On Samson

On Samson the Hero Memrā Forty-Three On Samson the Hero I saw the victory of the hero, the mighty one, in the writings, Which are inscribed on the page of the Mosaic Law, of two forms. At the beginning of the passage I saw beautiful images, And at its end I saw signs that are not beautiful. In the first verse I read the triumph of his great strength, And in the second, disgrace, shame, and weakness. The beginning of his story was very wondrous to the reader, And the end of his story was very bitter to the hearer. No equality is seen in his story, the mighty one, And the path of his course was a way of discipline. Without equality, his labors were diverse in their thoughts, And I sought to learn what cause it is of two in one. My mind took me to seek in the cloud of his glory and his disgrace, And it drew me in through the door of the books of the Spirit. In the house of the letters of the writings I went up before, And I began to increase in the verse of the writing of the mighty hero. I saw the name of election inscribed at the beginning of his story, And a spiritual one interprets it before the children of flesh. I saw a man of spirit who hopes in his belly and his child, And he limits his name of election by the name of the Creator. By the name of the Creator the spiritual one called the corporeal ones, That they might be servants and ministers of the word of their Lord.

He placed the holy name on his head in the form of a sign, For he knew that the likeness is his and to what he ministers. For the service of the king who conceals in the height, a command chose him, And like a servant he girded himself with the weapon of asceticism. With asceticism he armed the bodily servant, So that he might know that every contest is of the spirit and not of the flesh. Spiritually he was about to contend with the adversary, And beforehand he gave him the weapon of the spirit with which to be adorned. A great crown was about to be made against iniquity, And without lowering his honor in the degrees of those who cast from him. He sent a watchman and hoped in his belly and his birth, And placed on his head a great crown of asceticism. Like a commander, a chosen one from a weak people of thought, Who by his strength established a way in good hope. The people were weak from divine trust, And by the hand of Samson he strengthened their heart in the fear of truth. The power of his help he placed on his head in the form of a crown, And gave him authority to judge his enemies without cessation. He summoned and appointed him judge of the people and crown of the nations, So that in all affairs he might overthrow iniquity without being troubled. Against the iniquity of the people and the nations he sent a sign, And heroically he sent him to contend at the head of the hosts. Against the nations he saw beforehand the desire of his self, To show that in him the victory of the teaching of demons would succeed.

He saw the teaching of demons when he triumphed over the nations of the uncircumcised, And he was hidden and strengthened to make with them a harsh treaty. For the treaty of the nations he prepared himself, a mighty servant, And he mounted wiles so that he might offer them in place of faith. In place of faith he set for himself a sign for battle, And he rejoiced greatly in all his movements against iniquity. Manfully he gave himself over to the contest, So that in every opportunity he might exalt the name of faith. He mounted small opportunities wisely in his heart, And in the guise of love he spread out and revealed falsehood. The wise one put on the guise of love, small for battle, And like a spy he went against the uncircumcised and examined their words. A woman deceived him from the secrets of the name of his God, So that by means of a woman he might lower the errors of the names of the gods. A hidden sign strengthened his movements for cunning, And he said to his father, "Take for me a wife from among the daughters of the uncircumcised." His father and mother did not know that it was from God That the intermarriage with the people of his nation from the Philistines was to be pursued. He pursued intermarriage with his people from the nations by means of a daughter of the nations, And he saw his desire for the sign of his Lord as a matter of oath. He departed from his people who were weary, and he deceived the daughter of the merchants, And his Lord set for him a sign on the path to test his strength.

