National Geographic explores notable biblical figures in our ongoing series People in the Bible, as part of our coverage of the history of the Bible and the search for sacred texts.
Samson was born in the village of Zorah. As he grew up, he became a man of almost superhuman strength. Once, while visiting a Philistine girl from the village of Timnah, he killed a lion with his bare hands. Samson wanted to marry the girl, despite his parents’ misgivings about their son marrying outside his tribe. Samson persisted and staged a great wedding feast, but it ended with a violent fight. The bride was married to someone else (Judges 14:19-20).
Samson’s weakness for beautiful Philistine women soon drove him into the arms of Delilah. The Philistines offered her a large sum of money if she could discover the source of Samson’s strength. Samson, suspecting what was afoot, fed her several false
DON'T MISS THE REST OF THIS STORY!
Create a free account to continue and get unlimited access to hundreds of Nat Geo articles, plus newsletters.
