Samson and Delilah. Bible Tales: Samson and Delilah

The birth of Samson was foretold by an angel. He was born from a barren woman. His father was Manoah, from the tribe of Dan. According to the Angel, the baby will be “the Nazirite of God” and will “save Israel from the hand of the Philistines” (Bk. Judges of Israel, chapter 13). Soon an angel appeared to Manoah and said that the baby, when he grows up, should beware of everything that the vine produces and not eat unclean things, then he will be able to resist the Philistines.

When the boy was born, he was named Samson (Shimshon). Growing up, Samson saw a woman from the daughters of the Philistines, who at that time ruled over Israel, and began to ask his father to take this woman to his wife.

Samson went with his father and mother to Timnatha, where a woman lived. Soon they saw that a young lion was walking towards them. Samson defeated the lion with his bare hands. Here, for the first time, Samson's enormous physical strength was manifested, which he later often used. Samson met with his chosen one, and she began to like him even more.

A few days later, Samson again went to the chosen one on the same road and saw that a swarm of bees started up in the corpse of a lion. Samson took honey from the corpse and ate it himself, and treated his parents.

Soon a wedding was played, at which Samson asked the Philistines present a riddle:

out of the eater came something to eat, and out of the strong came something sweet. ( Book. Judges of Israel, chapter 14)

As you probably already guessed, this riddle was about a lion and honey. The Philistines could not solve the riddle and sent a wife to Samson to find out the solution. For seven days she cried and asked Samson to solve the riddle, until he finally gave up. Samson's wife told the answer to the sons of her people.

Samson got angry and punished 30 Philistines with death. Thus began the confrontation between Samson and the Philistines, which is described in detail in Chapter 15 of the Book of Judges. Samson was the judge of Israel in the days of the Philistines for twenty years.

It is important to understand what " Judge of Israel". The age of judges is a troubled time after the death of Joshua, characterized by inter-tribal strife. The judges are authoritative figures among the Israelis, active representatives of the national identity, who resisted the assimilation of the Israelis by the local tribes. Judges commanded the people's militia, and also performed legal functions. The power of judges was based either on high authority or on strength.

Let's return to the legend of Samson and Delilah. Delilah lived in the Sorek valley. Samson loved her. The Philistines, having learned about Samson's feelings, decided to bribe Delilah so that she would find out the secret of Samson's enormous physical strength. Modern scholars have calculated that Delilah received 5,500 shekels of silver (62,700 grams) for her betrayal.

Samson revealed to Delilah the secret of his strength, and she was in Samson's hair.

... but if you cut my hair, then my strength will depart from me; I will become weak and be like other people. (Book of Judges of Israel, chapter 16)

Delilah cut off the hair of the sleeping Samson and handed him over to the hands of the Philistines, who bound him with copper chains, blinded him and took him to Gaza to the house of the prisoners. Soon many Philistines gathered here to sacrifice Samson to their god Dagon. Meanwhile, the hair on Samson's head began to grow, and he moved the two supporting pillars that supported the entire house, and brought the house down on the Philistines, thereby killing more Philistines than in 20 years of his judgement. Samson was also buried under the rubble. They buried him next to his father.

What does the biblical story about Samson and Delilah teach?

Many believe that the story of Samson and Delilah is a story of betrayal, however, this is an erroneous opinion. The motive of betrayal is indeed very frequent in the Bible. One can, for example, recall the betrayal of Judas Iscariot, the story of Joseph and his brothers, etc. But, although this motif can be traced in the legend of Samson and Delilah, it is not the main one here.

One of the most important lessons we can learn from the biblical story of Samson and Delilah is to learn to control our emotions and not let our emotions control us. The desire for revenge and a sense of rage is what really killed Samson.

Samson died because he let his emotions rule his behavior. He killed the Philistines out of anger and revenge. We have no right to kill or harm because we cannot control our anger. Justice must be in the hands of God. Samson fought the Philistines for twenty years. He killed many and destroyed much. He was angry, and anger distracted him from God's plan for him. The mission that God entrusted to him became his personal battle, he was already fighting for himself, following his own anger, his passions. Revenge became a powerful and all-consuming force in Samson's heart and changed the direction of his life.

