SG Heritage Dictionary

Samson [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1913

An Israelite of Bible record (see Judges xiii.), distinguished for his great strength; hence, a man of extraordinary physical strength.

Samson Encyclopedia Britannica

SAMSON (Hebrew, Shimshōn), the great enemy of the Philistines, is reckoned as one of the judges of Israel in two editorial notes which belong to the chronological scheme of the book of Judges (xv. 20, xvi. 31); but his story itself, which is a self-contained narrative by a single hand (Jud. xiii. 2-16, 31a), represents him not as a judge but as a popular hero of vast strength and sarcastic humour, who has indeed been consecrated from his birth as the deliverer of Israel, and is not unaware of his vocation, but who yet is inspired by no serious religious or patriotic purpose, and becomes the enemy of the Philistines only from personal motives of revenge, the one passion which is stronger in him than the love of women. In his life, and still more in his death, he inflicts great injury on the oppressors of Israel, but he is never the head of a national uprising against them, nor do the Israelites receive any real deliverance at his hands. The story of his exploits is plainly taken from the mouths of the people, and one is tempted to conjecture that originally his Nazarite vow was conceived simply as a vow of revenge, which is the meaning it would have in an Arab story. Our narrator, however, conceives his life as a sort of prelude to the work of Saul (xiii. 5), and brings out its religious and national significance in this respect in the opening scene (ch. xiii.), which is closely parallel to the story of Gideon, and in the tragic close (ch. xvi.); while yet the character of Samson, who generally is quite forgetful of his mission, remains much as it had been shaped in rude popular tale in a circle which, like Samson himself, was but dimly conscious of the national and religious vocation of Israel....

9th ed. Encyclopædia Britannica, vol. 21, p. 252
[542 words — estimated reading time: 4 minutes]

Samson Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary

son of Manoah, of the tribe of Dan, Judges xiii, 2, &c. We are no where acquainted with the name of his mother. He was born, A. M. 2849, and was a Nazarite from his infancy, by the divine command. He was brought up in a place called the camp of Dan, between Zorah and Estaol, Judges xiii, 25. His extraordinary achievements are particularly recorded in Judges xiv-xvi. “Faith” is attributed to him by St. Paul, though whether he retained it to the end of his life may be doubted. He is not inaptly called by an old writer, “a rough believer.”

Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary
[102 words — estimated reading time: 1 minute]

Samsons-post [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1828

In ships, a notched post used instead of a ladder; also, a piece of timber that forms a return for a tackle fall.

King James Bible KJV Bible

Berean Standard Bible BSB Bible

38 KJV and 48 BSB verses contain “Samson” — showing the first 20. Show all 49 verses (searchable)

Judges 13:24

And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him.

So the woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson. The boy grew, and the LORD blessed him.

Judges 14:1

And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.

One day Samson went down to Timnah, where he saw a young Philistine woman.

Judges 14:3

Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.

But his father and mother replied, “Can’t you find a young woman among your relatives or among any of our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife?” But Samson told his father, “Get her for me, for she is pleasing to my eyes.”

Judges 14:5

Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against him.

Then Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother and came to the vineyards of Timnah. Suddenly a young lion came roaring at him,

Judges 14:7

And he went down, and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well.

Then Samson continued on his way down and spoke to the woman, because she was pleasing to his eyes.

Judges 14:8

And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion.

When Samson returned later to take her, he left the road to see the lion’s carcass, and in it was a swarm of bees, along with their honey.

Judges 14:10

So his father went down unto the woman: and Samson made there a feast; for so used the young men to do.

Then his father went to visit the woman, and Samson prepared a feast there, as was customary for the bridegroom.

Judges 14:12

And Samson said unto them, I will now put forth a riddle unto you: if ye can certainly declare it me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty sheets and thirty change of garments:

“Let me tell you a riddle,” Samson said to them. “If you can solve it for me within the seven days of the feast, I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes.

Judges 14:15

And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said unto Samson’s wife, Entice thy husband, that he may declare unto us the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy father’s house with fire: have ye called us to take that we have? is it not so?

So on the fourth day they said to Samson’s wife, “Entice your husband to explain the riddle to us, or we will burn you and your father’s household to death. Did you invite us here to rob us?”

Judges 14:16

And Samson’s wife wept before him, and said, Thou dost but hate me, and lovest me not: thou hast put forth a riddle unto the children of my people, and hast not told it me. And he said unto her, Behold, I have not told it my father nor my mother, and shall I tell it thee?

Then Samson’s wife came to him, weeping, and said, “You hate me! You do not really love me! You have posed to my people a riddle, but have not explained it to me.” “Look,” he said, “I have not even explained it to my father or mother, so why should I explain it to you?”

Judges 14:18

And the men of the city said unto 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 unto them, If ye had not plowed with my heifer, ye had not found out my riddle.

Before sunset on the seventh day, the men of the city said to Samson: “What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion?” So he said to them: “If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have solved my riddle!”

Judges 14:19

And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave change of garments unto them which expounded the riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his father’s house.

Then the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, killed thirty of their men, took their apparel, and gave their clothes to those who had solved the riddle. And burning with anger, Samson returned to his father’s house,

Judges 14:20

But Samson’s wife was given to his companion, whom he had used as his friend.

and his wife was given to one of the men who had accompanied him.

Judges 15:1

But it came to pass within a while after, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he said, I will go in to my wife into the chamber. But her father would not suffer him to go in.

Later on, at the time of the wheat harvest, Samson took a young goat and went to visit his wife. “I want to go to my wife in her room,” he said. But her father would not let him enter.

Judges 15:3

And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure.

Samson said to them, “This time I will be blameless in doing harm to the Philistines.”

Judges 15:4

And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails.

Then Samson went out and caught three hundred foxes. And he took torches, turned the foxes tail-to-tail, and fastened a torch between each pair of tails.

Judges 15:6

Then the Philistines said, Who hath done this? And they answered, Samson, the son in law of the Timnite, because he had taken his wife, and given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire.

“Who did this?” the Philistines demanded. “It was Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite,” they were told. “For his wife was given to his companion.” So the Philistines went up and burned her and her father to death.

Judges 15:7

And Samson said unto them, Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease.

And Samson told them, “Because you have done this, I will not rest until I have taken vengeance upon you.”

Judges 15:10

And the men of Judah said, Why are ye come up against us? And they answered, To bind Samson are we come up, to do to him as he hath done to us.

“Why have you attacked us?” said the men of Judah. The Philistines replied, “We have come to arrest Samson and pay him back for what he has done to us.”

Judges 15:11

Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? what is this that thou hast done unto us? And he said unto them, As they did unto me, so have I done unto them.

In response, three thousand men of Judah went to the cave at the rock of Etam, and they asked Samson, “Do you not realize that the Philistines rule over us? What have you done to us?” “I have done to them what they did to me,” he replied.