Samson and Delilah: The Original Tale

Shortly before Samson’s birth, his mother was visited by an angel. The Israelites had suffered 40 years of enslavement by the Philistines, and the angel declared that the as-yet unborn child would be a “judge” sent by God to deliver the Israelites from bondage. To this end, the boy would grow into a warrior of unsurpassed strength. There was just one catch: He could never cut his hair. Even as a child, Samson displayed a strength verging on the miraculous. When menaced by a lion, he slaughtered the beast with his bare hands. When attacked by a Philistine regiment, he slew 1,000 soldiers with the jawbone of a single donkey. And yet, for all his physical strength, Samson was not without certain weaknesses. He was impetuous, prone to angry outbursts, and totally uninterested in delayed gratification. When he wanted something, he took it—with little or no concern for the consequences.

One day, Samson saw Delilah, a woman from the Valley of Sorek, and promptly fell in love. Delilah’s interest in Samson, however, was considerably less romantic: The Philistine elders, weary from being vanquished by Samson on the battlefield, had offered her a large quantity of silver if she could uncover the secret of Samson’s strength. Throwing caution to the wind, Samson started an affair with the unknown woman. Soon thereafter, Delilah’s manipulation began. Repeatedly, she told Samson that if he truly loved her, he would tell her the secret of his great strength. First, Samson told Delilah that he would lose his power if bound with seven fresh bowstrings. That night, Delilah called the Philistines to bind Samson with fresh bowstrings; waking up the next morning, Samson simply flexed his muscles and the bowstrings snapped. Delilah was furious that Samson had lied to her. Again, she demanded to know the secret of Samson’s strength, and again Samson lied. Finally, however, beguiled by Delilah’s charms—or, in some versions of the story, simply worn down by Delilah’s persistence—Samson told Delilah the truth: If his hair were cut, he would be as weak as any other man. The next morning, he awoke to find himself shorn, blinded, and imprisoned by the Philistines.

The Philistines congratulated themselves on defeating the great warrior. Samson, meanwhile, was left to languish in prison. One night, the Philistine elders threw a great banquet. They called for Samson to be brought to the banquet hall, where he was tied to a pillar and forced to listen to the laughs and jeers of the crowd. During the long weeks of Samson’s captivity, however, his hair had inevitably begun to grow back, and his lost strength had slowly returned. Now, amid the reveling Philistines, Samson realized that his opportunity for revenge had come. He leaned forward and, pulling with all his might, broke the stone pillar in two. The roof of the building came crashing down, crushing everyone below.