Summary of the legend of Samson tearing the mouth of a lion. Bible Tales: Samson and Delilah

Heroes of today's story:

Samson is an Israeli hero who became famous in the wars with the Philistines. Samson's strength was in his hair, which he didn't have to cut.
One day a lion attacked him, and Samson tore him to pieces with his bare hands. In one of the battles with the Philistines, he beat a thousand soldiers with the jawbone of an ass. Love for the Philistine Delilah killed Samson.

Delilah is a Philistine woman who fell in love with the Israeli hero Samson. The Philistines, who fought with the Israelites, persuaded Delilah to find out from Samson the secret of his strength.

Samson and Delilah

Amorous Samson fell into the net of a Philistine woman named Delilah, who lived in the house of Sorek. Although Samson waged war with the Philistines, killed more than one thousand people, this quick-tempered, impulsive madman was distinguished by one weakness: he was unusually amorous. When he lost his head because of some wayward wench, he turned into a meek lamb.

Michelangelo Samson and Delilah 1530

The insidious Delilah was not worth his love. The Philistine leaders came to her and said: "Convince him, and find out what his great power is, and how we can overcome him, in order to bind him and subdue him; and we will give you for that every one thousand one hundred shekels of silver." The greedy woman's eyes lit up at the thought of such wealth.

She waited for the next tender meeting and with the most innocent look asked her lover what was the secret of his great strength. However, Samson, taught by the bitter experience of his previous marriage, began to be more careful and not so easy to blurt out secrets. He decided to play a trick on a curious woman and confided to her, allegedly in the greatest secret, that he would immediately lose all his strength if he was tied with seven damp bowstrings.

The traitor waited tensely for the night to fulfill her plan. When Samson fell asleep, she tied him with seven bowstrings, quietly slipped out of the house and brought the Philistines. Returning to the bedroom, she shouted, as if in fright: "Samson! The Philistines are coming at you."

Jean-Francois Rigaud Samson and Delilah 1784

The hero jumped up, as if scalded, from the bed, tore to shreds the bowstrings that were hampering him, and with a mocking laugh followed the conspirators who were running away as fast as they could. Delilah claimed that she, too, was asleep, and that the best proof of her innocence was that she warned him in time. Samson pretended to believe her, but when the sly woman again began to pester him to reveal the secret of his strength, he decided to have fun and play with her like a cat with a mouse. Pretending that he succumbed to her pleas and spells, Samson confided to Delilah some secret he had invented on the move and calmly fell asleep in her arms.

The cunning woman pouted and denied her voluptuous lover favor, poisoned his life with whims and complaints, and finally brought him to the point that, for his own peace of mind, he blurted out the truth to her: "The razor did not touch my head; for I am the Nazarene of God from my mother's womb But if you cut my hair, then my strength will depart from me, I will become weak, and I will be like other people.

Delilah immediately notified her countrymen to come to her with the promised monetary reward. Meanwhile, she herself put Samson to sleep on her knees and ordered the barber to cut off seven braids from his head.

Detail of the bench of the City Hall in Tallinn, first quarter of the 15th century
Albrecht Aldorfer Samson and Delilah 1506

Albrecht Dürer Delilah cutting Samson's hair

Jacob Maham Samson and Delilah 1613

Then, waking Samson, she pushed him away with contempt and drove him out of the house.

Giovanni Battista Langetti Samson 1660

At that very moment, the Philistines ran up. Samson rushed at them, not knowing that he had been cut off and that he was deprived of his strength as punishment for breaking the Nazarene vow. After a short fight, the Philistines overcame Samson, put him in chains, gouged out his eyes and triumphantly led him to a mockery, and then pushed him into a dark dungeon, where, chained to a horse drive, he had to turn the millstones.

Julius von Karolsfeld Samson and Delilah

Guercino Samson captured by the Philistines 1619

Peter Paul Rubens The Captivity of Samson 1609-10

Peter Paul Rubens The Captivity of Samson 1612-15

Anthony van Dyck Samson and Delilah 1625

Rembrandt Blinding of Samson 1636

Solomon Joseph Solomon Samson and Delilah

Imprisoned in prison, Samson bitterly repented of all his many voluntary and involuntary sins, revelry, robberies and obscene adventures, and, apparently, the sky, in the end, had mercy on him.
The hair began to grow back quickly, and with them the strength began to return. Samson tried in every possible way to hide his growing power: he pretended to be weak and even infirm, barely, as if with the last of his strength, turned the millstones of his mill and did not even respond to ridicule, only sometimes, as if in a fading voice, asking for mercy. The Philistines were quite used to the idea that their captive and blind Samson was defenseless and frail.

