Samson's account is in the book of Judges (13-16). If he did fail morally, sexually with women, and with the call that God placed on his life. Why would the writer of Hebrews some 1,500 years later record his name in the Chapter 11 "hall of faith." Is this a contradiction?

[This message has been edited by Cornerstone (edited January 16, 2001).]

Conerstone, Samson did fail (like David), but he repented at the end of his life. He had faith that God would give him his strength back long enough to bring about divine justice. Through his faith in God, he regained his strength and "brought the house down" though it ended his life as well. I personally think he was pretty faithful and valiant in the end but kinda played around in between like most of us.

Ish

I'm going to have to go back and read the story again, but wasn't Sampson's only 'act of faith' not allowing his hair to be cut? The rest of the time he was carousing with Philistine women and partying it up, right?

Sampson, the Jewish Heracles, I think all cultures have a big strong guy mythology, Gilgamesh chopped down all the trees in the Cedar Forests of Lebanon & brought them to build Babylon!

What do we know about Sampson? Who was he? We know that his sire was an angel, and, since angels are Pharisees, he would be a Pharisee. His wife was a heifer implying an adulteress.
I wonder, could Sampson and Sameul be the same subject?

just curious,
Offa

Offa, what the heck!?

Angels are pharisees? Sampson = Samuel?

I'm afraid I do not follow...

Ish

Thanks Ish for your kind reply. I was hoping someone out there had done some research on the Samson account and had some insight that might shed some light on his character. Offa your reply was well... interesting thankyou so much.

The Samson story is likely an allegory about the Sun. Consider his long hair, and how his name sounds like the Hebrew word for Sun, _shemesh_, if memory serves me correctly.

Likewise, with that same caveat, Delilah's name sounds like the Hebrew word for "night". And the hair cutting is something like what the Sun looks like near the horizon.

Ipetrich:
"The Samson story is likely an allegory about the Sun."

I guess anything is possible, but given the nature of Hebrew writing, I doubt it is an allegorical story. Samson's story is part of a larger work, a non-fictional (though *perhaps* legendarily enhanced) account of the Hebrew "judges".

Ipetrich:
"...his name sounds like the Hebrew word for Sun, _shemesh_..."

That is because Samson's name meant, generally, "like the sun" and *is* derived from the Hebrew word for sun "_shemesh_" as you put it. In Hebrew, this was more than likely a description of his stregth and power.

Ipetrich:
"...Delilah's name sounds like the Hebrew word for "night"..."

It would look similar and sound somewhat similar to the Hebrew word for night - Leyla.
However, the name has a "De" or the Hebrew Daleth tacked onto the beginning. "De" is not used as a prefix of any sort, so it is actually part of the word root. Therefore, the name Delilah is derived from the word "Dalal" which means something like "feeble". The "ah" on the end of "Delilah" is the way in which feminine words are commonly ended.

Ipetrich:
"Consider his long hair..."
"And the hair cutting is something like what the Sun looks like near the horizon."

Interesting, but I think more is being read in here than should be.

His long hair had to do with the fact that he was dedicated as a "Nazarite". The "Nazarite vows" are found starting in Numbers 6:2. Numbers 6:5 mentions that the Nazarite's hair is never to come under the razor (not to be cut).

By telling Delilah that his hair was his strength through the "Nazarite vow" of dedication to God, he enabled her to nullify his vow by cutting his hair. Subsequently, he lost his strength. As his hair began to grow back in captivity, he asked God to give him one last ounce of strength.

There are more points to the story that must be taken into account for this to be any sort of "nature allegory".

Respectfully,
Ish

got to take issue with the use of FAITH and Samson in the same breath

faith denotes belief without evidence

according to the story, Samson had evidence of God as soon as he lost his strength after his hair was cut, therefore, he did not show faith, rather he begged that god grant him one last bit of strength, with evidence that God could possibly grant his request