Pt1 Stories of Samson in Judges 13-16: Strength, Sin, and Symbolism (Sotah 9b-10a)

This is the first part of a two-part series. The outline of the series is below.

The story of Samson in Judges 13–16 is one of the most dramatic and perplexing narratives in the Hebrew Bible, blending superhuman strength with human weakness, divine destiny with moral ambiguity. In the Talmud, these tensions are not smoothed over, they are explored and amplified. This sugya presents a detailed and often provocative interpretation of Samson’s life, revealing layers of moral causality, symbolic wordplay, theological reflection, and corporeal commentary.

We encounter a Samson whose physical exploits are matched only by the metaphysical meanings ascribed to them: he is punished measure for measure through his eyes, undone by desire, propelled by divine force, and remembered in death for his selfless leadership. The sages dissect Delilah’s role, not just narratively but linguistically; they extract sexual subtext from biblical language, explore tribal prophecy, and connect Samson’s rise and fall to themes ranging from the High Priest’s bells to ancient oaths and folk proverbs.

What emerges is a Samson who is not merely a tragic hero or failed judge, but a symbolic figure—at once mythic and intimate, exalted and transgressive—who embodies the tensions of divine mission and human frailty.

Outline

Intro

The Passage - Stories of Samson in Judges 13-16: Strength, Sin, and Symbolism (Sotah 9b-10a)

Part 1

1. Baraita - Samson Punished Through His Eyes

2. R’ Yehuda HaNasi - Samson’s initial sin took place in Gaza, and therefore his downfall also occurred there (Judges 16:1, 16:21): Moral Cause and Effect

3. R’ Yehuda HaNasi - Delilah’s Name as a Sign of Her Deed (Judges 16:18-20): she “weakened” Samson’s strength, heart, and deeds

4. R’ Ḥanin citing Rav, Abaye - How Delilah Recognized the Truth: Samson’s Truthfulness Proven by His Mention of God (Judges 16:17)

5. R’ Yitzḥak of R’ Ami’s School - Sexual Manipulation as Pressure (Judges 16:16): Delilah slipping away from under him at the point of climax

6. R’ Yitzḥak of R’ Ami’s School - Nazirite Restrictions, Not Kashrut (Judges 13:4)

7. R’ Yitzḥak of R’ Ami’s School - Desire for Unclean Philistine women Leads to Salvation via Unclean Object of donkey’s jawbone (Judges 15:19)

Part 2

1. R’ Ḥama ben Ḥanina - Samson as the Fulfillment of Jacob’s Prophecy about Dan (Judges 13:25; Genesis 49:17): Samson’s Stirring by God’s Spirit; Jacob’s Serpent Prophecy

2. R’ Yitzḥak of R’ Ami’s School - The Sound of the Shekhina and the High Priest’s Bells (Judges 13:25; Exodus 39:26): Linguistic Link to Priestly Garments

3. R’ Asi - Superhuman Strength: Samson Grinding Mountains (Judges 13:25)

4. R’ Ḥama ben Ḥanina - Philistine-Abraham peace pact Broken first by the Philistines (Judges 13:5; Genesis 21:23)

5. Rav Yehuda citing Rav - Blessing of Sexual Prowess (Judges 13:24): his penis functioned like an adult’s, and his semen flowed like a river

6. Rav - Samson’s Final Prayer for Revenge on the Philistines and the Merit of Selfless Leadership (Judges 16:28): Samson’s Prayer for Strength; A Plea Based on Merit

7. R’ Aivu bar Nagdi citing R’ Ḥiyya bar Abba - Samson’s Symbolic Use of Foxes to Punish the Philistines (Judges 15:4)

8. R’ Shimon the Pious - Massive Proportions: Shoulders 60 Cubits Wide (Judges 16:3)

9. R’ Yoḥanan - Samson’s Grinding in Captivity (Judges 16:21): Interpretation of ‘Grinding’ as Sexual (Job 31:10)

   1. Rav Pappa’s Folk Saying Analogy

10. R’ Yoḥanan - Adultery Begets Adultery: Reciprocal Consequences in Job and Folklore (Job 31:9–10)

11. R’ Yoḥanan - Samson’s Judgment Like God’s (Genesis 49:16)

12. R’ Yoḥanan - Samson’s Name as a Reflection of Divine Protection (Psalms 84:12): Samson Called by God’s Name; Symbolic Comparison to God

