Samson impressed those around him with his strength from childhood. When it was time to get married, on the way to the bride, he saw a young lion, was not afraid of him, grabbed him in his arms and strangled him. Once he killed a thousand enemies, the Philistines, with one jaw of an ass. Once he spent the night with a Philistine harlot. The inhabitants found out about this and decided to kill him. They guarded him all night. And at midnight he went to the city gates, grabbed them and carried them high into the mountains. The Philistines feared him, but longed to destroy him.
Samson was strong, handsome and loved different women. He was especially fascinated by one Philistine named Delilah, beautiful but treacherous. The wealthy Philistines found out about Samson's love for Delilah, and in his absence they visited her. They asked her to find out from Samson what his strength was. For this they promised to give her a lot of silver.
Delilah agreed, and when Samson came to her, she began to ask him what his strength was. He said that he should be bound with seven raw strings, and then he would become like other people. Delilah reported this to the wealthy Philistines, and they immediately brought her raw strings of bowstring and left one of their men in her house to watch. And when Samson fell asleep, Delilah tied him with these threads and shouted: "Samson, wake up, the Philistines are coming at you." He jumped up and, as if nothing had happened, easily broke these threads.
Delilah was very offended by him, realizing that he had deceived her. And again she pestered him with questions, what was his strength and how to make him lose it. This time Samson told her that they should bind him with new ropes, and then he would become powerless, he would become like all other people. And again the spy hid in the next room, and again, as soon as Samson fell asleep, Delilah tied him up.
And again she called out that the Philistines were coming. And this time Samson quickly jumped up and easily tore the ropes like threads.
Thus he deceived Delilah several times. But she did not lag behind him, she really wanted to receive the promised money. Finally, Samson could not stand it and confessed to her that he was a Nazirite of God, that the razor did not touch his head. And all his strength is in his hair. If you cut them off, he will weaken, become like all ordinary people.
Dalida believed that this time he told her the truth. She secretly invited wealthy Philistines, informed them that she knew the secret of Samson, and asked them to bring her money. The Philistines gave her the promised silver. This time, when Samson returned, she put him to sleep and called a man to cut his head. After that, Delilah again shouted: "Samson, the Philistines are coming at you!" He woke up, but could no longer throw off the Philistines who attacked him. They treated them cruelly - they gouged out his eyes, bound him with chains and threw him into the house of prisoners. There he sat for a long time. And during this time his hair grew.
Finally, the wealthy Philistines wanted to see him humiliated. Samson was brought to a rich house with columns. Men and women sat around, all looked at the blind hero. And he asked one youth to bring him to the column, so that it would be more convenient to stand near it. The lad led him to the column.
Samson raised his head to heaven and asked the Lord to give him his former strength. Then he grabbed two columns with his hands and abruptly moved them from their place. And instantly the house collapsed on everyone who came to look at Samson. Samson himself died. People said that this time he killed as many Philistines as he had killed in his entire life.
The nomadic tribes of the Semites came to the land of Canaan, which is located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, about three thousand years ago. These tribes called themselves the people of Israel or Jews, which means "come from across the river."
It is known that the tribal unions of the Jews consisted of twelve clans, which were ruled by leaders called judges. Much of the history of this people can be learned from the Bible, especially about the religious ideas of the Jews.
They considered themselves to be the people whom God himself had chosen, and the territory to which they came at the direction of the forefather Abraham was promised. This land was Ancient Palestine.
Legend of Samson
The Jews began to lead a settled way of life, to build settlements and cities. But their peaceful existence was interrupted by the invasion of the Philistines. The people of Palestine had to bravely fight for their land, one of the military heroes is called Samson.
He was a mighty warrior who bravely fought against his enemies, but he was captured by the beautiful Philistine Delilah. She learned that the power of Samson lies in the hair and told the soldiers of her people about it. Then the enemies cut off the hero's hair and captured him.
But soon the hair of the branch and using his mighty strength, Samson tore out the two pillars on which the temple was held, in which the Philistines decided to mock him. Samson died along with the enemies under the ruins of the destroyed temple.
The first king of Israel is Saul, who lived about a thousand years BC. He won many battles with his enemies, but was eventually killed by the Philistines along with his sons.
King David - Creation of Jerusalem
The story tells that the next king was David, who was a shepherd boy and became famous for defeating a giant in his youth. When the Philistine troops tried to seize the land of the Jews and appointed a battle with them, the giant Goliath challenged the inhabitants of Palestine to battle.
