Samson Samson

his father's home. But his longing for his Philistine wife sent h i m back to her village, bearing a k i d as a gift. Her embarrassed father refused to let h i m enter her r o o m , explaining that she had meantime been given to the Philistine who had acted as the best man at the wedding. He offered Samson her pretty younger sister as a substitute. Samson scorned this proposal, and claimed that this t ime he was clearly entitled to revenge himself on his wife's people.

He caught three hundred foxes, tied them together in pairs by their tails, put lighted torches between the tails and let them loose into the Philistine wheat-fields. I t was harvest t ime, and the fires destroyed the sheaves and the unreaped corn, as well as vineyards and olive groves.

The Philistines asked in consternation who had caused the damage. They were told that Samson had been getting his own back for what his wife's family had done to h i m . As a reprisal, the incensed farmers then set fire to the house o f the T imni te , and he and his daughter perished in the flames.

Again Samson reacted violently , and 'he smote them hip and thigh w i t h great slaughter' (Judg. 15:8). He then took refuge in a rock cleft at Etam, in the Judean hil ls .

By now what had started as a family incident at a wedding threatened to esca­late into a war. The Philistines sent an armed force into the terr i tory of the tribe o f Judah w i t h a demand that Samson be handed over to them. The men of Judah came to Samson's hiding-place and said to h i m : ' D o you not know that the Philistines are rulers over us? W h a t then is this that you have done to us?' (Judg. 15:11) Samson re­torted : 'As they did to me, so have I done to them. ' (Judg. 15:11) A l l the same he agreed to let his fel low-country­men bind h i m and hand h i m over, on a promise they would not try to k i l l him themselves. They tied h im up w i t h two

new ropes and brought h i m to the place where the Philistines were wai t ing .

But when his enemies shouted in t r i ­umph, the spirit of the L o r d came upon Samson and he snapped the cords that bound h i m , like 'flax that has caught fire' (Judg. 15:14). Catching sight of the jawbone of an ass, he snatched i t up, went on a rampage among the Philis­tines and slew a thousand of them. The place where he tossed away the curious weapon was named Ramath-lehi ('the H i l l o f the Jawbone'). After these exer­tions, Samson was overcome w i t h a burning thirst . The L o r d opened a hol low in the ground f rom which water gushed, and he was able to dr ink his fill and revive.

Some time later, Samson went to spend the night w i t h a harlot in Gaza. W o r d o f his presence got around and a group o f Gaza men set an ambush for h im near the city entrance, wai t ing for h i m to emerge in the early morning (since the city gates were closed at night) . Instead, he rose at midnight, wrenched off the gates together w i t h the t w o posts and bar, and carried them on his back to a hi l l top near Hebron, thirty-eight miles away.

S A M S O N A N D D E L I L A H

Samson once more indulged in his fond­ness for Philistine women. He fell in love w i t h Deli lah, who lived in the valley of Sorek near his home t o w n . A group of the Philistine chiefs came to her and offered to pay her eleven hundred silver shekels each i f she w o u l d wheedle out of Samson the secret of his abnormal strength, so that they could capture and hurt h i m . Pretending to satisfy her curi­osity, Samson told her that he would be helpless i f tied w i t h seven freshly-made bowstrings. Concealing armed men in her r o o m , Delilah tied her lover while he was sleeping, and then shouted, 'The Philistines are upon you, Samson!' (Judg. 16:9) He jumped up and snapped the cords w i t h ease. The same story was repeated w i t h unused ropes, and again

Samson Samuel

when she wove the locks of his hair into a web o f her loom and pegged it down. Each time he laughingly broke free, and the plot was thwarted.

Hav ing failed three times, she nagged h i m u n t i l 'his soul was vexed to death' (Judg. 16:16). In the end he disclosed to her that as he had been dedicated to the service o f God from b i r t h , his strength would fail h im i f his hair was shorn. Convinced this time that she had heard the t r u t h , she sent for the Philistines, who arrived w i t h the money in their hands. When he was asleep, w i t h his head i n her lap, Delilah called on one of the men to cut off Samson's hair, 'and his strength left h i m ' (Judg. 16:19). This time the Philistines were able to over­come and capture h i m . They put out his eyes, brought h im to Gaza, and set h im to w o r k turning the millstone in the prison.