The Philistines decided to celebrate the victory over their greatest enemy with sacrifices and a great feast in the temple of their god Dagon. It was a tall building supported by strong pillars. The spacious courtyard was surrounded by columns, porticos on the first floor and loggias on the second. Many guests gathered there, everyone was noisily having fun. The Philistines, desperate lovers of festivities and revels, drank not only wine, they were also lovers of beer.

The fun was in full swing, the noise intensified, and the slaves had to run a lot in order to fill the goblets in time. The intoxicated guests demanded that Samson entertain them with music; they brought him out of the dungeon and forced a seven-stringed harp into his hands.

The blind giant, humiliated by everything that happened to him, stood in the temple between two columns and dutifully played on the strings a melody that his mother once sang to him. But the drunken revelers did not listen. They brought Samson only to enjoy the sight of his fall and thus take revenge on him for all the moments of fear, for all the insults that they suffered from him.

Lovis Corinth Samson 1910

Pale as a corpse, with empty eye sockets, Samson patiently endured bullying and insults. He seemed to be helpless and mentally broken. Nobody knew what he was going through at that moment.

Quietly moving his lips, he whispered with a prayer: "Lord, God! remember me, and strengthen me only now, oh, God! so that I can once avenge my eyes on the Philistines." Then he said to the boy who brought him out of the dungeon: "Bring me up so that I can feel the pillars on which the house is built, and lean against them." The lad fulfilled his request.
Then Samson wrapped his arms around the two pillars and loudly exclaimed: "Die, my soul, with the Philistines!" There was a sudden silence in the temple of Dagon, people jumped up from their seats and looked at the blind man with fear. At the same moment, Samson tensed his muscles and pulled the pillars with all his might. The temple collapsed with a monstrous roar, burying the hero and three thousand Philistines who feasted there under its ruins.

F.S. Zavyalov Samson destroys the temple of the Philistines 1836

Illustration for the Bible in German "Samson Destroying the Temple" 1882

Countrymen bought the body of a hero who preferred to die than live in slavery and humiliation. Samson was buried in the grave of his father Manoah, and since then the story of his life has been proudly remembered.

Materials of WIKIPEDIA and sites.

The story of the life and death of Samson (Shimshon) has many ambiguities. The message that Samson judged Israel for twenty years, due to its lapidarity and incoherence with the narrative, looks like a late insert in order to find a hero, whose memory has been preserved among the people, a place among the Israeli leaders - judges.

In the guise of Samson and in his exploits there are many features inherent in the heroes of the peoples of the Aegean, especially Hercules: innocence, unbridledness, love of love. Just like Hercules, Samson is a lion-slayer. Because of the woman, both of them fall into slavery. The strength of Samson, attributed to Yahweh, is a late, introduced feature. In Samson there is nothing of either a judge or a hero of typical Israeli myths, and even more so of a Nazarene, who must be abstinent, not drink wine, not touch corpses, not waste his energy on women, especially foreign women.

For forty years Israel groaned under the power of the Philistines and, seeing their strength, did not even think about deliverance. And Yahweh wished to raise the spirit of his people, and sent a messenger from the land of the tribe of Dan to Zorah 1, instructing him to meet with the wife of a man named Manoah, who was barren. Meeting with her, the messenger said:

Here you are barren and do not give birth, but soon you will give birth to a son. Beware of wine and strong drink, do not drink anything intoxicating and do not eat anything unclean - for your son will be the Nazarene of God. Let him not eat anything that the vine produces, drink neither wine nor strong drink, touch anything unclean, and let no scissors touch his head. And it will be given to him to save Israel from the power of the Philistines.

Having said this, the herald departed. And indeed, soon a son was born to Manoah, who was named Samson.

When Samson was already a young man and got to the city of Timna, he saw a beautiful Philistine woman there and followed her to her father's house. And then he returned to his parents and announced his desire to them. Samson's father and mother had no idea that this was not a whim of his son, but the Spirit of Yahweh in him was looking for an opportunity to take revenge on the Philistines.

Why do you need a Philistine, my son? Are there not enough brides among our people? the parents asked.

