Overview

This picture describes the well-known biblical story of Samson and Delilah. The picture commences with Samson's visit to Gaza, a city of the Philistines. While there they closed the gates upon him and set watchmen to defend them, intending to put him to death on the following day. Samson slept until midnight, and then arose. Upon reaching the gates, he slew the watchman, pulled down the gates and carried them to the top of an adjoining hill, where he left them to the confusion and disappointment of the Philistines. After many feats of this kind, Samson permitted himself to become infatuated with a treacherous woman among the Philistines, named Delilah. He revealed to her that the secret of his strength lay in the fact that, being a Nazarite, he never had cut his hair. After hearing this, she waited until Samson was asleep, and then having cut off his seven locks, called out that the Philistines were coming.