And after forty days, young David decided to fight Goliath, who used stones as a weapon. He managed to throw a stone right at the head of Goliath, armed with a sword, spear and shield, and defeated him.
Then the Philistines left the territory of the Israelites, amazed that their leader had been killed.
David was a wise and talented ruler who maintained peaceful relations with neighboring Ancient Phoenicia. Under his rule were many peoples who considered themselves to be the kingdom of Israel. During David's reign, Jerusalem became the capital of the kingdom.
King Solomon - development of Palestine
The next king of Israel was Solomon, the youngest son of David. He provided the kingdom with real peace and impressive prosperity.
Various luxury items, precious stones, building materials and chariots began to be imported into Israel, as the kingdom controlled important trade routes through the Red and Mediterranean Seas.
With the help of the flourishing economy of Israel, Solomon rebuilt Jerusalem, made it a rich and beautiful place. A large temple was erected in the center of the city, Jerusalem became the repository of Jewish shrines and its main religious center.
See also `Samson` in other dictionaries
Samson
(sun) (Judgement 13:24) - the son of Manoah, who was the judge of Israel for 20 years. The circumstances surrounding his birth are remarkable. cm.. Against the wishes of his parents, who were worshipers of the Law (Ex. 34:16, Deut. 7:3), he wished to marry a woman from the Philistine city of Thimnath. When he was on his way to this city with his father and mother, a young lion came out to meet them. On Samson the Spirit of the Lord came down, and he tore the lion to pieces like a kid; and he had nothing in his hand(Judg. 14:6). A few days later, he wanted to see the corpse of a lion and found in it a swarm of bees and honey, which he ate himself and brought home to his father and mother. This gave him occasion for the riddle offered to the Philistines at the wedding feast, with the promise...
SAMSON
Iron Samson. Jarg. they say Joke-approval About a man of athletic build. Maksimov, 130. Samson and Delilah. Book. The personification of male power and female charms. /i> Turnover is associated with images of Biblical mythology. BMS 1998, 512.
Greek Σαμφων, lat. Samson, Shimshon (Heb. Šimðôn, presumably "servant" or "solar", from šemeš, "sun"), the hero of the Old Testament traditions (Judg. 13-16), endowed with unprecedented physical strength; the twelfth of the "judges of Israel". The son of Manoah from the tribe of Dan, from the city of Zorah. By the time of S. over the sons of Israel, who continued to "do evil in the eyes of the Lord", for forty years the yoke of the Philistines had weighed heavily. The birth of S., who is destined to “save Israel from the hand of the Philistines” (13, 5), is predicted by an angel to Mano and his wife, who had been childless for a long time. By this, S. (like Isaac, Samuel, etc.) 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; the outward sign of a Nazirite is long hair, which is forbidden to be cut, - Numbers 6, 1-5). Then the angel ascends to heaven in the flames of the sacrifice burnt by Manoah (13, 20-21). From the very...
(sun) (Judgement 13:24) - the son of Manoah, who was the judge of Israel for 20 years. The circumstances surrounding his birth are remarkable. see Manoj. Against the wishes of his parents, who were worshipers of the Law (Ex. 34:16, Deut. 7:3), he wished to marry a woman from the Philistine city of Thimnath. When he was on his way to this city with his father and mother, a young lion came out to meet them. The Spirit of the Lord descended on a, and he tore the lion to pieces like a kid; and he had nothing in his hand (Judges 14:6). A few days later, he wanted to see the corpse of a lion and found in it a swarm of bees and honey, which he ate himself and brought home to his father and mother. This gave him a reason for the riddle proposed by the Philistines during the wedding feast, with the promise of a valuable gift to whoever solves it within seven days, and with that condition ...
Samson
Cm. hero...
Dictionary of Russian synonyms and expressions similar in meaning. - under. ed. N. Abramova, M.: Russian Dictionaries, 1999In biblical mythology, a Hebrew hero who possessed extraordinary strength hidden in his long hair. His beloved Philistine Delilah cut off the hair of the sleeping S. and called the soldiers who blinded him and put him in chains. In captivity, S.'s hair grew back. Feeling the former strength, he destroyed the temple, under the ruins of which the Philistines and S.
Samson in the Bible, a Hebrew hero who possessed extraordinary physical strength, hidden in his long hair. His beloved Philistine Delilah cut off the sleeping Samson's hair and called the Philistine warriors, who blinded him and put him in chains. In captivity, Samson's hair grew back; feeling the former strength, he destroyed the temple, under the ruins of which the Philistines and Samson perished.
