The Lion or the Lamb, Samson, Ruth and Salvation

Acknowledgments, Sources & Narrative Choices

Love and thanks to my wife, Marcia, for her unflagging support, research contributions and inspired editing. I am also grateful to Nicole Jansezian for her important contributions to the finished novel with both editing and spot-on criticism.

As a guide in choosing plausible-sounding names for the story’s fictional Philistine characters, credit goes to Aharon Kempinski and his paper entitled Some Philistine Names from the Kingdom of Gaza, Israel Exploration Journal, Vol. 37, No. 1 (1987), pp. 20-24.

Credit is also due the detailed and insightful eight-part lecture series on the Book of Ruth by Rabbi YY Jacobsen (available online at TheYeshiva.net, part one at https://www.theyeshiva.net/item/205) for providing story and character ideas for this novel as well as guidelines and inspiration for plausible relationships within Naomi’s family.

According to Jacobsen, Naomi’s unnamed father, Salmon (Boaz’s father), Eli (Naomi’s uncle and eventual husband) and Tov, the first-in-line kinsman redeemer who declined to marry Ruth, were four prominent brothers in Bethlehem. (Some commentators hold that the word, טוֹב, tov, used by Boaz in Ruth 3:13, is not a man’s name but simply the Hebrew word meaning good. Boaz tells Ruth, …if he shall redeem you, good; let him redeem you… but Tov is the name of Naomi’s prominent kinsman in this novel.) Other proper names herein are inventions without basis in scripture.

There exists a well-embraced tradition that, when Naomi returned to Bethlehem with Ruth, Boaz was burying his first wife. In this story, Boaz had not previously married.

Credit is also due Reading Ruth, Contemporary Women Reclaim a Sacred Story, a compilation of essays by thirty contemporary Jewish novelists, essayists, poets, rabbis, psychologists and scholars, edited by Judith A. Kates and Gail Twersky Reimer, (© 1994 by Judith A. Kates and Gail Twersky Reimer, Ballantine Books, ISBN 0-345-38033-9) for providing thought-provoking insights into the possible thinking, longing and aspirations of the women in the Book of Ruth, some of which perhaps have found their way into the thoughts of Naomi, Ruth and Orpah as revealed in this story.

The Philistine diet and cooking methods described herein are influenced by a 2007 Haaretz article, A Serving of Philistine Culture: Boar, Dog and Fine Wine by Ofri Ilany, based on the research of Professor Aren Maeir and his colleagues at Bar-Ilan University.

An excellent resource to illuminate Hebrew oral tradition regarding farming philosophy, law and practice, is Farming by the Book – Food Farming, and the Environment in the Bible and in the Qur’an, by Gary W. Fick, Professor of Agronomy, Department of Crop and Soil Services, Cornell University, 2005. In this story’s section entitled The Threshing Floor, I’ve paraphrased several of Fick’s conclusions, derived from the Hebrew Tanach, while attributing the wisdom to Boaz.

The snippet of desperate song sung in this novel by old Hunan, Samson’s wife’s father, is not part of an ancient Philistine war song but, I am hopeful, an unrecognizable corruption of a verse lifted from the poem, Samson Agonistes, by John Milton.

Anyone familiar with the Book of Ruth will recognize this story’s rendering of Ruth’s revered speech to Naomi (in which Ruth vows to never leave Naomi) as having been lifted almost word-for-word from the story of Ruth in the Tanach. Other, similar lifting occurs in places in this narrative without attribution, the expectation being that readers are not likely to mistake the several near, or exact quotations for original work.

To normalize spelling of place names and establish consistent distances and topography in this novel I have used free, copyrighted software, Bible Mapper, by David P. Barrett (http://biblemapper.com/). Barrett also provides a Bible Mapper Web Viewer at http://biblemapper.com/web/ which I have not used, but which also appears to be an excellent mapping resource.

Much of the lifestyle descriptions in this novel regarding ancient Ashkelon came from a National Geographic Society story at https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/07/bible-philistine-israelite-israel-ashkelon-discovery-burial-archaeology-sea-peoples/.