The blindness of Samson described in the Bible is nothing more than a symbolic description of his spiritual blindness. It is not clear at what point Samson stopped following the path of the Lord, and went on the path of his own revenge, using the strength that the Lord gave him.

Why did Delilah betray Samson?

Many Bible scholars wonder why Delilah so easily betrayed the man who loved her? Actually the reason is the same. Delilah, like Samson, was obsessed with the desire for revenge. Of course, Delilah knew about Samson and his actions, among which there were many impartial ones. So, as we know from the Bible, Samson burned his first wife alive, killed many Philistines, was known for his promiscuous connections and bragging. Taking all this into account, one can understand why Delilah's act does not seem illogical.

Delilah was also motivated by revenge, as was Samson. She hated the Israelites as much as Samson hated the Philistines.

When we feel bad or hurt, we want those who offended us to be also offended. Such a position only at first glance seems fair. The desire to get even is the desire for revenge, which should not have a place in our hearts. God's ways are higher than our ways, and we should not question them.

The story of Samson and Delilah reminds us of the importance of having pure hearts and following God's way!

"Sunny" - Samson in his youth. Samson's parents did not have children for a long time. Finally, Yahweh sent an angel announcing that they would have a son who would glorify Israel. And the angel took from them a promise that the child would become a Nazirite. [This word can be translated as "dedicated to God." The Nazirites took an oath for a certain period or for life not to cut their hair, not to drink wine and not to touch the dead.]

When the long-awaited boy was born, he was named Samson ["solar"]. From an early age, he was distinguished by extraordinary strength and courage. One day Samson, alone and unarmed, was walking among the vineyards. Suddenly, a young lion ran out into the road, roaring terribly. Samson, too, was furious, rushed at the mighty beast and tore it in half with his bare hands.

Samson with a lion. Medieval
book miniature

Samson and the Philistines. At that time the Jews were under the control of the Philistines. Yahweh decided to choose Samson as his instrument for the liberation of Israel. Samson, who at first was friends with the Philistines, soon quarreled with them and began to brutally crack down on former friends. The Philistines decided to kill him, but Samson hid in the mountains and did not fall into their hands. Then they demanded that the Israelites catch him themselves, otherwise they would all be in trouble. And involuntarily, three thousand Israelites went to the mountain refuge of Samson. The hero himself went out to meet them and, taking from them a promise not to kill him, allowed himself to be tied.

The captive Samson was taken out of the gorge and led to the enemies. They greeted him with cries of joy, but it turned out that they rejoiced early: the hero tensed his muscles, and the strong ropes with which he was tied burst like rotten threads. Samson grabbed a donkey's jaw lying nearby and fell upon the Philistines, killing a thousand people with it. The rest fled in panic. Samson returned triumphantly to his home, singing at the top of his voice: “With the jaw of a donkey crowd, two crowds, with the jaw of a donkey I killed a thousand people.”

For this feat, the delighted Israelites elected Samson as a judge, and he ruled his people for twenty years. His name alone inspired fear in the enemies; Samson went to their cities as to his home, and did what he liked.

Once he spent the night in the city. The inhabitants decided that an opportunity had turned up to put an end to the hated enemy. They set up an ambush near the city gates and waited there all night, saying, "Let us wait until the light of the morning and kill him."

And Samson woke up at midnight, quietly walked to the city gates, broke them out of the wall along with the jambs, put them on his shoulders and carried them to the top of a neighboring mountain. In the morning, the Philistines could only marvel at the strength and cunning of the hero.

Samson and Delilah. Yet Samson was destroyed, and it was a woman who destroyed him. To his misfortune, he fell in love with a beautiful Philistine named Delilah and often went to visit her. The rulers of the Philistines found out about this and promised Delilah a rich reward if she knew what the secret of Samson's extraordinary strength was. She agreed and, pretending to be in love with the hero, began to extort from him: “Tell me, what is your great strength and how to bind you in order to pacify you?”

