Who Was Samson in the Bible? The Nazirite Judge Who Fought the Philistines

Samson was a judge of Israel from the tribe of Dan who led Israel for twenty years while the Philistines ruled over them (Judges 15:20). He was set apart as a Nazirite from birth, and the Spirit of the Lord gave him great strength, which he used against the Philistines (Judges 13:5; 14:6). His story, told in Judges 13-16, ends with his capture through Delilah and his death when he pulled down the temple of Dagon in Gaza (Judges 16:23-30).

Samson is a mixed figure in Scripture. He repeatedly acted on his own desires and broke the terms of his calling, yet God used him to take the lead in delivering Israel from the Philistines (Judges 13:5), and Hebrews 11:32 names him among people of faith.

Samson Quick Facts

Category	Details
Name meaning	Usually linked to the Hebrew word for "sun"
Testament	Old Testament
Key books	Judges 13-16; also named in Hebrews 11:32
Time period	Period of the judges, roughly the late 12th or early 11th century BC (traditional dating)
Family	Son of Manoah, a Danite from Zorah (Judges 13:2)
Known for	His strength, his uncut hair, killing a lion, the jawbone, Delilah, and the collapse of Dagon's temple

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Israel Under the Philistines

The Book of Judges follows a repeated cycle of sin, oppression and deliverance. Earlier judges such as Deborah and Gideon led Israel against Canaanite and Midianite enemies. In Samson's day, Israel again did evil, and the Lord gave them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years (Judges 13:1).

Unlike earlier accounts, the text does not record Israel crying out for help. By the time Samson was grown, the men of Judah accepted Philistine rule and even handed Samson over to them (Judges 15:11-13).

Samson's Birth and Nazirite Calling

Manoah's wife was unable to have children. The angel of the Lord appeared to her and told her she would have a son (Judges 13:2-3). She was not to drink wine or eat anything unclean, and no razor was to touch the boy's head, because he would be a Nazirite dedicated to God from the womb (Judges 13:4-5). The angel said Samson would take the lead in delivering Israel from the Philistines (Judges 13:5).

The Nazirite vow is described in Numbers 6. A Nazirite abstained from grape products, avoided contact with dead bodies, and let his hair grow (Numbers 6:3-6). Most Nazirite vows were for a set time. Samson's was for life, and it was chosen for him before birth.

Manoah asked the angel's name, and the angel answered that it was beyond understanding (Judges 13:18). When Manoah offered a sacrifice, the angel went up in the flame from the altar (Judges 13:20). The boy was named Samson, the Lord blessed him, and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him at Mahaneh Dan (Judges 13:24-25).

Who Was Samson in the Bible? His Exploits Against the Philistines

The Woman of Timnah and the Lion

Samson saw a Philistine woman in Timnah and told his parents to get her for him as a wife. They objected that he should marry an Israelite (Judges 14:1-3). The text adds that this was from the Lord, who was seeking an occasion against the Philistines (Judges 14:4).

On the way to Timnah, a young lion attacked him. The Spirit of the Lord came on him, and he tore the lion apart with his bare hands, but he told no one (Judges 14:5-6). Later he found bees and honey in the carcass, ate some, and gave some to his parents without telling them where it came from (Judges 14:8-9). Touching a carcass ran against the Nazirite rules for avoiding the dead (Numbers 6:6).

The Riddle

At his wedding feast Samson gave thirty Philistine companions a riddle about the lion and the honey, with a wager of thirty sets of clothes (Judges 14:12-14). They threatened his bride, and she pressed him for seven days until he told her the answer (Judges 14:15-17). When the men answered, Samson went to Ashkelon, struck down thirty men, and paid the wager with their clothing (Judges 14:18-19). His wife was then given to his companion (Judges 14:20).

Foxes, Fire and the Jawbone

When Samson learned his wife had been given to another man, he caught three hundred foxes, tied them in pairs with torches, and set the Philistine grain fields, vineyards and olive groves on fire (Judges 15:1-5). The Philistines burned his wife and her father to death, and Samson attacked them in return (Judges 15:6-8).

Three thousand men of Judah came to bind Samson and hand him over (Judges 15:11-12). At Lehi, the Spirit of the Lord came on him, the ropes fell off, and he killed a thousand men with the fresh jawbone of a donkey (Judges 15:14-15). Afterward he was desperately thirsty and called on the Lord, who opened a spring for him there (Judges 15:18-19).

