SAMSON, whose deeds are recorded in Judges xiv.–xvi., was a hero of early Hebrew f olk-tales. He belonged to the tribe of Dan, and was renowned for his exploits against the Philistines. The narratives are marked by a grim and boisterous humour, and are so little concerned with religion that they may almost be called pagan. But, though they contribute little towards the under standing of Hebrew religion, they add much to our knowledge of early customs, and throw light on Philistine civilization. Their account of the relationships between Hebrews and Philistines, too, is of some historical worth. (See PHILISTINES.) It has often been noted that there are points of resemblance between the story of Samson and the myths of Gilgamesh, Mel kart, and Hercules; but, while the kinship must be admitted, Samson is much more human than his counterparts in pagan myth and legend, and is probably to be regarded as a historical person. The story contains many features drawn from solar mythology. The name Samson is a derivative, of uncertain meaning, from the Hebrew word Sun—shernesh. It is noteworthy that a shrine of the Sun, Beth-Shemesh, stood in the neighbourhood of Samson's home. Long hair, in which according to the story lay the secret of his strength, is a familiar feature of solar heroes, as a symbol of the sun's rays. His exploit with the gates of Gaza may be con nected with the myth which represents the sun as passing through a double-gated door on the eastern horizon. It has, indeed, been
argued that the entire Samson story is a solar myth; but it is ap parently much more highly probable that in this case the story of a popular hero has been expanded and decorated by mythological motifs.
Why does a story so lacking in religious interest appear in the book, and why is an almost pagan character like Samson reckoned among the saviours of Israel, when the story itself does not record any deliverance of the people from Philistine oppres sion? There is some evidence that the story was not included in an earlier form of Judges, and that a later editor was constrained by its popularity to insert it. The account of Samson's birth— suspiciously reminiscent of an incident in the history of Gideon— and dedication as a Nazirite, Judges xiii., is an editorial attempt to fit for more respectable company the boisterous, sensual Samson of the folk-tales, who wears his Nazirite costume with some ob vious difficulty, and is moved far more by his own erratic impulses than by the spirit of Yahweh. S. A. Cook, comparing Judges xiii. with vi. 11-24, suggests that Samson may have been regarded as the founder of a local Manahathite cult.
See Burney, Judges, pp. 335-408, A. S. Palmer, The Samson-Saga, and its place in comparative Religion; S. A. Cook, Journ. of Theol.
Stud. 1927, pp. 372 sqq. (W. L. W.)