Samson in Gaza

By Tex Ford

Samson in Gaza tells the untold story of Samson and Delilah. Where did Delilah come from, and how did she end up in Israel? This new novel reveals all of the details of this historically tragic tale of love and betrayalor was it betrayal? Only Samson in Gaza answers that question. Samson has been revered as a strong man for countless generations. Now read about his true strength and how it led him to become one of Israels ultimate heroes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Apr 9, 2014
• ISBN: 9781490827520

Tex Ford

Tex Ford was born on Valentine's Day in 1952, in Texas. A former English teacher and senior operations manager for Federal Express, Tex currently lives in South Florida with his family. His previous work, The Joshua Generation, examines God's instructions to Joshua and the people of Israel before they entered the Promised Land.

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Copyright © 2014 Tex Ford.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Cover Art

Samson in Gaza

Chris Zeiher, 2012

Interior Art

Chris Zeiher, 2013

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ISBN: 978-1-4908-2750-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-2751-3 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-2752-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014903466

WestBow Press rev. date: 4/04/2014

CONTENTS

PROLOGUE

MANOAH: THE FATHER

ZELPONI: THE MOTHER

ANGEL: THE LORD GOD

SAMSON: THE BIRTH

SAMSON: THE BOY

SAMSON: THE MAN

MERARI: THE WIFE

PHICOL: THE COMMANDER

DELILAH: THE GODDESS

ZETHAM: THE PRIEST

PHICOL: THE GENERAL

SAMSON: THE MAN OF GOD

SAMSON: THE TOMB

EPILOGUE

To my mother, Marguerite, who birthed me.

To my father, Harold, who adored me.

To my sisters, Marguerite Dawn and Linda Christine who sharpened me.

To my brother Jaime Ferris who befriended me.

To my teacher, Dorothy Jasiecki, who showed me.

To my wife, Linda Ford, who completed me.

To my children, Mandolin, Harold, Danielle, and Chris, who endured me.

To my Lord God, Jesus Christ, who also did all of the above and then saved me.

THUS SAITH THE LORD, LET NOT THE WISE MAN GLORY IN HIS WISDOM, NEITHER LET THE MIGHTY MAN GLORY IN HIS MIGHT, LET NOT THE RICH MAN GLORY IN HIS RICHES: BUT LET HIM THAT GLORIETH GLORY IN THIS, THAT HE UNDERSTANDETH AND KNOWETH ME, THAT I AM THE LORD WHICH EXERCISE LOVINGKINDNESS, JUDGEMENT, AND RIGHTEOUSNESS IN THE EARTH: FOR IN THESE THINGS I DELIGHT, SAITH THE LORD."

—JEREMIAH 9:23–24

FROM THE KING JAMES TRANSLATION OF THE BIBLE

PROLOGUE

S amson stretched his arms and flexed his mighty muscles. He was standing on a hill overlooking the land of the Philistines. His body glistened in the sun from the oil he had rubbed on him self.

Samson reveled in his strength and the power it gave him over other men. He loved looking at the image that gazed back at him from the polished gold shield that hung on the wall in his father’s house. His father had made it for him when he achieved manhood, and it was one of his most precious possessions because in it he could see himself. It was a long shield like the Philistines used, designed to protect a soldier from head to toe. Even now as a grown man, when Samson stood back a little distance from it, he could see his whole body reflected. He never tired of seeing himself and admiring his lean face; long braids of hair; and chiseled, smooth, and perfectly formed body.

Ever since he was a young boy, Samson had been acutely aware of his unusual strength. There were times when it was greater than what seemed humanly possible. At such times, he felt as though he could lift the world on his shoulders. His father and mother had told him this was because his strength had come from God, and that God expected him to use that strength only for good. However, Samson was not sure about this. He thought his strength was just a natural result of his being such a fine specimen of manhood. His strength did not extend into the trait of humility.