Samson and Delilah

Samson went to Gaza and spent the night with a prostitute. When the men of Gaza waited to kill him at dawn, he got up at midnight and carried off the doors of the city gate, posts and all (Judges 16:1-3).

Later he fell in love with a woman named Delilah in the Valley of Sorek (Judges 16:4). Each Philistine ruler offered her eleven hundred shekels of silver to find the secret of his strength (Judges 16:5). Samson misled her three times:

• Seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried (Judges 16:7-9)
• New ropes that had never been used (Judges 16:11-12)
• Weaving the seven braids of his hair into the fabric on a loom (Judges 16:13-14)

Each time he broke free. Delilah kept pressing him day after day until he was tired to death, and he told her that no razor had ever touched his head because he was a Nazirite (Judges 16:16-17). She had his head shaved while he slept. When he woke, he did not know that the Lord had left him (Judges 16:19-21).

The Philistines gouged out his eyes, took him to Gaza, bound him with bronze shackles, and set him to grinding grain in prison (Judges 16:21). The text then notes that his hair began to grow again (Judges 16:22).

Samson's Death in the Temple of Dagon

The Philistine rulers gathered to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon, crediting him with delivering Samson into their hands (Judges 16:23-24). They brought Samson out to entertain them. The temple was crowded, and about three thousand men and women watched from the roof (Judges 16:25-27).

Samson asked the servant who led him to put him where he could feel the pillars (Judges 16:26). Then he prayed:

"Then Samson prayed to the LORD, 'Sovereign LORD, remember me. Please, God, strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes.'" (Judges 16:28)

He braced himself against the two central pillars and pushed. The temple fell on the rulers and the people (Judges 16:29-30). The text sums it up:

"Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived." (Judges 16:30)

His brothers and his father's family brought his body back and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father (Judges 16:31).

Samson's Place in Israel's History

The angel said Samson would take the lead in delivering Israel (Judges 13:5), but the Philistine threat continued after him. Samuel led Israel to a victory over the Philistines at Mizpah (1 Samuel 7:10-13), and the conflict carried on through the reigns of King Saul and David, who finally subdued them (2 Samuel 8:1).

Other people in Scripture were also set apart before or at birth. Samuel's mother vowed that no razor would be used on her son's head (1 Samuel 1:11). An angel said John the Baptist was never to take wine or other fermented drink (Luke 1:15).

Lessons From Samson's Life

• Strength came from God. The text repeatedly says the Spirit of the Lord came on him before his feats (Judges 14:6; 14:19; 15:14).
• Gifts are not the same as obedience. Samson had great ability but disregarded his parents, his vow and his calling (Judges 14:3; 14:9; 16:17).
• Repeated compromise has consequences. Delilah tested his answers with Philistines hidden in the room (Judges 16:9, 16:12), and Samson still told her the secret (Judges 16:17).
• God hears even at the end. Blind and imprisoned, Samson prayed, and God answered (Judges 16:28-30).
• God works through flawed people. Hebrews 11:32 lists Samson with Gideon, Barak, Jephthah, David and Samuel.

Where Samson Appears in the Bible

• Judges 13: The announcement of his birth to Manoah and his wife
• Judges 14: The lion, the honey, the riddle and his marriage in Timnah
• Judges 15: The foxes, the jawbone and the spring at Lehi
• Judges 16: Gaza, Delilah, his capture and his death
• Hebrews 11:32: Named among the people of faith

Frequently Asked Questions

Who was Samson in the Bible?

Samson was a judge of Israel from the tribe of Dan who led Israel for twenty years during Philistine rule (Judges 15:20). He was a lifelong Nazirite whose strength came from the Spirit of the Lord (Judges 13:5; 14:6).

Where did Samson's strength come from?

The text says the Spirit of the Lord came on Samson before his feats of strength (Judges 14:6; 15:14). His uncut hair was the sign of his Nazirite vow, and when it was shaved the Lord left him (Judges 16:17-20).

How did Samson die?

Samson died when he pushed down the two central pillars of the temple of Dagon in Gaza, killing himself along with the Philistine rulers and people inside (Judges 16:29-30).

How long did Samson judge Israel?

Samson led Israel for twenty years in the days of the Philistines (Judges 15:20; 16:31).

Is Samson in the Hall of Faith?

Yes. Hebrews 11:32 names Samson along with Gideon, Barak, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets as people whose stories show faith.