David: 0:02

Welcome to the Boundless Bible. My name is David Shapiro, hey, I'm Javi Marquez and I'm Jason Holloway. Welcome to the Boundless Bible. How's it going, guys? Doing well. How are you Doing? Good man, I'm doing great. Today we're going over the story of Samson, Love Samson. What a story.

David: 0:20

Now Samson had strength to fight armies, but did he have the humility to fight himself? Ooh, that's good, let's find out. That was clever, let's do it, thank you. So the story of Samson, just to we go into real quick.

David: 0:32

Before there were kings, before King David and King Saul, there were judges, and each judge was not a judge like a court judge we know of, but these were leaders of the area that they were in charge, like sub kings, exactly. So samson was one of them and he's actually known as one of the worst. Um, when you look at all the judges, they get a little bit worse every time you go down the line. Okay, um, in in the story of judges, in the, in the book of judges, and samson happens to be one of the worst, um, and for a lot of reasons. But we're just going to go in and kind of talk about him and what he did and who he is.

David: 1:10

Um, but samson was, um, very similar his start to jesus, okay, oh, interesting. And the reason I say that is because you had an angel come down and tell mary you're going to be carrying a child and describes Jesus yeah, same way that Samson started, except it wasn't a virgin birth but it was an angel who came down and said this is who you're going to birth and he's going to be a Nazarite, and a Nazarite is somebody who is set apart from birth.

Javi: 1:39

That's what it means. Oh, okay, that's what I mean, it's just somebody set apart from birth. Okay.

David: 1:42

And there are certain things that they can and can't do. As a Nazirite, it's like ultra pious, right? Yes, oh, exactly, ultra pious. So he's not to cut his hair. He's not to drink alcohol Right, he's not to handle dead bodies, cadavers. So there's a specific set of laws, the word Nazarite in the Bible, but Samson is one of them, and here he is and he's now born and he's a judge. And it is an incredible story of this just really strong guy fighting the Philistines, trying to protect the Israelites, but falling into issue after issue.

Javi: 2:23

Samson's story to me like it's one of the things, one of the stories that why I love the Old Testament. It's just these stories of like strength, things that we're used to now like superheroes almost right.

Javi: 2:36

And seeing this the way he battles, the way he kind of, you know, does things, and it's just so like he saves the day almost you know, and it's like so like he saves the day almost you know, and it's like, wow, that's cool to actually read it and I could when I read it, I could, I could see it. Um, and that's why I love the old testament when it has these stories and and just kind of seeing the supernatural, it's big bold imagery, like they're definitely setting up the story right, like they.

Jason: 2:58

Like he's this I mean spoiler alert right like he's the strongest of the strong, but he ends up being defeated by something not that strong, right, right, and so like it's beautiful the way that they're building these stories, but the way that God built these stories through these people and through their stories, I mean it's really, really phenomenal. So so he was the worst judge.

David: 3:16

He was chosen, but he was constantly rebellious. Right Uh had a tremendous ego and was rebellious against god and what he had said for him. Um, one of the most famous stories about samson is him tearing a lion into yes, with his bare hands, did you say so cool, it is.

Javi: 3:34

Yeah, he ripped them apart. He like, like right. He said he ripped.

Jason: 3:38

Wasn't that a hercules story too?

David: 3:39

I think hercules did kind of the same thing so samson ripped a lion into uh, which every guy's like yeah, this is great, this is.

Jason: 3:47

You know, he couldn't do it in three.

David: 3:50

What a, what a wimp but then what happens is he eats later on. He eats honey, yeah, out of a dead cadaver, which is against what he's supposed to be doing again oh, as a nazirite he is not supposed to be touching a dead body? Right, and he was eating out of it. Yeah, um, he's just constantly rebellious to god's commands and what he has in store for him. Yeah, and you just see, story after story after story, him doing the exact same thing. Yeah, um, which still isn't his downfall.

Jason: 4:21

No, I mean that's a great thing samson's downfall comes much later.

