The Book of Judges covers the time between the conquest of the land described in the Book of Joshua and the establishment of a kingdom in the Books of Samuel, during which judges served as temporary leaders. The stories in the book follow a consistent pattern: the people become unfaithful to God and therefore because of losing His spiritual protection He has to deliver them into the hands of their enemies; the people repent and entreat God for mercy, which He sends in the form of a leader or champion (judge); the judge delivers the Israelites from oppression and then they prosper again, but soon they fall again into unfaithfulness and the cycle is repeated.
According to the Scripture, Man'Oah was of the tribe of Dan (Judge). They were allocated a coastal portion of the land. Dan was a son of Jacob and Bilhah, Rachel's maidservant. Man'Oah lived in the city of Zorah (place of wasps) in the lower hill country of Judah. Zorah, situated on the crest of a hill overlooking the Valley of Sor'Ek, was the birthplace of Samson and also his burial place. Soreq is one of the largest, most important drainage basins in the Judean Hills. It is mentioned in Judges 16 as the border between the ancient Philistines and the Tribe of Dan. Man'Oah married a woman (no name) who was barren. An angel of the Lord appeared to her and told her she would give birth a son. The child was to be dedicated from the womb as a Nazirite, which entailed restrictions on his diet, which the angel spelled out in detail. The wife believed; her husband was not there. Man'Oah prayed and the angel returned to instruct both of them. After the Angel of the Lord returned, Man'Oah asked him his name, but he said, "Why do you ask my name? it is beyond understanding."
Samson, a Nazirite, was born, and he was raised according to the provisions. When he was a young adult, he left the hills of his people to see the cities of Philistia. He fell in love with a Philistine woman from Timn"Ah, whom decided to marry, ignoring the objections of his parents. Samson was repeatedly seized by the "Spirit of the Lord," who blessed him with immense strength to aid himself against his enemies and allow him to perform superhuman feats. When he was on his way to ask for the Philistine's woman's hand in marriage, he was attacked by a lion. Samson simply grabbed it and ripped it apart, as the Spirit of God divinely empowered him. However, Samson kept it a secret, not even mentioning the miracle to his parents. He arrived at the Philistine's house and became bethroded to her. He returned home, then came back to Timn'Ah some time later for the wedding. On his way, Samson saw that bees had nested in the carcass of the lion and made honey. He ate a handful of the honey and gave some to his parents as they travelled with him to Timn'Ah (Philistine city in Canaan) for the wedding ceremony. The city of Timn'Ah is mentioned in Judges 14 and in connection with Judah and Tamar in Genesis 38. It is strategically located in the Sorek Valley, an access point from the Coastal Plain through the Shephel'Ah and into the Central Judean Mountains. In Joshua 15, the city is mentioned as a point on the border of the Tribe of Judah. The Book of Judges refers to Timn'ah's vineyards.
At the wedding feast, Samson told a riddle to his 30 groomsmen (all Philistines). If they could solve it, he would give them 30 pieces of fine linen and garments, but if they could not solve it, they would give him 30 pieces of fine linen and garments. The riddle was a veiled account of 2 encounters with the lion, at which only he was present.
"Out of the eater came something to eat. Out of the strong came something sweet."Infuriated by the riddle the 30 groomsmen told Samson's wife that they would burn her and her father's household if she did not discover the answer and tell it to them. Samson told her the solution at her urgent and tearful imploring. She told it to the 30 groomsmen.
Before the sunset of the 7th day they said to him, "What is sweeter than honey? and what is stronger than a lion?" Samson said to them, "If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have solved my riddle." Samson then traveled to Ash'Kelon where he slew 30 Philistines for their garments; he then returned and gave them to his 30 groomsmen. In a rage, Samson returned to his father's house. The family of his would-have-been bride instead gave her to one of the groomsmen as wife. Some time later Samson returned to Timn'Ah to visit his wife, unaware that she was now married to one of his former groomsmen. Her father refused to allow Samson to see her, offering to give Samson a younger sister instead. Samson went out, gathered 300 foxes and tied them together in pairs by their tales. He then attached a burning torch to each pair of foxes' tails and turned they loose in the grain fields and olive groves of the Philistines. They learned why Samson burned their crops and burned Samson's wife and father-in-law to death in retribution.
In revenge, Samson slaughtered many more Philistines, saying, 'I am done to them what they did to me' taking refuge in a cave in the rock of Etam. An army of Philistines came to the Tribe of Judah and demanded that 3,000 men of Judah deliver Samson to them. With Samson's consent, they tied him with 2 new ropes and were about to hand him over to the them when he broke free of the ropes. Using the jawbone of a donkey, Samson slew 1,000 Philistines.
Later, Samson travels to Gaza, the Philistines made it a part of their penta-polis after the Ancient Egytians had ruled it for nearly 350 years. He stays at a harlot's house. His enemies wait at the Gate of the city to ambush him, but he tears the Gate from its very hinges and frame and carries it to "the hill that is in front of Hebron (South of Jerusalem)."
Samson then falls in love with Delil'Ah in the Valley of Sorek. The Philistines approach Delil'ah and induce her with 1,100 silver coins to find the secret of Samson's strength so that they can capture their enemy, but Samson refuses to reveal the secret and teases her, telling her that he will lose his strength if he is bound with fresh bow strings. She does so while he sleeps, but when he wakes up he snaps the strings. She persists, and he tells her that he can be bound with new ropes. She ties him up with new ropes while he sleeps, and he snaps them, too. She asks again, and he says that he can be bound if his locks are woven into a weaver's loom. She weaves them into a loom, but he simply destroys the entire loom and carries it off when he wakes. Delil'Ah, however, persists and Samson finally wears down and tells Delil'Ah that God supplies His power because of his consecration to Him as a Nazirite, symbolized by the fact that a razor has never touched his head, and that if his hair is cut off he will lose his strength.
Delil'Ah then woos him to sleep "in her lap" and calls for a servant to shave his hair. Samson loses his strength and he is captured by the Philistines who blind him by gouging out his eyes. They then take him to Gaza, imprison him, and put him to work turning a large millstone and grinding corn.
One day the Philistine leaders assemble in a temple for a religious sacrifice to Dagon, one of their most important deities, for having delivered Samson into their hands. They summon Samson so that people can watch him perform for them. The temple is so crowded that people are even climbing onto the roof to watch -and all rulers of the entire government of Philistia have gathered there too, some 3,000 people in all. Samson is led to into the temple, and he asks his captors to let him lean against the supporting pillars to rest. He prays for strength and God gives him strength to break the pillars, causing the temple to collapse, killing Samson and the people inside.
After his death, Samson's family recovered his body from the rubble and bury him near the tomb of his father Man'Oah. At the conclusion of Judges 16, it is said that Samson had "judged" Israel for 20 years. The Scripture does not mention the fate of Delil'Ah.
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