Samson sensed something was wrong and said: “If they bind me with seven damp bowstrings that are not dried, then I will become powerless and will be like other people.” The Philistines brought seven raw bowstrings to Delilah, she tied the sleeping Samson and began to wake him up: “Samson! The Philistines are coming at you." Samson woke up and effortlessly broke his bonds.

Delilah was offended: “Behold, you deceived me and told me lies; tell me now how to bind you?” Samson decided to have some fun and replied: “If they bind me with new ropes that were not in use, then I will become powerless and will be like other people.”

Delilah prepared new ropes. When Samson came to her again, Delilah waited until he fell asleep and tied him tightly (while the Philistines were hiding nearby). Then she pretended to be frightened and shouted: “Samson! The Philistines are coming at you!” Jumping up Samson tore off the ropes from his hands, like threads.

Delilah pouted: “All you deceive me and tell me lies; tell me how to bind you?” Samson, with the most serious look, said that if his long hair were woven into a cloth and nailed to a loom, then all his strength would disappear.

As soon as he fell asleep, Delilah hurried to weave his hair into a cloth, nailed it firmly to the loom and woke Samson: “The Philistines are coming at you, Samson.” He woke up and pulled out the heavy block of the loom to which his hair was nailed.

"Go now, he has opened his whole heart to me." Then Delilah decided not to lag behind until he told her the truth: “How can you say:“ I love you ”, but your heart is not with me? Behold, you deceived me three times and did not tell me what is your great power.

Having elicited the secret of Samson, Delilah let the Philistine rulers know: "Go now, he has opened his whole heart to me." The Philistines came and brought silver to pay the traitor. As soon as they managed to hide, Samson appeared in Delilah's house. After the simple-hearted hero fell asleep, not suspecting anything, Delilah called the servant and ordered him to cut Samson's hair. When everything was ready, she woke her guest up with the same words: “The Philistines are coming at you, Samson!” Samson, half asleep, did not understand what had happened to him, and rushed at the Philistines, but with horror he felt that he no longer had the former strength. The Philistines easily overcame him, put him in copper chains, gouged out his eyes and threw him into the dungeon, where he had to grind grain in a mill.

The last feat of Samson. After some time, the Philistines decided to solemnly celebrate the victory over the hated Israeli hero. Several thousand people, noble people, rulers gathered in the temple of their god Dagon and began to feast. In the midst of the fun, someone offered to bring Samson from the dungeon to amuse them.

And now, among the noisy, triumphant enemies, a blind hero appeared. No one noticed that his hair had grown back - the source of his great strength. Samson told the boy who was leading him to place him near the two pillars supporting the roof of the temple.

Meanwhile, about three thousand Philistines, who did not have enough space in the temple, climbed onto the roof to look at the captive and enjoy his humiliation.

Feeling the pillars, Samson prayed to God to help him take revenge on the enemies, rested his hands on both pillars and, exclaiming: “Die, my soul, with the Philistines!” He brought them down on himself. The roof of the temple collapsed with a crash, burying both Samson and the Philistines under it. By his own death, he killed more enemies than in his entire life.

Dyakova Elena

Samson

Summary of the myth

Samson(Heb. Shimshon) - the famous biblical Judge-hero, famous for his exploits in the fight against the Philistines.

WITH amson, lat. Samson, Shimshon (Heb. presumably "servant" or "solar"), the hero of the Old Testament traditions, endowed with unprecedented physical strength; the twelfth of the "judges of Israel". Son Manoya from the tribe of Dan, from the city of Zorah. The birth of Samson, who is destined to "save Israel from the hand of the Philistines", is predicted by an angel to Mano and his wife, who had been childless for a long time.

Thanks to this, Samson is elected to serve God “from the womb”, and the command is given to prepare the child for life-long Nazariteship (a vow that consisted in observing ritual purity and abstaining from wine for total dedication to God). From childhood, at the decisive moments of his life, the “spirit of the Lord” descends on Samson, giving him miraculous power, with the help of which Samson overcomes any enemies. All his actions have a hidden meaning, incomprehensible to others. So, a young man, against the will of his parents, decides to marry a Philistine woman. At the same time, he is guided by a secret desire to find an opportunity to take revenge on the Philistines. On the way to Thimnatha, where Samson's bride lived, a young lion attacks him, but Samson, filled with the "spirit of the Lord", tears him apart like a kid.

