BIBLE STORIES

  There was a man call Manoah. He was married, but his wife couldn’t have any children. One day, an angel appeared to Manoah’s wife and spoke to her. “You are going to have a baby. You must look after yourself, eat and drink only good things.” The angel also told her that she would have a baby boy, but that she must never cut his hair. He was going to be very special. He was going to be God’s child.

 

  Nine months later, she gave birth to a healthy baby boy. She gave him the name Samson. He grew up into a handsome man, with long hair. His mother had never cut his hair.

 

  One day, Samson saw a beautiful young woman. He liked her a lot, and when he got home, he spoke to his parents. He told them that he wanted to marry her. But there was a problem. Samson was an Israelite, and the young woman was a Philistine. At that time the Philistines were ruling Israel which meant that there was a lot of bad feeling and unhappiness amongst all the people. Samson and his parents talked about it. They wanted him to marry an Israelite girl. But Samson wanted to marry the Philistine girl.

 

  So Samson and his parents went to meet the girl and her family. They lived in a city called Timnah. It was a long way away from where Samson lived with his parents. They stopped for a rest at a vineyard. While his parents rested, Samson walked around the trees. Suddenly, from nowhere, a lion came towards Samson. It was roaring. Samson was very quick. He suddenly grabbed the lion and tore it apart. But he didn’t believe he had done it. How could he have been strong enough to kill a lion? He was very frightened and didn’t tell anyone about it.

 

  A few days later, Samson came back to marry his bride. He stopped to look at the body of the lion. He found that it was still there, but also that a swarm of bees had nested in it. They had made some honey. He tasted a bit of it, it was delicious! He took some home to his parents, but decided that he wasn’t going to tell them where he got it.

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SAMSON AND THE LION