A Character Study of Samson: a Brief Group Apologetic Presentation

Billy Cerveny James Jardin Jared Weatherholtz A Character Study of Samson Old Testament Historical Books, Dr. Brian Aucker, Fall 2013 1 1. Who is Samson? (Judg. 13-16) a. Samson is from the tribe of Dan, the son of Manoah and the last of the great Judges (20 years). b. Born of a barren woman after visit from angel of the Lord (Judg. 13) i. Part of OT theme (Hannah, Sarah, Rebecca, etc.) c. Name is diminutive of the word sûemesû (sun) and has no particular significance. d. Consecrated to the Lord before birth with a Nazirite vow: i. Way of being set apart. Described in Numbers 6:2-21 ii. Requirements of vow are simple, but Samson breaks them all: 1. Cannot drink alcohol. a. Wedding feast at Timnah (14:10) b. Sleeping on Delilah’s lap? 2. Cannot touch anything dead. a. Lion, donkey jaw bone, bow strings, people he killed 3. Cannot cut his hair. a. Delilah iii. Samson is first record of a Nazirite vow taken iv. Usually described as a personal choice, but Samson was claimed by God (as was Samuel). v. Paul takes vow in Acts 18:18-19. e. He is an ironic hero: Israel’s hero but belligerent, self serving, disobedient. i. God uses Samson’s deficiencies to: 1. Maintain Israel’s national identity and desire to be a nation (they had ceased crying out to the Lord for deliverance from Philistines) 2. Challenge establishment of idol worship. 2. Samson as representational of Israel as a whole in the book of Judges “O mirror of our fickle state” (John Milton, Samson Agonistes) Why would we think that? a. Birth narrative unique (angel of the LORD appears--highlights the importance of Samson) b. Nazarite vow--set apart c. Narrative climax of the book and last of the judges d. Language (Samson as everyman). i. Judges 14:7 (Samson specifically)- “Then he went down and talked with the woman, and she was right in Samson’s eyes.” ii. Judges 17:6 (Israel generally)- “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Samson is everyone! In what way does Samson represent Israel? a. Set apart (Samson’s Nazarite vow parallels Israel’s covenant) i. Samson was set apart with a Nazarite vow in order to bless Israel and Israel was blessed with the covenant to bless the nations. ii. Samson received vow from his parents. Israel received covenant from their parents. 2 “Thus, the rules of Naziriteship serve as a fitting cipher for the covenant: both entail a specific code of conduct, largely phrased in the negative (‘do not...’); both are adopted by an older generation and transmitted by them to their children; and, in this case, both are perpetual and not under any time limit. This last deviation from the normally circumscribed term of Naziriteship seems tailor-made for representing the covenant.” (251, “The Riddle of Samson”) b. Samson strays from the pious ways of his parents (regarding women and his vows) i. “Just as Samson strayed from the pious ways of his parents, the next generation of Israelites, whose ancestors had undertaken the covenant on their behalf, abandoned ‘the god of their fathers’ (v. 12) and followed alien gods.” (249, “The Riddle of Samson) c. Goes after foreign women i. Samson’s liaison with Philistine women leads to disastrous consequences. i. “The Timnite woman together with the two other Philistine women with whom Samson associates symbolize the alien culture and religion to which many Israelites strayed.” (250, “The Riddle of Samson”) d. Blindness i. Samson’s literal blindness can represent Israel’s spiritual blindness. (A theme later developed in Isa 6:9-13) 3. Historical-Redemptive Application Key overlap with Jesus of Nazareth: 1. Birth narrative similarities a. Nazaritic ties, (Nazarite vows for Samson was to “…be a Nazirite to God from the womb…” (Judges 13:5b, cf. Luke 1:26) b. Angel of the Lord, (Judges 13:3 cf. Matt. 1:20) c. Unlikely parents (Judges 13, cf. Matt. 1, Luke 1:26-38) d. Timing, (Judges 13:1, cf. Jesus arrival under Roman occupation, and over 400 years of prophetic “silence” after Malachi) 2. Given over to die in order to destroy enemies (Judges 16:30, cf. Col. 2:13-15) Key Discontinuities with Jesus of Nazareth: 1. Samson: “…he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.” (Judges 13:5b) a. Jesus: “…he will save his people from their sins.” (Matt. 1:21) 2. Samson forsakes vows and spreads uncleanness (Judges 14:6-9). a. Jesus fulfills the Law of God perfectly and brings cleansing where He goes (examples fulfilling law: Matt. 5:17-18, Heb. 9:12; cleansing lepers: Matt. 8:1-4, Mk. 1:40-45 and Lk. 5:12-16; healing woman with blood discharge: Lk. 8:40-48). 3. Samson dies asking to avenge himself (Judges 16:28) a. Jesus dies after praying “Not my will, but yours, be done. (Luke 22: 42) Summary Statement: Samson was a powerful man of faith (Heb. 11:32) but Jesus Christ stands out as the greater Samson, the greater judge, and greater savior. 3 Bibliography Beckenstein Mbuvi, Amanda. “Samson’s Body Politic.” Biblical Interpretation 20 (2012): 289-406. Dozeman, Thomas B., R. E. Clements, Peter D. Quinn-Miscall, Robert B. Coote, Dennis L. Olson, Kathleen A. Robertson Farmer, and Bruce C. Birch. The New Interpreter's Bible. Volume II. Nashville, Tenn: Abingdon, 1998. Freedman, David Noel, Astrid B. Beck, and Allen C. Myers, eds. Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2000. Greenstein, Edward. “The Riddle of Samson.” Prooftexts Vol. 1, No. 3 (September 1981): 237-260. Ralph, Davis Dale. Judges: Such a Great Salvation (focus On the Bible). Reprint ed. Grand Rapids, MI: CF4K, 2007. Webb, Barry G. “A Serious Reading of the Samson Story (Judges 13-16).” Reformed Theological Review 54 (1995): 110-120. Webb, Barry G. The Book of Judges (new International Commentary On the Old Testament). Reprint ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2012. Younger, K. Lawson, and Jr. Judges and Ruth. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002. 4