But since Samson stood his ground, his parents went with him to Timna. When the road cut through the vineyard surrounding the city, a menacing roar was heard. The Spirit of Yahweh entered Samson, and he went towards the lion, and tore apart the terrible predator with his bare hands, as if it were a newborn goat.

In Timna, Samson was talking to a girl he liked. After some time, he again appeared with her to arrange a wedding. At the same time, he made a detour to look at the corpse of a lion, the work of his own hands, and, to his surprise, saw that a swarm of bees was hovering over his mouth.

He took out honey and, continuing on his way, ate it and left it to his parents without telling them that the honey came from the corpse of a lion he had killed. Then his father went to the woman whom Samson had betrothed. And, according to the customs of that time, a wedding feast took place. Samson caused fear among the Philistines, so they sent thirty young men to be guests at his wedding. Samson addressed them:

I want to give you a riddle. If during the wedding, which will last seven days, you solve it, you will receive thirty linen garments and the same number of cloaks. Don't guess, give it all to me.

We agree! answered the Philistines in unison. Then he said:

From the devourer came grub, from the strong - sweetness. Days passed, but the wedding guests could not solve the riddles.

On the fourth day they turned to Samson's wife:

Persuade your husband to solve his riddle, otherwise we will burn you along with your stepfather's house. After all, not to rob, they called us to the wedding.

Then the woman threw herself on Samson's neck, weeping, and said to him:

You don't love me at all and make me suffer. Why did you ask a riddle to my fellow tribesmen, but I don't know it?

Why should I solve a riddle for you when I didn't solve it for my father and mother! Samson objected.

She wept for seven days in a row, all the time of the wedding feast. On the seventh day, Samson took pity on her and solved the riddle for her. She conveyed the decision to the sons of her people, and the Philistines answered before sunset that the dead lion had become food and sweetness.

You would not have guessed my riddle, - Samson said with annoyance, - if you had not plowed on my heifer.

After that, the Spirit of Yahweh descended on Samson, and he went to Ascalon, and killed thirty Philistine men there. He took off everything that was on them, and gave it to those who solved his riddle. Then he returned in anger to his father's house.

After some time, during the harvest days, Samson took the goat and went to his wife. His father blocked his path.

I want to go to my wife's bedroom! he said to him.

And it seemed to me, - answered the father-in-law, - that you hated her. So I gave your wife to one of the wedding guests. But isn't my youngest daughter prettier than her? You can visit her.

Samson shouted in rage:

Now I'll be right! Right, if I make a notch in the memory of the Philistines!

And he ran out of the city, caught three hundred foxes, tied them in pairs with their tails, put them in the middle of a burning torch and drove the Philistines to the arable land. The freshly folded mop, and the uncompressed cornfield, and the olive orchards burned down. The Philistines ran between the haystacks, asking, "Who did this?"

And those who were at the wedding answered:

Samson, son-in-law of the Timnites who took his wife. Then the Philistines broke into the city and burned the house

the one who caused their crops to be burned. Samson said:

Although you have done so, I will not rest until I have avenged you.

With these words, he rushed at the Philistines and broke their legs, and then withdrew, choosing for himself the gorge of Etam in the lands of Judah, a tribe that paid tribute to the Philistines. The Philistines, armed, followed him and reached Lehi. The elders were frightened and came to the soldiers to find out what they were guilty of.

You let in Samson, who harmed us. Give him away and we'll leave.

And three thousand warriors from the tribe of Judah went to the gorge under Mount Etam, and they turned to Samson:

Why are you here? Don't you know that the Philistines rule over us, and you have harmed them?

What they have done to me, I have done to them! Samson replied.

So we have come to tie you up and hand you over to them.

Knit! said Samson, holding out his hands. But swear you won't kill me.

And the soldiers of Judah tied him with two new ropes, and took him to the Philistines in Lech. Seeing Samson, the Philistines ran to meet him. And then the Spirit of Yahweh descended on Samson again, and the ropes on his hands were torn, as if they were from rotten flax. And Samson began to fumble with his eyes, looking for something to hit them. and beat a thousand men with it. And he sang, rejoicing in his victory.

donkey jaw

Crowd, two crowds 2,

donkey jaw

Killed a thousand people!

Samson dropped his jaw as soon as he sang it. Since then, that place has been called Ramat-Lehi (Mountain-Jaw).

Then a great thirst fell upon Samson, and he called to the Lord:

Behold, you saved me, your servant, and now I will die of thirst and fall into the hands of the Philistines.