Samson didn’t worry about trying to explain those unusual times of strength. In fact, he was not given to spending a lot of his energy in thinking. He was a man of action. Anyway, such things had never been important to him. Perhaps it was just a burst of power caused by his reaction to some provocation or to his surroundings. He didn’t care. He just knew the strength was there when he needed it and called on it seemingly at the whim of his own mind.

From the time he was born, Samson had been told that the land he now surveyed was the land of his enemies. He was supposed to hate the Philistines with a passion, as they were the sworn enemy of his people, and he should want to humiliate if not destroy them. The priests who tried to train him taught him that he should look for every opportunity to cause the Philistines trouble and expected it would be one of the great pleasures of his life.

In truth, Samson did not hate the Philistines at all. What feeling he did have for them had nothing to do with their being the enemy of Israel. It was more the result of his pride. Since he had been told these people were his enemies, his pride urged him to shame them, make an example of them, and destroy them if possible. Is that not what strong men did to their enemies? Samson’s parents had never spoken of the Philistines as their enemy. His father had prospered because of the Philistines, and his mother had no love for the priests, so it was no wonder that Samson did not hate the Philistines.

Samson had been chosen to be one of the judges of the Hebrew people, a position he did not relish. He had no desire to perform the task. After all, who was he to judge other people? The judges of Israel were traditionally military leaders called upon during conflicts with the other inhabitants of the land of Canaan to lead the people in battle. Samson had no taste for this. He was a loner. Yes, he loved to fight and enjoyed immensely besting an enemy, but he liked to do it on his own and not with other people helping him. This allowed him greater pride in the victory that inevitably came.

Now he made regular forays into the land of the Philistines. He was not looking for ways to torment them. He just craved a challenge and hungered for the thrill of new things. His father, Manoah, had cautioned him about this and told him that always wanting something new would lead him into trouble. Manoah was a hardworking and industrious man. He had labored at building up his business so he could give Samson all that his heart desired. Perhaps that was a weakness in Manoah. But Samson didn’t think so.

Samson yawned, and smiling, he looked down over the land spread out beneath him. From this vantage point, he could see a vast expanse of Philistine territory and felt he was the master of it all. Wanting another adventure, Samson began to make his way along the narrow path that meandered out of the hills.

MANOAH: THE FATHER

M anoah struck the base of the sword repeatedly with his hammer, drawing it slowly out to its proper le ngth.

Manoah, you son of a Danite dog. Quit wasting time with that sword, and get over here!

Manoah worked for a harsh man, Perez, who loved to remind Manoah of his lowly position as an apprentice. Perez came from what was called the royal line of the tribe of Judah. He never missed an opportunity to point that out to Manoah.

The one thing Manoah liked about Perez was that he had a beautiful daughter named Zelponi. She was nothing like Perez, so Manoah thought she must be like her mother. Perez told him Zelponi’s mother had died when Zelponi was just a young girl. Perhaps this had helped Manoah to fall in love with her the first moment he saw her. She had been standing in the doorway of her father’s house when Manoah had first come to stay with them and begin his apprenticeship. He thought she looked like such a lonely and sad little creature. His heart went out to her, and as he got to know her father, his sympathy and love for her grew.

Zelponi had assumed a slight air of haughtiness and indifference toward other people. This may have been her defense against the ache and emptiness in her heart that began when her mother died. She still had a vague impression in her mind of her mother’s face—warm, soft, and loving, with a glow of hazy light around it. It was a face that was always smiling, and when Zelponi imagined it, she felt warm and secure inside.

Manoah’s father, Ammiel, had instructed Manoah that being a blacksmith was a noble profession. You will never go hungry in such a job, his father had said. Blacksmiths are always in demand. People constantly need new farming tools, and they need the old ones sharpened and repaired. They need their horses shod and their weapons forged.

Ammiel was a proud man. He had worked his little plot of land just outside the small village of Zorah for years, toiling at the soil to produce food for his family. He sold his grains and vegetables at the market in Zorah to make his living, sometimes barely making enough to pay for the seed he had to buy each year. In the years of drought, he was happy to grow enough to put food on his table. He wanted more for Manoah, his only child. He wanted him to be free of the land that was so often unproductive. Manoah recalled hearing his father muttering to himself as he worked on his farm, which often sounded like he was questioning the description of their land as the land of milk and honey.

