Samson+and+Delilah

= ﻿Samson and Delilah = Elena Lansing, Carlene Blaugher, Ashley Hollister

__**The Basics:**__ The story of Samson and Delilah is more the story of Samson that includes a bit about a girl named Delilah. First told in the Old Testament, this tale begins when an angel visits Samson's parents and tells them their son will be born with special powers from God so long as they raise him as a Nazirite. He cannot cut his hair or drink wine lest he loose his gifts. And so, Samson is incredibly strong. Some of his greatest feats include tearing a lion in half, killing a thousand Philistine soldiers with a donkey's jaw bone, being a judge for twenty years, and tearing down a pagan temple killing himself and the thousands of worshipers inside. In short, on his way to wed a foreign woman (this never ends well in the Bible) Samson kills a lion. Later he notices that bees have made a hive in the lion's body so eats some honey and he uses the idea for a very tricky riddle to tell his new in-laws. The in-laws can't guess it and get Samson's new wife to wheedle the answer out of him over the next few days. Samson is so mad he kills them all later on. After this he has some adventures as a judge in a city, but he makes some enemies over the years, some of the pagan bad guys he has been putting in jail. When Samson becomes infatuated with a local woman named Delilah, they bribe the woman and are able to capture, maim, torture, and enslave Samson until his hair re-grows. At which time he topples the aforementioned temple. To read more: wikipedia story Bible Gateway

Samson is hero similar to Hercules in his foolishness.He possesses incredible strength, and is a fair judge, but is constantly being tricked by women. He is one of the few heroes of the Bible whose faults are not in some way minimized. No attempt is made to hide the fact that he is intensely lustful and overly trusting of pretty women. Twice he reveals important secrets because of the nagging of a woman. Both times it leads to his demise. For this reason, Samson represents man emasculated and brought down by the evil guiles of the temptress. This is best symbolized when Delilah cuts Samson’s hair while he sleeps in her lap. "Samson's hair was only a symbol of his pact with God. By allowing Delilah to cut his hair, Samson was breaking a sacred vow, and so God punished him by removing his great strength. Later, broken and humiliated by the Philistines, Samson repented and God restored his strength long enough for Samson to redeem himself by destroying their temple and killing himself."(e-how)
 * __Samson:__ [[image:samson-and-the-lion-by-lucas-cranach-the-elder.jpg width="341" height="500"]]**

It is a sad misconception when people think of the great love between Samson and Delilah. In truth, Delilah may or may not have been a prostitute, and regardless of her occupation used Samson’s feelings for her to sell him out to his enemies for a bag of silver. She is a temptress character,like the Serpent, Eve, or Ursula in The Little Mermaid. For three nights Delilah asks Samson for the secret to his strength. On the third night he finally spills the beans about his hair and falls asleep with his head in her lap. There she cuts his hair and calls in his enemies so they can haul the now helpless Samson off the jail where the gouge out his eyes and make him push the original treadmill around and around.
 * __Delilah:__ [[image:1.7-3_DELILAH_Hedy_Lamarr_in_the_film_Samson_and_Delilah.jpg]]**

-The jawbone of an ass -Killing lions -Lions and honey -Long hair -Women bringing down great men
 * __Tip Offs:__**

-Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" -Jane Eyre -The Incredible Hulk's "Doc Samson" -"Invincible" -Many, many cheesy hollywood films
 * __Also Seen In:__**