Appendix - Talmudic Interpretations of Samson’s Story: Organized by Verse

1. Judges 13: Samson’s Birth and Divine Calling

   1. Judges 13:4 - Nazirite Restrictions

   2. Judges 13:5 - Broken Peace Pact

   3. Judges 13:24 - Divine Blessing of Virility

   4. Judges 13:25 - Divine Stirring and Power

2. Judges 14: Samson’s Marriage

   1. Judges 14:3 - Sin Through His Eyes

3. Judges 15: Samson’s Vengeance

   1. Judges 15:4 - Symbolic Foxes

   2. Judges 15:19 - Unclean Salvation

4. Judges 16: Delilah, Capture, and Death

   1. Judges 16:1 - Sin in Gaza

   2. Judges 16:3 - Superhuman Proportions

   3. Judges 16:4 - Delilah’s Meaningful Name

   4. Judges 16:16-17 - Sexual Manipulation and Truth

   5. Judges 16:18-20 - Delilah’s Betrayal

   6. Judges 16:21 - Captivity and Humiliation

   7. Judges 16:28 - Final Prayer and Merit

5. Additional Interpretations

The Passage

Sotah.9b.11-10a.8

Baraita - Samson Punished Through His Eyes

Samson followed his eyes and desired a Philistine woman based on appearance, stating, “she is right (ישרה - “straight”) in my eyes.”

Accordingly, the Philistines gouged out (נקרו) his eyes.¹

תנו רבנן:

• שמשון בעיניו מרד —

  • שנאמר: ״ויאמר שמשון אל אביו: אותה קח לי, כי היא ישרה בעיני״ —

• לפיכך נקרו פלשתים את עיניו —

  • שנאמר: ,״ויאחזוהו פלשתים, וינקרו את עיניו״.

[...]

The Sages taught (Tosefta 3:15):

• Samson rebelled with his eyes —

  • as it is stated: “Then his father and his mother said to him: Is there never a woman among the daughters of your brethren, or among all my people, that you go out to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said to his father: Get her for me; for she is pleasant in my eyes” (Judges 14:3).

• Therefore, the Philistines gouged out his eyes —

  • as it is stated: “And the Philistines laid hold on him, and put out his eyes” (Judges 16:21).

[...]

R’ Yehuda HaNasi - Samson’s initial sin took place in Gaza, and therefore his downfall also occurred there (Judges 16:1, 16:21): Moral Cause and Effect

A baraita presents R’ Yehuda HaNasi’s view that Samson’s punishment was measure for measure:

His initial sin took place in Gaza, and therefore his downfall also occurred there.

The Talmud cites verses in Judges to show this: Samson first sinned by visiting a harlot in Gaza (16:1), and ultimately was captured, blinded, and imprisoned in Gaza (16:21).

תניא,

רבי אומר:

• תחילת קלקולו

  • בעזה,

• לפיכך לקה

  • בעזה.

• תחילת קלקולו בעזה --

  • דכתיב: ״וילך שמשון עזתה, וירא שם אשה זונה וגו׳״,

• לפיכך לקה בעזה --

  • דכתיב: ״ויורידו אותו עזתה״.

[...]

It is taught in a baraita in the Tosefta (3:15):

R’ Yehuda HaNasi says:

• His initial wrongdoing

  • was in Gaza,

• and therefore he was smitten

  • in Gaza.

The Talmud explains:

• His initial wrongdoing was in Gaza --

  • as it is written: “And Samson went to Gaza, and saw there a harlot, and went in unto her” (Judges 16:1).

• Therefore, he was smitten in Gaza --

  • as it is written: “And the Philistines laid hold on him, and put out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison-house” (Judges 16:21).

[...]

R’ Yehuda HaNasi - Delilah’s Name as a Sign of Her Deed (Judges 16:18-20): she “weakened” Samson’s strength, heart, and deeds

Delilah’s name (דלילה) is interpreted as etymologically fitting—she “weakened” (דילדלה) Samson’s strength, heart, and deeds.²

Scriptural proof is given: she drained his strength when his hair was cut, saw he had revealed “all his heart,” and after she betrayed him, the Shekhina departed from him.

״ויהי אחרי כן

ויאהב אשה בנחל שרק

ושמה דלילה״.