An Investigation of Ancient Hebrew Music, a Senior Honors Thesis by Holly Delcamp, Liberty University, 2013, served as a principle resource for depictions of the songs, music and music-related customs depicted herein.

Were Samson and Ruth Contemporaries?

Ruth, the Moabitess, and mighty Samson from the Sorek Valley may be the two most unique characters in the Old Testament. Sweet, faithful Ruth, the relocated widow and eventual great-grandmother of Israel’s King David, seems at first glance to have nothing in common with the famous scourge of the Philistines, easily the best known, most intriguing and certainly the most exasperating of ancient Israel’s long line of judges. But it’s probable that these two wholly different characters were contemporaries, for at least a short time, who lived within 20 miles of each other.

Married in the hills at Bethlehem, Ruth and Boaz lived a long day’s walk away from what is thought to be the ancient foothill village of Lehi, where Samson slew a thousand Philistines to mark the beginning of the end of the 40-year period known as The Philistine Oppression.

By making reasonable assumptions based on the biblical record, doing a bit of addition/subtraction of years between events and, finally, relying upon the broadly-accepted date of 1010 BCE as David’s ascension to Israel’s throne, we can place both Ruth and Samson in a time-line.

Beginning with Ruth, working backward, we place her in time noting:

David was born in 1040 BCE, thirty years prior to his becoming king.

Assuming Ruth’s grandson and David’s father, Jesse, was at the youngest, 23, the oldest, 50, when his wife gave birth to David (Jesse fathered seven other sons before Israel’s future king) puts Jesse’s birthday between 1090 and 1063 BCE.

If Jesse’s father, Ruth’s son, Oved, was between 15 and 40 at Jesse’s birth, then Oved’s birthday falls between 1130 and 1078 BCE.

Assume that Ruth gave birth to Oved between one and ten years after marrying Boaz. Adding that span to the range above, her marriage would then fall between 1140 and 1079 BCE, a 61-year span of uncertainty.

To estimate when Samson first became Israel’s judge we note that the Book of Judges mentions that our hero judged Israel for 20 years immediately after its account of his victory at Lehi (Judges 15:19-20). We can then work backward from David’s ascension to the throne to the event at Lehi, noting that Samson’s leadership term as judge was followed by those of Eli, then Samuel, then Saul (where the leadership of Samuel and Saul, according to some experts, may have partially overlapped).

Counting backward from David’s ascension in 1010 BCE:

The beginning of Saul’s reign would then fall between 1050-1042 BCE. (Assuming he reigned, as most say, between 32 and 40 years.)

Samuel’s term as Judge is not exactly known, so we’ll guess he served between 20 and 40 years, which places the start of his service between 1090 and 1062 BCE.

The beginning of Eli’s reign, if he served between 38 and 40 years, then falls between 1130 and 1100 BCE.

Thus, Samson likely began to judge Israel twenty years earlier, somewhere between 1150 and 1120 BCE.

Admittedly, this analysis proves nothing. If the assumptions change, so do its conclusions but, because the assumptions seem reasonable, the result suggests that it is certainly possible, if not highly likely, that Ruth and Boaz were married sometime during Samson’s twenty-year reign as Israel’s judge!

The Philistine Temple at Gaza and Samson’s historicity *

The historicity of the Samson account depicted in the Book of Judges has long been debated. Is there any basis in fact for Judah’s hero, his environment or recorded deeds? The Dutch rhetorical critic, Aleida van Daalan, for example, has argued that the entire Samson saga is a fiction, describing Samson as a national hero on the order of Gilgamesh created by an exilic author.

John L. McKenzie, perhaps the foremost Catholic Biblical scholar of the mid-twentieth century, has added, with regard to the Tanach’s account of Samson’s destroying the Philistine temple at Gaza…

"…the historical quality of heroic tales is always low. This is easy to see in Samson. A palace or temple which could support several thousand people on its roof supported by two central pillars separated by an arm’s length never existed…The world in which Samson lives is real, even if his feats of strength are not. (McKenzie, John L., 1979 The Old Testament Without Illusions. Chicago: Thomas More, pp: 229–30)

No information is available regarding McKenzie’s expertise as a structural engineer but, regardless, McKenzie sits firmly in the camp of scholars who hold that the accounts of Samson’s immense strength found in Judges are no more than exaggerated popular tales most likely circulated during the time of Philistine domination of Israel; mere myths meant to have provided religious hope for Israel and to bolster national spirit.

