“But it came to pass after a while, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson
visited his wife with a kid[goat]; and he said: I will go in to my wife into the
chamber. But her father would not suffer him to go in. And her father said: I
verily thought that you had utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to your
companion. Is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray you,
instead of her.”
To say that Samson and wife’s marriage stood on shaky ground from the get-go would be an
understatement. No sooner had the couple spent their first week together than true-to-life
drama unfolded. Essentially, the nuptials were ended before they began. Thus, the earlier
chapter concludes: “But Samson's wife was given to his companion, whom he had had for his
friend.” It was a bad split up, about to get worse.
Samson had separated from his wife (Judges 14), but really hadn’t believed it was over. He
sought to resume the relationship, although it had met strong headwinds. Reality set in for the
lovestruck Samson when he returned home, only to be greeted by his father-in-law. He broke
bad news. “But her father would not suffer him to go in. And her father said: I verily thought
that you had utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to your companion.”
The Hebrew judge fumed. “And Samson said unto them: This time shall I be quits with the
Philistines, when I do them a mischief.” All concerned knew that Samson had been wronged by
the Philistines. Taking away his beloved was the last straw. He pledged to even the score. Only
after he got in the last licks, would he be ready to smoke the peace pipe with Philistines.
And so Samson made his move. Using most unorthodox means, he set fire to Philistine’s fields.
After an inquiry as to the cause of the conflagration, it was determined that Samson was the
arsonist. It was further determined that Samson had been justified in taking the law into his
own hands, on account of the wrong perpetrated to him when his wife was given to another
man. In efforts to assuage an angry Samson, it was the locals turn to do popular justice. “And
the Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire.” That should have been the end
of it.
It wasn’t. “And Samson said unto them: If you do after this manner, surely I will be avenged of
you, and after that I will cease.” That’s what Samson said. But his actions did not match his
words. “And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter; and he went down and dwelt
in the cleft of the rock of Etam.” After killing a number of Philistines, he fled.
For the Philistines, the short-fused Hebrew went too far. Samson’s fellow Jews concurred.
Understanding their precarious and vulnerable socio-political situation, the Hebrews sought to
capture Samson and extradite him to their masters, to the Philistines. They did. In chains,
Samson was delivered.
The Philistines shouted aloud when they saw Samson cuffed. Yet, they cheered prematurely. As
our chapter relates, handcuffs proved no equal to Samson’s strength, and with God’s spirit
upon the Hebrew judge, he handily slipped the chains off. That was only the beginning.
“And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and smote a
thousand men therewith.” Samson, alone, killed a thousand Philistines, oppressors of the
Jewish people. Judges 15 concludes:” And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty
years.”
What, exactly, is going on here, asks Abravanel? Why didn’t Samson keep his side of the
bargain, meaning that after the Philistines executed Samson’s father-in-law and wife, why
didn’t that settle it? Moreover, Abravanel asks, how could Samson, a holy nazir and holy man to
God, defile himself with the dead? With merely a primitive weapon (animal bone), he killed his
enemy, rendering him spiritually defiled.
On the first question, Abravanel shares a lesson in chivalry. Namely, when a man is wronged (as
he was), there is no comfort in having others right the wrong. Especially in Samson’s case, since
he was fully capable of meting out justice, the Philistines added insult to injury when they
punished his despicable father-in-law and unfaithful wife. So, the Hebrew judge seethed.
Abravanel explains that Samson did not break his word to desist from further acts of revenge.
That is because the Philistines broke their promise by depriving Samson of avenging the affront.
We proceed to answer Abravanel’s second question, concerning Samson’s spiritual defilement.
True, spiritual defilement results when there is contact with the dead. Enter a dispensation:
war. To the point, Jewish tradition holds that since Samson had not, on his own volition,
accepted Nazirite vows, leniency availed itself to the Hebrew judge. As we read in Judges 13,
the angel enlisted Samson into the ranks of the Nazarites. Narrowly, God’s agent spoke only to
Samson’s restricted diet and ban on haircuts.