Fragment of slate bas-relief
"Samson tears the lion's mouth"

Later, Samson finds a swarm of bees in the corpse of this lion and saturates himself with honey from there. This gives him a reason to ask thirty Philistines - "marriage friends" - an unsolvable riddle at the wedding feast:

“Out of the eater came something to eat, and out of the strong came something sweet.” Samson bet thirty shirts and thirty changes of clothes that the marriage friends would not find a clue, and they, having come up with nothing in the seven days of the feast, threatened Samson's wife that they would burn her house if he "wrap them up." Yielding to the requests of his wife, Samson tells her the answer - and immediately hears it from the lips of the Philistines: "What is sweeter than honey, and what is stronger than a lion?"

Samson Riddles at a Wedding
1638, Rembrandt

Then, carrying out the first act of his revenge, Samson strikes down thirty Philistine warriors and gives their clothes to his married friends. Samson's anger and his return to Tzor are regarded by his wife as a divorce, and she marries one of her marriage friends. This serves as a pretext for a new act of revenge on the Philistines: having caught three hundred foxes, Samson ties them in pairs with their tails, ties burning torches to them and releases the Philistines into the harvest, putting the entire crop on fire. For this, the Philistines burn Samson's wife and her father, and in response to Samson's new attack, the whole Philistine army invades Judea. Three thousand Jewish envoys ask him to surrender to the Philistines and thereby avert the threat of devastation from Judea. Samson allows them to tie themselves up and hand them over to the Philistines. However, in the camp of the enemies, "the spirit of the Lord descended on him, and the ropes ... fell ... from his hands." Immediately, Samson, raising a donkey's jaw from the ground, strikes a thousand Philistine soldiers with it. After the battle, at the prayer of Samson, who was exhausted from thirst, a spring breaks out of the earth, which received the name "the source of the caller", and the whole area, in honor of the battle, was named Ramat-Lehi. After these exploits, Samson is popularly elected "Judge of Israel" and rules for twenty years.

Samson and Delilah. Anthony Van Dyck

The culprit of Samson's death is his beloved, the Philistine Delilah from the Sorek Valley. Bribed by the "Philistine rulers", she tries three times to find out from Samson the source of his miraculous power, but Samson deceives her three times, saying that he will become powerless if he is tied with seven damp bowstrings, or entangled with new ropes, or his hair is stuck in cloth. At night, Delilah does all this, but Samson, waking up, easily breaks any bonds. Finally, tired of Delilah’s accusations of dislike and distrust of her, Samson “revealed his whole heart to her”: he is a Nazarite of God from the womb of his mother, and if you cut his hair, the vow will be broken, his strength will leave him and he will become, “like other people ".

At night, the Philistines cut off the “seven braids of the head” of the sleeping Samson, and, waking up to the cry of Delilah: “The Philistines are at you, Samson!”, He feels that strength has receded from him. Enemies blind him, put him in chains and make him turn the millstones in the dungeon of Gaza.

Meanwhile, his hair is gradually growing back. To enjoy the humiliation of Samson, the Philistines bring him to the temple for a feast Dagon and forced to "amuse" the audience. Samson asks the lad to lead him to the central pillars of the temple in order to lean on them. Having offered up a prayer to God, Samson, having regained strength, moves the two middle pillars of the temple from their place and with the exclamation “May my soul die with the Philistines!” collapses the entire building on those gathered, killing more enemies in the moment of his death than in a lifetime.

Images and symbols of myth

Blinding of Samson. Rembrandt. 1636

The image of Samson is typologically compared with such epic heroes as the Sumerian-Akkadian Gilgamesh, the Greek Hercules and Orion, etc. Like them, Samson has supernatural power, performs heroic deeds, including engaging in single combat with a lion. The loss of miraculous power (or death) as a result of female deceit is also characteristic of a number of epic heroes. The biblical story of Samson reveals a combination of heroic-mythological and fairy-tale elements with historical narrative. The historical image of the “judge”, which was Samson, is enriched with folklore and mythological motifs that go back to astral myths, in particular, to sun mythology(the name "Samson" is literally "sunny", "the braids of his head" are the sun's rays, without which the sun loses its strength).

