Samson in the Bible
Meaning: his sun; his service; there the second time
Exact Match
Manoah's wife gave birth to a son and named him Samson. The child grew and the Lord empowered him.
Samson went down to Timnah, where a Philistine girl caught his eye.
But his father and mother said to him, "Certainly you can find a wife among your relatives or among all our people! You should not have to go and get a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines." But Samson said to his father, "Get her for me, because she is the right one for me."
But Samson retorted to his father, "Get her for me, since she looks fine to me." Meanwhile, his father and mother did not know that she was from the LORD, because he had been seeking a favorable opportunity concerning the Philistines, since the Philistines were dominating Israel at that time.
Samson went down to Timnah. When he approached the vineyards of Timnah, he saw a roaring young lion attacking him.
Samson continued on down to Timnah and spoke to the girl. In his opinion, she was just the right one.
Then Samson's father accompanied him to Timnah for the marriage. Samson hosted a party there, for this was customary for bridegrooms to do.
Samson said to them, "I will give you a riddle. If you really can solve it during the seven days the party lasts, I will give you thirty linen robes and thirty sets of clothes.
On the fourth day they said to Samson's bride, "Trick your husband into giving the solution to the riddle. If you refuse, we will burn up you and your father's family. Did you invite us here to make us poor?"
So Samson's bride cried on his shoulder and said, "You must hate me; you do not love me! You told the young men a riddle, but you have not told me the solution." He said to her, "Look, I have not even told my father or mother. Do you really expect me to tell you?"
However Samson’s wife wept before him seven days while their [wedding] feast lasted, and on the seventh day he told her because she pressed him so hard. Then she told the [answer to the] riddle to her countrymen.
So the men of the city said to Samson on the seventh day before sundown,
What is stronger than a lion?”
And he said to them,
You would not have solved my riddle.”
The Spirit of the Lord took control of him, and he went down to Ashkelon and killed 30 of their men. He stripped them and gave their clothes to those who had explained the riddle. In a rage, Samson returned to his father’s house,
Samson's bride was then given to his best man.
Sometime later, during the wheat harvest, Samson took a young goat as a gift and went to visit his bride. He said to her father, "I want to have sex with my bride in her bedroom!" But her father would not let him enter.
Samson said to them, "This time I am justified in doing the Philistines harm!"
Samson went and captured three hundred jackals and got some torches. He tied the jackals in pairs by their tails and then tied a torch to each pair.
The Philistines asked, "Who did this?" They were told, "Samson, the Timnite's son-in-law, because the Timnite took Samson's bride and gave her to his best man." So the Philistines went up and burned her and her father.
Samson said to them, "Because you did this, I will get revenge against you before I quit fighting."
The men of Judah said, "Why are you attacking us?" The Philistines said, "We have come up to take Samson prisoner so we can do to him what he has done to us."
Three thousand men of Judah went down to the cave in the cliff of Etam and said to Samson, "Do you not know that the Philistines rule over us? Why have you done this to us?" He said to them, "I have only done to them what they have done to me."
They said to him, "We have come down to take you prisoner so we can hand you over to the Philistines." Samson said to them, "Promise me you will not kill me."
When Samson arrived at Lehi, the Philistines came shouting to meet him. Then the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon him, so that the ropes that bound him were like flax that's been burned by fire, and his bonds dissolved.
Samson then said, "With the jawbone of a donkey I have left them in heaps; with the jawbone of a donkey I have struck down a thousand men!"
Then Samson was very thirsty, and he called out to the Lord and said, “You have given this great victory through the hand of Your servant, and now am I to die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised (pagans)?”
So God split a hollow place in the ground at Lehi, and water came out of it. After Samson drank, his strength returned, and he revived.
Samson led Israel for twenty years during the days of Philistine prominence.
Samson went to Gaza. There he saw a prostitute and went in to have sex with her.
The Gazites were told, "Samson has come here!" So they surrounded the town and hid all night at the city gate, waiting for him to leave. They relaxed all night, thinking, "He will not leave until morning comes; then we will kill him!"
Samson spent half the night with the prostitute; then he got up in the middle of the night and left. He grabbed the doors of the city gate, as well as the two posts, and pulled them right off, bar and all. He put them on his shoulders and carried them up to the top of a hill east of Hebron.