The lion’s cub met him on the way, a speaking lion, And he rent and cast it down like a kid to the hard ground. With the strength of the lion he hid his own strength, the mighty hero, And he knew that he could break the treaty of the uncircumcised nations. Without a sword and without a staff he killed the lion, And he knew that he had no need of the aid of weapons of war. He went up to the house of the uncircumcised and hired a woman and gave a pledge, And he ransomed his people while it was thought that he would fulfill his words. The shepherd of the woman was mocking him, not because of the woman, But because he would accomplish through the Philistines the desire of his soul. He was very eager to complete the command of his Lord, And he was distressed that the captivity of the sons of his people should continue. Quickly he ransomed quickly to take a woman, And he prepared feasts that he might conceal in them disgrace and shame. The hero advanced on the way of Timnath to accomplish his way, And he turned aside to see the corpse of the lion, whether it remained. He saw that the destroyer lay cast on the ground, a destroyer of men, And in its putrefaction the swarm of bees made a honeycomb. He saw that the honeycomb shone in it, a sweet honeycomb in that hardness, And he believed and affirmed that thus he would shine among the Philistines. He saw that from the body filled with worms flowed honey, And he conceived hope that he would revive his people from affliction.

He stretched out his hand and took the honey from the carcass of the lion. And he ate the honey, full of living creatures, from the corpse. The honey of the carcass he ate, the pure one, and was not defiled, and he gave of it also to his parents and did not reveal its cause. Wisely he concealed the secret of the greatness of his strength, so that it would not be betrayed when it was spoken of by the mouths of many. He made a feast and rejoiced and called the uncircumcised Philistines, and in their feasting he mounted the parable of his slaying of the lion. For he thought that by the slaying of that lion he would slay, and upon that he mounted the parable of the lion and the honey from it. He told the parable full of cunning before the common people, and they did not understand, they did not perceive the force of the meaning that was concealed in it. From the honey they did not say that Samson had drawn forth a word, and from the corpse they pursued the sweetness that was not customary. The uncircumcised of heart marveled and wondered at the son of the Hebrews, how wise and how hidden he was in the garment of his words. In a great wonder he set up his speech in the composition of his words, and like a riddle he bound his speech without understanding. They troubled his wife that she might learn from him and teach his speech, and when she had learned well and taught his speech, they did not understand his riddles. His wife, the companion of his secret, who would examine the mystery of his salvation, and would hide his will from the disturbances of the daughter of the erring ones.

Outside the order, his conduct troubled her with her constricted words. And he revealed and showed the secret that was hidden from his parents. From the concealment he revealed and examined the covering of her heart. He was examining the sons of her people, the devourers. On the seventh day, the guilty ones conquered the mighty man. And before the devourer, he revealed the devourer that was hidden in his parable. What is there that is sweeter than honey? Or what is there that is bitter and harsh than the mouth of a lion? The wise man saw that his strength was a bridle in the hand of a woman. And he erred and was shaken and adorned himself for the contest with her people. Thirty men he killed in the entrance of the interpretation of his parable. And he took their goods and adorned them as if for fools. The way he set for himself with the woman and his parable to the contest. Of the beautiful bridal chamber for the victory of the word of his Lord. With the woman and the parable he incited them to the contest. And in all causes he shows the strength that was hidden in himself. By means of causes he incited with them a harsh contest. And he taught them not to engage with him in a timely manner. Three hundred foxes the hunter of the fear of truth besieged. And in the hidden places he made a contest with the talkers. With cunning foxes he lowered them to the fillers of the hollow. And they were not able to stand before the will that he was bringing against them.

The garment of wrath he put on, the destroyers, over their destruction. And they began to seek the vengeance of the outrage that he had committed. They prepared for battle to do battle with Israel, that in the battle they might seize Samson, who had humiliated them. They thought that the blood of their vengeance would be healed by the son of Abraham, but they did not know that the snare which they had hidden in him would catch them. The foolish goad drove him to the chambers of the heart, and they prepared arms to do battle with Israel. The cunning foxes, whom he had made into foxes, the crafty ones, began to howl over the kingdom that was entrusted to the lion. With a clear voice the ranks of the Philistines cried out, "Either come out and fight, or deliver to us the great Samson." The weak people heard the voice of the bellowers who were roaring in his ears, and they feared and humbled themselves and bent the shoulder to be subjugated. They abandoned the trust of the name of the Creator who exalts, and they gave their desire to sacrifice to the idols of the soul. They abandoned the covenant of the one who is wonderful to the host that was in them, and they emptied the word full of the grace of the gracious ones. They gave the right hand to place a stone in the hand of the uncircumcised, and the fools were not aware that they were condemning their savior to death. "Do you not know Samson?" said the divided of heart, "that the Philistines rule over you in this time? Why have you cast this evil one among your enemies, and behold, they are being destroyed by their own battles?