Hair, of course, the main symbol of the myth. It is a symbol of the life force endowed by the hero of the myth. Hair was considered the seat of the soul or magical power. To lose hair meant to lose strength. Raising the issue of wearing long hair, it is considered possible to explain this by two reasons: 1) fear for the troubles that can happen to cut hair and thereby damage a person and 2) the sacredness of the head, in which a special occipital spirit lives and fear of careless handling of hair hurt him; “Hair is seen as something like the dwelling or seat of the god, so that if it is cut off, the god loses the dwelling he has in the person of the priest,” he says.

A lion. Symbol of power. No wonder the lion is considered the king of animals. The lion was a common image of Israel's enemies. The Spirit came upon Samson and he defeated the lion, which was to tell him that he could actually deliver Israel from the Philistines.

Communicative means of creating images and symbols

Death of Samson. Schnorr von Karolsfeld

The biblical story about Samson is one of the favorite themes in art and literature since the Renaissance (the tragedy of Hans Sachs "Samson", 1556, and a number of other plays). The theme gained particular popularity in the 17th century, especially among Protestants, who used the image of Samson as a symbol of their struggle against the power of the pope. The most significant work created in this century is J. Milton's drama Samson the Wrestler. Among the works of the 18th century. It should be noted: a poem by W. Blake (1783), a verse play by M. H. Luzzatto “Shimshon ve-ha-plishtim” (“Samson and the Philistines”). this topic was addressed by A. Carino (circa 1820), Mihai Tempa (1863), A. de Vigny (1864); in the 20th century F. Wedekind, S. Lange, as well as Jewish writers: V. Zhabotinsky (“Samson the Nazarene”, 1927, in Russian; reprinted by the publishing house “Biblioteka-Aliya”, Jer., 1990); Lea Goldberg ("Ahavat Shimshon" - "Samson's Love", 1951-52) and others.

In the visual arts, the following plots were most fully embodied: Samson tearing apart a lion (engraving by A. Dürer, a statue for the Peterhof fountain by M. I. Kozlovsky, etc.), Samson's struggle with the Philistines (sculptures by Pierino da Vinci, J. Bologna), betrayal Delilah (paintings by A. Mantegna, A. van Dyck and others), the heroic death of Samson (mosaic of the Church of St. Gereon in Cologne, 12th century, bas-relief of the Lower Church in Pec, 12th century, Hungary, bas-relief of B. Bellano, etc. .). All the main events of Samson's life were reflected in his work by Rembrandt ("Samson asks a riddle at the feast", "Samson and Delilah", "Blinding of Samson", etc.). Among the works of fiction, the most significant is the dramatic poem by J. Milton "Samson the Fighter", among the musical and dramatic works - the oratorio by G. F. Handel "Samson" and the opera by C. K. Saint-Saens "Samson and Delilah" ..

sculptural
fountain group
"Samson"

In music, Samson's plot is reflected in a number of oratorios by Italian composers (Veracini, 1695; A. Scarlatti, 1696, and others), France (J. F. Rameau, opera to Voltaire's libretto, 1732), Germany (G. F. Handel based on drama J. Milton wrote the oratorio "Samson", premiered at the theater "Covent Garden" in 1744). The most popular opera by the French composer C. Saint-Saens "Samson and Delilah" (premiered in 1877).

The most famous monument of St. Petersburg "Samson tearing apart the mouth of a lion" is the most spectacular composition of the Grand Cascade. A jet of water rises up to 21 meters. The pedestal is a three-meter granite rock.

The sculptural group of the fountain "Samson" is an allegory of Russia's victory over Sweden near Poltava. A month after the legendary battle, Peter I was first compared with Samson, which was also explained by the fact that the Battle of Poltava took place on the day of this saint - June 27. Since then, the image of Samson has become one of the most common symbols of the Russian army and Peter I. Sweden and its king Charles XII were displayed in the form of a lion, the image of which was present on the state emblem of Sweden.