After this Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who lived in the Sorek Valley.
So Delilah said to Samson, "Tell me what makes you so strong and how you can be subdued and humiliated."
Samson said to her, "If they tie me up with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, I will become weak and be just like any other man."
They hid in the bedroom and then she said to him, "The Philistines are here, Samson!" He snapped the bowstrings as easily as a thread of yarn snaps when it is put close to fire. The secret of his strength was not discovered.
Delilah said to Samson, "Look, you deceived me and told me lies! Now tell me how you can be subdued."
So Delilah took new ropes and tied him with them and said to him, "The Philistines are here, Samson!" (The Philistines were hiding in the bedroom.) But he tore the ropes from his arms as if they were a piece of thread.
Delilah said to Samson, "Up to now you have deceived me and told me lies. Tell me how you can be subdued." He said to her, "If you weave the seven braids of my hair into the fabric on the loom and secure it with the pin, I will become weak and be like any other man."
So she made him go to sleep, wove the seven braids of his hair into the fabric on the loom, fastened it with the pin, and said to him, "The Philistines are here, Samson!" He woke up and tore away the pin of the loom and the fabric.
She made Samson sleep on her knees, and she called a man and had him shave off the seven braids of his head. Then she began to abuse Samson, and his strength left him.
She said, "The Philistines are here, Samson!" He woke up and thought, "I will do as I did before and shake myself free." But he did not realize that the Lord had left him.
The rulers of the Philistines gathered to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to celebrate. They said, "Our god has handed Samson, our enemy, over to us."
When the people saw Samson, they praised their god, for they said,
The ravager of our country,
Who has killed many of us.”
When they really started celebrating, they said, "Call for Samson so he can entertain us!" So they summoned Samson from the prison and he entertained them. They made him stand between two pillars.
Samson said to the young man who held his hand, "Position me so I can touch the pillars that support the temple. Then I can lean on them."
Now the temple was filled with men and women, and all the rulers of the Philistines were there. There were three thousand men and women on the roof watching Samson entertain.
Samson called to the Lord, "O Master, Lord, remember me! Strengthen me just one more time, O God, so I can get swift revenge against the Philistines for my two eyes!"
Samson took hold of the two middle pillars that supported the temple and he leaned against them, with his right hand on one and his left hand on the other.
Samson said, "Let me die with the Philistines!" He pushed hard and the temple collapsed on the rulers and all the people in it. He killed many more people in his death than he had killed during his life.
Thematic Bible
Total abstinence » Instances of » Samson
Adultery » Instances of » Samson
Beard » Samson
Children » Dedicated to God in infancy » Samson
Children » Instances of » Samson
Holy spirit » Examples of men receiving the gift of, under the old dispensation » Samson
Holy spirit » Old testament reference to » Samson
Holy spirit » Inspiration of » The judges » Samson
Holy spirit » Instances of » Samson
Israel » Under the judges » Led » Samson » 20 years
Israel » Names of the rulers before saul was anointed king » Samson
Judge » Samson
Judge » Samson » Samuel as the leader (judge)
Judge » Samson » The sons of samuel
Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel to Ramah. And they said to him, Behold, thou are old, and thy sons do not walk in thy ways. Now make for us a king to judge us like all the nations.
Judge » Samson » Eli led israel
Judges of israel » Names of the rulers before saul was anointed king » Samson
extraordinary Judges » Names of » Samson
Lions » Killed by » Samson
And after a while he returned to take her. And he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and, behold, there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey. And he took it into his hands, and went on, eating as he went. And he came to his father and mother, and gave to them, and they ate, but he did not tell them that he had taken the honey out of the body of the lion.
