Page 186 - Bible History

THE ISRAELITES IN THE PROMISED LAND 159
S son was dedicated by his parents to the service of God, Who had destined him to be a scourge to the Philistines. Unlike the other Judges, he had no army, but depended on his own wonderful strength. He was so strong that, once, when he was a small boy and a young lion attacked him, he seized it in both hands and tore it apart.
Samson began his campaign against the Philistines in a strange way. He caught three hundred foxes, tied their tails together and fastened lighted torcaes to them. Then he set the foxes loose in the elds of the Philistines. All the corn in the elds, all the grapes in the vineyards and all the olives on the trees were burned. The Philistines in revenge burned his· father­ in-law's house, and Samson's wife perished in the ames. Then Samson went into the city nearby and, after putting to death a large number of the inhabi- tants, ed into the territory of the tribe of Juda.
The Philistines sent an army to capture him. The men of Juda, fearing the Philistines, bound Samson and brought him to the enemy. When Samson was brought into the camp of the Philistines, he broke the cords with which he was bound, took the jawbone of an ass which lay on the ground, and with it killed a thou- sand of the Philistines, while the rest ed in fear.
One night Samson slept in Gaza, a Philistine city. The Philistine guards surrounded the city and closed the gates so that he could not escape. But he rose up, took the gates of the city with their posts and bolts, put them on his shoulders and carried them to the top of a neighboring hill.
He s
!:.=
Hes
:lis­ lin
San :yhe f!u