Samson
I
Samson (ancient Hebrew Shimshon, presumably from shemesh - the sun)
in biblical mythology, a hero who was credited with supernatural physical strength and courage. He accomplished many feats in the fight against the Philistines (destroyed 1000 enemies, stole the gates of the city of Gaza, etc.). He fell into the hands of the enemy as a result of the perfidy of the Philistine Delilah (See Delilah), who cut off S.'s hair, in which his magical power lurked. In captivity, S.'s hair grew back and his former strength returned. When the Philistines brought S. to the temple of Dagon, S. with all his strength pushed the pillars that supported the building, and it collapsed; S. died along with the enemies. in the Old Testament, one of the judges, a folk hero who lived shortly before the establishment of the Jewish kingdom (Judges 13-16). He was the son of Manoah of the tribe of Dan and a Nazirite. Although it was his life's work to free the Israelites from the yoke of the Philistines, he married a Philistine woman. Her father, in Samson's absence, gave her another husband, and Samson burned the Philistine crops in retaliation. After that, he killed a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of an ass, sowing great awe and fear among the opponents. When his concubine, Delilah, found out that the secret of Samson's extraordinary strength lay in his long hair, she treacherously cut it off and betrayed him to the Philistines, who made him their prisoner. The Philistines gouged out Samson's eyes and, in order to laugh at him, brought him to a festival dedicated to their god Dagon. However, to Samson already ... 1. Biblical hero. (foreign language) - a strong man (a hint of bibl. Samson) Wed And he tore the lion to pieces like a lamb. Judges. 14, 6; Wed 15, 13-14.
Wed He found a fresh donkey's jaw and killed a thousand people with it. There. 15, 15. Wed 16; 3, 9, 12, 14, 17, 19, 26-31.
2. A film by Andrzej Wajda.
3. The tragedy of the English publicist John Milton "...-wrestler".
4. In the Bible - the 12th judge of Israel for 20 years, an ascetic of the true faith.
5. Opera by the French composer Camille Saint-Saens "... and Delilah".
6. A mythical hero who tore the lion's mouth.
7. The character of W. Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet".
8. Male name.
9. Oratorio by the German composer G. Handel.
10. The character of the opera by the French composer Ch. Gounod "Romeo and Juliet".
11. Biblical hero, whose strength was in his hair.
12. Defeated by Delilah.
Samson Metropolitan of Astrakhan and Terek (1697-1714). Biographical information about him begins in 1685, when he was archimandrite of the Kursk Znamensky Monastery, and in 1697 on February 2 he was elevated to the rank of Metropolitan of Astrakhan, in which dignity he died on April 3, 1714. As in the Kursk monastery, he continued the construction activities of his predecessors, and in Astrakhan, Metropolitan S. worked with extraordinary zeal on the construction of a majestic cathedral, completed in 1710. Under him, the following were built: a cross house church in the bishop's house, the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin, the Entrance to Jerusalem, the cathedral in Trinity monastery and Pokrovsky monastery. During the Astrakhan rebellion of 1705, the Metropolitan's life was in great danger. The rebels knew that the metropolitan was devoted to the sovereign, because...
Samson
Legends. Israeli hero. tribe of Danites, perfect. a number of feats in the fight against the Philistines. According to legend, he exterminated 1000 enemies with a donkey's jaw, stole the gates of the city of Gaza, but then fell into the hands of the enemy. as a result. the deceit of the beautiful Philistine Delilah, who cut off his hair, in which magic lurked. the power of S. In captivity, S.'s hair grew back and his former strength returned to him. When the Philistines brought him to the temple of Dagon, he broke the columns, the roof collapsed and S. died along with the enemies. In the legends of S. found reflection. events of the 12th - 11th centuries. BC. - the struggle between other Hebrew. tribes and Philistines.
Ancient world. Encyclopedic dictionary in 2 volumes. - M.: Tsentrpoligraf. V. D. Gladky<...>
Samson the famous biblical judge-hero, famous for his exploits in the fight against the Philistines. He came from the tribe of Dan, the most subjected to enslavement from the Philistines. He grew up amid 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 served as the source of his extraordinary power. Having violated the Nazirite vow, he succumbed to passion for the insidious Delilah and was secretly deprived of her hair and strength, to the great joy of the Philistines, who took possession of the exhausted hero, blinded him and, taking him captive, put him to humiliating work at the millstone. The ordeal led S. to sincere repentance and contrition. His life ended under...