David: 4:25

Um, but yes, listen, he, um, uh. He fights the philistines in this really incredible fashion multiple times um one. There's a donkey jawbone.

Jason: 4:34

Yeah, he kills a thousand men, a thousand men with a jawbone with a jawbone.

David: 4:38

It's cool, man. Uh, very cool it's it's. You know, this is john wick.

Jason: 4:42

Very cool, it's you know, this is John Wick, yeah.

Javi: 4:44

You know the long flowing hair and you know he did have the long flowing hair, exactly.

David: 4:49

This is I mean, this is every guy's dream.

Javi: 4:51

One of the pictures I've seen of Samson, by the way, is he has these dreadlocks, or?

David: 4:54

something. He has long hair, right, whether it's dreaded out or not, he does have long hair. That he is not allowed to cut this long air, that he, he is not allowed to cut, uh, this is one of those nazirite laws. Yeah, you're not allowed to cut your locks, um, but he, you know one point, he also, he sets 3 000 fox on fire.

Jason: 5:15

This is insanity.

David: 5:16

I love this he sets them on fire um and sends them out.

Jason: 5:20

He sets their tails on fire. He ties them together, all 300. He ties them together, sets their tails on fire. He ties them together, all 300. He ties them together, sets their tails on fire and runs them into the city so they can burn down the city.

David: 5:28

Yes, sick and what happens is this is actually a curse on the philistines harvest, right what he's doing, so he's also the first one to actually use um psychological warfare when you really think about it, because that's solid you have the philistines and what he's doing is he's cursing their harvest by setting a fox on fire. The fox represents cunning or desolation. Oh, I never knew that. Fire represents judgment or purification, so he's literally cursing their harvest.

Javi: 5:56

I really think he's more. He's wise, even beyond his. He's not just, you know, this strong guy, he's also wise. Even the things that where he was kind of conniving with his, with poetry at the, at the festival and all that stuff I think he was, he was a wise judge. He wasn't just this, you know, the big strong guy.

David: 6:17

I don't know if he was big guy, I just know he was strong absolutely, and and um, he didn't always battle with the philistines because he fell in love with one. Yeah, um, her name was timna and this was his wife that he married, who was the daughter of a philistine.

Jason: 6:32

Yes, um that he fell in love with, and he tricked them into getting her too, didn't he like he's full of he's full of stuff, this guy, yeah um, so, so yeah, he, he man.

David: 6:42

There's so much to talk about samson, but he does. He ends up getting married, still defeats the Philistines, so it's not even like he's marrying her and there's truce, or he is in command of his marriage, his armies, he's in control of the Philistines, he is truly chosen.

Javi: 7:00

And we're talking about Samson and what the verses of what Judges 13 to 16, right, chapter 16.

David: 7:08

Yes.

Javi: 7:08

Yeah.

David: 7:09

Chapters 13,.

Jason: 7:10

16 is Samson Um but when you say he was, he was chosen by God, it's interesting cause he does all this stuff right. He does all this like wild stuff and and even bad stuff to an extent, and then something happens to him and it says the power of God came upon him and he was able to have this strength. So I find maybe that's something to talk about, right. There is like how can you be so strong and you know from from God, while you're still doing so many different things, like there's so much I don't know. I just want to unpack all that, yeah.

David: 7:35

And I think that's listen, that is God's way, which is we know he works through flawed individuals. Um, he had chosen you know individuals. Um, he had chosen you know samson before he was born. Yeah, he knew him before he was born which is beautiful and gave him all this strength and said this is what you're going to do, you're going to protect the israelites. I'm going to give you all this strength. He does have all this wisdom. Uh, it's just this incredible story of how god utilized this gentleman even when he was messing up, even when he was going. Listen, they have talks about him being in parties afterwards, and when you start looking up the Hebrew version of those parties, typically these men drinking sessions which he was not allowed.

David: 8:14

He wasn't allowed to it doesn't say he specifically drank alcohol, but a lot of academics kind of look at that and go. If he was at this type of party chances are.