Come, see the Philistines whom he angered, and the peace of battle that he stirred up against their tribes. They said to him, "In the Lord, the envious one spoke to the men of his people: 'Do not be troubled, and do not come without division.'" The foolish ones bound him as if he were clothed in the head of his people, and they gave him into the hands of the uncircumcised to sacrifice with him. The mighty man descended and stood among the ranks of the warriors, and he did not fear, and he humbled himself when his death was set before him. With confidence he descended while bound among his killers, and he did not waver concerning the help that was due to him. The great pit was filled with the violence of the son of Manoah, and he did not tremble before the killers who had captured him. Faith had clothed his heart like armor, and he was strengthened by good hope in the confession of his Lord. Upon that power that he placed in him, his hope was set; because of this, he descended while bound among his killers. By the strength of that sign on the crown of his head, he was emboldened, and better than armor he was strong in the hair of his vow. The uncircumcised saw him, his body bound like their desire, and the foolish ones thought that his life was already finished. The foolish ones considered him as dead, the living one in his God, and they did not know that they were sinning against the pit that they had dug.

At the hour when they thought that he was dead, while his life was still flickering, he rose from silence and destroyed the enemy from the living. They raised the sword against the madman above his head, and the power of the help that was in him raised it over their heads. They stood in the haste of slaughtering him, and the name of the strong one showed his strength and cast down the enemy. The power of the spirit stirred the self of the mighty man, and he broke and cast away the visible weapon from his limbs. The scripture testifies concerning the power of the spirit that was hidden in him, that in the likeness of threads were the chains before his greatness. As if they were threads, he broke and cast away the hard iron, and he rose and fought without a weapon, with a jawbone of an ass. The jawbone of an ass sharpened its hidden point, and like a sword it destroyed with it the ranks of the warriors. The jawbone, a hidden thing, took in his hand a holy self, and the enemies of the weapon were not able to stand before its sharpness. The wicked saw the sight of power in the hand of the zealous one, and they fled and hid from the hardness of what they saw. The jawbone was like a sword in the hand of the Hebrew, and it flashed and the ranks of the uncircumcised were terrified. Wonderful was the sight of the jawbone, not because it was a jawbone, but because of the power that it manifested, its sight in its vision.

Death was harsh, contending with his harshness, and the blow from his jaw was sharper than the sword. From his harshness, the hard of heart were confounded, and not because of him, but because of the one who held him. The bone was very strong, and the hand that held it, not because of their strength, but because of the power of the one who held them. Hidden power was clothed in the hand, and the hand in the bone, and it destroyed for them the fillers of the enclosure and the oppressors of the heart. It was sharper than the saw of the two mouths, and when it destroyed, it would again sharpen itself to cut bodies. Its sharpness alone would approach naked bodies, and they would fall lightly like a flame. His hand alone would raise the razor to the faces of the ranks, and they would be overthrown until the body reached the body. O bone, how you were adorned beyond measure, not for yourself, I say, but for the hand that held you. O hand, how you were empowered without measure, not you, O hand, but the sign of the strength of your back. O man, how great was the power of the senses of your body, not of your body, but of the power that empowered your limbs. O Samson, name that conceals the name of his God, how you loosened the power of your name through deeds.