But biblical archaeologist Dr. Bryant G. Wood offers an opposing theory. The first ancient Philistine temple was brought to modern light in Israel at Tel Qasile, north of Tel Aviv, during a 1972 excavation. The temple was found to be comprised of an antechamber and main hall. According to Wood, this hall, with inside measurements of 18 1/2 feet by 23 1/2 feet, is a room whose roof was originally supported by two wooden pillars set on round, well-made stone bases, placed along a center axis. (Samson and the House of Dagon, Bible and Spade online magazine, http://www.biblearchaeology.org/bookstore/product.aspx?id=40).

Although the temple of Dagon at Gaza has yet to be excavated (a modern city sits atop it), Wood suggests that it must have been built like the one at Tel Qasile and concludes—since the Book of Judges describes it as having two pillars supporting its roof (Judges 16:24)—…the Bible writer knew his facts. He knew that Philistine temples were supported by two pillars and that this was how Samson pulled the temple down. The report is that of an eye-witness, again demonstrating that, indeed, the Bible is the world’s most accurate history textbook.

*For a discussion of the linguistic evidence supporting Samson’s historicity, please see, The State of the Question, (http://www.biblearchaeology.org/post/2008/07/Between-the-Pillars-Revisiting-Samson-and-the-House-of-Dagon.aspx#Article ), from which much of this section has been paraphrased or excerpted.

Samson, Shimshon, Beit Lechem, Bethlehem, etc.

In English language versions of the Christian Bible, the name of Israel’s mighty judge is most often rendered as Samson. The same fellow is better known in the Hebrew Tanach as Shimshon. Both names are used in this narrative; Samson in the words and thoughts of his enemies, Shimshon among his friends and Judean peers.

Because it may be more pleasant-sounding to an English-speaking reader, the world’s best-known village is rendered in this story as Bethlehem, not Beit Lechem. Likewise, Philistines replaces Pelishtim and Ruth appears instead of Rut. In other instances, Hebrew proper and place names are transliterated a bit more accurately. There is no method or logic to it.

As a kindness to the English-speaking reader, most distances in this narrative are given in miles, a measure of length that would not be defined until over a thousand years following this story’s events.

For Marcia

the Lion or the Lamb?

In those days there was no king in Israel,

every man did what was right in his own eyes. (Judges 17:6)

Prologue

In the days when fortress Zion was a little-known place in Jebus, Judah’s elders often argued…

Moses had passed.

Joshua had passed.

Their hero, mighty Shimshon, had died in shame at Gaza and his enemies, the Philistines, still terrorized the land.

"If not Shimshon, the elders wondered, who shall save us?"

Natan, only a boy when he first heard that question, sat in Bethlehem beside its central well, as confused in his old age as he had been as a child, and asked aloud, again… Who, Lord, shall save us?

The honored Prophet, Samuel, was said to have arrived that morning in the village! Perhaps, finally, he would reveal Judah’s savior to the people and explain what salvation means.

.

I. Timnah

1. A small boy from the valley

How does a man, or boy, become a hero? The first time Padi met Samson, years before the drought, Padi had followed his brother, Achish, down the grade below their father’s lodge to a line of hidden caves. They met friends and played for hours there, running about and whipping each other’s legs with sharp-edged reeds. But then, a small boy from the valley appeared standing near them, something unexpected, for the conquered sons of Avraham had learned to know their place.

Spying the intruder, Achish swore and hurled a rock. When Samson, much younger and smaller at that time, allowed the stone to strike his shoulder, not once flinching, Padi grinned.

Achish was a bully.

No boy had ever defied him, certainly none so small.

Who are you? Achish bellowed. This is a Philistine ridge.