Jason: 8:23

He was drinking, he was partaking, so now you have him partaking of alcohol.

David: 8:27

He is eating honey out of dead bodies. Multiple times he's actually with dead cadavers and touching them. So he keeps defying what God has told him to do Right, and he still has all of his power.

Jason: 8:41

God has not turned his back on him Particularly against the Philistines Exactly, who were the known enemy of, you know, the israeli people right, yep, absolutely, um, and, and he has all of his power, it's not taken from him.

David: 8:54

But then samson meets somebody else, yes, who is not his wife. Yes, delilah, right, um, this is something. I think this is where the story other than him ripping a lion in half, um, I think the second part that most people know, or maybe even the first, is samson and delilah. Yeah, I think I mean, there's a song about it well, it's a popular.

Jason: 9:14

I mean, it's a popular thing, it's a pop culture thing. Everybody knows samson and delilah, whether or not you know the bible or not, right, I mean? And you know what's the leonard cohen song, hallelujah, it talks about delilah. Anyway, it goes into that whole thing. But like it's such a pop culture thing, it really is fascinating. This is a cult, this is a story that has defied boundaries yeah, and to me this is the now third match with jesus.

David: 9:37

the first one was how he was going to be born yes. The second one was setting him apart from everybody else. Okay, jesus was set and with Delilah, she is offered 1100 pieces of silver Right and Jesus, somebody else was offered silver.

Jason: 9:52

Yeah, for I never thought of that.

David: 9:54

To betray them. Yeah, so he's betrayed for 1100 pieces of silver For silver yeah. Again, this is now the other kind of parallel to Jesus. Yes, and there's still more. There's still more parallels, but just kind of pausing now and saying this is the third one in that story, and then you know, I'm going to let you, jason, because I know you were bothered by this a little bit, in this story, what happens between Samson and Delilah? I'm not bothered a little bit.

Jason: 10:22

I'm bothered a lot. Oh, it is so frustrating to me when I hear this story that he's. She asks him what can I do to destroy you? Yeah, and he gives her a bad answer, just to see what'll happen. And she does it. Yeah, she goes through with it, which should have been the end of the story right there shouldn't it.

Jason: 10:41

I mean like like here, let me be vulnerable to you, let me give you the you know, let me give you the skinny on what's going on and see if you take advantage of it, and you take advantage of it. That's pretty much the. I don't know about you guys, but you do that to me. That's probably the last time I'm telling you anything and then she does it again, because he lets her and then he tells her again and she goes through it again. Yeah, and I'm just thinking like why? I don't know, this is the part of the story I don't understand. I don't. I don't understand this part of the story and it frustrates me to no end because again it happens, happens three times, right, three times. And on the third time which is, I'm sure, has some significance in the Jewish, you know tells her, yeah, like, why would he? This is the part that frustrates me really. Why would he actually tell her? Because she's persistent, I mean. But I mean you get everything you want when you keep asking, right, yeah, man.

Jason: 11:30

She's so persistent. But she's so persistent and he already knows he's going to betray it. He already knows he's going to be betrayed. Yeah, it's happened twice. And this time he actually gives her the real answer and then she goes through with it again. What I, what I?

Javi: 11:45

get out of that. So much what I get out of that story as you're, as you are explaining it so well, it's samsung, was I can't say his name right samson, it's like so made in china.

Jason: 11:56

He's so arrogant.

Javi: 11:58

He is so arrogant, you know, and I just feel like I think what it is is. I can't be harmed because I got god's power on yeah right, I got this, this gift. That can't be taken away from me. I'm doing what I'm doing and I continue to succeed. You know, I just feel like he wasn't, he didn't think he was going to get harmed in any kind of way. You can't harm me. I got god behind, got my back.

Jason: 12:18

I could do whatever I look at all this other stuff. I can do what I want I did all this other stuff, and god still gave me the power to do what I want and that's exactly what we see here.

Javi: 12:25

And why would you tell her that? Why were you? And she does it and you still continue to move forward, and three times. Because there's nothing to trust about her. She's not your wife, she's not this this person that's, you know, giving you.