תניא,

רבי אומר:

אילמלא לא נקרא שמה ״דלילה״ —

ראויה היתה שתקרא דלילה:

1. דילדלה את כחו,

2. דילדלה את לבו,

3. דילדלה את מעשיו.

1. דילדלה את כחו —

   1. דכתיב: ״ויסר כחו מעליו״.

2. דילדלה את לבו —

   1. דכתיב: ״ותרא דלילה כי הגיד לה את כל לבו״.

3. דילדלה את מעשיו —

   1. דאיסתלק שכינה מיניה, דכתיב: ״והוא לא ידע כי ה׳ סר מעליו״.

The Talmud continues its discussion of Samson. The verse states: “And it came to pass afterward,

that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek,

whose name was Delilah” (Judges 16:4).

It is taught in a baraita that

R’ Yehuda HaNasi says:

Even if she had not been called by the name Delilah,

it would have been fitting that she be called Delilah, for:

1. she weakened [dildela] his strength,

2. she weakened his heart,

3. and she weakened his deeds, thereby decreasing his merits.

The Talmud explains:

1. She weakened his strength --

   1. as it is written: “And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man and had the seven locks of his head shaved off; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him” (Judges 16:19).

2. She weakened his heart --

   1. as it is written: “And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for lords of the Philistines, saying: Come up this once, for he has told me all his heart” (Judges 16:18).

3. She weakened his deeds, thereby decreasing his merits --

   1. as the Shekhina left him, as it is written: “And she said: The Philistines are upon you, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said: I will go out as at other times, and shake myself. But he knew not that YHWH was departed from him” (Judges 16:20).

R’ Ḥanin citing Rav, Abaye - How Delilah Recognized the Truth: Samson’s Truthfulness Proven by His Mention of God (Judges 16:17)

The Talmud asks how Delilah recognized that Samson finally told her the truth.

R’ Ḥanin says truth is “recognized” (ניכרין - i.e. self-evident).

Abaye offers a more specific insight: Delilah knew Samson was righteous and careful not to use God’s name in vain (מפיק שם שמים לבטלה). When Samson stated that he was a “nazirite to God (אלהים)”, she recognized the truth of his words (believing him because he invoked God’s name).

״ותרא דלילה כי הגיד לה את כל לבו״.

מנא ידעה?

אמר רבי חנין, אמר רב: ניכרין דברי אמת.

אביי אמר:

ידעה בו באותו צדיק

דלא מפיק שם שמים לבטלה.

כיון דאמר ״נזיר אלהים אני״,

אמרה: השתא ודאי קושטא קאמר.

The verse states: “And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart” (Judges 16:18).

The Talmud asks: From where did she know that this time he had told her the truth about the source of his strength, as he had lied about it previously?

R’ Ḥanin says that Rav says: Words of truth are recognizable, and she felt that this time he was telling the truth.

Abaye says differently:

She knew about Samson being a righteous individual,

that he would not express the name of Heaven in vain.

Once he said: “And he told her all his heart, and said to her: There has not come a razor upon my head; for I have been a nazirite unto God from my mother’s womb” (Judges 16:17),

she said: Now he is certainly saying the truth.

R’ Yitzḥak of R’ Ami’s School - Sexual Manipulation as Pressure (Judges 16:16): Delilah slipping away from under him at the point of climax

R’ Yitzḥak explains that Delilah’s “pressuring, forcing” (תאלצהו) of Samson (Judges 16:16) refers to her slipping away from under him at the point of climax.³

״ויהי

כי הציקה לו בדבריה כל הימים

ותאלצהו״.

מאי ״ותאלצהו״?

אמר רבי יצחק דבי רבי אמי:

בשעת גמר ביאה

נשמטה מתחתיו.

The verse states: “And it came to pass,

when she pressed him daily with her words,

and urged him, that his soul was vexed unto death” (Judges 16:16).

The Talmud asks: What is the meaning of “and urged him”? How did she do so?

R’ Yitzḥak of the school of R’ Ami says:

At the moment immediately before his completion of the act of intercourse,

she slipped away from beneath him. By doing this, she urged him to reveal his secret.