The legendary strongman had sud­denly become an object o f derision and sport, led around helplessly by a boy:

'Promise was that I Should Israel from Phil istinian yoke

deliver: Ask for this great deliverer now, and

find h i m Eyeless in Gaza at the m i l l w i t h

slaves, Himsel f in bonds under Philistinian

yoke. ' ( M i l t o n : Samson Agonistes)

But some assurance o f divine grace crept back to h i m , as 'the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved' (Judg. 16:22).

A l l the leading Philistines gathered in the temple of their god Dagon, to offer sacrifices and celebrate the capture of theit enemy. (Dagon was a Canaanite Com god, whose cult was absorbed by the Philistines.) 'And when their hearts were merry, they said, " C a l l Samson, ill.11 he may make sport for u s . ' " (Judg.

The temple was fu l l , and three thousand more men and women . row ded 1 into the ro<>\o jeei 11 him.

Samson asked the boy to lead him by the hand to the t w o middle pillars sup­port ing the roof. When he stood be­tween them and felt them on either side w i t h his hands, he entreated the L o r d : 'remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be avenged upon the Philistines for one of my two eyes.' (Judg. 16:28) As his former power came surging back, he grasped the p i l ­lars, cried out, 'Let me die w i t h the Philistines' and 'bowed w i t h all his might ' (Judg. 16:30). The pillars cracked and collapsed and the bui lding crashed d o w n , k i l l ing its occupants together w i t h Samson.

The brawny fighter and the lover of women had become in his death a noble and tragic figure. His kinsfolk came to fetch his body and buried i t in the tomb of his father, between Zorah and Eshtaol, in the foothills o f his childhood.

Samson's name in Hebrew, Shimshon, is related to the w o r d for the sun, shemesh; the locality in which he lived centred on the t o w n o f Beth-shemesh, which means 'house o f the sun' ; and his power resided in the long hair radiating f rom his head, like the sun's rays. These facts, together w i t h some of his exploits, prompted some Bible scholars to suggest that Samson originated as a mythical sun-god, such as appears in other an cient religions. Legends may have grown up around h i m ; but the biblical story is so specific in time and place that Samson was undoubtedly a real person, pitting his great strength against the oppressors of his people. [Judg. 13—16]

Samuel (Heb. 'name of God') C. 1 1 cen tury B C . The last of the judges. The judges were individuals who exercised influence over the tribes <>l I s r a e l be­cause of their strong personality, moral stature, and the belief t h a t they had direct access to the Lord . They were a b l e t o rally t i n - tribes in s i l l defence, a m i t o s e t t l e d i s p u t e s . S . m i u e l , t h e

Samuel Samuel

reluctant king-maker, was the last and most dominant of these spontaneous leaders.

Samuel's father was Elkanah, f rom the t o w n o f Ramathaim-zophim, i n the hi l l country o f Ephraim. His mother, Hannah, was childless. O n one o f their annual pilgrimages to the religious centre at Shiloh, she vowed that i f she was given a son, he would be given to God's service.

In due t ime Hannah bore a chi ld she called Samuel, because the L o r d had heard her. When he was weaned she brought the infant to the shrine at Shiloh and left h i m to be reared by the priests, as she had promised. The chi ld Samuel helped w i t h the religious services, wear­ing a linen ephod or priestly apron. Each year Hannah came w i t h her husband to worship and brought the boy a coat she had made for h i m .

Twice one night Samuel thought he heard the voice of the aging high priest Eli and went to h i m , but was sent back to bed. The t h i r d time this happened Eli understood that i t was the L o r d calling to Samuel and to ld the boy to answer: 'Speak, L o r d , for thy servant hears.' ( i Sam. 3:9) When Samuel d id this, the Lord to ld h i m that Eli and his household would suffer for the misdeeds o f his t w o sons, the corrupt priests H o p h n i and Phinehas. 'Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel, at which the t w o ears of every one that hears it w i l l t ingle. ' (1 Sam. 3:11) N e x t morning, at Eli's insist­ence, Samuel reported to h i m what he had heard. This experience was a t u r n ­ing point in Samuel's life. For the first of many times, the Lord had spoken directly to h i m . Samuel continued to serve in the shrine at Shiloh and his reputation spread through the country from Dan to Beersheba.