Javi: 12:37

you know, well, she's probably giving you what he wanted, but like he did, it did. They did say that he did love her, or or obviously he fell in love lustily, but I just feel like that's what it is. He's just so arrogant and you can see that throughout the story that he's just like no one could touch me because I got God power.

David: 12:56

For me. I think it's actually interesting because, yes, it very easily could have just been. He's arrogant and no one's going to touch me. I'm Samson, have just been. He's arrogant and no one's going to touch me. I'm I'm samson and yeah, you know if I can kill a thousand philistines with a jawbone, yeah, you know this. What is this one woman going to do? Yeah, exactly.

David: 13:10

Um, what I look at this story, I always think about when somebody does something wrong, so he's cheating on his wife with her, and and we don't want to bypass that, because I think when you do something wrong right, when you are, uh, in a relationship and you are cheating, what happens? You automatically think you're being cheated on and you start blaming the other person for doing that. When you are a thief, you start thinking that other people are stealing from you. I think what you always do is you're always getting more and more aware of other people thinking that they're going to do you dirty and we go. Well, then, why would he do this to her? I think what he was doing? Because of his arrogance, he was doing something wrong. He knew it was wrong, he knew he should have been with his wife, so now he was you think it's self-sabotage, kind of self-sabotaging himself, knowing that you know I'm doing this wrong. I'm going to tell you exactly how. To you know he wasn't okay with what he was doing. Yeah, he was. He knew he was cheating Subconsciously.

Jason: 14:13

He was, he was, he was pulling the rug out of the only way because I'm this.

David: 14:17

I struggled the same way, Jason. I'm like there is no way that anybody's going to tell me three times yeah, how do I kill you? I'm going to tell you, you're going to give you the real reason. It's not going to happen. I have to feel like somewhere there was some sort of guilt or punishment subconsciously in him, where he was just like you know what. I'm going to tell you the truth, because I don't think it was a trust thing. He didn't believe her that she wouldn't try it because he was proven wrong three times.

David: 14:44

I just think that he subconsciously was like you know what I'm going to tell you?

Jason: 14:49

And she used it going to tell you, right, um, and she used it. What'd she do? She did it, she, she did it. And then you know, the thing was it's interesting too, it's not that she said how do I destroy you? Right? She said what is the secret to your power? Yeah, and then when he gave her the secret to his power, it's almost like he was like, okay, let's see what she's gonna do. But then she invited the philistines in, so ultimately he knew it was for his destruction, right like that. All times, that was what it was. I also think it's interesting that she was philistine, right like. So he's what would you call it? Engaged with the enemy yeah right.

Jason: 15:19

I mean he's engaged with the enemy, he she's asking for his power to go. He's getting, he's giving her these answers. Yeah, finally it comes down and he does. Let's talk about how it kind of goes past that, right, but this way, by the this is twice this happened to him.

Javi: 15:31

This happened to him before with his wife yeah, Timna, when she was asking him like hey, please tell me the result of, oh, give me the answer to that riddle. The riddle right, right, and she kept asking, he kept asking and he didn't want to give it to her. That's super significant, I.

Jason: 15:47

That's super significant.

Javi: 15:48

I hadn't thought about that she was a Philistine, and then now again I delighted another Philistine asking you the same thing, the same three time question. You know she asked the question three times.

Jason: 15:57

Except he gave the answer three times and he wouldn't give it to his wife. And he didn't give it to his wife. That's really interesting. I hadn't. I hadn't considered that, you know. But let's go further, because there's still there's does get destroyed.

David: 16:14

Where they pull his eyes out? Yeah, well, first shave his head. So power, yeah, the power went out of him and he did not know. Right, that's the first part is, god took his power away and he was not aware of it, right, um, which to me shows the complete dismissal of god in his life. Yeah, he didn't even know that. He lost his strength because he wasn't connected with god whatsoever. Yeah, um, I think that if, if he understood that his anointing was gone, um, he, you know, I don't know how the the ending of the story would have changed, but it would have showed at least some relational or humility, something with god. Um, so, and it didn't. And, uh, then the philistines came and yes, and this is number four, similarity with Jesus. Okay, he was humiliated. Yeah, his eyes were pulled out.

