Delilah Series

*commentary on the Hebrew scriptures attached to the biblical text. The earliest Midrashim come from the 2nd-century AD, although much of their content is older.

The Jewish sages said Delilah's name implies what she did to Samson ("She dwindles" (diminishes him). Because Samson allowed his spiritual state to become diminished, he was vulnerable to losing his strength by having his hair cut. Even before Delilah is mentioned, the length of Samson's career is described. Usually, the length of someone's life or career in the Old Testament is mentioned last for a character to signify the end of his relevance to the narrative. David Kimhi notes that it is mentioned at the peak of his career, which implies that mentions of Samson afterward mark his decline and downfall. This might explain why Samson eventually told Delilah of his weakness, even though she had repeatedly betrayed him before. It is possible he was not fully aware that cutting his hair would cause God to allow him to lose his strength; since it was the decline of his spiritual state that caused him to lose God's favor.

Late Aggadah says that Samson and Delilah had sons together who were strong like their father; Eldad ha-Dani claims that their sons resided in the land of Havilah, and each had voices as "triumphal...as a lion's roar." Medieval midrash proposes that Delilah was the mother of Micah from the biblical narrative of Micah's Idol. This theory rests on the fact that, in Judges 17, Micah's mother gives her son 1,100 silver coins to construct his idol, similar to how Delilah was promised 1,100 silver coins to betray her lover by the Philistine leaders. This tradition explains the conflation of Delilah and Micah's mother by noting that the Bible introduces the narrative of Micah's Idol immediately after the narrative of Samson and Delilah. Rashi disputes this theory, as Seder Olam Rabbah states that Micah and Samson were not contemporaries and that Micah lived during the time of Othniel.

These are questions that have been asked;

Why Did Delilah Betray Samson

Why didn't Samson cut his hair?

If it is cut, he will lose his power.

He was also asked why the Nazarenes didn't comb their hair?

Be a Nazarene. Eliminate the alcohol obtained from grapes. (Traditional rabbinic authorities say that all other types of alcohol are allowed.) Avoid cutting your hair. Avoid corpses and graves, including those of relatives, and all structures that contain them.

What is Samson's hair good for besides the above?

In the Old Testament, Samson was an Israelite servant of God who, on many occasions, used his invincible strength and wisdom against the Philistines. Delilah cut Samson's hair in his sleep, then called the Philistines, who grabbed him and blinded him.

What does the Bible say about Samson's hair?

Samson's weakness for beautiful Philistine women soon brought him into Delilah's arms. Samson admitted that I would lose strength if my head were shaved (Judges 16: 15-17). In his sleep, the unfaithful Delilah welcomed a Philistine who cut Samson's hair and exhausted all his strength.