A t the battle o f Aphek, in the foot­hills, the Israelites were heavily defeated by their Philistine foes, and thousands of them were ki l led. Among the kil led were Eli's t w o sons, who had been sent

f rom Shiloh w i t h the sacred A r k o f the Covenant to rally the Israelite warriors . The A r k was captured. O n hearing the news, E l i fell over backward w i t h shock and died of a broken neck.

For the Philistines the A r k proved an awkward trophy. In the temple of Dagon at Ashdod, the great idol fell down before i t and was broken. Plague broke out , and 'the hand o f God was very heavy' (1 Sam. 5:11). The A r k was sent back i n a cart drawn by ' t w o milch cows' to the Israelite t o w n o f Beth-shemesh i n the foothills. From there i t was brought to the sanctuary o f K i r i a th-jearim near Jerusalem, and remained at that spot for twenty years.

Samuel summoned the people to gather at M i z p a h , a h i l l top n o r t h of Jerusalem. He attributed their misfor­tunes to religious backsliding and the worship o f pagan Canaanite deities, and exhorted them to fasting and prayer. When a Philistine army again advanced upon them, Samuel interceded w i t h the Lord w h o unleased a violent thunder­storm on the enemy. The Israelites were able to repel the Philistines and regain lost terr i tory . Samuel marked the victory by setting up a stone to the L o r d , and called the place Ebenezer ('the Stone of Help ' ) . Samuel's leading posit ion was now established. He settled at Ramah, six miles n o r t h of Jerusalem, 'and there also he administered justice to Israel' (1 Sam. 7:17).

S A M U E L T H E K I N G M A K E R

When Samuel became old he appointed his t w o sons, Joel and Abi jah , to be local judges in Beersheba. But they were corrupt, taking bribes and perverting jus­tice. The elders of Israel complained to Samuel, saying: 'Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint for us a king to govern us like all the nations. ' (1 Sam. 8:5)

T i l l that time the twelve Hebrew tribes had had no earthly ruler, and were loosely held together by their common or ig in , history and religion.

Samuel Samuel

God was their k ing, and His command­ments were their law. Outraged at the demand o f the elders, Samuel warned them that a k ing would take their sons as soldiers and their daughters as serv­ants; he w o u l d exact tithes f r o m their herds and produce, and confiscate their best lands for his own use. The elders refused to be put off by this lecture and Samuel had to yield. He called the people together at Mizpah and up­braided them for their ingratitude to the Lord after all he had done for the Hebrew people. He then proceeded w i t h the drawing o f lots, whereby the choice was narrowed to the small tr ibe o f Ben­jamin and finally fell on 'Saul the son of Kish' (1 Sam. 10:21) of Gibeah. Saul, who had hidden himself, was brought forth. H e was very ta l l , 'taller than any of the people f rom his shoulders upward ' (1 Sam. 10:23) and Samuel pre­sented h i m to the populace. A l l shouted 'Long live the king. ' (1 Sam. 10:24) Samuel then ' to ld the people the rights and duties of the kingship; and he wrote them in a book ' (1 Sam. 10:25) a r >d dispersed the gathering. Saul went quickly back to his father's house in Gibeah.

Into this account intrudes a different version. L o o k i n g for strayed asses, Saul came to a t o w n where Samuel was visit­ing and decided to consult the seer. Guided by the Lord , the prophet took Saul up w i t h h i m to the place o f sacri­fice, gave h i m the seat of honour at the table, and invited h im to spend the night. Early next morning Samuel pouted o i l on Saul's head and t o l d h im that 'the L o r d has anointed you to be prince over his heritage' (r Sam. 10:1). Alter Saul had led a mil i tary expedition to relieve the Israelite t o w n of Jabesh-gilead (east o f the Jordan river) Samuel Called the people together at Gilgal to 'renew the k ingdom' (1 Sam. 11:14). rhere, amid the sacrifice of peace offer­

ing! to the Lord and great rejoicing, Saul was publicly acclaimed.

But the imperious o ld Samuel re­mained unreconciled to the change. He pointedly reminded the people that even i f they n o w had a k ing , only the Lord could preserve them, as he had in the past. T o drive home the po int , he miracu­lously summoned up thunder and rain although i t was still the dry harvest season. Hav ing terrified his audience, he concluded: ' I w i l l instruct you in the good and the right way. Only fear the L o r d , and serve h i m faithfully w i t h all your heart . . . But i f you st i l l do wick­edly, you shall be swept away, both you and your k ing . ' (1 Sam. t2:23, 24, 25) These ominous words were the prelude to a bitter conflict between prophet and king that lasted for the rest o f Samuel's life, and even after his death.

