That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There has not come a razor upon my head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.
Read Chapter 16
Ambrose of Milan
AD 397
Is that, then, Samson who broke ropes twisted with thongs, and new cords like weak threads? Is that Samson who did not feel the bonds of his hair fastened to the beam, so long as he had the grace of the Spirit? He, I say, after the Spirit of God departed from him, was greatly changed from that Samson who returned clothed in the spoils of the foreigners, but fallen from his greatness on the knees of a woman, caressed and deceived, is shorn of his hair.
Was, then, the hair of his head of such importance that, so long as it remained, his strength should endure unconquered, but when his head was shorn the man should suddenly lose all his strength? It is not so, nor may we think that the hair of his head has such power. There is the hair of religion and faith; the hair of the Nazarite perfect in the law, consecrated in sparingness and abstinence, with which she (a type of the church), who poured ointment on the feet of the Lord, wiped the feet of the heavenly Word, for then she knew Christ ...
After a short time, Delilah, like one who had been made fun of, began to complain passionately and to ask again and again what his real skill was, demanding proof of his affection for her. Samson, still strong of purpose, laughed at her tricks and suggested to her that if he were bound with seven brand-new ropes he would come into the power of his enemy. This also was tried, in vain. The third time he pretended that she had drawn him out regarding the mystery, but in reality, being nearer to a fall, he said that his strength would leave him if seven hairs of his head were cut and woven into a coverlet. This, too, deceived the tricksters.
Later, when the woman boldly deplored the fact that he mocked her so many times and when she lamented that she was unworthy to be entrusted with her lover’s secret and a betrayal, she gained his confidence by her tears. And just since it was due that a man of bravery who had been invincible all this time should pay the price, he opened up the wounded r...
Adam was beguiled by speech, and Samson was overcome by a word; in truth, nothing penetrates the soul so much as polished discourse and, on the other hand, nothing is so biting as discourse of a harsher tenor. Although they have overcome the torments that were brought to bear against them, many persons have not withstood harsh discourse. - "The Prayer of Job and David 2.3.8"
What was the meaning of Samson? If I say he signified Christ, it seems to me that I speak the truth. However, the thought immediately occurs to anyone who reflects: Was Christ overcome by the flattery of a woman? How is Christ understood to have gone in to a prostitute? Then, again, when did Christ have his head uncovered or his hair shaved, himself robbed of courage, bound, blinded and mocked? Watch, faithful soul. Notice why it is Christ, not only what Christ did, but also what he suffered. What did he do? He worked as a strong man and suffered as a weak one. In the one person I understand both qualities; I see the strength of the Son of God and the weakness of the Son of man. Moreover, when the Scriptures extol him, Christ is entire, both head and body. Just as Christ is the head of the church, so the church is his body; and in order that it might not be alone, it is the whole Christ with the head. Now the church contains within itself both strong and weak members. It has some who a...
Like the famed Samson, whose power lay in the strength of his hair, whose locks were endowed with sacred might, he must throttle and bring low the lion by means of the strong arms of prayers and pluck the sweet fruit of notable victory from its dead mouth.
But this triumph must be a lesson to him not to make alliances with foreigners. That woman of another race I interpret as the law of the flesh, so wily with its alluring nets. If this law proves stronger than the law of the mind, it will drag him into the dominion of sin. The evil counsel of its pleasant words weakens with its deceitful guile the male spirit. It blinds the eyes of the mind and shaves the head; it plunders and disarms faith. I would not have our boy a Samson in this respect, becoming involved in a love encounter immediately followed by captivity, enervation and blindness, even though the strong Samson later recovered his strength when his hair grew again. For he was led by the hand from the mill to be the sport of the...