Samson tossed his hair behind his shoulders and stepped up face-to-face, or almost so, for Achish was easily a head taller, more massive and broader shouldered. Yet, Padi noticed with great curiosity that there was, undeniably, a certain lanky tautness to Samson’s frame, a kind of rippling twitchiness that made one stop and stare.

Who are you? Achish yelled again.

Samson chose that moment, quickly becoming Padi’s hero, to reveal one of the many, outrageous behaviors that eventually brought him fame. Never meeting Achish’s eyes, the intruder from the valley tipped toward the older boy’s shoulder and asked, in the perfect parlance of Ashdod, What is always seen in water, yet is never wet?

A riddle?

Padi laughed but the others frowned.

More fighter than thinker, Achish stood stupidly, undone, as did his dull-eyed friends. But as Padi raised his hand to offer a guess, Achish, having sorted out enough to take offense, brayed like a mule and raised a fist in anger. But what followed was no fight.

In a flash, there knelt Achish at Samson’s feet, crying out in pain at least as often as he cursed. Release me! he grunted, more embarrassed than injured for, almost casually, Samson had clamped one hand on Achish’s shoulder where it met his neck and, each time Achish squirmed, he squeezed harder to make him pay.

It was wonderful though over much too soon. A reflection, Samson whispered as he let poor Achish go.

I knew it! Padi erupted, thrilled to have solved the riddle but, after Samson strolled away unchallenged, Achish threw him down, rubbed dirt in his eyes and stuck a small stick in his ear.

But Padi never stopped smiling. A boy from the valley, one of the weak-kneed sons of Avraham, had made the toughest boy on Padi’s ridge break down and cry.

How could such a thing be possible?

Something important, it seemed certain, was about to change.

*

The Sorek Valley, as that broad swath of gentle earth below Padi’s ridge was known, had long been run by Padi’s people. Padi’s father, Mitni, no longer content with life at Ekron, was among the first to venture farther inland to displace the natives, so-called sons of Avraham, a backward lot who honored one god and knew nothing of the sea.

Though Mitni stayed atop his conquered ridge, men from Ashdod and Gath built lodges below. Of course, feuds arose then, differences breed contempt, but the desperate violence between the two tribes began only after the rain stopped.

Down at the village, Timnah, where Padi and his boyhood chums once stole arm-loads of grapes, leeks and melons with no fear of retaliation, the wadi’s once reedy bottom turned into windblown ruts.

So there began a time of trouble.

Men cannot live without rain.

Those with whom Padi’s kin had once peacefully bowed to idols and intermarried, fell back upon their singular god, blaming whom they called Philistines, foreigners or wanderers, for the drought that threatened their lives. But they could have as easily blamed their champion, Samson, for the drought grew worse as he grew fiercer.

At least Philistines saw it that way.

*

As Padi grew older he proved to be as poor a fit among his people as was Samson among his own; Padi for his meekness, Samson for his strength. Tabsal, Padi’s mother, complained that he was born a sigher, inclined to whining as a child, dark moods and troubled breathing as a young adult. Those traits only annoyed his brother and few friends but prompted Mitni into fits. We are the stock of seafaring warriors! his father would bellow, kicking Padi’s backside, not hesitant cowards, stung by doubt.

Stung by odd thoughts, I think, Tabsal corrected him one day, not to defend but to explain. Our son reflects upon everything.

Mitni stood blinking, vacantly.

It is a habit, husband, Tabsal explained, in accord with his need to dwell on meaningless things. It’s his burden, I’m afraid. I’m afraid that it’s a curse.

Behave differently, Mitni barked, kicking Padi again.

So Padi tried hard, at first, when young, to become less thoughtful, but weaknesses die slow deaths. Despite his warrior blood, he approached manhood gently, preferring romance to conflict and, though everyone mocked him, he fell in love with a village girl and, because he did, became entangled with mighty Samson for the remainder of his life.