) - the son of Manoah, who was a judge of Israel for 20 years. The circumstances surrounding his birth are remarkable. Cm. . Against the wishes of his parents, who were worshipers of the Law (,), he wished to marry a woman from the Philistine city of Timnath. When he was on his way to this city with his father and mother, a young lion came out to meet them. On Samson the Spirit of the Lord came down, and he tore the lion to pieces like a kid; and he had nothing in his hand(). A few days later, he wanted to see the corpse of a lion and found in it a swarm of bees and honey, which he ate himself and brought home to his father and mother. This gave him occasion for a riddle offered to the Philistines during the wedding feast, with the promise of a valuable gift to whoever solves it within seven days, and on the condition that if they do not solve it, they will have to give him a similar gift (30 thin linen shirts and 30 changes of clothes). Being unable to solve this riddle, the guests turned to Samson's wife, who, by her urgent requests, received from him the solution of the riddle. With strong threats, they got her to solve the riddle and handed it over to Samson. But he found out about their deceit and although he kept his word and gave them a gift, but the gift cost the lives of thirty people of their compatriots - he went to Ascalon and, having killed thirty people there, took off their clothes and gave their changes of dress to those who solved the riddle. For this, he left his wife, who betrayed him in secret. Upon his return to the city of Timnath, in order to reconcile with his wife, he learned that she had remarried and could no longer see him. His father-in-law offered him another daughter, a younger, more beautiful one, as his wife. But Samson did not agree to this and decided to take revenge on the Philistines for his wife. He caught 300 foxes and attached a lighted torch to the tails of each pair and let them go into the fields and vineyards of the Philistines. As a result, a fire broke out in many places in the city and in the field, and everything became a prey to the flame. When the Philistines learned that this fire was caused by Samson because of his wife, whom her father had married Samson's friend, they set fire to the house in which Samson's wife lived, and burned her. This again brought upon the Philistines the vengeance of Samson, who came to them and broke their shins and thighs, then he sat down in the gorge of the Etama rock. Then the Philistines entered into the inheritance of Judas. The inhabitants of this lot, wishing to avert their fury from themselves, sent three thousand men to Samson to bind him and hand him over to the enemy. He himself agreed to this, on the condition that he would not be killed by his own. When they brought him to the Philistine army, and when they saw him, they let out a cry of joy, then, embraced by the Spirit of God, he broke his bands and beat a thousand soldiers with the jawbone of an ass. After this feat, he felt a strong thirst, called out to God, and immediately a spring (yamina in Lech) opened before him, which was later called the source of the caller. Having shown himself thus as an ascetic of warfare and at the same time as an ascetic of faith, Samson subsequently showed by his example that great people can have great weaknesses. Once he came to Gaza and entered the house of a harlot. The inhabitants of Gaza, having learned about this, locked the city gates and guarded in order to catch and kill him. But Samson approached the gate at night, lifted them with their ropes and locks on his shoulders and carried them to the top near the lying mountain. Such an extraordinary experience of the terrible power of Samson aroused in the Philistines a desire to know why he had such power. And so they turned to Delilah, another Philistine woman whom Samson passionately loved, with a request to find out the secret of his extraordinary strength. Hiding this from her for a long time, he finally revealed to her that he was a Nazirite to God, and that a razor had never passed over his head, and that if you cut it off, then the strength would leave him. Then Delilah, during his sleep, ordered to cut his hair, and indeed the power of God forsook him. The called Philistines took him, gouged out his eyes, brought him to Gaza, bound him with two copper chains and set him to grind in the house of the prisoners. It is very likely that in this state Samson cleansed his former sins by repentance and his strength grew along with his hair. On the feast of Dagon, the Philistines ordered him to be brought into their congregation to mock him. They laughed at him and slapped him, and finally placed him between the pillars of the building. Then Samson said to the boy who was leading him to bring him closer to the pillars on which the building was established, and, feeling them, for the last time appealed to God for help, and, resting against them, one with his right hand, and the other with his left hand , shook them with such force that the whole building collapsed, and at his death he killed the enemies more than during his life. All the circumstances of his life and exploits are detailed in the book. Judges (XIII-XVI). St. app. Paul, listing the believers, also mentions Samson as an ascetic of the true faith (
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 but 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!