Yahweh heard these words, opened the earth, and water gushed out. Samson drank spring water and came to life. This source has been preserved in Lehi to this day and is called the “Source of the Caller”.

After that day Samson judged Israel for twenty years. One day he went to Gaza. Seeing a prostitute sitting by her house, he went in to her. It was then that the Philistines saw Samson and remembered how many he had destroyed. They decided to set up an ambush in order to kill the enemy at dawn when he leaves the city. Guessing what awaits him, Samson did not wait for dawn, he went out when it was still dark. Leaving Gaza, he broke down its gate along with the jamb, put them on his back and carried them to the top of the mountain, which is east of Hebron. Those who were in ambush saw that there were no gates in the city, and howled like the wolves of the desert, for for the city to lose the gate is the same as for a warrior - a shield.

Samson walked light into the valley of Sorek. There he met the beautiful Philistine Delilah, whom he fell in love with at first sight. The rulers of the Philistines found out about this and rejoiced, confident that now they would put an end to the mighty enemy. Appearing to Delilah, they promised a lot of silver if she knew how to defeat Samson in order to bind and pacify him.

Caressing Samson, Delilah asked him how to bind him in order to overcome him, and whether it was possible.

Maybe! Samson replied between kisses. - It is necessary to tie me with seven ropes, fresh, not yet dry.

The Philistines who were hiding in the next room heard these words. As soon as the heroic snoring was heard, they handed over the rawhide belts to the insidious woman. Delilah wrapped them around Samson seven times, but when he woke up, he broke the bonds with such ease, as if it were a tow burnt by fire.

And many more times, reproaching Samson of insincerity and deceit, Delilah tried to find out the secret of his strength, until he, having had enough of her caresses, opened his heart to her.

The razor did not touch my head, because I am the Nazarene of God from my mother's womb. Until the scissors touch my head, the strength given to me by the Lord will not leave me.

And Delilah realized that this time Samson had not deceived her. And with joy she called the Philistines. And they came with the silver they had promised. She had already lulled him with caresses on her knees and called for the barber, who cut seven braids from his head. After that she shouted:

The Philistines are against you, Samson!

Samson rushed, but could not cope with the enemies that had fallen on him, because strength receded from him along with his hair.

The Philistines snatched out knives and, gouging out Samson's eyes, brought him to Gaza, which he disgraced, they chained him with two copper chains and took him to the guard's house, so that he, along with other prisoners, would turn a stone millstone. So he lived for several months, and his hair began to grow.

The holiday of the great god of the Philistines Dagon 4 was approaching. It was decided to commemorate it with a solemn sacrifice. The people gathered visibly-invisibly, and everyone rejoiced, glorifying Dagon. Then they remembered that Dagon had given them into the hands of the one who devastated their fields and killed many of them. They ordered to bring Samson. He was all white with flour, only the fetters gleamed on his arms and legs. The Philistines began to spit at Samson and throw whatever they could get at him. They showered him with curses and dishonored God, who did not want to save him. Since not everyone in the crowd could see how Samson was being mocked, many climbed onto the flat roof of the temple and watched from there. Samson endured shame and pain in silence. When the enemies were fed up with his humiliations, he called the guide boy to him and said to him in an undertone:

Lead me to the two pillars on which the roof is, so that I can lean against them.

The boy complied with his request. And Samson prayed to Yahweh:

Oh Lord, remember me and make it so that I can avenge the Philistines for both my eyes.

After that, Samson rested with both hands on two supporting pillars.

The temple shook. Those who watched Samson from the roof - and there were three thousand men and women - fell to the ground.

And then Samson exclaimed:

Die, my soul, with the Philistines!

He once again pushed the columns, and the temple collapsed, burying under its ruins everyone who was inside and on the roof. And there were more killed at his death than he had killed in his entire life. After that, Samson's tribesmen and the whole family came, removed Samson's corpse and buried his father Manoah in the crypt.

1 Zorah, Eshtaoya, Timna, Etom, Ramat-Lehi, Hebron, the So river valley - the settlements and areas appearing in the story of Samson belonged to the territory adjacent to the possessions of the Philistines and belonging to their sphere of influence.