Javi: 16:57

I mean, he was beaten and humiliated publicly.

David: 17:01

Same as Jesus. Yeah, so you now have number four of this cross reference.

Jason: 17:06

So let's follow that to where I was going with it.

Javi: 17:07

There's a five in there.

Jason: 17:08

You think so?

Javi: 17:09

I'm thinking about it. Yeah, there is.

Jason: 17:11

So, let's go to where I was going to naturally go with that, which is that it's interesting, right? He's engaging with the enemy with Timna. She asks him questions. He doesn't answer Nope. Later he engages again more deeply. He does get asked. He does answer yeah, they do take advantage of him, but at the end of the story he's still even. You know, he's still able to overcome his enemy even though, even though there's like these.

Jason: 17:36

It's almost like this military battle, right like he's engaged with a battle with one, in which case he gives up no ground whatsoever. He's engaged with the military battle with the second, where he does give up ground. He gives up ground, he gives up ground again to the point where he actually is defeated in the battle, but he ultimately wins the war. War Because at the very end he pushes down the columns, which brings it down on his enemies, and that's the end of his enemies.

Javi: 17:58

Yeah, I just feel like God is going to have his will. His will is going to be done right.

Jason: 18:02

Well, that's where right. Oh, that's where you're going, yeah, go ahead.

Javi: 18:05

His will is going to be done and I just feel like Sam with Samson. I keep saying Samson. Samson is a person that God was using. That was faithful, right. That was, you know. He was anointed, right. I like to think he was a judge To parts of it.

Jason: 18:21

He was faithful to parts of it. I think we have to be cognizant of that.

Javi: 18:26

So I think even God could use the worst of somebody for good right, For his will, and I think we see that here with Samson, and he did all the way through, even to do what he did at the end, which was to to, you know, kill the enemy, the enemies of the Israelites which were, which was the Philistines Even even having now not done any of the things that the Nazarite was supposed to have done, right, and he's still able to defeat his enemies because God is so strong that he doesn't even really need you.

Jason: 18:52

Yeah, he really. Just, you're just a little bit of a vessel. If you're faithful and following, he'll definitely use you.

Javi: 18:59

Yeah.

Jason: 19:00

And even once you've lost your calling, he can still use you anyway.

Javi: 19:02

Yeah, but that was to his destruction, right Well?

Jason: 19:05

to his oh good one. Yeah, he had to destroy himself in order to destroy that. Yeah, to destroy himself in order to destroy that he still had to do that.

Javi: 19:10

I mean, he wasn't like martyred. I like to think Maybe he was Maybe you could look at it that way like Jesus was for good right, but it was a good that happened.

Jason: 19:20

Is that what your number five was my number five was different.

Javi: 19:22

My number five was more the destroying of the temple, of their temple, which was good one.

David: 19:28

Before that there's another number how he was tied to the columns. His arms were stretched out as if a crucifix. So this is now number five. And then he actually cries out, finally to God, at the very end, and he cries out and he is looking is it? An Aramaic? By any chance not an Aramaic by any chance it's not an aramaic um, but now he's crying out and what he's doing is um, he is, he's delivering all of yes all of the philistines and this temple yes, yes this becomes number seven.

David: 20:09

Um, but there is a huge connection between jesus and Samson.

Jason: 20:13

What do you think the significance of that Jesus Samson connection is? I think it's.

David: 20:18

the difference is how one person is faithful to God through his entire life versus one guy who is not Now. They are both strong. Quote unquote. You can look at Jesus and go well, jesus was. People look at him as meek and things like that. Jesus was really strong, not just as a son of God. He was strong enough to heal paralytic people. Yes, he was strong in a much different way. But I think when you look at the faith and you have two different people who mimicked each other's lives one who followed the faith, one who followed the strength, the one who followed the strength that's it. He died, he killed Philistines with him. He's done Story's over. He doesn't actually do anything after the story. It's done.

