Samson and Delilah: An Allusion

1
Samson and Delilah An Allusion

• By
• Amanda Cooper, Katy McGee, Andrea Bachman

2
The Story

• Samsons parents prayed for a child, and an
  angel appeared and responded that they would have
  a child, if the child would be a child of God,
  and he had to be reared under a Nazarite vow,
  which means
• No cutting of the hair.
• No eating of grapes or raisins.
• No drinking wine.
• Never touching a dead body.
• When he grew up, he had the strength of several
  men, and this is because he never cut his hair,
  even though he broke all of the other rules.

3
STORY CONTINUED

• He fought the Philistines due to the fact that
  they beat and murdered thousands of Israels
  children. Samson single handedly slaughtered
  thousands of Philistines. In the midst of this,
  he met a beautiful lady named Delilah. Samson
  had a weakness for beautiful women, and she was
  no exception. She worked for the Philistines,
  who would pay her large sums of money if she
  could discover the secret to Samsons incredible
  strength. He lied to her several times, but
  finally broke down and told her that if she cut
  off all of his hair, his strength would be gone.

4
STORY CONTINUED

• Delilah and some Philistines shaved Samsons
  head, and his strength was gone. The Philistines
  then burned out his eyes with a hot poker and
  chained him to a cement wheel that was used for
  grinding wheat into flour. One day, many years
  later, he felt the breeze blowing through his
  hair, and prayed to God that He would give Samson
  one more chance. At a festival, Samson broke
  down a huge building that resulted in the murder
  of thousands of Philistines, including Samson
  himself. This concluded in Israel winning the
  war against the Philistines. Samsons destiny,
  which was to serve God and save Israel, was
  fulfilled.

5
Where to find it!

• The original story in the Bible.
• Modern day examples
• Simpson and Delilah (Season 2, October 18th
  1990)
• The Grateful Dead song Samson and Delilah.
• Regina Spektor song Samson

6
ALLUSIONS IN THE STORY

• Delilahthe temptress OR the feminist.
• She convinces Samson through her love to tell
  her the secret of his strength.
• She gains power and wealth by being clever.
• Thus becoming a more powerful role.
• Samsonthe hero OR the image of sin.
• Young and powerful, saves thousands of people
  single handedly.
• Doesnt always live up to following the path of
  God and his vow.
• Hes an example of the consequences of sin.
• In the end hes still the hero, because he is
  forgiven and saves Israel.

7
WHY IT MATTERS

• It shows that you shouldnt test your fate.
• But, if you repent, you have a chance to fix your
  mistakes.
• Dont use other peoples gifts for your own
  benefit (Delilah used Samson's secret to gain
  power and wealth).
• Dont give into temptation.