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Samson vs. Civilization: His Predetermined Role as a Barbarian

“It will become clear to one and all that he, in a sense, is made of different ‘stuff’…he will never,

in all likelihood, be able to connect naturally and harmoniously with his family or his people” (Grossman

44). According to David Grossman’s Lion’s Honey, Samson was a person who was destined to be unable

to fully infiltrate human society. Even before his birth into an unsuspecting family, he was assigned the

role of God’s Nazir. He was granted the gift of superhuman strength, a characteristic evident through his

extraordinary size. He had the physical feature of very long hair, undoubtedly symbolic of nature and

wilderness. Lastly, he feasted on wild honey and found shelter in the crevice of a rock. According to

Susan Niditch’s article “Samson as culture hero trickster and bandit: The Empowerment of the weak”

and James L. Crenshaw’s book Samson: a secret betrayed and a vow ignored, Samson’s characteristics

are parallel to those of folkloric “wild-men”: Individuals who would automatically be considered

outsiders. In addition to that, Samson’s many acts of violence also contribute to the thought of

barbarianism. He rips apart a lion with his bare hands, he binds foxes together, sets fire to them and

uses them to attack the philistines, and single-handedly murders thousands of Philistine men. According

to these violent actions and his wild characteristics, Samson was not destined to be a part of cultured

society; his home was in the wilderness.

Usually during infancy, the first close-knit relationship a child forms is with his family. If a person

does not have a sense of belonging elsewhere, he or she can normally feel a sense of belonging at home.

If close familial relations have dissolved, or have never been established, a person can often be doomed

for destruction. Thus is the case we see with Samson. Samson was born of a barren woman, something

that automatically signals an unconventional family dynamic. Before her pregnancy, Samson’s mother

was told by an angel that he is to be a Nazarite that would deliver the Israelites from the Philistines. He



also went as far as to establish rules that Samson should abide by. This event alone had already

established a distant relationship between Samson and his family, “She has not conceived her own

private, intimate child, but rather some ‘national figure’” (Grossman 14). Samson’s mother was “given”

the child in a sense; Samson was not her child, but the child of the nation; she was simply the carrier.

These events would automatically throw off the family dynamic. A mother and a father, who did not ask

for a child, would be the ideal reasons for a child to feel like a foreigner within his household.

Aside from the circumstances of his birth, Samson possessed many characteristics that set him

aside from the rest of civilization, characteristics that made him a Wildman. Samson was a man of an

extraordinary size who possessed an enormous amount of strength. “He kills a lion with his bare hands,

for “he had nothing in his hands”…he kills Philistines with a “fresh” donkey jawbone. He rips off the

gates of the gates of Gaza, again with his bare hands, props them on his shoulder, and carries them off

to a hilltop” (Niditch 615). These ferocious actions easily shed light on Samson as a brutal barbarian,

who, by definition, is a fierce or cruel person. Likewise, whenever Samson did utilize a tool, he used

primitive weapons such as the jawbone of a donkey during his fight with the Philistines. He had a rather

simplistic diet, as he was described as having eaten wild honey from the carcass of the lion he killed.

After fighting with the Philistines, he began to dwell in the crevice of the rock of Etam, yet another

characteristic of a barbaric lifestyle. Samson’s most blatant example of his relationship to nature is

shown through his hair. His having long hair could be thought of as him not having been touched by

civilization, seeing as how razors are domestic tools used to alter the natural appearance. Even without

observing his relationships with others, one can determine that Samson was indeed a child of nature.

Samson’s interactions with others solidify the idea that he was meant to find home in the

wilderness. Before his birth, it was determined that he would grow up to be the one to deliver the

Israelites from the Philistines, thus it was predetermined that Samson’s foes would consist of civilized



Philistine men and women. “These Philistines dwelt in cities along fertile plains, and enjoyed the distinct

advantages of cultivated fields…Philistine women enhanced their appearance with expensive clothing

jewelry and cosmetics, while their men wore the finest garments” (Crenshaw 18). This description of the

Philistine people provides us with a sharp contrast between Samson of the wilderness, and individuals of

a cultured society. Furthermore, Samson had killed thousands of Philistines during his lifetime. He slew

thirty after losing a bet and robbed them of their clothing, he resisted arrest and slew one thousand

with the jawbone of a donkey, and killed three thousand at the temple of Dagon at the time of his death.

Samson had no other choice but to constantly fight and murder the Philistines. Thus his lifelong battle

was not simply against the Philistines as a people, but rather against all aspects of cultured, civilized

living.

Undoubtedly, Samson was an individual most suited to live in the wilderness. He had already

been blessed with characteristics that would allow him to live in such a manner. It is well known that

Samson was born a savior sent be God, however one cannot help but wonder: why would God condemn

one of his children to a life without a domesticated home? Given the assumed circumstances one would

assume that this “cruel” act by God had left Samson miserable and unhappy for his entire life. However,

how do we know if Samson genuinely tried to infiltrate into society? Perhaps we are casting his

“wilderness” in a negative light; maybe he was completely at ease among nature. In the end, Samson

was the bible’s most natural hero, untouched by culture and unable to infiltrate into a civilized

atmosphere.



Works Cited

Grossman, David. Lion's Honey: The Myth of Samson. Edinburgh: Canongate, 2007. Print.

Crenshaw, James L. Samson: A Secret Betrayed, a Vow Ignored . Atlanta: John Knox, 1978. Print.

Niditch, Susan. "Samson as Culture Hero Trickster and Bandit: The Empowerment of the Weak."

Catholic Biblical Quarterly 52 (1990): 609-24. Print.

samson essay final draft

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