Jason: 21:03

So, recapping what you're saying, just to like tie it up a little bit, what you're saying is, the similarity between the two stories is to show that when you are fully faithful, you get something like Jesus. When you are not fully faithful, you get something that self-destroys. The kingdom of God will still happen and you will still be a part of it to some extent, but you won't go on.

David: 21:22

Yeah, absolutely Okay. And what he listen? This is called a Kiddush Hashem. This is what Samson did at the very end. Okay, and Kiddush Hashem is a death sanctifying God's name. Isn't that also called Harry Carey? This is a mitzvah, it's a commandment. This is a really good thing that you do.

Jason: 21:42

It's the Japanese thing Because he was blind. No, that's the Japanese thing. When you kill yourself for the glory of your country, what do they call it? It's called Harry Carey.

David: 21:48

So he performed a kiddush Hashem. This is death sanctifying God's name. Okay, so this is something that Jesus again did. This is a mitzvah.

Javi: 21:58

Oh, yeah, yeah.

Jason: 22:00

This is something that is Remind anybody who doesn't know what a mitzvah is. So it's a commandment.

David: 22:03

It's following a commandment. This type of commandment of sanctifying God's name in your death is one of the ultimate ones. It's one of the ultimate ones, it's one of the biggest ones you can do. This is something you celebrate. So, even after Samson had really corrupted God's word and God's plan for him and what he did and his anointing, and all that still at the very end, I think that he was able to really look at God and appreciate what God has done for him and honors God's name in his very last breath.

Javi: 22:34

Right, yeah, and God, like I said, god uses even the wickedness of that, or his flaws, for good. We see that in many stories. A matter of fact, I've looked into it and it says Hebrews 11, 31 is showing different characters in the Bible that did wicked things but God used for good, like Rahab, gideon, barak and Samson is part of the list there and David, as people that was faithful and he used to conquer kingdoms. That's what it says there in Hebrews. So I really want to give Samson a little bit of credit. A little bit of credit, a little bit of credit, little bit of credit, a little bit of credit. He was faithful.

David: 23:14

He didn't follow out a lot of things, even though he lived the life that he lived yeah, and the other thing, and this is the biggest difference, now we do all the similarities between samson and jesus I was gonna say I want to talk about some differences, the biggest difference is in samson's death. He killed more people, yeah, than when he was alive his whole life. Jesus saved more people after his death than when he was alive His whole life. Jesus saved more people after his death than when he was alive.

Jason: 23:36

That's still. I mean, it's still a similarity.

David: 23:38

Right, it's a similarity but you definitely have Jesus is the one who saved Samson is the one who kills. Yeah, so when you follow Jesus, when you follow God, you're saving, not killing, right Sure, and that's the biggest difference. So let's talk about-.

Jason: 23:52

So here's the.

David: 23:53

I know mic drop, that's good.

Jason: 23:54

Yeah, that's good, big old mic drop. So here's one of the things I'm really interested in Of all. Okay, he was born to be a Nazirite. He was supposed to be the cleanest of the clean, to be the purest of the pure, to be the p. It wasn't until he's cut his hair that there was a consequence, what I wonder what that's about. Like, I feel like there has to be, I feel like there has to be a meaning behind that, but I'm not sure I have my finger on it yet Right. Like when, when you do things wrong, you you can still have a chance to repent, maybe that. But like there's something about this physicality, you know the physicality of the hair being cut and now it's gone. That was it. Like that was the final straw.

David: 24:40

Right, or is this a? This is the last strike. So we look at Pharaoh. I mean, it could be. Pharaoh hardened his own heart, hardened his own heart, hardened his own heart. God was like all right, now I'm hardening your heart. Could this be? Hey, I, hey, I touched a cadaver. I eat honey out of it. Hey, I drank alcohol. Yeah, I'm, I'm not following my my nazirite ways well, he went to a prostitute.

