The purpose of this research is to examine the Biblical hero Samson as a tragic figure. The plan of the research will be to set forth the narrative and cultural context for considering Samson in terms of tragedy and then to discuss the manner in which the establishment of Samson's heroic identity and of the interplay between that identity and the Samson-Delilah love story in the biblical narrative contributes to the view that Samson is best interpreted as a tragic figure. In this regard, comparisons will be made between the biblical narrative in Judges 13-16 and other stories of heroes and great loves in the Bible and other sources.
The fact that Samson is intended as a character of heroic proportions is established in the first part of Judges (13:5), when the angel explains to Manoah's wife that she will bear a son who "is to be a Nazarite, set apart to God from birth, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines." Two equally important features of Samson's life are established in this passage: first, that he will be an agent of rescue for Israel, and second, that he will not complete but only begin the rescue. In other words, he is to be a hero, but his heroic mission may be incomplete. The implication is, first, that Israel may still face some unresolved problems with release from the Philistines, and second, that Samson's heroic actions, while good for Israel in the long run, might not be good for him individually.
This prophecy, presented almost in the manner of an afterthought of Judges 13:5, seems in fact decisive for understanding Samson as tragic hero. The text emphasizes the importance of Samson's birth by completing the image of the prophecy with the ascension to heaven of the prophetic angel from a flaming altar (Judges 13:20). The whole episode sets the stage for the appearance of an uncommon boy, uncommon man whose life will have an impact on the cultural givens (notably life under t...