Judges 13: A Hero for Our Time

Shimshon is probably the most famous of all the Judges, and yet his story is very different than all others. The story begins in similar fashion to Gideon. An angel of God approaches to set up the leader. But this time it is different. The angel appears to Shimshon’s mother, before Shimshon is even conceived.וַיֵּרָא מַלְאַךְ ה׳ אֶל־הָאִשָּׁה וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלֶיהָ הִנֵּה־נָא אַתְּ עֲקָרָה וְלֹא יָלַדְתְּ וְהָרִית וְיָלַדְתְּ בֵּן(Judges 13:3)The angel also appears to Shimshon’s mother twice. His father does not seem to believe her, yet God will only appear to his mother.וַיָּבֹא מַלְאַךְ הָאֱלֹהִים עוֹד אֶל־הָאִשָּׁה וְהִיא יוֹשֶׁבֶת בַּשָּׂדֶה וּמָנוֹחַ אִישָׁהּ אֵין עִמָּהּ(Judges 13:9)Shimshon’s mother is also told that he must be a Nazir, and she must follow Nazir rules in pregnancy. Yet, these rules are different than a regular Nazir.וְעַתָּה הִשָּׁמְרִי־נָא וְאַל־תִּשְׁתִּי יַיִן וְשֵׁכָר וְאַל־תֹּאכְלִי כָּל־טָמֵא׃ כִּי הִנָּךְ הָרָה וְיֹלַדְתְּ בֵּן וּמוֹרָה לֹא־יַעֲלֶה עַל־רֹאשׁוֹ כִּי־נְזִיר אֱלֹהִים יִהְיֶה הַנַּעַר מִן־הַבָּטֶן(Judges 13:4–5)Shimshon is not forbidden from being near a dead body. He also cannot stop being a Nazir. Shimshon acts as a loner. He does not assemble tribal armies. He does not even have a small band of soldiers working with him. The only interaction with people of Israel in the story is when members of the tribe of Yehudah want to turn him over to the Philistines.וַיֵּרְדוּ שְׁלֹשֶׁת אֲלָפִים אִישׁ מִיהוּדָה אֶל־סְעִיף סֶלַע עֵיטָם וַיֹּאמְרוּ לְשִׁמְשׁוֹן הֲלֹא יָדַעְתָּ כִּי־מֹשְׁלִים בָּנוּ פְּלִשְׁתִּים(Judges 15:11)Shimshon also possesses super strength. This “superpower” is unique in the book of Judges, and in the Torah as a whole (putting midrashim aside).וַתִּצְלַח עָלָיו רוּחַ ה׳ וַיְשַׁסְּעֵהוּ כְּשַׁסַּע הַגְּדִי(Judges 14:6)The Shimshon story also contains lots of riddles.מֵהָאֹכֵל יָצָא מַאֲכָל וּמֵעַז יָצָא מָתוֹק(Judges 14:14)Shimshon’s mother names him, but without any reason.וַתֵּלֶד הָאִשָּׁה בֵּן וַתִּקְרָא אֶת־שְׁמוֹ שִׁמְשׁוֹן(Judges 13:24)If someone is named in Tanach, there usually is a reason or God tells the individual to name them. Commentators give the following reasons for his name—Abarbanel explains that he would work for God his whole life (from the Hebrew shamash), the midrash explains that he was a source of light (from shemesh), Malbim explains that he would be an annoyance for the Philistines (from the Hebrew shimama), Radak says he was like the sun which stands alone in its brightness without any assistance (Shemesh). Why does the Shimshon story contain all of these unique attributes? Shimshon was the last of the named Judges in the book. The broken story, with half connections, is once again indicative of the time of Judges. Nothing seems to be going exactly right anymore. Even the great heroes do not fit the mold of the rest of Tanach.