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 leads, frustrating the Philistine plots. (Read why human evolution favored brains over brawns.)
At long last, Delilah demanded that he reveal the secret. Samson confessed that he would lose his strength “if my head were shaved” (Judges 16:15- 17). While he slept, the faithless Delilah brought in a Philistine who cut Samson’s hair, draining his strength. The Philistines took him prisoner, gouged out his eyes, and forced him to work as a draft animal, turning a mill in a Gaza prison. (See how prehistoric women had stronger arms than modern athletes.)
Samson’s hair gradually grew back. One day, the Philistines held a ceremony in their temple devoted to the god Dagon. The assembly clamored to see Samson, and so he was brought out and tied between two pillars. As the crowd around him jeered, Samson prayed to God for a restoration of his powers, “only this once.” God granted his request; Samson pushed the pillars and brought down the temple roof, killing all those inside, including himself (Judges 16:30).
