ppp">


[[Image:Capitel de Sta María la Real (Aguilar de Campoo) M.A.N. 01.jpg|thumb|180px|right|<small>[[Romanesque art|Romanesque]] [[Capital (architecture)|capital]] showing Samson and the lion ([[13th century|13th cent.]]).</small>]]
[[Image:Capitel de Sta María la Real (Aguilar de Campoo) M.A.N. 01.jpg|thumb|180px|right|<small>[[Romanesque art|Romanesque]] [[Capital (architecture)|capital]] showing Samson and the lion ([[13th century|13th cent.]]).</small>]]


When he becomes a young man, Samson leaves the hills of his people to see the cities of the Philistines. {{citation needed}} While there, Samson falls in love with a Philistine woman from [[Timnah]] that, overcoming the objections of his parents who do not know that "it is of the LORD", he decides to marry her. <ref name="qqq"/> The intended marriage is actually part of God's plan to strike at the Philistines. <ref name="qqq"/> On the way to ask for the woman's hand in marriage, Samson is attacked by an [[Asiatic Lion]] and kills it. <ref name="qqq"/> He continues on to the Philistine's house, winning her hand in marriage. {{citation needed}} On his way to the wedding, Samson notices that bees have nested in the carcass of the lion and have made honey. <ref name="qqq"/> He eats a handful of the honey and gives some to his parents. <ref name="qqq"/> At the wedding-feast, Samson proposes that he tell a riddle to his thirty groomsmen (all Philistines); if they can solve it, he will give them thirty pieces of fine linen and garments. <ref name="qqq"/> The riddle ("Out of the eater, something to eat; out of the strong, something sweet.") is a veiled account of his second encounter with the lion (at which only he was present). <ref name="qqq"/> The Philistines are infuriated by the riddle. <ref name="qqq"/> The thirty groomsmen tell Samson's new wife that they will burn her and her father's household if she does not discover the answer to the riddle and tell it to them. <ref name="qqq"/> At the urgent and tearful imploring of his bride, Samson tells her the solution, and she tells it to the thirty groomsmen. <ref name="qqq"/>
When he becomes a young man, Samson leaves the hills of his people to see the cities of the Philistines. While there, Samson falls in love with a Philistine woman from [[Timnah]] that, overcoming the objections of his parents who do not know that "it is of the LORD", he decides to marry her. <ref name="qqq"/><ref name="ppp"> The intended marriage is actually part of God's plan to strike at the Philistines. <ref name="qqq"/> On the way to ask for the woman's hand in marriage, Samson is attacked by an [[Asiatic Lion]] and kills it. <ref name="qqq"/> He continues on to the Philistine's house, winning her hand in marriage. On his way to the wedding, Samson notices that bees have nested in the carcass of the lion and have made honey. <ref name="qqq"/> He eats a handful of the honey and gives some to his parents. <ref name="qqq"/> At the wedding-feast, Samson proposes that he tell a riddle to his thirty groomsmen (all Philistines); if they can solve it, he will give them thirty pieces of fine linen and garments. <ref name="qqq"/><ref name="ppp"> The riddle ("Out of the eater, something to eat; out of the strong, something sweet.") is a veiled account of his second encounter with the lion (at which only he was present). <ref name="qqq"/> The Philistines are infuriated by the riddle. <ref name="qqq"/> The thirty groomsmen tell Samson's new wife that they will burn her and her father's household if she does not discover the answer to the riddle and tell it to them. <ref name="qqq"/> At the urgent and tearful imploring of his bride, Samson tells her the solution, and she tells it to the thirty groomsmen. <ref name="qqq"/><ref name="ppp">
Before sunset on the seventh day they said to him,
Before sunset on the seventh day they said to him,
:"What is sweeter than honey?
:"What is sweeter than honey?
Line 18: Line 18:
:"If you had not plowed with my heifer,
:"If you had not plowed with my heifer,
:you would not have solved my riddle." <ref name="ooo">{{wwbible|Old Testament, 318}}</ref>
:you would not have solved my riddle." <ref name="ooo">{{wwbible|Old Testament, 318}}</ref>
He flies into a rage and kills thirty Philistines of [[Ashkelon]] for their garments, which he gives his thirty groomsmen. <ref name="ooo"/> Still in a rage, he returns to his father's house, and his bride is given to the best man as his wife. <ref name="ooo"/>
He flies into a rage and kills thirty Philistines of [[Ashkelon]] for their garments, which he gives his thirty groomsmen. <ref name="ooo"/> <ref name="ppp">Still in a rage, he returns to his father's house, and his bride is given to the best man as his wife. <ref name="ooo"/><ref name="ppp">
⚫
Her father refuses to allow him to see her, and wishes to give Samson the younger sister. <ref name="ooo"/><ref name="ppp"> Samson attaches torches to the tails of three hundred foxes, leaving the panicked beasts to run through the fields of the Philistines, burning all in their wake. <ref name="ooo"/><ref name="ppp"> The Philistines find out why Samson burned their crops, and they burn Samson's wife and father-in-law to death. <ref name="ooo"/><ref name="ppp"> In revenge, Samson slaughters many more Philistines, smiting them "hip and thigh." <ref name="ooo"/><ref name="ppp">


