As a judge, his authority seems to have been limited to the district, bordering upon the country of the Philistines. The divine inspiration which Samson shared with Othniel, Gideon and Jephthah assumed in him, the unique form of vast personal strength, inseparably connected with the observance of his vow as a Nazarite: "his strength was in his hair." He married a Philistine woman whom he had seen at Timnath.

One day, on his way to that city, he was attacked by a lion, which he killed; and again passing that way, he saw a swarm of bees in the carcass of the lion, and he ate of the honey, but still he told no one. He availed himself of this circumstance, and of the custom of proposing riddles at marriage feasts, to lay a snare for the Philistines. But Samson told the riddle to his wife, and she told it to the men of the city, whereupon Samson slew thirty men of the city. Returning to his own house, he found his wife married to another, and was refused permission to see her.

The Philistines gathered an army to revenge themselves, when the men of Judah hastened to make peace by giving up Samson, who was bound with cords, these, however, he broke like burnt flax, and finding a jawbone of an ass at hand, he slew with it, a thousand of the Philistines. The supernatural character of this exploit was confirmed by the miraculous bursting out of a spring of water to revive the champion as he was ready to die of thirst. This achievement raised Samson to the position of a judge, which he held for twenty years.

After a time, he began to fall into the temptations, which addressed themselves to his strong animal nature; but he broke through every snare in which he was caught, so long as he kept his Nazarite vow. While he was visiting a harlot in Gaza, the Philistines shut the gates of the city, intending to kill him in the morning; but, at midnight, he went out and tore away the gates, with the posts and bar and carried them to the top of a hill looking toward Hebron.

Next, he formed his fatal connection with Delilah, a woman who lived in the valley of Sorek. Thrice, he suffered himself to be bound with green withes, with new ropes, but released himself until finally, wearied out with her importunity, he "told her all his heart," and, while he was asleep, she had him shaven of his seven locks of hair. His enemies put out his eyes, and led him down to Gaza, bound in brazen fetters, and made him grind in the prison. Then, they held a great festival in the temple of Dagon, to celebrate their victory over Samson.