T H E C O N F L I C T W I T H S A U L

When Saul had reigned t w o years he felt ready to challenge the Philistines, who had gained a foothold in the hills north of Jerusalem. At Gilgal , d o w n on the Jericho pla in , Saul waited seven days for Samuel to come and make the ritual sacrifices to the Lord before battle. Then, feeling that he dared not tarry any longer, Saul made the burnt-offer­ings himself. The prophet then ap­peared, angrily denounced h im and hinted that he would be replaced by someone else.

Hav ing pushed back the Philistines, Saul sent an expedition against the A male kites, the fierce nomad tribes of the south­ern desert. Samuel gave explicit instruc tions, in the Lord's name, to wipe out . i l l of them, together w i t h all their herds and flocks. Saul failed to obey these instruc tions to the letter. After vanquishing the Amalekites, he took captive their king, Agag, and allowed his men to bring ba< It the pick o f the cattle and sheep. He tried to appease Samuel's wrath by claiming that the animals were meant to be sa< 11 ficed to the Lord . Samuel retorted with scorn, 'Has the l o r d as great delight 111 burnt offerings and sacrifices, - i s m obey ing the voice of the L o r d ? ' (1 Sam, IJ'M)

Samuel Sanballat

As Samuel turned away Saul clutched at his mantle, which tore. Samuel promptly claimed this was a sign that the 'Lord has t o r n the kingdom of Israel from you this day' ( i Sam. 15:28). The prophet demanded that Agag be brought before h i m : ' A n d Samuel said, "As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among w o m e n . " A n d Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the L o r d in Gilgal . ' (1 Sam. 15:33) After this bloody reproof, Samuel retired to his home in Raman, and went into mourning for the king as i f he were dead.

The L o r d now called on Samuel to anoint the boy David the son of Jesse as the future k ing . The prophet went to Bethlehem, where David lived, on the pretext of conducting a religious ceremony in the t o w n . That gave h i m a chance to see Jesse, and meet seven of his sons. The youngest one, Dav id , was tending the sheep. He was sent for at the request o f the prophet, who anointed him w i t h o i l .

Later, when David had become estab­lished at court and married Saul's daugh­ter, the moody k ing became jealous o f him and tried to k i l l h im. David fled to Ramah and took refuge w i t h Samuel. Saul sent messengers to bring h i m back and when they failed he went himself. But Saul was caught up in the religious fervour surrounding Samuel: ' A n d he too stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel, and lay naked all that day and all that night. Hence i t is said, " I s Saul also among the prophets?" ' (1 Sam. 19:24) This curious episode did not heal the breach between the king and the prophet.

The aged Samuel died and was buried at Ramah, and was mourned by all Israel.

Before his last battle against the Philis­tines at M o u n t Gilboa, Saul persuaded an old witch in the hamlet of Endor to summon up f rom the grave the spirit of Samuel. When the apparition appeared

of an old man covered w i t h a mantle, Saul flung himself on the ground before h i m . The ghost demanded, ' W h y have you disturbed me by bringing me up?' (1 Sam. 28^5) Saul replied humbly ' . . . I have summoned you, to tell me what I shall do. ' (r Sam. 28:15)

Samuel's spirit was as unrelenting as the l iv ing prophet had been. H e re­minded Saul that he had disobeyed the Lord , w h o had rejected h i m . O n the morrow, he revealed, the Israelites would be defeated and Saul slain to­gether w i t h his sons. A t these dread tidings, the k ing swooned away, and had to be revived and fed by his servants and the women of Endor. The next day the prediction came true.

Even i n death Samuel had had the last and crushing w o r d to the k ing he had raised up and then tr ied to cast down again. Saul had stood i n awe of his mentor, and had never argued w i t h h i m ; yet the k ing had not acted as the docile instrument he was set up to be. The uncompromising dictates o f a man of God had clashed w i t h the more flex­ible attitudes of a ruler coping w i t h po­litical and mi l i tary realities. The conflict between the t w o men reflected the oft-repeated conflict between Church and State. [First Book of Samuel]

T H E B O O K S O F S A M U E L

The First and Second Books of Samuel were probably a single w o r k later d i ­vided into t w o scrolls for convenience. The whole story of Samuel is confined to the First Book where i t overlaps w i t h the reign of Saul and the early part of David's life. The Second Book o f Samuel is not concerned at all w i t h h i m but only w i t h the reign of King Dav id .

