The Story Of Samson In The Bible
The story of Samson is one of the most well-known stories in the Bible. It’s also one of the most confusing, because it doesn’t follow a chronological order and has several different parts. But once you understand how these pieces fit together, it becomes clear that God used Samson to accomplish his purposes!
Samson was a man of incredible physical strength and the last of the judges
Samson was a man of incredible physical strength and the last of the judges. His father was Manoah and his mother was Hazelelponi. Samson’s wife was named Delilah and she was also his cousin (Judges xvi.3).
Samson could not be killed by any weapon, because he had been consecrated by an angel at birth (Judges xiii.5-6). He went down to Timnath and lived there with a woman named Timnath; then he married a Philistine woman whose name is not given in Scripture but may have been Daliah (Judges xiii.3).
After that happened, it came about that Israel had sinned against Yahweh their God by following other gods (see 1 Kings xvii.). Then Samuel said: “Yahweh has given David your king into the hand of Saul your king.” And all Israel were gathered together to see Samuel at Ramah, crying out for help against Saul because he had slain Jonathan his son…and all Israel said unto Samuel: “Pray for thy servants unto Yahweh thy God that we die not; for we have added unto all our sins this evil thing which we have done.”
The story of Samson begins in Judges 13.
The story of Samson begins in Judges 13.
Samson was a man of incredible physical strength, the last of the judges, and known for his amazing feats such as slaying a lion with his bare hands. He is also remembered for his many romantic relationships (with women from Philistia, Israel, and Judah). But what you may not know is that he had hair like a lamb’s fleece.
Samson’s parents were visited by an angel who told them that their son would be born to them and that they must name him Samson because he would be “strong” (13:24, NIV). The angel also said that Samson’s hair would never grow long or become white until he died (13:25) and instructed his parents not to cut it otherwise he’d lose all his strength (13:28-30).
Samson’s parents are visited by an angel.
As you already know, Samson was born to a Jewish woman named Hannah. But did you know that an angel was sent by God to visit her and tell her that she would give birth to the last judge of Israel? Because he was a Nazarite from birth, Samson’s parents knew that he would have special powers. However, no one could have known just how much he would accomplish in his lifetime.
The angel also told Samson’s parents that he would be a hero for Israel. In fact, when they finally learned his name (Samson), they decided that it meant “strong one” or “sunshine” because of their great joy at his birth.
Samson’s parents are told that he must be a Nazarite all the days of his life.
`Samson’s parents are told that he must be a Nazarite all the days of his life.`
A Nazarite is a person who is dedicated to God. It involves abstaining from alcohol, cutting one’s hair, and not touching dead bodies. Samson is a Nazarite from birth; he takes an oath to obey these regulations when he is only seven days old. His parents are very worried about him because they fear he will die without ever experiencing pleasure in his life but they can’t stop him; any violation of the rules results in death (Numbers 6:2-21).
The Philistines begin to oppress Israel for forty years.
The Philistines were a powerful and aggressive people. They had enslaved the Israelites for forty years, and as a result, God was displeased with them. He used Samson to bring about their demise in order to punish them for their evil deeds.
This oppression began when Samson was born during this time of great oppression by the Philistines. His parents were from Israel, which caused him to be an Israelite himself despite his parentage being from the Philistine nation (Judges 13:2).
Manoah and his wife pray for a son, and God answers their prayer.
God gives Manoah and his wife a son, who is named Samson. God also tells them that their son will be a Nazarite and a judge for Israel. A Nazarite is someone who has made a vow to God not to drink alcohol or touch dead things (like hair or fingernails). So when Samson does something wrong and it makes him angry, he takes revenge on people by killing them with the jawbone of an ass!
An angel visits Samson’s mother before he is born.
“A man of God came to me and said to me, ‘The Lord is with you, you mighty warrior.’ But I replied, ‘I am no warrior; I am a man of prayer.’ The angel said to me: ‘But the Lord has given you a great gift—a gift that will be yours for all time—so that no one will be able to stand against you when it comes time for judgment. You are destined to bring down many kings.'”
“And another angel spoke up and said: ‘In order for the boy’s name not be destroyed in Israel, we must keep him here until he is old enough to tell us his own story.'”
The angel gives specific instructions to Samson’s mother while she is pregnant with him.
The angel says to Samson’s mother,
- “You shall not eat any of the meat or honey which you find. You shall give it to your husband, and he shall eat it so that he will be strong enough to become a father” (Judges 13:3).
- “For I am a Spirit sent by God; and human beings will never see me or know me.” (Judges 13:7)
- “And he said, ‘Please give me some water.’ And she opened a container for him and gave him some. Then she opened another container for herself” (Judges 14:8).
When Samson is old enough to marry, his parents arrange a marriage with a Philistine woman named Timnah.
When Samson is old enough to marry, his parents arrange a marriage with a Philistine woman named Timnah. Samson is not happy about this and tries to get out of it. His parents insist that he follow through with the wedding.
When the day of the wedding arrives, Samson goes to get married but can’t resist messing around with some honeycomb that bees have made from trees in one of his father’s fields. He repeatedly goes there and moves rocks to get honeycomb from underneath them, despite knowing it makes him sick every time he does this (he has an allergy). He does this so often that eventually all the honeycombs are gone!
Samson decides to marry Timnah, but the Philistines plan to ambush the wedding party on their way back home.
Samson was angry with his parents for choosing a Philistine wife for him. He decided to marry Timnah anyway, but the Philistines planned to ambush the wedding party on their way back home. Samson’s father told him about this plan and asked him to make sure that he would be safe from it. So Samson went out of his way to destroy their vines and fields so that they could not carry out their plan successfully.
Be careful what you do when you’re angry, because it can lead to terrible consequences!
In the book of Judges, Samson is an Israelite judge who is empowered by God to lead his people against their enemies. He has incredible strength and uses it for good, but he also has a weakness: he doesn’t know when to control his temper.
When he sees a woman from the tribe of Philistines, Samson falls in love with her at first sight and asks his parents if he can marry her (which was forbidden). His parents tell him no because she doesn’t come from their tribe, so Samson goes into a blind rage and destroys all their crops with fire just so that they can’t grow any more food!
Samson’s anger leads him to do things like destroy Philistine farmland or kill thousands of people during war because they hurt him once–but the Bible says that showing anger towards others should be avoided at all costs!
Samson is a man of great strength, but he is also headstrong. He refuses to listen to his parents when they warn him about marrying a Philistine woman, and he chooses to act on his own rather than following God’s commands. As we can see from this story, it’s important for us all to follow God’s word carefully so that our lives will be blessed with peace and joy!