Lions » Slain by » Samson
Lying » Exemplified » Samson
Manoah » A danite » Of zorah » Father of » Samson
for, lo, thou shall conceive, and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb. And he shall begin to save Israel out of the hand of the Philistines. Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came to me, and his countenance was like the countenance of the agent of God, very awesome. And I did not ask him from where he was, neither did he tell me his name, but he said to me, Behold, thou shall conceive, and bear a son. And now drink no wine nor strong drink, and do not eat any unclean thing, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death. Then Manoah entreated LORD, and said, Oh, LORD, I pray thee, let the man of God whom thou sent come again to us, and teach us what we shall do to the child that shall be born. And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah, and the agent of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field, but Manoah her husband was not with her. And the woman made haste, and ran, and told her husband, and said to him, Behold, the man has appeared to me, who came to me the [other] day. And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said to him, Are thou the man who spoke to the woman? And he said, I am. And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. What shall be the ordering of the child, and [what] shall we do to him? And the agent of LORD said to Manoah, Of all that I said to the woman let her beware. She may not eat of anything that comes of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing. All that I commanded her let her observe. And Manoah said to the agent of LORD, I pray thee, let us detain thee, that we may make ready a kid for thee. And the agent of LORD said to Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread, and if thou will make ready a burnt-offering, thou must offer it to LORD. For Manoah did not know that he was the agent of LORD. And Manoah said to the agent of LORD, What is thy name, that, when thy words come to pass, we may do thee honor? And the agent of LORD said to him, Why do thou ask after my name, seeing it is wonderful? So Manoah took the kid with the meal-offering, and offered it upon the rock to LORD. And [the heavenly agent] did wondrously, and Manoah and his wife looked on, for it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the agent of LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on, and they fell on their faces to the ground. But the agent of LORD appeared no more to Manoah or to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was the agent of LORD. And Manoah said to his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God. But his wife said to him, If LORD were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt-offering and a meal-offering at our hand, neither would he have shown us all these things, nor would at this time have told such things a And the woman bore a son, and called his name Samson. And the child grew, and LORD blessed him.
Miracles wrought through servants of God » Samson » Philistines killed
Miracles wrought through servants of God » Samson » Dagon's house pulled down
Miracles wrought through servants of God » Samson » The gates of gaza carried away
Miracles wrought through servants of God » Samson » A lion killed
Nazarite » Instances of » Samson
Philistines » Samson » Intermarried with
Philistines » Samson » Pulled down the house of dagon and destroyed immense numbers of
Philistines » Samson » Slew a thousand with the jawbone of an ass
Philistines » Samson » Slew many for burning his wife
Philistines » Samson » Burned vineyards, &c of
Philistines » Samson » Slew thirty, near askelon
Philistines » Samson » Blinded and imprisoned by
Philistines » Samson » Promised as a deliverer from
Power » Of the holy spirit examples of men receiving the gift of, under the old dispensation » Samson
Prayer, answers to » Samson
Samson » A life of contrasts » Mighty in physical strength
Samson » A life of contrasts » Spiritual at times
Samson » A life of contrasts » Separated as a nazarite
Samson » Blinded » By philistines » Pillars
And when the people saw him, they praised their god, for they said, Our god has delivered into our hand our enemy, and the destroyer of our country who has slain many of us. And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make sport to us. And they called for Samson out of the prison-house, and he made sport before them. And they set him between the pilla And Samson said to the lad who held him by the hand, Allow me that I may feel the pillars upon which the house rests, 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, who beheld while Samson made sport. And Samson called to LORD, and said, O lord LORD, 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 in it. So the dead that he killed at his death were more than those tha Then his brothers and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the burying-place of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years.
Samson » His great strength
And the men of Judah said, Why have ye come up against us? And they said, We come up to bind Samson, to do to him as he has done to us. Then three thousand men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and said to Samson, Know thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? What then is this that thou have done to us? And he said to them, As they did t And they said to him, We have come down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said to them, Swear to me, that ye will not fall upon me yourselves. And they spoke to him, saying, No, but we will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand, but truly we will not kill thee. And they bound him with two new ropes, and brought him up from the rock. When he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they met him. And the Spirit of LORD came mightily upon him, and the ropes that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands dropped from off his hands.
Samson » Wife of, estranged
Samson » A life of contrasts » Yet weak in resisting temptation
Samson » A life of contrasts » Yet courageous in battle
When he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they met him. And the Spirit of LORD came mightily upon him, and the ropes that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands dropped from off his hands.
