There was great rejoicing throughout the land! The arch enemy had been captured and was safely in custody. Such a wonderful victory was this that it was decided to celebrate with a great feast to their god.
When the lords and ladies of the land had assembled for the festivities, the prisoner was brought forth to be the butt of their entertainment. What a spectacle he was, as weak and blind he was led before the people! Not so very long before this he had been a great strapping specimen of manhood, able to withstand any physical attack against himself. Why, so strong was he that on one occasion with only an animal bone and no human assistance, he had slain one thousand soldiers!
Again it is recorded of him that with his bare hands he tore apart a lion which attacked him. Even city gates were no barrier to him—he simply took them with him as he marched out of the city!
Now the situation was completely reversed! Gone was his super strength, gone was his ability to burst his bands asunder. He stood before his tormentors, the victim of a woman’s betrayal, bound in chains, blinded and broken.
As you have no doubt guessed, the name of this one-time strong man was Samson, while his tormentors were the Philistines. In all his contacts with them they had treated him unfairly (although Samson was not above reproach in his conduct either) and in his heart there was a desire for revenge. Possibly with this in mind, he asked his young guide to place him near the pillars, “where upon the house standeth”. When he was ready he called unto the Lord:
“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.”—Judges 16. 28.
After this prayer he grasped two of the pillars, one in either arm, and with God-given renewal of strength, he bent his body and the pillars were broken. Thus the house fell upon all those who were gathered there; and Samson and many men and women were killed.
The archaeologist, during excavations in an early Philistine city, found in one large building a room which had a row of pillars down the centre. The significant factor of this discovery is that, while columns in this period usually were used to support the walls, in this case they were there to support the roof. Also although they were on stone foundations, the pillars themselves were constructed of brick, normally only two bricks wide and so not nearly as strong as all-stone columns.
Excavations in two other towns, not situated in Philistia itself but occupied for a time by the Philistines, revealed the same general pattern. Rooms contained columns, either in wood or brick, or built on stone bases. At one of the sites, in a room 16′ x 12′, four wooden columns about 8″ square had been used. They were set in a square in the centre of the room, and were obviously intended as a central support for the roof.
It is not clear from the Bible story which of these column patterns was used in the house of the feasting. But if it were the latter type, of four central wooden columns, it would have been easy for Samson to grasp and break two of the pillars, thus causing the roof to collapse. If it were the other type, the destruction would still have been possible, as even here the few pillars were used to support the roof and were usually only three to four feet apart.
Other aspects of the Biblical story can be verified. Thus beer mugs have been found in abundance in Philistia. These had one interesting feature, namely an inbuilt strainer so that the beer could be drunk in comfort without swallowing barley husks. Beer mugs of similar design have been found in nearby lands but they are far more numerous in Philistia than elsewhere.
Remembering the words of Judges 17. 25, “when their hearts were merry” and the implied drinking customs of the Philistines, it is interesting to read the comment of one famous archaeologist — “In this respect again archaeology is in full agreement with Biblical tradition, as we see from the story of Samson, where drinking bouts are mentioned several times in connection with the Philistines, though it is said emphatically of Samson that he drank neither wine nor beer”.
Independent archaeological evidence therefore, far from discrediting the story of the strong man Samson, indicates that a detailed knowledge of the times is retained in the incidents recorded.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One