(i) Samson and Delilah Traditional Story

 Samson and Delilah Biblical Symbology : Much has been written about  Samson and Delilah, a story from the Old Testament. When Samson fell for Delilah, a woman from the Valley of Sorek, it marked the beginning of his downfall and eventual demise. It didn’t take long for the rich and powerful Philistine rulers to learn of the affair and immediately pay a visit to Delilah. You see, Samson was judge over Israel at the time and had been taking out great vengeance on the Philistines—but that’s another story. Hoping to capture him, the Philistine leaders each offered Delilah a sum of money to collaborate with them in a scheme to uncover the secret of Samson’s great strength.

 

 Using her powers of seduction and deception, Delilah persistently wore down Samson with her repeated requests, until he finally divulged the crucial information. Having taken the Nazirite vow at birth, Samson had been set apart to God. As part of that vow, his hair was never to be cut. When Samson told Delilah that his strength would leave him if a razor were to be used on his head, she cunningly crafted her plan with the Philistine rulers.

While Samson slept on her lap, Delilah called in a co-conspirator to shave off the seven braids of his hair. Subdued and weak, Samson was captured.

Rather than killing him, the Philistines preferred to humiliate him by gouging out his eyes and subjecting him to hard labour in a Gaza prison. As he slaved at grinding grain, his hair began to grow, but the careless Philistines paid no attention. And in spite of his horrible failures and sins of great consequence, Samson’s heart now turned to the Lord. He was humbled. He prayed to God—a first—and God answered.

During a pagan sacrificial ritual, the Philistines had gathered in Gaza to celebrate. As was their custom, they paraded their prized enemy prisoner into the temple to entertain the jeering crowds. Samson braced himself between the two central support pillars of the temple and pushed with all his might. Down came the temple, killing Samson and all of the people in it. Through his death, Samson destroyed more of his enemies in this one sacrificial act, than he had previously killed in all the battles of his life. 

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(ii) Terminology in the story of Samson and Delilah

Many people take this as a literal story but like many stories in the bible it is MYTHOLOGY. Mythology uses names and stories as symbols to convey deep spiritual truths. So the story is the superficial part and we have to look far deeper for the real meaning behind it.

It has nothing to do with haircuts or a lone man being able to destroy large armies single handed with a jawbone of a donkey

To decode this story lets look at a breakdown of some key word meanings:

Samson means ‘man of the sun’

Delilah means ‘discouraged’ or ‘she who weakened’ or languishing.

This story is trying to convey the brightness of the higher mind or spirit can be broken if it is constantly exposed to our carnal nature. In mysticism the female always represents the emotions when referring to the lower mind, and Spirit when referring to the higher aspects.

 

(iii) Samson and Delilah Biblical Symbology

 

Judges 16 : 4 And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.

Samson (the sun, the light) is engrossed with the activity of Delilah (discouragement, the emotions). The valley is the lower similar to its geological nature. So we have the emotions of the lower aspect of the mind. Sorek means ‘special vine’ or ‘fruitless tree’

So the lower nature that feels so attractive and special that draws us in is in fact a fruitless pursuit & what appeals on the outside, is empty on the inside.

5 And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.

‘Philistines’ mean ‘strangers’ or thoughts that are not helpful for our spiritual progress or even our overall well being. So this refers to what is happening to us today.

The higher mind is enticed by the lower mind, and there is always a struggle between the two. This biblical narrative is a drama of that struggle. But each one of us is a Samson & there is the power of the universe inside of us, we just need to walk the spiritual path to find it.

Samson’s long hair relates to the growth from the higher centres i.e. head chakras. When that growth is cut, we loose our spiritual connection and we become weak & the lower emotions ‘bind’ spirit once we have given them power over us.

When we are alone in meditation, you are with the father Raa, the mother Isis you are in the family of spirit.

1100 pieces of silver. 11 = 11 stages of evolution. 12 is said to be perfection. So 11 is either 1 step higher or one step down the ladder. We are always so close to our true nature and yet that last step is the hardest. Silver represents the moon and the god of the moon is called SIN.

The moon takes the light from the sun and reflects that back. So whatever we are dwelling in, it reflects back on us. So sin is really dwelling in the emotions, it has nothing to do with the religious connotations.

6 And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee

 

These are the emotions tempting the mind going for his weakest link.

7 And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green withs that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.

 

The 7 green withs = the 7 chakras: Muladhara, Svadisthana, Manipura, Anahata, Visuddha, Anja & Sahasrara and has relation to the 7 zodiac signs:Leo, Cancer Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn.

In the lower aspect, that which is wet is Earth. So what he is saying is that by engaging in the EARHTLY side of each chakra he will be as any other man as he is going with the lowest expression of each, hence the referral to the withs that were never dried.

