Chapter C: The Story of the Gates of Gaza

And Samson went to Gaza. And it was told the Gazites, saying, "Samson is come hither." And they compassed him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, "Let be till morning light, then we will kill him."

And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and laid hold of the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and plucked them up, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of the mountain that is before Hebron.

=Sec.51. Samson's Weakness= (Judg. 16:4-22)

And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman, whose name was Delilah. And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, "Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver."

And Delilah said to Samson, "Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee."

And Samson said unto her, "If they bind me with seven new bowstrings that were never dried, then shall I become weak, and be as another man."

Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven new bowstrings which had not been dried, and she bound him with them. Now she had liers in wait abiding in the inner chamber. And she said unto him, "The Philistines be upon thee, Samson."

And he brake the bowstrings as a string of tow is broken when it touches the fire. So his strength was not known.

And Delilah said unto Samson, "Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound."

And he said unto her, "If they only bind me with new ropes wherewith no work hath been done, then shall I become weak, and be as another man."

So Delilah took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, "The Philistines be upon thee, Samson."

And the liers in wait were abiding in the inner chamber. And he brake them from off his arms like a thread.

And Delilah said unto Samson, "Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound."

And he said unto her, "If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web."

And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, "The Philistines be upon thee, Samson."

And he awaked out of his sleep, and plucked away the pin of the beam, and the web.

And she said unto him, "How canst thou say, 'I love thee,' when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth."

And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, that his soul was vexed unto death. And he told her all his heart, and said unto her, "There hath not come a razor upon mine head: for I have been a Nazirite unto God from my birth: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man."

And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, "Come up this once, for he hath told me all his heart."

Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought the money in their hand. And she made him sleep upon her knees: and she called for a man, and shaved off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him. And she said, "The Philistines be upon thee, Samson."

And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, "I will go out as at other times, and shake myself."

But he wist not that the Lord was departed from him.

And the Philistines laid hold on him, and put out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house. Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.

=Sec.52. Samson's Vengeance= (Judg. 16:23-31)

And the lords of the Philistines gathered them together to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, "Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand." And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said, "Our god hath delivered into our hand our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which hath slain many of us." And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, "Call for Samson, that he may make us sport."

And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made sport before them: and they set him between the pillars. And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, "Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house resteth, that I may lean upon them."

Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport.

And Samson called unto the Lord, and said, "O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once. O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes."

And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house rested, and leaned upon them, the one with his right hand, and the other with his left. And Samson said, "Let me die with the Philistines." And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.

Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him in the burying-place of Manoah his father.

THE MEANING OF THE STORY

163. All peoples have their old stories of heroes who had great strength. The Greeks had their Hercules and the Hebrews had their Samson. In reading his story we must remember that it belongs to a rude age, when men's passions were strong and they had not learned the gentler ways of life. The story is full of adventure; it is very well told; it shows us much of the old Hebrew life; and it helps us to see how hard the lot of the people must have been under their oppressors. Of course they remembered any strong man of those days, and his story grew as it was told from generation to generation.

164 (Sec.48). The first thing that we learn about the hero is that he was a promised child. He was set apart from his birth to the Lord. Such persons were called Nazirites. They had to abstain from wine, and their hair was not to be cut.

165 (Sec.49). With whom did Samson fall in love? The Philistines were the oppressors of his people. What did his parents think of it? It would seem that they all went down to make the betrothal feast. What great feat of strength did Samson perform on the way? Then there was a second visit for the marriage itself. What did Samson find this time on his way?

166 (Sec.49). The story describes some of the old customs. What was Samson expected to provide for the wedding? How many young men were there? What bet did he make with them? What was the riddle? Could you have guessed it?

167 (Sec.49). How did the young men find out the riddle? How did Samson pay his bet? Consider what rude times those must have been.

168 (Sec.50A). We have a number of the old stories of Samson's strength. Consider what injury was done to Samson. What humorous and savage revenge did Samson take upon his enemies? It was considered a great insult to burn the standing grain. What horrible vengeance did the Philistines take on the bride's family?

169 (Sec.50B). Tell what Samson's own people did to him. Why did they do it? What was Samson's great feat? Notice how big they made the stories--one man killing a thousand.

170 (Sec.50C). They loved the stories of Samson's clever escapes. How did the men of Gaza think he was caught? How did Samson escape?

171 (Sec.51). This strong man was not really a great man. After he had lost his first Philistine wife he fell in love with another woman of the same race. She proved as deceitful as the first. Note the enormous bribe that the Philistine lords offered Delilah. What was the first trial of Samson's strength? The new bowstrings were probably cords made from the intestines of animals. If they were not dried they would be tougher.

172 (Sec.51). Tell the story of the second trial. The story of the third trial is not quite so plain. It means that his long hair was to be woven in with a piece of stuff that was being woven in the loom. When he woke up he walked off with the whole heavy loom.

173 (Sec.51). Notice how he let the wicked woman tease him. Was he strong or weak? Is it the part of a strong man to go into temptation or to run away from it? What was done to Samson? He makes us think of many a big strong man who was weak when it came to a question of goodness. Most of the big prize fighters are so weak that they become drunkards. Think of this hero doing the work of a slave.

174 (Sec.52). Notice how delighted the Philistines were that they had overcome their great enemy. Imagine the crowd gathered in a temple, the roof of which rested upon two central pillars. When they were very merry they sent for the poor blind Samson to make fun of him. What happened?

175. Do you think Samson was a great man?

WRITTEN REVIEW

Discuss the question whether Samson ought to have been put among the heroes of Israel. Read over the story carefully and see why the Hebrews would have wished to class him with their heroes. Read it again to see what there is against giving him that distinction. Prepare for a debate upon the question.

A HEROINE

XVII. RUTH, THE FOREIGNER