Samson and Delilah

Samson was deprived of his divine strength through having a soft spot for women and earthly love. The story is represented on the side support of another bench.

Samson could not resist the charms of the Philistine beauty Delilah and revealed the secret of his strength to her. On the back of the bench, Delilah is depicted cutting off Samson´s hair. The beautiful Delilah is depicted here not only as a symbol of female enchantment and seduction, but also as a vicious traitor who sold Samson´s secret to the Philistines. Consequently, the images of Samson and Delilah do not only warn men against earthly love, but also against the cunning and treacherous nature of women. By yielding to the lusts of the flesh instead of devoting themselves to God, Samson loses his strength, dignity and life. This story from the Old Testament was one of the first to be depicted in art for moralistic purposes. In the 13th century, the depiction of Samson and Delilah together with another couple – the symbol of worldly wisdom Aristotle and the beautiful Phyllis – became fashionable, which helped to enhance the power of the message.

The story of Samson and Delilah

(Old Testament, the Book of Judges 16)

Samson fell in love with a Philistine woman whose name was Delilah. The Philistines paid Delilah to seduce Samson and discover the secret of his strength. Samson managed to deceive Delilah and release himself from the ropes of the Philistines three times. But then Delilah said she no longer believed the love of a man who mocked her and did not open his heart to her.  Finally, Samson gave up and revealed the secret of his strength to Delilah. Delilah drugged Samson and called the Philistines to cut his hair. When Samson woke up, he thought he would be able to release himself from the ropes like before, but this time he did not have strength to do so, because his power had disappeared with his hair.

Samson was imprisoned, but the Philistines decided not to kill and instead to humiliate him. They poked his eyes out and once when the Philistines were having a big celebration, they took him to the temple, where thousands of people gathered together. The hero asked God to give him strength one last time to take revenge on his offenders. He grabbed the columns which supported the temple and crushed them. The temple collapsed and buried Samson and his enemies. While dying, Samson killed more Philistines than when he was alive.

Although he dedicated his life to fighting the Philistines, Samson did not free Israel. David accomplished that mission.