⚫
Samson then takes refuge in a cave in the rock of [[Etam]]. <ref name="ooo"/><ref name="qqq"/><ref name="ppp">[http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=122&letter=S&search=samson]</ref> An army of Philistines went up and demanded from 3,000 men of [[Tribe of Judah|Judah]] to deliver them Samson.<ref name="ppp"> With Samson's consent, they tie him with two new ropes and are about to hand him over to the Philistines when he breaks free. Using the jawbone of a donkey, he slays one thousand Philistines (20 in some versions). At the conclusion of ''Judges'' 15 it is said that "Samson led Israel for twenty years in the days of the Philistines."
⚫
When Samson returns to Timnah, he finds his father-in-law has given his wife to one of Samson's companions. <ref name="ooo"/> Her father refuses to allow him to see her, and wishes to give Samson the younger sister. <ref name="ooo"/>Samson attaches torches to the tails of three hundred foxes, leaving the panicked beasts to run through the fields of the Philistines, burning all in their wake. <ref name="ooo"/> The Philistines find out why Samson burned their crops, and they burn Samson's wife and father-in-law to death. <ref name="ooo"/> In revenge, Samson slaughters many more Philistines, smiting them "hip and thigh." <ref name="ooo"/>

⚫
Samson then takes refuge in a cave in the rock of [[Etam]]. <ref name="ooo"/> An army of Philistines went up and demanded from 3,000 men of [[Tribe of Judah|Judah]] to deliver them Samson. With Samson's consent, they tie him with two new ropes and are about to hand him over to the Philistines when he breaks free. Using the jawbone of a donkey, he slays one thousand Philistines (20 in some versions). At the conclusion of ''Judges'' 15 it is said that "Samson led Israel for twenty years in the days of the Philistines."
[[Image:Francesco Morone 001.jpg|thumb|left|Samson and Delilah, by Francesco Morone]]
[[Image:Francesco Morone 001.jpg|thumb|left|Samson and Delilah, by Francesco Morone]]


Revision as of 04:56, 5 December 2007

Samson and Delilah, by Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641)
This article is about Biblical figure. For other uses, see Samson (disambiguation).

Samson, Shimshon (Hebrew: שִׁמְשׁוֹן, Standard Šimšon Tiberian Šimšôn; meaning "of the sun" – perhaps proclaiming he was radiant and mighty, or "[One who] Serves [God]") or Shama'un (Arabic) is the third to last of the Judges of the ancient Children of Israel mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the Tanakh. He is described in the Book of Judges chapters 13 to 16.

Interestingly, while there are many common prophets in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic discourse, stories about Samson are absent in narratives from the Quran. Samson is something of a Herculean figure,[1] using massive strength to combat his enemies and to perform heroic feats unachievable by ordinary men: wrestling a lion, slaying an entire army with nothing more than a donkey's jawbone, and tearing down an entire building. He is commemorated as one of the Holy Forefathers in the Calendar of Saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church on July 30.

Biblical narrative

Samson lived when God was punishing the Israelites by giving them "into the hand of the Philistines." An angel from God appears to Manoah, an Israelite from the tribe of Dan, in the city of Zorah, and to his wife, who is sterile. [2]Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). He flies into a rage and kills thirty Philistines of Ashkelon for their garments, which he gives his thirty groomsmen. [3] Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). An army of Philistines went up and demanded from 3,000 men of Judah to deliver them Samson.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).