The answers to Ammiel’s questions were readily available from the priest of Zorah, who said that the land was under a curse because of the unfaithfulness of the Israelites. Some in Zorah had begun to worship the sun god, praying to it so it might smile on them and give them prosperity in the harvest and in their trade. The priest warned Ammiel not to fall into the trap of worshipping false gods, but Ammiel did not understand it all. Some said the village was named after the sun god. But Ammiel was not concerned with such things. He just wanted to take care of his family.

The people are doing what is right in their own eyes, the priest told Ammiel. They have forgotten the law of God. Did the Lord God not tell Moses that He would send curses to us if we failed to obey the law? Now the curses have come.

Making weapons was what Manoah loved. He delighted in producing beautiful swords and spears that glinted and shone in the sun. He cared nothing for working on farm implements. However, in times of peace, that was where the money was to be made, so Perez was constantly calling him back to the main work of the shop and away from his side projects of making swords.

Manoah walked over to Perez, who was forging the frame of a new oxcart. Yes, Master? How can I help you?

Stand over there, and help me lift this cart onto the frame.

Manoah walked around the cart and helped Perez lift it to its position on the frame where the wheels were mounted.

There, that’s better, said Perez. Why do I have to keep calling you to help me, Manoah? You don’t seem to understand that an apprentice is a helper. It is your job to be here when I need you and to do as you are told. Yet I constantly find you fooling around, making poor quality swords and knives.

Oh, but they are not poor quality, Master. I am perfecting my technique every day.

You are a fool, Manoah. Perez spat on the ground. Just who do you think will buy those swords when you are done?

There is always a demand if the quality is good, Master.

Oh? Where is this demand? I have not heard of it. Do you think I would waste time on oxcarts and plows if swords were selling? Listen to me, Manoah. When the people of Israel came into this great land of ours, we came with swords and spears. We needed them while crossing through the desert to help us defeat our enemies along the way. But those times are behind us. Now we need plows, winnowing forks, winepresses, saws, and nails. That is what will build up this land, not weapons! Maybe you want to sell them to our enemy the Philistines?

That is exactly who would buy them, Master! They love weapons, and they will pay dearly for them.

Oh? Well, that certainly makes it a good idea. Let’s just sell more weapons to our enemies so they can kill us easier, eh? Anyway, just how do you know they would buy them, my little apprentice? Who has been talking to you and putting such crazy notions in your head? I know you have not been so foolish as to go down through the valley to find out such information. The valley of Sorek ran below the village and stretched south into the land of the Philistines.

Manoah had never dared to go to the valley and was hesitant to answer. In truth, he had no idea if the Philistines would buy his weapons, although he had heard they would from his young friend Micah. Micah was a dreamer. He loved to talk of going to war with the Philistines and defeating them in a great battle. He had gone with his father, who was a merchant that sold goods to the Philistines. He traveled with large caravans of other merchants down into the valley and to the cities of their sworn enemies. Micah was proud of his father, who only saw the Philistines as trading partners and had no fear of them.

In reality, the relationship between the Philistines and the Israelites was generally peaceful. The people of Israel had mingled with the Philistines, and they found each other to be good customers. The Israelites were often blessed with abundant crops. They were also expert weavers, and the clothes they made were like gold in the land of Canaan. The Philistines hungered for merchandise from Israel, so they put on the appearance of wanting peace so they would not endanger their trade.

But this trade enraged the priests. They tried instilling fear of the Philistines into the people so they would stop trading and living in such harmony with them. The priests knew that the ungodliness of the Philistines was infectious, resulting in the Israelites turning away from their God. However, the Philistines had fine cities and gold and silver. They

Reviews for Samson in Gaza

[koglibrary · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The author has taken a familiar story from the Bible and given it a personal feeling. I really enjoyed reading this book. The only critique I have is that I would like to have seen a little more in depth character development. What is here is great, but I think more about their personal lives would have helped. LS