Samson - The Biblical Superman Who Fell Victim To A Woman

Beautiful? Yes. Seductive and cruel? Well, so they say, and that's how modern people remember Delilah.

Even though being portrayed as some sort of Superman in The Old Testament (Judges 16) the Israelite Samson had the misfortune to fall in love with the seductive Delilah. What he didn't know was that she was a Philistine, had been paid to entrap him to reveal the source of his uncommon strength. 

As he was known to fight lions, hands to claws, and to always win all of his fights he was an uncommonly strong adversary who had to be curbed for the Philistines to win over the Israelites. Before these enemies of Israel came to think of Delilah and her use as a seductress many, according to legend actually an entire army, had been slain by Samson using nothing but the jawbone of a donkey. Everything about him seemed supernatural, but Delilah proved that when it came to love and sex he was not one of the most difficult men to handle. Was he naive when he revealed the source of his strength? Yes, definitely and very much in love although he, being born a Nazirite, was meant to live a chaste and law abiding life and certainly not marry a Philistine woman.

Eye to eye? Yes, but Delilah is out to cheat her lover, Samson into betraying his secret

When he told her that the source of his uncommon strength was his long, uncut hair, she took advantage of him. When he fell asleep she had a servant to cut off his hair. Also he was blinded by the Philistine who then used him as a strong, blind "working machine", forcing him to grind grain in a mill at Gaza. However, they forgot to keep an eye on his hair so they didn't notice when it grew out again, which according to legend was the first step in giving him back his lost strength. Well, before that he had the chance of proving a certain amount of slyness after having been such a fool with Delilah: The Philistine brought him into their temple of Dagon, and when he asked for permission to rest against the pillars they gave him leave to do so. Resting he prays to his god, Jahwe, and fast as lightning he regains his full strength, tears down the pillars of the Philistine temple, thus kills both himself and a lot of Philistines when the rubble hit them.

Wow, what a hero, but what about Delilah? What happened to her? It's not known which makes it even more ironic that she and her name is what have been remembered of the legend, and not as much the strongman, Samson. As it is most see her as the epitome of the sexy, treacherous and basically sinful woman although she is not the one who are being led by her sexual drive. It's very typical that the male's behavior which in this case means that he doesn't live up to his obligations as a Nazirite in the end is blamed on the woman. She is not the one being driven by sexual urges, he is, but she is blamed for making him feel what he feels. It's like reading about the way Middle East women are being seen by the men of their faith an nation ....

https://www.grunge.com/494258/the-untold-truth-of-samson-and-delilah/ 

 

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Delilah 

 

Wikipedia