R’ Yitzḥak of R’ Ami’s School - Nazirite Restrictions, Not Kashrut (Judges 13:4)

When the angel instructs Samson’s mother not to eat anything “unclean” (Judges 13:4), the Talmud clarifies this doesn’t imply she had previously eaten non-kosher food. Rather, it refers to things forbidden to a nazirite.

״ועתה השמרי נא

ואל תשתי יין ושכר

ואל תאכלי כל טמא״.

מאי ״כל טמא״?

ותו: עד השתא דברים טמאים קאכלה?!

אמר רבי יצחק דבי רבי אמי:

דברים האסורים בנזיר.

When the angel spoke to Samson’s mother, he said: “Now therefore beware, I pray of you,

and drink no wine nor strong drink,

and eat not any unclean thing” (Judges 13:4).

The Talmud asks, what is the meaning of “any unclean thing”? That term usually means non-kosher foods, but obviously she would not eat them anyway.

And what’s more, until now was she eating unclean things, that she should have to be warned not to continue doing so?!

R’ Yitzḥak of the school of R’ Ami says:

The angel was not referring to foods that are actually unclean, but rather items that are forbidden to a nazirite.

R’ Yitzḥak of R’ Ami’s School - Desire for Unclean Philistine women Leads to Salvation via Unclean Object of donkey’s jawbone (Judges 15:19)

Samson’s miraculous salvation through water from a donkey’s jawbone (Judges 15:19) is interpreted by R’ Yitzḥak as symbolic: since Samson lusted (איוה) after something impure,⁴ his life was saved through something impure.

״ויבקע אלהים את המכתש אשר בלחי״.

אמר רבי יצחק דבי רבי אמי:

• הוא —

  • איוה לדבר טמא

• לפיכך —

  • נתלו חייו בדבר טמא.

After Samson smote 1,000 Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey, he called the place Lehi, and God miraculously granted him to drink, as he was dying of thirst. The verse states: “But God cleaved the hollow place that is in Lehi, and out of there came water; and when he had drunk, his spirit came back, and he revived” (Judges 15:19).

R’ Yitzḥak of the school of R’ Ami says:

• He

  • desired something unclean, as he was driven by lust to Philistine women.

• Therefore,

  • the saving of his life was dependent on something unclean, the jawbone of a donkey.

1. Judges 16:21 - in measure-for-measure punishment.

The Talmud’s discussion is riffing on the Mishnah’s relatively extensive discussion of measure-for-measure punishment in biblical stories. On this Mishnah section, see my “Divine Reciprocity: Biblical Instances of Measure-for-Measure (‘Midah Keneged Midah’) Punishment and Reward (Mishnah Sotah 1:7-9)“.

See especially ibid., section “Samson (Judges 16): Samson, who “followed his eyes” (i.e., was driven by visual desire), is punished through the gouging of his eyes“.

And see also my recent piece on a later part of this extended aggadic sugya: “ ‘My Son Absalom!’: The Pride, Punishment, and Aftermath of Absalom in II Samuel 14-19 (Sotah 10b-11a)”.

2. Stating: “[Even] if she had not been called [by the] name Delilah, it would have been fitting that she be called Delilah“.

I cite these passage in these previous pieces of mine:

• “Pt1 What’s in a Talmudic Name? Unpacking the World of Personal Names in Talmudic Literature“, section “Aptronyms: When the Name Fits the Person (or Vice Versa)“.

• “ “Appropriate Names”: The Interplay of Aptronyms, Pseudonyms, and Epithets in the Talmud“, section “Delilah“.

3. גמר ביאה - “completion of sex”; i.e. using sexual frustration and sexual denial as psychological pressure to extract his secret.

Compare Wikipedia, “Coitus interruptus”:

an act of birth control during penetrative sexual intercourse, whereby the penis is withdrawn from a vagina prior to ejaculation so that the ejaculate (semen) may be directed away in an effort to avoid insemination.

And compare Wikipedia, “Erotic sexual denial”.

On the Talmudic term “completion of sex” ( גמר ביאה), see the discussion of the Talmud’s formal definition in my “What Counts as Sex? Defining the Beginning and Completion of Intercourse in the Talmud (Yevamot 55b)“.

On the Talmud’s tendency to turn non-sexual biblical passages into sexual ones, see the intro to my “Pt1 Talmudic Elaboration of Sexuality and Love in Biblical Narratives“.

4. דבר טמא - i.e. Philistine women.