2 Play on words: the donkey and the crowd in the Hebrew language were denoted by words close in sound.

3 Delilah (Heb.) - "Shame".

4 Starting from 2500 BC. e. Dagon was revered throughout Mesopotamia. His temple in Mari was decorated with bronze figures. His veneration has been certified in Bet-Shean during the time of Saul and David (XI-X centuries BC) and in Ashdod during the time of the Maccabees (III century BC). Dagon means "fish" in Semitic languages. On the coins of Arvad and Ashkelon, he was depicted with a fish tail.

"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 yanked 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.

It so happened that the Israelites, stronger than all other nations, were oppressed by the Philistines. The Philistines were warlike and strong, lived in fortified cities by the sea and were a real danger. They raided the Israelites, took their property for themselves, destroyed entire villages, all this went on for forty years.

The Lord, seeing this, sent Samson the strong man to his people. Samson's mother did not have children for a long time, but one day someone told her that she would give birth to a son. Before the birth of the child, she had to lead a particularly pious lifestyle, not drinking wine and not eating pork. After the birth of a child, he was not allowed to cut his hair, the knife should not touch his head, because the child will be dedicated to God.

Samson's mother was surprised and told her husband about this phenomenon, the husband asked the guest who reported this news to enter the house, but he refused, and Samson's father ordered to sacrifice a goat to the Lord. The flame above the altar carried away a mysterious messenger into the sky… It was the Angel of the Lord.

Samson really grew incredibly strong and once defeated a lion that attacked him with his bare hands. He protected the Israelites from the Philistine raids, but he himself fell in love with the young Philistine Delilah and married her. At the wedding, Samson asked those present a riddle that the Philistines could not solve and sent his wife to him with a request to tell the answer. After the wife found out the answer, she immediately told it to her compatriots. Samson got angry and punished 30 Philistines. Thus began their 20-year confrontation. The Philistines, dreaming of defeating Samson, came to Delilah and promised her many silver coins if she learned the secret of Samson's extraordinary strength.

Delilah, who had never known such wealth, betrayed her lover and asked how to defeat him. Samson told Delilah that if he was tied with new damp ropes, he would not break free. Delilah did just that when Samson fell asleep and woke him up, exclaiming “Samson! The Philistines are coming at you." Samson got up and broke the ropes. Delilah realized that she had been deceived and asked again to reveal the secret. Then Samson said that if only his hair was woven into a cloth and nailed to the log, he would lose his strength. Delilah did just that when Samson fell asleep again. Samson was able to free himself again.

Angry, Delilah threatened Samson that she would leave him if he did not tell the truth, and Samson was forced to admit that the strength lies in his hair.

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.

And as she weighed him down with her words every day and tormented him, his soul became heavy to death. And he opened his whole heart to her, and said to her:

The razor did not touch my head, for I am a Nazarite of God from my mother's womb; but if you cut me, my strength will depart from me; I will become weak and be like other people.

Delilah, seeing that he had opened his whole heart to her, sent and called the owners of the Philistines, saying to them:

Go now; he opened his whole heart to me.

Then Delilah made Samson drunk with wine and called the Philistines, who cut off seven braids from Samson's head. Delilah received the promised payment, and Samson was captured, tortured, gouged out his eyes and thrown into prison, where he was forced to turn the millstones that grind the grain.

Once the Philistines gathered for a feast in honor of the pagan god Dagon. Cheered up, they asked to bring a blind strong man to mock him. But Samson's hair had already grown by that time. Having quietly prayed for his strength to return, Samson, exclaiming “die, my soul, with the Philistines,” brought down the roof of the house. Under the rubble, he himself died along with the Philistines who tortured him.

The legend of Samson and Delilah: interpretation

The story of Samson and Delilah teaches us a lot, and it's not just about:

• betrayal;
• disappointment;
• Pain;

Samson began to resist the Philistines not only to protect the Israelites, personal grievances moved him and his physical blindness became a symbol of spiritual blindness and loss of orientation. The power that the Lord gave him to protect him from enemies, Samson used for other purposes. The story of Samson and Delilah is the story of the eternal struggle between good and evil for the soul of man.

L. Giordano “Samson and Delilah”

Historical facts

It is known that the Philistines in those days did indeed raid the Israelites.

Samson (Hebrew שִׁמְשׁוֹן‎, Shimshon). In Hebrew, the name Samson presumably means "servant" or "sunny."

Samson - famous hero, judge (ruler) from the Israelite tribe of Dan, famous for his exploits in the fight against the Philistines.

