SAMSON, or, in Hebrew, Shimshon; legendary Israelite hero who flourished, according to tradition, circa the twelfth century BCE. The thirteenth to sixteenth chapters of the Book of Judges recount the adventurous life of Samson, a charismatic leader, or "judge," of the tribe of Dan. His name, Shimshon, means "one of the sun." Endowed with superhuman strength, an impetuous nature, and a penchant for verbal wit, Samson delivered the Israelites from their enemies to the west, the Philistines, in a series of personal vendettas. While biblical traditions may have crystallized around an actual figure, the present narrative is encrusted with mythological (especially solar), folkloristic, and literary motifs and patterns that obscure whatever historical facts underlie the story.

Samson was born to a childless Israelite couple. His birth was announced by a messenger from God in the manner of other traditional heroes. He performed a number of feats, all of...