Editing Samson (section)

===Christian interpretations===
[[File:Samson hos filistrene.jpg|thumb|''Samson in the Treadmill'' (1863) by [[Carl Bloch]]]]
Samson's story has also garnered commentary from a [[Christianity|Christian]] perspective; the [[Epistle to the Hebrews]] praises him for his faith.<ref>{{Bibleref|Hebrews|11:32–11:34|NIV}}</ref> [[Ambrose]], following the portrayal of [[Josephus]] and [[Pseudo-Philo]],<ref name= "Newsome">{{cite book|editor1-last= Newsome|editor1-first=Carol Ann|editor2-last= Ringe|editor2-first= Sharon H. |editor3-last=Lapsley|editor3-first= Jacqueline E.|title=Women's Bible Commentary |date=2012|orig-year=1992|publisher= Westminster John Knox Press|location=Louisville, Kentucky|isbn= 978-0664237073|page=139|edition= 3rd |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=9uUMZ_g2_NoC&pg=PA139}}</ref> represents Delilah as a Philistine prostitute,<ref name= "Newsome" /> and declares that "men should avoid marriage with those outside the faith, lest, instead of love of one's spouse, there be treachery."<ref name= "Newsome" /> [[Caesarius of Arles]] interpreted Samson's death as prefiguring the [[crucifixion of Jesus]],<ref name= "Newsome"/> remarking: "Notice here an image of the cross. Samson extends his hands spread out to the two columns as to the two beams of the cross."<ref name= "Newsome"/> He also equates Delilah with [[Satan]],<ref name="Newsome"/> who [[Temptation of Christ|tempted Christ]].<ref name="Newsome"/>

Following this trend, more recent Christian commentators have viewed Samson as a [[typology (theology)|type]] of [[Jesus in Christianity|Jesus Christ]], based on similarities between Samson's story and the [[life of Jesus in the New Testament]].<ref name=wp>{{cite book | last=Thomson | first=Edward | title=Prophecy, Types, And Miracles, The Great Bulwarks of Christianity: Or A Critical Examination And Demonstration of Some of The Evidences By Which The Christian Faith Is Supported | publisher=Hatchard & Son | date=1838 | pages=299–300 | isbn=978-0244031282 }}</ref> Samson's and Jesus' births were both foretold by angels,<ref name=wp/> who predicted that they would save their people.<ref name=wp/> Samson was born to a barren woman,<ref name=wp/> and Jesus was [[Virgin birth of Jesus|born of a virgin]].<ref name=wp/> Samson defeated a lion; Jesus defeated Satan, whom the [[First Epistle of Peter]] describes as a "roaring lion looking for someone to devour".<ref>{{cite book |last= Beasley |first= Robert C. |title= 101 Portraits of Jesus in the Hebrew Scriptures |publisher= Signalman |date= 2008 |isbn= 978-0244031282 }}</ref> Samson's betrayal by Delilah has also been compared to Jesus' betrayal by [[Judas Iscariot]]; both Delilah and Judas were paid in pieces of silver for their respective deeds.<ref>{{cite book| last= Lynn G |first= S |title= A Study of the Good the Bad and the Desperate Women in the Bible|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=wHHTljp7u4sC&pg=PA46|date=2008|page=46 |publisher= Xulon Press |isbn= 978-1606473917 }}</ref> [[E. Cobham Brewer|Ebenezer Cobham Brewer]] notes in his ''A Guide to Scripture History: The Old Testament'' that Samson was "blinded, insulted [and] enslaved" prior to his death, and that Jesus was "blindfolded, insulted, and treated as a slave" prior to his crucifixion.<ref name=Brewer>{{cite web | last=Brewer|first= Ebenezer Cobham|title=A Guide to Scripture History. The Old Testament |year= 1858|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=E5oCAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA190 |publisher=Trinity Hall, Cambridge | page=190}}</ref> Brewer also compares Samson's death among "the wicked" with Christ being crucified between two thieves.<ref name=Brewer/>