In modern Israel, the name Shimshon is a rarity. Repatriation from the countries of the former USSR added a certain number of Samsons, but the most notable Samson of the Promised Land in recent years can be called a Nigerian footballer named Samson Siasia.

In the biblical text, an indication that Samson tears apart the mouth of a lion, absent. The Book of Judges says this: "And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he tore [the lion] like a goat; and he had nothing in his hand."

Especially ironic the existence of an American company that has been producing various kinds of ropes and ropes for 130 years and is also called “Samson” (did you forget that Shimshon broke the fetters that fettered him without difficulty?). However, on the company's logo, Samson is depicted at a different moment - here he tears the lion's mouth. By the way, in the USA it is the oldest of all the still active registered trademarks.

The exploits of Samson are described in the Book of Judges (Judges 13-16).

According to the prediction Samson was born in order to save the Jewish people from the Philistines, under whose yoke the Jews were for forty years. And he will begin the salvation of Israel from the hand of the Philistines. (Judg. 13:5)

In the Soviet Union, the exotic name Samson was found among Jews, Georgians and Armenians.

Fountain "Samson tearing apart the mouth of a lion." According to the original plan, in the center of the Grand Cascade in Peterhof, there was to be a figure of Hercules defeating the Lernean Hydra, but during construction, Hercules was replaced by Samson tearing the mouth of a lion.

Samson (fountain, Peterhof)- tearing apart the mouth of a lion "of the Peterhof park by Russian sculptor Mikhail Ivanovich Kozlovsky Samson has short hair. Since 1947, "Samson" has been gilded several times - in the 1950s, 1970s, in the 1990s: gilding under continuous streams of water requires frequent renewal.

Samson (fountain, Kyiv) - The first statue of Samson tearing the mouth of a lion appeared on this site in 1749. It was designed by the architect Ivan Grigorovich-Barsky. At the same time, water flowed into the reservoir through the raw pipes. It was the very first water pipe in Kyiv. . On the eve of the celebration of the 1500th anniversary of Kyiv, it was recreated according to the surviving copy (now it can be seen in the National Art Museum of Ukraine).

Samson (fountain in Bern) - (German: Simsonbrunnen) stands in the Kramgasse lane in Bern, Switzerland. It is one of the famous Bernese fountains of the 16th century. The figure of the fountain represents the famous biblical hero Samson, who tears the mouth of a lion. In the 16th century, Samson was the personification of strength and was identified with the ancient Greek hero Hercules.

In 2010 Israeli archaeologists have completed excavations of an ancient synagogue in the Lower Galilee. The most impressive find was the mosaic floor, perfectly preserved despite the 17th and 18th centuries that have passed since its creation.

The found mosaic is unique in that it depicts biblical scenes (until now, during the excavations of the Galilean synagogues, only ornaments were found, but not images of people). One of the mosaic fragments shows and a battle scene between a giant and three warriors. After much deliberation, the researchers came to the conclusion that before them is the biblical Shimshon, or, as he is usually called in Russian, Samson.

Identify Galilean Shimshon was helped by Christian iconography. The fact is that the picture found on the mosaic floor of the synagogue strikingly resembled a wall painting in one of the Roman catacombs, created around the same period and depicting this particular Jewish hero. Even greater was the similarity of the mosaic with the images of the battles of Shimshon in later Byzantine manuscripts. Thus, the identification was recognized as having taken place.

Samson, being devoted to God, wore long hair, which served as the source of his extraordinary strength.

Bible Story of Samson- 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.

A few years ago, archaeologists found in Israel the seal of Samson, the biblical hero who tore a lion with his hands and killed a thousand Philistines with the jaw of a dead donkey.

Once, on the way to his bride, Samson killed a lion with his bare hands.

According to the Bible Samson was buried in the family tomb between Zorah and Eshtaol.

The Book of Judge reports that Samson "judged" Israel for 20 years (15:20; 16:31).

Paintings on the themes of the story of Samson were painted by the artists A. Mantegna, Tintoretto, L. Cranach, Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Rubens and others.

Samson as a symbol of power went far beyond Jewish culture, and indeed high culture in general. For example, when at the beginning of the twentieth century the American Jess Schweider, the owner of the Shwayder Trunk Manufacturing Company, came up with a particularly strong suitcase, he, without thinking twice, decided to call it "Samson". The name was so loved that in 1941 Schweider registered the Samsonite trademark, which 25 years later became the name of the company, and then the world famous brand.