Could this really have happened?

Well, maybe everybody was just dumber in those days?lfen

Yes, you can totally believe in that. You, or someone, can totally believe in the parting of the Red Sea, or that the Sun moved backwards in the sky, or that Jonah was swallowed by a whale, or the Gabriel spoke to Mohammed, or that Apollo brought plagues down on the Greeks at Troy, or that light is a form of waves in an invisible ether.Samson is a tall tale that makes some points and has a clever plot twist. They shaved his hair to subdue him but then in time his hair grew out and the revenge was done. The Jews like all humans I know of are story tellers. They hand these things down like the exploits of Arthur, or Pecos Bill, or Coyote. What it isn't is a an accurate journalistic fact only account of history. That's all. It's a story and one that offers several possibly edifying understandings or messages but it's not history or fact though it might have grown out of some real incident it's been improved in the telling.lfen

I was thinking you were taking a literalist position. Sorry about that. I googled a bit on Nazarites and have a superficial idea of what was involved but enough to know that it's a much more complex subject. Hadn't known about that aspect of Judaism.Still the hair growing back seems a bit of plot twist that some one put into the story and as plot twists go it's not a bad one at all.I'm not sure what to say about the "anything is possible" approach. I think that it's important to be open but to balance openess with a critical skepticism to avoid being taken in and there are lots sources out there and in the brain function itself that can take us in.lfen

Well, yeah, it's a huge plot hole but, most good yarns don't stand up to scrutiny. After 20 teenagers are murdered alone in dark places by the crazed axe guy, one more slips into the breach and that kind of stuff can fill theatres and later people will rent it!Tale of Two Cities was a good yarn but really, could two individuals who were not identical twins look enough like each other to fool that many people? Story tellers have obligations to entertain and I think Samson and Deliah was a good yarn as well as having some important teachings.I for one am not going to complain about the Philistine's stupidity in the story. The bad guys always have some sort of lapse like that. I mean why didnt' Darth Vader finish Luke and party off right away? Well, you know that would have killed the story!lfen

Well yah, since the Fall, duh. Before the Fall they were all like waaay smarter than Einstein! lfen

Hair follicle - WikipediaAnother question is whether Samson would have had any birth hair left. As he would have lost most of it, perhaps all of it through the normal cycle of the follicles going dormant and the hair being shed.lfen

I wasn't making a claim. It was a joking reference to those (not you) who blame everything on the Fall.lfen

This site offers detailed evidence to support the position that that is what happened: Nazareth – The Town that Theology BuiltIt looks like the town was built afterwards to capitalize on the supposed relationship to Christ.

Like wouldn't it be quaint to spend the night in an Inn that George Washington slept in? Maybe even sleep in the same bed ol' George slept in? Suddenly that lumpy old bed in a creaky draft Inn is a night to be remembered. It's all in the marketing.lfen (who is only cynically because there are so many bs'ing marketing weasels and spin meisters shoveling it 24/7)