Noam Chomsky and others have said Israel suffers from a "Samson complex" which could lead to the destruction of itself as well as its Arab enemies.[4]

Literature

  • In 2006, David Grossman's novel, Lion's Honey: The Myth of Samson was published.
  • In 2006, David Maine published his novel The Book of Samson, the third of his Biblical series of novels which also include Fallen and The Preservationist.
  • In The Canterbury Tales, in the Monk's tale, Samson is descibed.

Classical Music

Handel wrote his oratorio Samson in 1743. Camille Saint-Saëns wrote an opera, Samson et Dalila between 1868 and 1877.

In 1977, Joseph Horovitz wrote Samson for baritone, mixed choir and brass band

Samson parades

Samson parade Mauterndorf/Austria

Quirky annual parades of a Samson figure in 10 different villages in the Lungau, Salzburg (state) and two villages in the north-west Steiermark (Austria). For more information see Wikipedia in German de:Samson (Riese)

Samson is one of the giant figures at the "Ducasse" festivities, which takes place at Ath, Belgium.

Art

Samson has been a popular subject for paintings:[5]

Anonymous:

Samson's burial site

Samson is believed to be buried in Tel Tzora in Israel overlooking the Sorek valley. There reside two large gravestones of Samson and his father Manoach. Nearby stands Manoach’s altar(Judges 13:19-24).[6]

Film

The most detailed film version of the Biblical Samson was the 1949 Cecil B. deMille film Samson and Delilah (1949 film), starring Victor Mature as Samson. Two made for TV films, one in 1984 and later in 1996, retold the story of Samson and Delilah.

The Samson character was later featured in a series of 5 sword-and-sandal adventure films made in Italy in the 1960s, as follows:

  • Samson vs. The Pirates (1963) a/k/a Samson and the Sea Beast
  • Samson Challenges Hercules (1963) a/k/a Hercules, Samson and Ulysses
  • Samson vs. the Black Pirate (1963) a/k/a Hercules and the Black Pirate
  • Samson and the Mighty Challenge (1965) a semi comedy/satire co-starring Hercules, Ursus & Maciste

Music

The Grateful Dead played the song "Samson & Delilah" from the mid-1970s and throughout their career. The song is a traditional song, cataloged by Alan Lomax in his encyclopedic "Folk Songs of North America" which Bob Weir learned from Reverend Gary Davis[7]. The lyrics cover some parts of the history around Samson, notably his fight with the lion.

Regina Spektor has a song called "Samson" based on Samson and Delilah.

In the song My Defenses Are Down from the musical Annie Get Your Gun says, "Like Samson, Without his hair".

The Pixies' song "Gouge Away" is based on Samson's story.

Leonard Cohen wrote the song "Hallelujah" which makes references to Samson and Delilah.

The Cranberries have a song called "Delilah" written from the perspective of a woman fighting off a conniving temptress.

Mandy Moore and Jonathon Foreman (from Switchfoot) have a song called "Someday We'll Know" for the movie A Walk To Remember with references to Samson and Delilah in the chorus.

Bishop Allen released a song called "Empire City" that references Samson with the lines: "Samson suffered the same fame fate, powerless and losing his hair."

New Radicals made a song called "Someday we'll know" which referenced Samson and Delilah.

Theatrical Stage

Candlewick Productions wrote a script based on the events of Samson & Delilah and performed it in La Riviere, Manitoba, Canada in 2007 at the Oak Valley out door theatre.

References

  1. ^ Comay, Joan; Brownrigg, Ronald (1993). Who's Who in the Bible: The Old Testament and the Apocrypha, The New Testament. New York: Wing Books. pp. Old Testament, 316–317. ISBN 0-517-32170-X.
  2. ^ Comay, Joan; Brownrigg, Ronald (1993). Who's Who in the Bible: The Old Testament and the Apocrypha, The New Testament. New York: Wing Books. pp. Old Testament, 317. ISBN 0-517-32170-X.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference ooo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference balint was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ [1] "The Text This Week Lectionary, Scripture Study and Worship Links and Resources" Web site, Web page titled "Links to Images of Samson",, accessed November 2, 2006
  6. ^ Philistines are upon you, Samson, Ynet
  7. ^ "Grateful Dead Lyric & Song Finder". Lyrics for the traditional song "Samson & Delilah".
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