Samson in rabbinic literature
Allusions in
Bedan
Samson is identified with Bedan (I Samuel 12:11); he was called "Bedan" because he was descended from the tribe of Dan, "Bedan" being explained as "Ben Dan".[1]
Ancestry
On the maternal side, however, he was a descendant of the
was a member of that clan (compare I Chronicles 4:3).His name
The name "Samson" is derived from shemesh ("sun"), so that Samson bore the name of God, who is also "a sun and shield" (Psalm 84:12); and as God protected Israel, so did Samson watch over it in his generation, judging the people even as did God. Samson's strength was divinely derived,[4] and he further resembled God in requiring neither aid nor help.[5]
Jacob's blessing of Dan
In the blessings which
His strength
Samson's shoulders were sixty ells broad. He was lame in both feet,[4] but when the spirit of God came upon him he could step with one stride from Zoreah to Eshtaol, while the hairs of his head arose and clashed against one another so that they could be heard for a like distance.[10] He was so strong that he could uplift two mountains and rub them together like two clods of earth,[11] yet his superhuman strength, like Goliath's, brought woe upon its possessor.[12] In licentiousness he is compared with Amnon and Zimri, both of whom were punished for their sins.[13][14] Samson's eyes were put out because he had "followed them" too often.[15] (i.e. as his eyes led him astray by lust, this was the reason he was blinded).[16] When Samson was thirsty (compare Judges 15:18-19) God caused a well of water to spring from his teeth.[17]
In the twenty years during which Samson judged Israel,
In the Talmudic period many seem to have denied that Samson was a historic figure, regarding him as a purely mythological personage. This is apparently the heretical theory which the Talmud attempts to refute, by giving the names of his sister (named Nishyan or Nashyan) and mother.[2]
References
- ^ Rosh Hashana 25a
- ^ a b Bava Batra 91a
- ^ Numbers Rabba 10:13
- ^ a b Sotah 10a
- ^ Genesis Rabbah 98:18
- ^ Sotah 9b
- ^ Genesis Rabba l.c. § 19
- ^ Genesis 49:17
- ^ Genesis Rabba l.c. §§ 18-19
- ^ Leviticus Rabbah 8:2
- ^ ib.; Sotah 9b
- ^ Ecclesiastes Rabbah 1, end
- ^ Leviticus Rabbah 23:9
- ^ "The Eleventh Plague footnote 12 "...'I am the Lord' implies: I am He who inflicted punishment upon Samson, Amnon, and Zimri, and who will inflict punishment upon any one who will act in accordance with their practices..."". 24 June 2009.
- ^ a b Sotah l.c.
- ^ Response of Rabbi Eliezer Zalmanov 08/19/2022
- Genesis Rabbal.c. § 18
- ^ Compare Judges 15:20, 16:31
- ^ Numbers Rabbah 9:25
- ^ Compare Judges 16:17
- ^ Judges 16:30
- ^ Genesis Rabbah l.c. § 19
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Samson". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.