8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withs which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.

9 Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withs, as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known.

What is playing out here is that we are playing Russian roulette with our spiritual nature. Although we know we are essentially spirit and therefore cannot be broken, we may be getting lax in our lifestyles e.g. not meditating or expressing ourselves spiritually enough of the time. So many people have reached high states of consciousness only to fall back into the world and loose themselves & this is an allegory for that.

11 And he said unto her, If they bind me fast with new ropes that never were occupied, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.

Rope is that divinity within us which pulls us upwards. In the Egyptian book of the dead it says “Tell me my name” saith the rope “Hair…. Is thy name” (p81). It is the hair of Samson that is cut that pulls him down.

New ropes that were never occupied =mixing with people who have no interest in spirituality.

12 Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And there were liers in wait abiding in the chamber. And he brake them from off his arms like a thread.

Again he breaks out of this indicating that he can still come back to his spiritual side thus defeating his lower nature.

13 And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web.

14 And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web.

These are the 7 seals or 7 chakras again as are the 7 trumpets or 7 locks also mentioned in the bible . When one tries to obstruct the kundalini. But he is still able to get his spirituality back.

15 And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth.

The number 3 in the bible tells us that something is going to happen. Examples Jesus was in the tomb 3 days, Jonah in the fish 3 days. So it represents a change of some kind.

16 And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death;

17 That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother’s womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.

So he can do anything in the world and still go back and meditate and transcend all the limits he has put on himself. But if he cuts away that which is going from the higher than he is spiritually dead.

18 And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand.

19 And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.

 

 

Sleep upon his knee = once we put all our trust in the lower we cut off the higher part. We have been so addicted to the senses we have surrendered totally to it.

Calling for a man = the mind itself will cut you off and you wont even know its gone as you are now asleep in the world. Falling asleep to spirit.

21 But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.

 

We cannot see the things we could before and we are blind to spirit. Brass = earthy, the prison house is the material world.

Our thoughts and emotions can truly blind us in prison. Instead of reality being the creation of conscious choice, it becomes a prison. When we are ruled by either one of these aspects of the ego, we are in trouble. Only by tapping into to our higher mind and intuition can we truly be guided out of our enslaved positions, just as Samson was. Samson was shackled to a giant grinding stone & blinded all he could do was push the grinding stone around and around, everyday. This is what happens to us as we are ruled by our lower nature. Life becomes an ever-repeating pattern of failure.

It’s as if we’re going around and around the same mountain until we learn to climb to the top to get a different perspective & and that different perspective is a spiritual one.

22 Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.

But just as there was hope for Sampson, there’s hope for us. While Samson was in the midst of his trial, his hair grew back. As the story goes, Samson asked the Lord for his strength back just one more time. Because his hair had grown long again, we are to understand that Samson was again operating from the higher mind.

25 And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars.

26 And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them.

The temple here represents our mind, and these two pillars represent the two aspects of us, the higher nature and the lower nature of the mind, the conscious and the subconscious. Samson pushed both of them down and kills himself, and the other Philistines. At last Samson found the balance between his two natures (the Christ within) that caused the salvation of Israel as all the evil Philistines (thoughts) were killed off!

The Philistines are having a banquet and they bring Samson before them in chains to mock him. But Samson asks his guide to position him between the two pillars.

27 Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport.

The number three is indicative of a change about to take place.

 28 And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.

Samson preys to the Lord, which means he meditated to access his spiritual nature once again.

29 And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left.

 

 

30 And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.

This last scripture is crucial. Did you know that when we crucify our egos we kill all our negative thoughts and emotions?

At the end of the story we have the greatest illustration of self-sacrifice (the complete killing off of the ego) than any other illustration in the entire story.

 

(iv) Application of the Story of Samson and Delilah

In today’s modern culture, we have it backwards. We can illustrate this point with a true comic book hero, the incredible hulk. His great source of strength came from his emotions. When he was provoked to anger, he changed into a green monster with incredible strength. And while he exhibited great strength, he seemed to lose his mind. He was completely dominated by his emotions which caused him to commit some pretty destructive acts. The story of Samson teaches us that when our thoughts and emotions are ruling us, we, too, become destructive. We are then ruled by external events instead of being in charge over them. This is the true meaning of the story of Samson.

But Samson’s power was never meant to be physical. It was spiritual power. The long hair worn by Samson represents a spiritual power that grows from the mind of a person operating from an elevated consciousness. In other words, Samson’s hair is the spiritual force (spirit of the Lord) growing from the higher mind.

 

(v) Samson and Delilah Recommended Links

1. Bill Donahue YouTube Video

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