Sanballat (Ass. 'Sin save the life') c. 5 century B C . Sanballat was a Horoni te who lived in Beth-horon, north o f Jeru­salem, and held a post in the Persian government. He was vehemently op­posed to the rebuilding of Jerusalem by Nehemiah and tried various means to

Saph Saraph

prevent i t . H e ridiculed the capacity of the 'feeble Jews' to bui ld the walls , but when the w o r k went on and was almost finished, he tr ied to lure Nehemiah f rom Jerusalem in order to k i l l h i m . When this failed he threatened war against the Jews. This d i d not stop the w o r k as Nehemiah stationed armed men to pro­tect the builders. Finally Sanballat wrote a letter accusing Nehemiah of conspiring to set himself up as king of Judah. Later, on his second visit to Jerusalem, Nehe­miah banished Sanballat's son-in-law from Jerusalem, and Jewish folklore sug­gests that he became the founder of the Samaritan sect. [Neh. 2:10, 19; 4:1-2, 7; 6:1—14; r 3 : 2 8 ]

Saph c. 10 century B C . A giant i n the Philistine army, kil led in battle by a warr ior in the army of King Dav id . Also called Sippai. [2 Sam. 21:18; 1 Chr. 20:4]

Sarah (Heb. 'princess') c. 18 century B C . Wife of Abraham. Sarah was Abraham's half-sister and became his wife before the family left Ur of the Chaldeans on the long journey to Haran, and f rom there to Canaan. She was the first o f the four biblical matriarchs, the others being Rebekah, Leah and Rachel.

Sarah's unusual beauty gave rise to two similar episodes. When they jour­neyed to Egypt because of famine, Abra­ham passed her off as his sister for fear that he might otherwise be k i l led on her account. Pharaoh took her into his harem, bestowing gifts on her alleged 'brother' . But when the Lord afflicted Pharaoh and his household w i t h plagues, he learnt the t ruth and hastily restored Sarah to her husband, bidding them go their way in peace. O n a later journey into the territory of Abimelech, ruler of Gerar near Gaza, he too ac­quired Sarah after being to ld she was Abraham's sister, but handed her back .liter the l o r d had disclosed the t ruth in a dream. (One of the Dead Sea Scrolls

discovered in 1948 is an apochryphal commentary on the story o f Abraham, that dwells on Sarah's beauty.)

The tragedy o f Sarah's life was that she was barren. Her childless state was particularly ironical because the Lord kept tel l ing Abraham that i w i l l make your descendants as the dust o f the earth' (Gen. 13:16) and that the whole-land of Canaan would belong to his descendants. Sarah suggested a solution that fitted in w i t h the customs of the period. She offered Abraham her Egyp­tian slave-maid Hagar, who bore h i m a son called Ishmael. Sarah could not con­ceal her jealousy when Hagar conceived, and at one stage the pregnant maid 'fled from her' (Gen. 16:6) but was persuaded to return by an angel of the L o r d .

When Abraham was ninety-nine, the L o r d announced to h i m that Sarah would bear h i m a son. He was incredu­lous, for Sarah was then ninety, and long past child-bearing age. The announcement was later repeated by three strangers, angels in disguise, who visited Abraham at Mamre . Listening to the conversation from inside the tent, Sarah laughed scornfully to herself. But in due t ime the child was born and named Isaac, which in Hebrew meant 'he laughed'.

Sarah remained sensitive about having a child in her o ld age. She wanted also to secure the inheritance for Isaac. When Hagar and Ishmael mocked her at Isaac's weaning feast, Sarah demanded of Abraham that he send them away. This he d i d reluctantly, after consult inc. the L o r d .

Sarah lived to the ripe old age ol one hundred and twenty-seven, and was bur iedbyAbrahamintheCaveofM. i l hpe lah at H e b r o n , which he bought to lerve as a family t o m b . Also called Sarai. [Gen. 11,12,16—18, 20, 2 i , 23; 49:31; Isa. 51:2]

Sarai see S A R A H

Saraph (Heb. 'burning') date unknown