Jason: 25:01

Let's not forget that part.

David: 25:02

Yes, not a small thing um, and then, finally, this is where god goes. Now you've had your hair shaved, you know, cut off. It's too much, um, and it's it's completely his fault. I mean he told delilah about it, then he fell asleep on her lap, yeah, and then she had it cut off, right. So I mean, I see, different.

Javi: 25:21

I gotta get the verse, but there's another verse in there that it says. That was kind of interesting to me. That kind of goes a little bit. What you're saying, jason, is he didn't have the power and the power came to him, yeah, to destroy the israelites at one point. So at that same point he could have been captured, he could have been taken, he could have been, his eyes could have been gouged out Right, and maybe at that, at that point that he was with Delilah, he did have the power with him and that was taken away then. So I wonder this back and forth that he didn't, he had the power of strength given by God and then God took it away. I'm just, I'm just trying to, I'm throwing it out there.

Jason: 25:56

Maybe there was something there that I found, maybe you guys collaborate on, or yeah, I mean, look, I think there's look, every story has so much hidden symbolism in it, and there's a few things that are clues to the symbolism, like even when the first thing he told her was that it had to be seven bow strings, you know, to tie him together. Seven, we know, is always something right.

Jason: 26:18

So he tells her that, but it's not true. He rips him apart like it's nothing, and then he, you know, takes on the Philistine destroyers. And then the next one is what is? Weave his hair into the, into a web pattern in seven gold braids or something like this. It's again, it's something, something like that. But there's just just, it seems to me that the that the significance of what happens right at the end of the story, that there's got to be something where he's giving it. Maybe it's the fact that he's giving it up willingly, maybe it's not even the hair, maybe it's the fact that he willingly gave up the answer to someone else, as opposed to taking responsibility for himself.

David: 26:52

I don't know or I mean this is just again, again. It's one word in the entire chapter, but you know his wife.

Jason: 27:00

I hope it's a Hebrew one, because your Hebrew words always add color. His wife loves him.

David: 27:04

Delilah, for what we know, loves him and he loves Delilah and he loves his wife. Yeah, and he's in control of the relationships and as soon as his hair is cut. But it specifically says Delilah tormented him. It's the first time somebody took control of him. Yeah, she began to torment him and then his strength left him. That's specifically when his strength left, but he Is when she started tormenting him.

Jason: 27:28

This is super fascinating. This is super fascinating because it's not the hair, it was the giving up of the real answer.

Javi: 27:33

But I also feel like he just to combat that a little bit I just also feel like he knew what it was to that his power would go away. That's what I mean, though. So if he knew, that beforehand.

Jason: 27:45

It could have been two weeks before that.

David: 27:47

Imagine this, but he said it, but he doesn't. Again, he's a Nazirite, so he just said about his hair, but he actually has multiple things he needs to be following as Nazarite. Why did he choose specifically his hair? I don't know.

Jason: 28:02

I believe I mean it says he gave her the real answer. Yeah, so he knew the real answer. He couldn't have given it to her had he not known what it was Right, so it says he gave her the real answer.

Jason: 28:10

So, but I I think we at least in my mind we tapped into something. It was he disobeyed everything right, we already know that and the strength didn't go away. He could have probably cut his own hair on his own will and probably gotten away with it just like he got the rest of it. The problem is that he ceded control of his own power, of God's power, because it was God's power. All of that was God's power. He ceded control to her by because he was tormented to death. It says because he was.

Jason: 28:42

It literally says he was tormented to death, which I find he was nagged to death by his, by his woman, and I mean, but this is the thing. Maybe this is what it was, maybe it really wasn't the hair, maybe it was just the fact that he ceded control to a human over God knowing, and that was, that was the last straw. God was like you know what I'm either I'm here or I'm not, and if you're going to give it to somebody else, then I don't know. That's a it is. It states me for now to know to think that might be the answer.

