Shoftim 16: No Strings Attached

Stop me if you heard this story before- boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, girl’s countrymen want to kill boy, girl’s countrymen try to get girl to get boy in a vulnerable situation. Boy narrowly escapes. The story Shimshon repeats over and over again. But this time, third times the charm for the Philistines. The first wife revealed his riddle, but she ended up being burned, literally, by her countrymen. The prostitute at the beginning of this chapter could not hold Shimshon inside the walls of the city, but Delilah finally gets him to reveal his secret. In the end, Shimshon reveals that he is nazir, and his strength is derived from his long hair. וַיַּגֶּד־לָהּ אֶת־כָּל־לִבּוֹ וַיֹּאמֶר לָהּ מוֹרָה לֹא־עָלָה עַל־רֹאשִׁי כִּי־נְזִיר אֱלֹהִים אֲנִי מִבֶּטֶן אִמִּי אִם־גֻּלַּחְתִּי וְסָר מִמֶּנִּי כֹחִי וְחָלִיתִי וְהָיִיתִי כְּכָל־הָאָדָם׃ וַתֵּרֶא דְּלִילָה כִּי־הִגִּיד לָהּ אֶת־כָּל־לִבּוֹ וַתִּשְׁלַח וַתִּקְרָא לְסַרְנֵי פְלִשְׁתִּים לֵאמֹר עֲלוּ הַפַּעַם כִּי־הִגִּיד לָהּ אֶת־כָּל־לִבּוֹ וְעָלוּ אֵלֶיהָ סַרְנֵי פְלִשְׁתִּים וַיַּעֲלוּ הַכֶּסֶף בְּיָדָם׃ “and he revealed his heart to her. He said to her, ‘No razor has ever touched my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God since I was in my mother’s womb. If my hair were cut, my strength would leave me and I should become as weak as an ordinary man/ Sensing that he had revealed his heart to her, Delilah sent for the lords of the Philistines…’” (verse 17-18). The key phrase here is “he revealed his heart”. This is a very revealing moment for Shimshon. This is the first time in the text that Shimshon discusses his Nazirite life. His parents, who set him up for this lifestyle also disappear from the story after his first encounter with the lion and honey. The tough strong powerful Shimshon has a moment of emotional vulnerability and Delilah picks up on this immediately. She realizes that he has finally revealed the truth to her. What makes Shimshon do this? Delilah clearly was trying to trap him! Perhaps Shimshon was tired. Tired of his solitary life as a nazir. Tired of his solitary life as a judge of a wayward nation. Tired of his endless quest for companionship that kept ending in disaster. Tired of the burden placed upon him by his mother. But if he was emotionally vulnerable in the moment, then why does God leave him? The message seems backwards. Is Shimshon really punished for a moment of vulnerability? Perhaps this is yet more commentary on monarchy. Shimshon did not choose to be a judge. He was given this task from birth- like a king. Like a king he must carry this burden his whole life. Monarchy means that rulers are pushed into a lifestyle they may not want. But once crowned king, that choice goes away. As Queen Mary tells Elizabeth in the Netflix series The Crown, “Elizabeth Mountbatten… has now been replaced by another person, Elizabeth Regina… The fact is, the Crown must win. Must always win.” Shimshon’s tragedy is a darker biblical version of that same burden: he was chosen before birth, marked by the Nazirite vow before he could consent, and expected to carry a public mission that left little room for an ordinary private life. God’s people are too important for a king to allow their personal life to distract from their duty. In the end, however God does hear Shimshon’s cry. He helps him not only by restoring his strength to exact revenge, but also by allowing Shimshon’s family to bury him in his father’s tomb. Back with his family.