Could this really have happened?

That doesn't make any sense. Pharoah must have known that the Hebrews were using the midwives, or he wouldn't have told the midwives to do the killing.The midwives' excuse for not doing the killing was that the babies were born before they got there. They didn't kill any of the babies. They claimed that they were always too late.The sensible question for Pharoah to ask would have been, "Why do they call you midwives at all if you're not going to get there in time?"

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Then why does the Bible even mention his hair growing back? The implication seems clear that it was the hair and the prayer.Anyway, the Philistines thought his power came from his hair. They might not have anticipated his ability to pray without benefit of clergy, but they ought to have noticed the hair.

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I'm not arguing with your interpretation.What I'm saying is that the Philistines didn't know it was just a symbol. They didn't know that Samson's power came from God - they didn't even believe that Samson's God was the real God. They thought it was all about the hair.So why would they just let it grow back? Huge plot hole.

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Yes, a dramatic death scene, with "a cast of thousands" is good box office. I wonder how long the Bible would have lasted without that kind of embellishment. Samson getting his weekly haircut in prison wouldn't be much of a page-turner.

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You're not answering the question: if they were dumb enough to think Samson's hair had magic powers, why wouldn't they cut his hair off?If somebody is dumb enough to think there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, why wouldn't they go look for it? If somebody is dumb enough to think a copper bracelet cures arthritis, why wouldn't they wear one?The story is implausible because the dumb people don't follow the dumb illogic of their own dumb ideas.

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But that's what the Philistines thought.Put yourself in their position. Delilah had told them that Samson's power was in his hair. Why would they cut it once to capture him and then just let it grow back?

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It's obvious that they didn't know what they were doing, since he killed them all. It's also obvious that his power hadn't left him for good. The strength wasn't in his hair at all, but the Philistines thought it was. So the obvious question is, "Why would they let his hair grow back?" They would have thought that the hair would bring back his strength and he would kill them. You're confusing two stories again.

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Read my lips: They did not assiciate Samson's strength with his "birth hair". They associated his strength with his hair, period. Irrelevant. That only means he had always been strong because he always had hair. There is no reason to add your idea about "birth hair".(Anyway, wouldn't it have been a sensible backup plan to keep his head shaved, "just in case"?) That's kinda the whole point of the thread: you can't make sense of an inherently nonsensical story. Making up stuff about "birth hair" and trying to shoehorn it in is no way to read the Bible.Any prudent Philistine with half a brain would have kept Samson's head shaved.Of course, Samson was no mental giant either.Three times Delilah asked him the secret of his strength. Three times he lied to her. Three times, she tied him up and the Philistines tried to capture him. Three times he managed to escape and he was still too lame-brained to stop it from happening a fourth time.It's things like that that make it a good story, but piss-poor history.

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I'm no biologist, but I've grown a crop of hair in my time. As I understand it, it would still be the same hair (same follicle).I doubt that the Philistines would have put that fine a point on it, though. Hair is hair. Bald is beautiful. Better safe than sorry.

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As jar has pointed out, his "birth hair" is his hair. It's the same hair, whether you cut it or not. So get off that nonsense about "birth hair".Yes, the Philistines "knew" his power was in his hair (his hair, not his "birth hair"), so they would/should have had the sense to keep it shaved. You're still looking at it from your viewpoint instead of the Philistines' viewpoint. As far as they were concerned, Samson's power was in his hair - so they cut off his hair to rob him of his power. They didn't have any silly notions about "birth hair". They didn't know whether Samson had a covenant with his god or not. They didn't care - they didn't even believe in Samson's god. As far as they were concerned, Samson's power was in his hair and nowhere else.From the Philistines' viewpoint, the hair growing back would obviously give him his power back. From the Philistines' viewpoint, that's where his power came from, remember?Dirty Harry's power comes from his .44 magnum, "the most powerful handgun in the world", right? If the bad guys take his gun away, he loses his power, right? Do you think they would be stupid enough to just give it back to him, knowing that it was the source of his power?From the Philistines' viewpoint, Samson's power did come back when his hair grew back.

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Every blessed line in the story doen't have to be pivotal. Some of it is just there for interest. Look at Samson carrying away the gates of the city. Comic relief - not essential to the plot. Because it's totally irrelevant to the topic we're discussing. Neither did I. I never noticed how nonsensical it was until Brian pointed it out. Now you're making it even more nonsensical.

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At the feast, somebody should have pointed at Samson and yelled out, "Oh, my God! His hair's grown back!" Then everybody would gasp and panic - but too late.

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I'm not making anything up or adding anything. I'm just suggesting that some parts of the story are not vital - like in any story.In The Lord of the Rings, does it really matter what kind of cake they had at Bilbo's birthday party? Does it really matter what colour Aragorn's cloak was?Every good story has more to it than just a synopsis of the plot. The story you're discussing is full of made-up nonsense like "birth hair". The story I'm discussing is just what's in the Bible. You're still missing the point that everybody is trying to explain to you:Samson believed that his strength came from God, so he asked God to give him strength again - but the Philistines didn't know that. They thought his strength came from his hair.That's the whole point of this discussion: since the Philistines thought his strength came from his hair, they would have kept it shaved off.It just doesn't matter where his strength really came from. It was what the Philistines believed that determined their actions.

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Nonsense. "Razor to head" is utterly, 100% irrelevant to the story of Samson. Samson could have had a haircut last week and the story would still be the same. They thought his strength was in his hair, so they cut it off. It doesn't matter how long his hair was, when he had last had it cut, what colour it was, what brand of shampoo he used. To the Philistines, hair = bad, bald = good. Period. Doesn't matter. The point is hair or no hair. Nothing else. Nonsense. Samson told Delilah, "I have never had a haircut," and "my strength is in my hair." Delilah conveyed those two statements to the Philistines. There is nothing whatsover in the Bible that suggests in any way, shape or form, by any stretch of the imagination that cutting his hair would destroy his power forever.Just the opposite. The clear implication is that they would have to keep his hair cut to deprive him of his strength. Interesting. I saw Peter, Paul and Moses playing ring around the roses - and they all thought your version was ludicrous. Peter was particularly amused by the "birth hair" thing. And again, that is the point here: It was the Philistines who would have cut or not cut Samson's hair, based on what they thought - not based on what Samson thought or what you think.Get that through your head: the "birth hair" is irrelevant. The "never touched a razor" is irrelevant. Samson calling out to God is irrelevant.What is relevant is that the Philistines thought his strength was in his hair. Therefore, they would have kept it shaved off. Nonsense. The Bible says no such thing. They thought the power was in his hair. Period.

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Show us in the Bible where it says one single solitary thing about his strength being destroyed "forever". Chapter and verse. Uh... it grows back naturally. Of course he did. He used it to destroy the temple and kill all the Philistines. Nope. That's not what it says at all - not one single, solitary, blessed mother-f**king word about it being "gone for good". You are the one who claims it is relevant. You are the one who needs to back up that claim. Give us chapter and verse where it says the "birth hair" has any significance at all. Give us chapter and verse where it says his strength would be lost forever. Congratulations. You've made it to page one. That's the point of the thread. I have no idea what that means. Can you translate it into English?

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