Not as the jawbone in your hand, O hero, holding the bone, or that bone not as the jawbone of an ass. How strong is the bone in your hand, and you with the bone, and neither did it break, nor did your hand again escape from it. As if it stood before the number of a thousand heroes, and by what power does it subdue the power of the mighty ones of strength? A thousand heroes you slew, O hero, with a jawbone, a cast-off bone, and that ditch is neither for the hero nor for you a destruction. The great ditch is filled with the deeds that were done through you, and no one knows how to narrate its greatness. As if with a sickle you were, Samson, a skilled reaper, and you reaped the field of the Philistines in one hour. O reaper who reaped bodies with a sickle of bone, and his iron did not grow dull on the ears of the talkative. A thousand ears he cast down in one stroke, and he did not stretch out his hand until he completed the number of a thousand. From one he began and with one he completed the course he made, and not one of his limbs was wearied or broken. Without weariness his whole body and soul endured, and his strength did not waver, nor was he diminished from his trust. Like an athlete he ascended from the jawbone, and he placed on his head a crown of the number of his slain. At the end of the course he thirsted and was troubled, the mighty hero, and he began to ask for a drink of water for the sustenance of his life.

O woe, Lord, you are my victory in the strength of your help. Give me a drink like the jawbone of an ass in my hands. You are my victor, the hard jawbone of my enemies that is like blood. Do not wonder that the jawbone in my hands has become dry and perished. Give me a drink as you gave me victory, lest I die and the fools be confounded by your great name. The good Lord heard the prayer of the afflicted servant and gave him a drink from within the bone by which he was victorious. With the moist bone the Lord made him victorious over the jawbone of his servant, and from it he gave him a sweet drink by which he was refreshed. A sweet drink flowed from the bone, not in the usual way, and the affliction of the strength of the doer was purified, which is that which loosened everything. The bone was unclean and also shrunken, and even from the drink, the will that rules over all conquered both. From where did waters flow within the dry, or how did the doer give life to the whole unclean thing? That command which makes waters flow from the rock, it placed in it moisture which was not within it. That will which made the stone produce water, it also made the bone produce a drink for the afflicted servant. That angel who guided the Israelites on the way, he gave waters from the silent one to the mouth of the speaker. One of the watchers who moistened the hollow of the stone and the bone, and produced from them moist things, moist things not in the usual way.

The elements of moisture took the spirit and joined the fire with the elements of dryness. Sharply, the fire made one with its companion, as is the custom when what is commanded occurs. In that manner by which water is brought up from the spirit, in it the fire placed bone and stone sharply. This difficulty that came to be without custom for the heavens is very simple for their orders. Great power took from the power that stops all, and the lowliness of the height and depth was their doing. Behold the doings of this that came to be with all that are, behold its doings by the power of the maker who empowers you. By the power of the maker, water was drawn from the bone for Samson, and by his help he conquered and triumphed without a sword. Without a sword, the victor conquered the debtors, and without division he received drink from the mouth of the bone. Pure water the pure one drank from the mouth of the jawbone, and by his thirst he showed that there is nothing that defiles. There is no defilement in all that comes from the Creator, for behold, even the hand that is not a jawbone shows that it is pure. In the drinking of Samson, behold all who are enlightened in faith, and do not dispute that anything is defiled in food and drink. The bone was defiled according to the Mosaic command, and it was pure well according to the divine will.

The hidden will of pure and impure for the sake of the thoughts, and the power that is able to know the Lord who rules over all. The will performed its desire for the sake of its doer as a debtor, and it conquered him with a wager and gave him a reward as it pleased him. The wager that he made in the land of the sons of the Hebrews was astonishing, and by its wonderment, Satan and his forces were amazed. Wonder seized the head of the blind fire of the jawbone over the jawbone that made a fire by the power of the doer. With the sinews of his jaw, the jawbone swallowed the ladder of fire that saw Samson, who broke the force that was pressing him. He himself reckoned the sword that he made among the Philistines, and his reckoning placed the burden of his servitors. Better than all your kind, his name was being proclaimed among the uncircumcised, and the sight that shamed the error of his name put on wrath. The garment of wrath, Satan put on against Samson, and he began to set up deceitful traps to fight with him. The deceitful thought set up traps against the righteous one, who saw that he was not able to make a wager with him openly. He deepened the snares of lust and hid them before his ways, so that by them he might hunt the swiftness of the good and strong one. The weapons of his strength, the shameful one put on, and he began to creep by means of footsteps like his custom. He sent a woman like a spy to the perfect one, and she felt his strength with a weak arm, with which she felt Adam.