Samson » A danite » son of manoah
for, lo, thou shall conceive, and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb. And he shall begin to save Israel out of the hand of the Philistines. Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came to me, and his countenance was like the countenance of the agent of God, very awesome. And I did not ask him from where he was, neither did he tell me his name, but he said to me, Behold, thou shall conceive, and bear a son. And now drink no wine nor strong drink, and do not eat any unclean thing, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.
Samson » A life of contrasts » Yet under the power of carnal appetites
And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
Samson » A life of contrasts » Yet tampering with evil associations
Samson » A life of contrasts » His sad end
Samson » A life of contrasts » Childish in his plans
Samson » Kills one-thousand philistines with the jawbone of a donkey
And Samson said, With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps upon heaps, with the jawbone of a donkey I have smitten a thousand men. And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jawbone out of his hand. And that place was called Ramath-lehi.
Samson » Miraculously supplied with water
Samson » Cohabits with delilah, a prostitute; her machinations with the philistines to overcome him
And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. And the lords of the Philistines came up to her, and said to her, Entice him, and see in what his great strength lays, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him. And we will give thee every o And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, in what thy great strength lays, and with what thou might be bound to afflict thee. And Samson said to her, If they bind me with seven green withes that were never dried, then I shall become weak, and be as another man. Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withes which had not been dried, and she bound him with them. Now she had an ambush abiding in the inner chamber. And she said to him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson. And he broke the withes, as a string of tow is broken when it touches the fire. So his strength was not known. And Delilah said to Samson, Behold, thou have mocked me, and told me lies. Now tell me, I pray thee, with what thou might be bound. And he said to her, If they only bind me with new ropes with which no work has been done, then I shall become weak, and be as another man. So Delilah took new ropes, and bound him with it, and said to him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson. And the ambushment was abiding in the inner chamber. And he broke them off his arms like a thread. And Delilah said to Samson, Until now thou have mocked me, and told me lies. Tell me with what thou might be bound. And he said to her, If thou weave the seven locks of my head with the web. And she fastened it with the pin, and said to him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and plucked away the pin of the beam, and the web. And she said to him, How can thou say, I love thee, when thy heart is not with me? Thou have mocked me these three times, and have not told me with what thy great strength lays. And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, that his soul was vexed to death. And he told her all his heart, and said to her, There has not come a razor upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother's womb. If I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be lik 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 has told me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her, and broug 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 are upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times, and shake myself free, but he knew not that LORD was departed from him.
Samson » His marriage feast and the riddle propounded
And it came to pass, when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him. And Samson said to them, Let me now put forth a riddle to you. If ye can declare it to me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of raiment, but if ye cannot declare it to me, then ye shall give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of raiment. And they said to him, Put forth thy riddle, that we may hear it. And he said to them, Out of the eater came forth food, and out of the strong came forth sweetness. And they could not in three days declare the riddle. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said to Samson's wife, Entice thy husband, that he may declare to us the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy father's house with fire. Have ye called us to impoverish us? Is it not [s And Samson's wife wept before him, and said, Thou do but hate me, and not love me. Thou have put forth a riddle to the sons of my people, and have not told it to me. And he said to her, Behold, I have not told it to my father nor m And she wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that he told her because she pressed him greatly. And she told the riddle to the sons of her people. And the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down, What is sweeter than honey? and what is stronger than a lion? And he said to them, If ye had not plowed with my heifer, ye would not have found out my And the Spirit of LORD came mightily upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and smote thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave the changes [of raiment] to those who declared the riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he
Samson » Desires a philistine woman for his wife; kills a lion
But his father and his mother knew not that it was of LORD, for he sought an occasion against the Philistines. Now at that time the Philistines had rule over Israel. Then Samson went down, and his father and his mother, to Timnah, and came to the vineyards of Timnah. And, behold, a young lion roared against him. And the Spirit of LORD came mightily upon him, and he tore him apart as he would have torn a kid, and he had nothing in his hand. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done. And he went down, and talked with the woman, and she pleased Samson well.
Samson » Is avenged for the estrangement of his wife
Then the Philistines said, Who has done this? And they said, Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken his wife, and given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire. And Samson said to them, If ye do after this manner, surely I will be avenged of you, and after that I will cease. And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter. And he went down and dwelt in the cleft of the rock of Etam.