The fountain "Samson" was installed in Peterhof in 1735 on the 25th anniversary of the great historical event. The group was originally cast in lead by B.K. Rastrelli, the creator of one of the best monuments to Peter I in St. Petersburg.

Samson and Delilah
Artus Quellinus the Elder

In 1801, the monumental group was replaced by a new one, cast in bronze according to the model of the outstanding Russian sculptor M. Kozlovsky, who made some changes, while retaining the original design and composition. In the same year, according to the project of A. Voronikhin, work was underway on the construction of a new pedestal of the fountain, in which niches were arranged from which gilded lion heads looked out.

During the occupation of Peterhof, the sculptural group "Samson tearing apart the mouth of a lion" was stolen and, in all likelihood, destroyed. On the basis of pre-war photographs and sketches by M. Kozlovsky, the sculpture was restored and cast in bronze. And in 1947, "Samson", already the third in a row, took its historical place at the foot of the Grand Cascade, making up with it a single artistic and compositional core of the entire Lower Park of Peterhof.

The social significance of the myth

Christian theologians, interpreting the Book of Judges, emphasize on the example of Delilah the significance of the struggle with carnal passion. The loss of vitality as a result of female deceit is inherent in many mythological heroes. This shows that it is not always worth trusting even close people.

The myth of Samson can teach us how to fight Evil, he is a fighter for justice. Samson helps his people get rid of the Israeli yoke, which shows his dedication.

sun) (Judg. 13.24; 14.1,3,5,7,10,12,15,16,20; 15.1,4,6,7,10-12,16; 16.1-3,6,7,9,10, 12-14,20,23,25-30; Heb 11.32) is the son of Manoah from the tribe of Dan, a Nazirite from his mother's womb, born according to the gospel of an angel, a hero and judge of Israel for 20 years (Judg 15.20; 16.31). He had incredible physical strength, especially when the Spirit of God descended on him. He was the last judge (see) of the Judges mentioned in the book.

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Samson

Shimshon, i.e. the sun. Samson, the last judge in the book of Judges, the son of Manoah from the tribe of Dan, born according to God's special promise from a wife who had been barren for a long time, and from the womb of his mother was ordained a Nazirite to the Lord (Judg. 13). At a time when the Israelites were under the yoke of the Philistines for 40 years, the Lord raised up Samson so that by the exploits of his extraordinary physical strength he could harm the enemies of Israel. a young lion who was walking towards him; in the corpse of this lion on the way back he found a swarm of bees with honey. About this he asked the Philistines a riddle, and when they, with the help of his wife, managed to guess it, he gave the thirty shirts of thin linen lost in the dispute and thirty changes of clothes (ch. 14) When after that the father of his wife gave her to another, then Samson released 300 foxes with torches tied to their tails on the Philistine harvest and burned it. The Philistines, for their part, burned his wife and her father. Then he “broke their legs and thighs (15:8) and went and sat down in the gorge of the rock of Etam” in Judah. Handed over by the Jews to the Philistines, he tore the ropes that tied his hands, found a donkey's jaw and killed 1,000 Philistines with it (15:14,15). After that, he felt intense thirst and called to the Lord, “and God opened the pit in Leh and water flowed out of it” (15:18ff.). One day Samson went to Gaza and, seeing a harlot, went in to her. The Philistines went around and lay in wait for him all night at the gates of the city, wanting to kill him. When he got up, he grabbed the city gates with both jambs, put them on his shoulders and carried them to the top of the mountain, which is on the way to Hebron (16:1ff.). Subsequently, he fell into the network of the Philistine Delilah, who tried to find out the secret of his strength. According to him, she tied him with seven damp bowstrings, then with seven new ropes, but he tore them; finally, she stuck seven braids from his head into the fabric and attached it to the block, but he pulled out the weaving block along with the fabric. She bothered him until she learned from him the secret “if you cut me, then my strength will depart from me” (16.17). Then she put him to sleep on her knees and ordered the man to cut off 7 braids of his head, and the strength really receded from him. The Philistines took him, gouged out his eyes, bound him with two. with copper chains and set him to grind in the house of the prisoners. Meanwhile, the hair on his head began to grow back. Some time later, the Philistines solemnly celebrated a feast in the temple of their idol Dagon, and brought Samson there to play with him. There he called to the Lord, moved the two middle pillars from their place, on which the whole building was affirmed... how much he has slain in his life. He was the judge of Israel for 20 years (16:21 and gave). He is mentioned among the men of faith (Heb. 11:32).