Through the love of a woman she bound the hero like a captive, and by her disturbance she made the strength of his manhood weak. A woman stirred up Samson, the lover of the fear of truth, and by her love she loosed the bond that bound him to his Lord. With a daughter of the peoples the son of Abraham made love, and by her desire he lost the heritage of his father’s house. Like a captive of his daughter, a woman to the seven peoples, and like a stranger, his covenant was renewed in the furnace of her passions. In every form she shook his heart, which had been steadfast, so that he said to her, “What is the power that is overcome by it?” Out of order she counseled his nature, which was cunning in soul, until she revealed to him the great secret of the vow of his Naziriteship. “I am a Nazirite, and the great name is hidden in my Naziriteship, and if I take the crown from my head, I am undone.” The crown of victory my God gave me, a crown on my head, and if it is diminished, the strength of his help departs from me. She saw the foolishness of the weak one and revealed all her heart, and she mocked and derided the secret of his weakness to the sons of her people. As to a child she called and laid him down on her limbs, and began to plunder the treasure of strength that was hidden in his head. Like a commoner the wise one was stamped in the light of the hour, and he did not perceive or sense the loss of the treasure of his Naziriteship.

Like a jar of strong wine, he burst and was shattered, and the whole vessel of his strength was thrown out of order. His head was shorn like a woman's, filled with iniquity, and with his hair, the power of his help was taken from him. He called and awakened his crimson-colored one as if from love, and he saw that his crown was taken from him. The uncircumcised seized his pure body and bound his soul, and they gouged out his eyes like a woman's, without mercy. The blind made the seer of the house blind, and they brought his senses into the millhouse like a cursed one. Wicked foxes ground a mill in him, a lion-hearted one, and in the darkness they silenced the voice of his heroism. They drove him out of order and rejoiced over him and over his lord, and when his lord saw, he grieved over his fall and was silent. The erring ones made a great feast for the god of their error, and they called Samson, because they had sacrificed him before a non-god. The vessel of iniquity that blinded him came to the houses of the uncircumcised, and he began to dance, his mind disturbed, before the contemptible ones. The women followed his dance, striking the ground with their palms, and he danced and was silent while he was mocked for his humiliation. The separator felt great pity within his mind, when he saw how small the service of his dignity had become. He saw that the workers of songs were mocking him with the songs of demons, and he called to his lord to cast him the power that would destroy.

In his distress, the just man said to his God, "Hear my cries and my groans, and restore to me the locks of my hair. Have mercy on my lowliness and pass over my folly, and forgive my sins, and do not cut me off for the transgression I committed against the mystery of your gift." With sinful voices, the just man pleaded over his folly, and his Lord heard him and gave him strength as before. The help that had been taken from him returned and settled in his senses, and he began to grasp his truth through assistance. The hero seized two pillars with his two hands and brought down the house upon its inhabitants, while he himself was in the midst. "Let my soul die," he said, with the uncircumcised of heart, the Philistines, and his word was fulfilled by deeds as he had spoken. The righteous man died a violent death with the wicked, and he was not spared as the order of life demands. The hero died heroically with the slain, and he added a victory on the day of his death to that of his lifetime. More died on the day of his death than in his life, and the work of the sword began and ended against the evil ones. Against the evil ones he sharpened his desire from the beginning, and when he did well, he did not fail, and he ceased from his duty. He squandered the mystery of his gift before a foolish woman, and he suffered and was bitterly humiliated over his folly.

The folly of the just man becomes a rod for the chastisement of his soul, and in its levity it reveals the iniquity that is hidden in his heart. In his distress and the humility of his soul, look steadfastly, and do not be dazzled when the beautiful things stand before him. It is a weak nature that is filled with passions that clothe it, and it quickly sprouts in the furrows and turns and withers. In measure it is right to guard our lives from the snares, and in freedom to guard the treasure of freedom of our soul.