Samson

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Samson (; Hebrew: שִׁמְשׁוֹן, romanized: Šimšōn, lit. 'man of the sun') was the last of the judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Book of Judges (chapters 13 to 16) and one of the last leaders who "judged" the twelve tribes of Israel before the institution of the monarchy. He is sometimes regarded as an Israelite version of the popular Near Eastern folk hero archetype also embodied by the Sumerian Gilgamesh and Enkidu, as well as the Greek Heracles. Samson was given superhuman powers by God in the form of extreme strength. The biblical account states that Samson was a Nazirite and that he was given immense strength to aid him against his enemies and allow him to perform superhuman feats, including slaying a lion with his bare hands and massacring a Philistine army with a donkey's jawbone. The cutting of Samson's long hair would violate his Nazirite vow and nullify his ability. Samson is betrayed by his lover Delilah, who, sent by Philistine officials to entice him, orders a...

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