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Judges 16:4-9 (ANIV)
4 Some time later, he [Samson] fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah. 5 The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, “See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so that we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels [1] of silver.”
6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Tell me the secret of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued.”
7 Samson answered her, “If anyone ties me with seven fresh thongs [2] that have not been dried, I’ll become as weak as any other man.”
8 Then the rulers of the Philistines brought her seven fresh thongs that had not been dried, and she tied him with them. 9 With men hidden in the room, she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” But he snapped the thongs as easily as a piece of string snaps when it comes close to a flame. So the secret of his strength was not discovered.

[1]
That is, about 28 pounds (about 13 kilograms.)

[2]
Or, bow-strings; also in Judges 16:8, 9.

DRAWING NOTES:

TIME OF DAY:
The Bible doesn’t specify the time of day.

LIGHTING NOTES:
This scene is inside Delilah’s house, with warm yellow light coming from torches or lanterns which are unseen, above the figures.

CHARACTERS PRESENT:
Samson breaking the seven thongs on his arms.
Delilah shouting “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!”
Three (or more?!) Philistine men, hiding behind a curtain, to the left of the scene.

RESEARCH/ADDITIONAL NOTES:
This scene shows Samson easily breaking the seven new thongs which Delilah has tied him up with. I decided to keep this scene fairly simple, so the viewers attention is on the figures and their actions. I like the hidden Philistine men’s expressions of awe, anxiety, disappointment &/or possibly fear!

I enjoyed drawing the table, cups, wine jug & grape bowl clattering to the floor, as Samson uses his supernatural strength to break his bonds.

Here are 2 maps showing the fourth & final part of Samson’s journeys, starting in the Valley of Sorek & his fateful encounter with Delilah. The Philistines captured Samson, took him to their city of Gaza & forced him to work in prison. Samson died in the temple, causing it to tumble down & killing many Philistines. Finally his brothers & family recovered his body & buried him in his father’s tomb in Mahaneh-dan in Israel.

The top map shows the whole of Israel, viewed from above & looking along the country, from south towards the north, with perspective applied. The black box shows the extent of the more detailed map below this one.

Map of Israel – Samson 04 – Delilah and Samson’s death

Click on the colour bar below to view/buy the upper small-scale map, NOTE – the purchased map doesn’t have the black box & diagonal lines or watermark on it:
Map of Israel – Samson 04 – Delilah and Samson’s death

Click on the colour bar below to view/buy the lower, large-scale map, NOTE – the purchased map doesn’t have the watermark on it:
Map of Southern Israel – Samson 04 – Delilah and Samson’s death DETAIL