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The boy Samson is born during a time when the Israelites are facing harsh punishment from God, who has placed them at the mercy of their enemies, the Philistines. His mother, however, had been gifted with a divine apparition before her, who proclaimed that her child would free his people and stated that the boy must be raised as a Nazirite, promising never to cut his hair, drink alcohol, or come in contact with corpses. As long as Samson holds these restrictions as a holy pact with God, he will be granted incredible strength.

formerly Jabneel, `God buildeth’ (Yavneh), in western Judaea (Israel)

According to the biblical witness preserved in narratives spanning Judges 13-16, Samson was an accomplished military hero from the Israelite tribe of Dan. The triumphs of this physically overpowering rogue against neighboring Philistine men, however, were regularly offset by his failures with Philistine women, whose loyalties remained with their own people.

The collapse of civilizations in the eastern Mediterranean at the end of the Bronze Age set in motion the migration of the Sea Peoples. Their movements resulted in destruction of civilizations along the Mediterranean coast as far south as Egypt. The invasion of Egypt is documented in the reliefs of Ramses III at Medinet Habu (c. 1175 b.c.e.). The attack was thwarted and the invaders settled in the coastal plain north of Egypt. The various groups that established themselves on the coast are generally designated as “Philistines” (FIH-leh-steenz) from one of the major groups, the prst (Hebrew). This name came to designate the entire region during the time of the Roman emperor Hadrian, who named the area Provincia Palaestina.