Shaul Bar - The Samson Story: Love, Seduction, Betrayal, Violence, Riddles, Myth

T he Book of Judges received its name because many judges are the main characters in this book. These narratives describe to us the period between the death of Joshua and the arrival of Samuel, which is a period of transition and crisis. The Israelites failed to deal effectively with the Canaanites; they are still in the process of conquering the promised land. Men are reluctant to assume leadership roles; the tribes act independently and are not coming to aid each other in times of crisis and war (Judg. :; :). In addition, they are also fighting against each other (:). There are repeated statements about the lack of justice and righteousness. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes prevailed among the Israelites because there was no king. The author describes murder, war, strife among brothers, rape, and cultic sins. In light of the calamity that is described in the Book of Judges it was suggested: The purpose of the work was to show that a centralized hereditary kingship was necessary for the well-being of the Covenant theocracy.

The author of the book remains anonymous. Talmudic tradition identified the author as Samuel: Samuel wrote the book which bears his name and the Book of Judges, and Ruth. But examination of the book reveals that there are signs of gradual growth in the narrative from isolated stories to late additions. Since the stories about the judges are not equal in length, scholars use different terms for the judges. Heroes that the book describes in length are called major Judges, this includes: Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Jephthah, and Samson. On the other hand, those who are barely described are called minor: Shamgar, Tola, Jair, Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon. No acts of deliverance are attributed to them; there is only a reference to their family and that they judged Israel, and where their graves were to be found. Although the heroes of the book are designated as judges, none of them were judges in the legal sense. Their main function was a military role and sometimes they acted as civil rulers. The only exception is Deborah, whom the Israelites came to for judgment (Judg :). Another term that described the role of the leaders in the Book of Judges is ma deliverer/liberator, which is applied to Othniel, Ehud, Shamagar, Gideon, Tola, Jephthah, and Samson. Their mission was to deliver the Israelites from the hand of their enemy. Hence, we read about Samson: He shall be the first to deliver Israel from the Philistines (Judg :).

Scholars maintain that the core of Judges :: was the final work of the Deuteronomic editors. These editors created a theme that united the stories with a recurring pattern. Israel sinned by following other gods; as a result God subjected them to a foreign oppressor. The Israelites repented and prayed for God to deliver them. God sent a judge to liberate them from their oppressor. The judge achieved his mission, which is followed by a peaceful period. After the death of the judge, people again followed other gods and the cycle repeats itself. Hence, in the Samson story: The Israelites again did what was offensive to the Lord, and the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years (Judg:).