The exploits of Samson are described in the biblical Book of Judges (ch. 13-16). He came from the tribe of Dan, who suffered the most from the enslavement of the Philistines. Samson grew up among the slavish humiliation of his people and decided to take revenge on the enslavers, which he achieved by committing many beatings of the Philistines.

Consecrated to God as a Nazirite, he wore long hair, which was the source of his extraordinary power. The angel prophesied:

The Philistines then ruled the Israelites for nearly forty years.

From childhood, the boy possessed extraordinary strength. When he matured, he decided to marry a Philistine woman. No matter how much his parents reminded him that the law of Moses forbids marrying idolaters, Samson replied that every rule has an exception, and married his chosen one.

One day he went to the city where his wife lived. On the way he met a young lion who wanted to rush at him, but Samson instantly grabbed the lion and tore it apart with his hands, like a kid.

During the wedding feast, which lasted several days, Samson asked the wedding guests a riddle. The bet was 30 shirts and 30 pairs of outerwear, to be paid by those who lost. The guests could not guess, and with threats forced Samson's wife to extort the correct answer from him. At night, in bed, she demanded that her husband give an answer to the riddle, and in the morning she told it to her fellow tribesmen. Samson had no choice but to pay the loss. To do this, he went to Ashkelon, made a fight with 30 Philistines, killed them, took off his clothes and paid for the loss. It was the seventh day of the wedding feast. Father-in-law, without warning Samson, gave his wife to a young guy who was Samson's friend. And Samson answered them:

He began to take revenge on all the Philistine people. One day he caught 300 foxes, tied burning torches to their tails, and let the foxes into the Philistine fields during the harvest. All the grain in the fields was burned. Samson himself hid in the mountains. Later, the Philistines, having learned about the reason for revenge, went to Samson's father-in-law and burned him along with his daughter. They thought this would assuage Samson's anger. But he declared that his revenge was directed against all the Philistines and this revenge was just beginning. Soon Samson "opened the hunt" for the inhabitants of Ashkelon. All this proud city was afraid of one Samson, so afraid that no one dared to leave the city, the inhabitants were so frightened, as if the city was besieged by a mighty army. Later, the Philistines, in order to stop this terror, attacked the possessions of the neighboring tribe of Judah.

One day, three thousand tribesmen came to Samson in his refuge in the mountains. The Jews began to reproach Samson, saying that because of him they were surrounded by the Philistines, with whom they did not have the strength to fight.

They tied Samson's hands with strong ropes and led him out of the gorge where he was hiding. But when the Philistines came to take him, he strained his strength, broke the ropes, and ran away. Having no weapons with him, on the way he picked up the jaw of a dead donkey and killed the Philistines he met with it to death:

Soon Samson spent the night in the Philistine city of Gaza. The inhabitants found out about this, locked the city gates and decided to catch the hero early in the morning. But Samson, having risen at midnight and seeing that the gate was locked, tore it off, along with the pillars, and carried them with bars to the top of the mountain opposite Hebron.

Samson succumbed to passion for the insidious Philistine Delilah, who promised the Philistine rulers for a reward to find out what Samson's strength was. After three unsuccessful attempts, she managed to learn the secret of his power.

Having lost his strength, Samson was captured by the Philistines, blinded, chained and thrown into prison.

The ordeal led Samson to sincere repentance and contrition. Soon the Philistines held a feast where they thanked their deity, Dagon, for handing over Samson into their hands, and then brought Samson to the temple to amuse them. Meanwhile, Samson's hair had grown back, and strength began to return to him. And Samson called to the Lord and said: Lord God! remember me and strengthen me only now, O God!”

The biblical story of Samson ends with a message about Samson's burial in the family tomb between Zorah and Eshtaol