Samson's Riddle Judges 14 by Don Falkos Copyright 2016 Donald Falkos Storytelling LLC

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Samson's Riddle Judges 14 by Don Falkos copyright 2016 Donald Falkos Storytelling LLC Samson expressed his desire to marry a particular Philistine woman. His parents were distressed, "Isn't there some nice Israelite woman you could marry?" But he was insistent. When Samson was on his way to make the wedding arrangements, he was attacked by a young lion. The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon Samson, and he ripped the lion's jaws apart with his bare hands. Later, when he was on his way to the wedding, he found that a swarm of bees had made honey in the lion's carcass. He scooped out some of the honey with his hands and ate it. Thirty young Philistine men were recruited as companions for Samson during the week- long celebration leading up to the wedding. Samson said to these thirty young men, "Let me tell you a riddle. If you solve it, I'll give each of you a set of fine clothes. If not, each of you will have to give me a set of fine clothes." They agreed. So Samson said, "Out of the eater, something to eat; out of the strong, something sweet." The young men couldn't decipher the riddle, so they threatened Samson's bride; she nagged him until he told her what it meant; she informed the young men, who said to Samson, "What is sweeter than honey? What is stronger than a lion?" Samson replied, "If you hadn't plowed with my heifer, you wouldn't have solved my riddle!" The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon Samson. He went to a near-by town and killed thirty Philistine men. He took their belongings, and gave them to the thirty young men. Samson was so angry he went home, and his bride was given to another man. twominutbible.com (608) 852-4946 blessedbythespokenword.com [email protected] .

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The Wife of Manoah, the Mother of Samson
546 THE WIFE OF MANOAH, THE MOTHER OF SAMSON Magdel le Roux University of South Africa P O Box 392, UNISA 0003 E-mail: [email protected] (Received 21/04/2016; accepted 06/07/2016) ABSTRACT The last account of the judges is that of Samson (Judges 13–16). This account has all the elements of a blockbuster. All the indications are that Samson would be an extraordinary person. And yet, even though Samson may be regarded as some sort of hero, the story suggests that Samson was also the weakest or most ineffective of the judges. Tension is created through the juxtaposition of “ideal” and “non-ideal” bodies. An alternative ideology, as a hidden polemic, is concealed in the account. As in the case of Achsah (Judges 1:11–15) and Deborah (Judges 4–5), the nameless wife of Manoah (the mother of Samson) serves as an illustration of “countercultural rhetoric” as a hidden polemic. INTRODUCTION In the dominant cultural ideology of the Israelite tribes, ideal, whole bodies were those of male Israelite soldiers without any defects. This is the image that comes to mind when one first reads about the strong man, Samson, although in time one becomes more aware of his weaknesses than his strengths. These accounts (Judges 14–16) are full of violence and of Samson’s personal revenge, but they also describe his weakness for women. In the case of Samson, an ideal male body develops into an “unwhole body” in that an aesthetic element is added to the story: God favours Samson despite his disobedience (Chs 14–16).
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