Samson Asks Vengeance for One Eye and Reward for the Other

Yalkut Shimoni on Nach 71:5

Curated by Arthur·Told by Maggid·

"That I may be avenged for one of my two eyes" (Judges 16:28). Rabbi Acha said: He said before Him, Master of the Universe, grant me the reward of one eye in this world, and let the reward of my other eye be kept in store for me for the world to come. One verse says, "And he judged Israel twenty years" (Judges 15:20), and another verse says, "And he judged Israel twenty years" (Judges 16:31). Rabbi Acha said: This teaches that the Philistines were afraid of him for twenty years after his death.

Themes

SamsonDivine JusticeJudges

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Book of JubileesThe Philistines Envied Isaac's Growing WealthThe familiar version gives us that feeling. And it's a story as old as time. Or at least, as old as Isaac in the Book of Jubilees. The Philistines were not happLegends of the JewsAbimelech and the PatriarchsYou, almost miraculously, strike water. Not once, but repeatedly. That was Isaac. But his success? It only stoked the flames of envy in the hearts of the PhilisAntiquities of the Jews (Josephus)Samson the Strongman Tears a Lion ApartSamson killed a lion with his bare hands. No weapons. No armor. Just raw, God-given strength unleashed on a beast that charged him on the road to Timnah (JudgesMekhilta DeRabbi YishmaelWhatever Someone Boasts About or Indulges in Becomes the ExactThe Mekhilta highlights Samson as another example of the principle that a person's punishment mirrors their sin. Whatever someone boasts about or indulges in beMekhilta DeRabbi YishmaelYou Have Inclined Your Right Hand WhenThe Mekhilta offers an alternate reading of the Song at the Sea's phrase "You have inclined Your right hand." When God stretches out His hand, the wicked vanishYalkut Shimoni on NachSamson Followed His Eyes and the Philistines Bored Them OutSamson tells his parents to fetch the Philistine woman with a phrase that should make us pause: "she is pleasing in my eyes" (Judges 14:2-3). The Sages hear in