Samson kills 1,000 Philistine military men with a donkey's jawbone...I think not!

by RULES & REGULATIONS 15 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  RULES & REGULATIONS

  The Watchtower—Study Edition | September 2023

  STUDY ARTICLE 37

  Rely on Jehovah, as Samson Did

  
  

  4 Consider an example of Samson’s trust in Jehovah and of the support that God supplied. On one occasion, a Philistine military force had come to capture Samson at Lehi, evidently in Judah. The men of Judah were afraid, so they decided to hand Samson over to the enemy. Samson’s own people bound him securely with two new ropes and brought him to the Philistines. (Judg. 15:9-13) However, “Jehovah’s spirit empowered” Samson and he freed himself from the ropes. He then “found a fresh jawbone of a male donkey,” picked it up, and used it to strike down 1,000 Philistine men!​—Read Judges 15:14-16.

  5 Why did Samson use the jawbone of a donkey? It was an unconventional weapon, to say the least! No doubt Samson knew that his success depended on Jehovah, not on which weapon he used. Yes, this faithful man used what was available to him to accomplish Jehovah’s will. Clearly, as a result of his reliance on Jehovah, Samson was blessed with great success.

  
  

  The Bible story of Samson truly is a Hollywood production. He is handsome, falls in love with beautiful Delilah, his hair makes him strong beyond human capabilities, kills a lion with his bare hands, brings down Colosseum concrete supports that kills himself and many others, and kills 1000 military men with a jawbone.

  Ask yourself: Can one man really kill 1000 military men that are carrying swords, arrows, spears with brute numbers? Why didn't they throw their all their spears at him? Why didn't they surround him? Why didn't they attack him all at one time? How come Samson didn't get tired swinging the jawbone around?

  I think that the Bible had better story productions than today's Hollywood script writers!
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  FedUpJW

  The Bible story of Samson truly is a Hollywood production. His hair makes him strong beyond human capabilities.

  Maybe it wasn't his hair. Maybe he ate a can of spinach like Popeye?
  
  
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  road to nowhere

  How about David and Jonathon standing back to back and fighting?

  The part about Samson i do believe is he (and David) was a womanizer.
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  Simon

  How did anyone even get near him, even with a few hundred dead bodies around?

  These are the kind of OT tall tales, and the WTS insistence that they are absolutely true, not just fanciful fables, are what first started me questioning things.

  They clearly cannot be true. The stories don't make sense. They miss out the motivation and rationality of the enemies. This guy would be like Superman, wiping out their armies. They finally catch him by learning the secret being his long hair and then they don't have someone cutting his hair several times a day? In fact, they don't bother to execute him on the spot as any sane people would, so allowing him to fulfill his heroes story of redemption.

  Utterly crazy. But then a man goes on a sea voyage in a fish ...
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  RULES & REGULATIONS

  They clearly cannot be true. The stories don't make sense. They miss out the motivation and rationality of the enemies.

  Judges 16: 21 Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding grain in the prison. 22 But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.

  The Philistines seize Samson after he kills a thousand Philistines, put him in a labor camp prison, gouge out his eyes, and still forget to:

  learning the secret being his long hair and then they don't have someone cutting his hair several times a day? In fact, they don't bother to execute him on the spot as any sane people would,

  
  
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  pokertopia

  우리는 이러한 삼손의 예로부터 성서, 특히 구약 성서의 이야기가 얼마나 과장 되었는 지 추리할 수 있습니다. 따라서 모세가 이집트에 내린 10가지 재앙이나 홍해 바다를 가른 이야기들을 사실 그대로 받아들이지 말라는 성서 자체의 경고입니다. 다만, 이와 같이 과장되거나 신화적인 이야기들로부터 그 진정한 의미를 알아내는 것은 유익할 것입니다.

  나아가 예수가 포도주로 변화 시킨 이야기 등은 사실이 아니라는 것을 알 수 있습니다.

  We can reason from this example of Samson how exaggerated the Bible, especially the Old Testament is. So the Bible itself warns us not to take the story of Moses's 10 catastrophes against Egypt or the story of his separation of the Red Sea. However, it would be beneficial to find out the true meaning from these exaggerated or mythical stories.

  Furthermore, we can see that the story that Jesus transformed into wine, etc. is not true.
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  Simon

  English only please. Any more foreign text will be deleted.
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  ExBethelitenowPIMA

  “ So the Bible itself warns us not to take the story of Moses's 10 catastrophes against Egypt or the story of his separation of the Red Sea. ”

  Where does the Bible say this?

  I didn’t know it told us not to take these miracles literally?
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  St George of England

  There is also the crazy story in Judges 15 where Samson caught 300 foxes, tied them in pairs by their tails and then set light to them. They then ran into the Philistines crops and burned them. Aside from being a barbaric act it is simply impossible, unless of course God did it. In which case he is a barbarian.

  Talking snakes, talking donkeys, how can I have ever believed any of this twaddle?

  George
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  nischansr

  Let god be found true and every man a liar!

  "exaggerated or mythical stories". If that is your belief then why read the scriptures at all? Be not deceived God is not mocked

  Next time you get in a real mess or in trouble do not pray to God for help, you turn your back on him he turns his face from you

  Either believe and take his word for it or do not believe and stay home away from any assembling of yourself with other brothers and sisters of faith.