David: 29:09

I don't know, saying something to be knocked to death. But there is something about you know, the torment happens and his strength left him. It actually reminds me just hearing of it. It reminds me of Peter, where, as soon as Jesus starts being beaten, peter starts to deny him that torment of his master, of his rabbi being beaten, and he was like I don't know him. He denied him. Yeah, it's just, there's a lot of parallels of this. Denied him, yeah, um, it's just, there's, there's a lot of parallels of this. Something about that torment at that moment caused samson's power to go out from from within, and whether it was the hair and the timing or it was the torment of delilah, right, there definitely is something there that caused this power to go out because he did everything else wrong as a nazir.

Javi: 29:53

Maybe that was a setup. That was a setup for him to get to the temple to kill so many Philistines. That's never been killed before.

Jason: 30:00

That's a really good point too. I mean, look the Bible's full of these things that happen. We talked about Judah and Joseph. Right, it wasn't really his story. The Samson story maybe the story's not about. Maybe the story's not about Samson.

Javi: 30:24

The story's not about Samson. It's really about what God was going to do to the Philistines. It's just another Israeli messenger being sent to the infidel and taking them down because that was God's plan the whole time. I like to think God still uses people's flaws for good. Well, he did in this. I think that's what we see here, because God could do it in so many different ways. He could have took down the Philistines.

Jason: 30:36

Are there any redeeming qualities in Samson?

David: 30:40

Delilah gets 1,100 silver pieces and goes away. We never hear from her again.

Jason: 30:44

Okay, I mean that's a redeeming quality Wow.

David: 30:47

I mean listen, I think, what ends up happening though is-. Unless she was in the temple which we don't know he probably had beautiful, maybe it's Maybelline.

David: 30:56

This is something and I can't believe. I'm going to compare the Bible a little bit to the Avengers movies. Let's do it. But when you look at the Avengers movies at least the newer ones you don't have a fully good guy or a fully bad guy. You have the good guys that have bad qualities and bad guys who have good qualities. Yes, and I think with samson, when you look at people who have been questioning samson, he is strong but he is just spiritually weak. He is uh egotistical.

David: 31:22

He's all about himself and you start to see that he even has some he does he has some redeeming qualities and I'm going he is maybe a good guy with bad qualities. I definitely don't think he's a bad guy with good qualities a hundred percent.

Jason: 31:36

that's a really great way to put it. That's a really great way to put it. That's a really great way to put it. Yeah, you know, and I think, sadly, we, we can all see ourselves in that, right, like we, good things came out of bad things, not bad things came out of good things. Yeah, so that's, that's, that's acceptable.

Javi: 31:52

He ruled or was a judge for 20 years. It says he reigned for 20 years.

Jason: 31:59

He was one of many who reigned.

Javi: 32:01

Right, but it says he reigned for 20 years as one of the judges.

David: 32:07

No, I think. Listen, this is a great story.

Javi: 32:10

It is definitely something that Since he had led. Israel 20 years. Yeah, judges 1631.

Jason: 32:15

There were multiple judges, though, weren't there? Yeah, there were multiple judges though, weren't they?

David: 32:17

yeah, but like simultaneously, but that was his time. Yes, well, it's all. Different regions had their own judge.

Jason: 32:21

Yeah, so cool guys. This was. This was a lot of fun. It is crazy to think of how, how culturally significant the samson story is because, like you said, it's like a movie, kind of right it's, it's an easily recognizable story that has all these iconic moments, iconic features and iconic characters. You know, it really is, really is quite phenomenal.

David: 32:40

So, like to me, one of the manly men, like just the man, yeah he probably has a theme song.

Jason: 32:46

Oh, can we have a theme song for samson? We're gonna figure this out all right guys, so thanks for joining us today. This has been, uh, a really fun endeavor into three, maybe four, chapters of judges. If you have any thoughts about Samson, please let us know on the socials. Send us a message on email, get in the discussion group, let us know what you're thinking and we look forward to chatting more about good people who've done bad things have a wonderful week we appreciate your time. See you guys, see you.