2. A defeated people’s hero

As what had been a simple lack of rain became a bitter drought, especially in Judah’s highlands, Samson’s visits to the ridge became more frequent and well-timed. It seemed that whenever Achish or one of his pals felt inspired to bully Padi, Samson would somehow appear out of nowhere, always alone and fearless, sometimes even at night, and pound him senseless. After a while even the older boys ignored him rather than be injured. Yet Samson and Padi never grew close, not like in caring or sharing, but their odd relationship worked well; Padi adored Samson’s protection and Padi’s frailty gave Samson frequent chances to batter Philistines.

No one knew why Samson had chosen to become Padi’s protector but all of them knew, if they harassed Padi, there would be Samson to pay. Though most learned quickly to leave Padi alone, dumb Achish required reminders, and it became a joke on the ridge, behind Achish’s back, that he had become a little native’s whipping boy. In time though, due to the buildup of obvious bruises, serious gashes and permanent scars on his face and arms, Achish learned a bit of discretion, so that Samson rarely needed to thrash him more than once a month.

Who is doing this to you? Mitni asked his oldest son one day after a particularly harsh encounter. You look like a mound of berries.

The brute, Samson, the native from the valley, Tabsal volunteered, he climbs our hill whenever he pleases and sweeps the street with him. All the mothers know it.

Is that true? Mitni thundered in disbelief.

No, Achish said, and his father was much relieved.

Unlike Padi, Samson was no talker, except to pose an occasional riddle, and nothing seemed to inspire him more than lifting, breaking or throwing things great distances. Nor did Samson have an apparent purpose in life beyond his appetites, frequent feats of strength and random acts of violence. But, at least at first, Padi was thrilled to remain under the protection of the valley’s most famous person; the child, then boy, then man whom the God of Avraham favored.

*

Every sword has two edges. Nothing stays perfect for long. As, in time, Achish, his friends, and even Padi’s neighbors became eager to avoid him, Padi grew increasingly lonely. And he sometimes dared to think that his brother’s brutal bullying might have been better than nothing at all. He would walk down the hill on bad days and, hiding behind haystacks or carts, gaze secretly upon a Philistine girl named Rekah. And though he had once, or twice, summoned the courage to speak to her, she seemed not to know he existed.

As Samson grew into a huge, imposing man and his reputation for aggression spread well-beyond the valley, he involved himself in disputes throughout the region regarding water, crops or theft, always siding with his people, each day becoming more a hero in their eyes. But he often found time to visit Padi and, on one fateful day, they went down together to Timnah. And Samson spotted Rekah at work in her father’s garden there and asked, Who is that lovely thing. I want her for my own.

What, so suddenly? Padi said, his heart rising to his throat. It may be best to give this matter thought.

Samson flicked Padi’s ear.

She is Rekah, daughter of Hunan, Padi finally told him, filled with a sense of dread. But it is improper of you, my friend, to speak so brazenly. She is a Philistine, not your kind, and you have only now set eyes on her.

I shall have her for my own, Samson said, never one to think things through.

But it was, Padi knew, an understandable reaction. Tall, fair-skinned, lithe and lively Rekah—a classic Philistine beauty—humbled the likes of the shorter, stouter, dark-eyed Judean girls.

Regret often springs from failing to act. If only Padi, that very instant, had revealed his affection for her, Samson may have backed away but, unaware he was breaking his only friend’s heart, he marched right up to her and grinned. When Rekah seemed to take offense and turn away, Padi gasped with hope but, unfazed by her rejection, Samson followed her into her lodge!

Samson was nothing if not fearless.

Padi remained outside, alone, near tears, having been forced to see what his heart tried hard to deny. Despite Rekah’s astonished gasps and breathy protests, when Samson barged into her father’s dwelling, his broad chest, rippling muscles, good looks and fiery nature had thrilled her to the bone.

Women, Padi learned that day, lose their minds around strong men.

*

At first, shouts of outrage emerged from Hunan’s lodge. Then bellowed threats. Then silence. Then, of all things, laughter. Padi stood trembling outside until Hunan, Rekah’s mother and Rekah’s younger sister stepped outside, grinning at one another as if attending a reunion. Samson and Rekah followed them, arm-in-arm, improperly