The Story of Samson
Samson's father Manoah, and his wife had been trying to have
a baby for many years when an angel showed up in front of their house. The
angel told them that they were to have a son, who was to be a Nazarite. The
child was to never cut his hair, drink wine, or touch a dead person. A while
later, Samson was born, and he obeyed the Nazarite laws just as the angel said.
Samson saw a pretty Philistine woman while he walked through
Timnah, a Philistine town. He went to ask permission from her father to marry
her. The Philistines at the time were the enemies of the people in Israel, so
Samson did not know how his father would react once he told him the news. While
he was on his way home, a lion jumped on him. He killed the lion with his bare
hands. After this, he told the Philistine woman that he wanted to be her
husband. At their wedding, Samson gave the Philistine guests a riddle about the
lion. However, his wife told them the answer because she was threatened by the
men, and Samson realised he could not trust her. After the wedding, she was
given to another man. Later, Samson's wife and father-in-law were burned to
death.
After his first wife died, Samson found another good-looking
Philistine woman. Her name was Delilah. However, little did Samson know that
she would betray him to the Philistines. She tried many times to get the secret
behind his great strength. This made Samson very annoyed with her. After a long
time, Samson told Delilah that he would become weak if his hair was cut.
After getting the secret to his strength, Delilah told the
Philistine army about it. She sang him to sleep at her feet, and called a man
to shave Samson's head. After getting his haircut, Samson was tied up while
still asleep. He woke up and tried without success to break free from the ropes
he was tied down with. The Philistines grabbed him, poked his eyes out with
their swords and took him to Gaza, where he was put in prison.
The destruction of a Philistine Temple (and Samson's Death)
While in prison, Samson worked on a treadmill, a machine
used to grind grain. He did this work for a few months until his hair grew long
again. Next, he was taken to a temple honouring the Philistine god Dagon. It
was here that he performed for the people worshipping Dagon. While on stage,
Samson told a young boy nearby to move him in between two pillars. He pushed
the pillars apart with his full strength. This caused the temple's roof to fall
down on top of himself and his Philistine audience. He defeated more
Philistines in the event of his death than during his life.
Meaning Behind Samson’s Name
Samson (Hebrew: שמשון),
Standard Šimšon; meaning "of the sun" – perhaps proclaiming he was
strong, or "[One who] Serves [God]") or Shamshoun Arabic: شمشون or Sampson Greek: Σαμψών
