Samson and Delilah: Love, Silver, and a Relationship in Judges
Samson and Delilah meet in the Book of Judges through a statement about love, not a wedding. Delilah is a woman of Sorek whom Samson loves; their relationship is not identified as a marriage. Nor does the Bible say that she loves him in return. She is also the only woman in Samson's story who is named. P. Deryn Guest emphasizes her independence, observing that she appears without being identified as someone's wife, daughter, or sister. Her introduction gives her a presence of her own.
Samson and Delilah's story soon turns toward money and strength. The lords of the Philistines offer Delilah silver to discover what makes Samson so powerful. Each promises her 1,100 shekels of silver. Her first attempt follows his suggestion: she binds him with seven green withes, which he breaks easily. New ropes fail next. Fastening the locks of his hair to a loom also fails. The sequence moves from bindings around his body to an attempt involving his hair, before he finally reveals the connection between his uncut hair and his Nazirite vow.
Trust becomes the pressure point in Samson and Delilah's relationship. After repeated complaints that he does not trust her, Samson tells her about the vow symbolized by his hair. Cutting it while he sleeps allows his capture by the Philistine chiefs waiting for him. There are differences over who performs the cutting: the Hebrew wording has Delilah do it, while other versions name a man or a barber. That variation changes the immediate hand at work, while Delilah still delivers Samson to his captors. The Bible leaves her later fate unmentioned and does not discuss whether she feels guilt for what she has done.
Her national identity is another open question. Delilah is often regarded as a Philistine, but the Bible does not identify her that way. Her name is Hebrew, although foreigners in the Bible can have Hebrew names too. Samson had previously married a Philistine woman, a detail that belongs to his earlier relationship. J. Cheryl Exum considers the arguments for identifying Delilah as a Philistine inconclusive; the Jewish Encyclopedia considers that identity probable. Those positions leave room for uncertainty about her background. Dolores G. Kamrada compares Delilah with Jael and Judith because all three women defeat powerful warriors.
Later Jewish interpretations give Samson and Delilah additional roles. Pseudo-Philo calls her Samson's wife, and both Pseudo-Philo and Josephus portray her as a Philistine and a prostitute. Josey Bridges Snyder suggests those portrayals may draw on Samson's attraction elsewhere to Philistine women and prostitutes. The Talmud brings sex into the means by which she obtains his secret, although a sexual relationship is not explicitly stated in the biblical narrative.
Other Jewish traditions extend Delilah's family connections. Late aggadah gives Samson and Delilah sons who share their father's strength. Eldad ha-Dani places those sons in Havilah and gives them voices comparable to a lion's roar. Medieval midrash identifies Delilah with Micah's mother, connecting the silver promised for Samson's betrayal with the silver Micah's mother gives him for an idol. The placement of Micah's story immediately after Samson's also figures in that connection. Rashi disputes the identification because the Seder Olam Rabbah places Micah in Othniel's time and says Micah and Samson were not contemporaries. The Jewish sages also interpreted Delilah's name as meaning "She dwindles," linking it with what she did to Samson.
Christian commentary often condemns Delilah, but its judgments are not uniform. Ambrose portrays her as a Philistine prostitute and uses her betrayal to warn against marriage outside the faith. Comparisons with Judas Iscariot turn on betrayal and payment in silver. Thomas Cajetan offers a more sympathetic interpretation: he suggests Delilah did not intend Samson to be killed or wounded, but accepted the bribe after the Philistine leaders persuaded her he would merely lose strength. That gives her a different intention without removing the payment or the betrayal. Caesarius of Arles takes another direction, comparing her temptation of Samson with Satan's temptation of Christ.
Performance gives the relationship still other possibilities. John Milton's Samson Agonistes presents Delilah as sympathetic but unrepentant. Handel's Samson, based on Milton's drama, is set in front of Samson's prison and gives Delilah only a brief appearance. In the opera by Camille Saint-Saens, her characterization as a seductive femme fatale is accompanied by music that evokes sympathy. Cecil B. DeMille's film casts Hedy Lamarr opposite Victor Mature and makes Delilah the sister of Samson's wife. Its Delilah repents cutting his hair. When Samson prepares to bring down the pillars, she stays despite his advice to leave and dies beside him in the collapsing temple.
- Delilah - Wikipedia — en.wikipedia.org