RELIGIOUS FIGURE

Samson

1118 BC - 1078 BC

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Samson (; Hebrew: שִׁמְשׁוֹן Šimšōn "man of the sun") was the last of the judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Book of Judges (chapters 13 to 16) and one of the last leaders who "judged" the tribes of Israel before the institution of the monarchy. He is sometimes considered as an Israelite version of the popular Near Eastern folk hero also embodied by the Sumerian Gilgamesh and Enkidu, as well as the Greek Heracles. Samson was given superhuman powers by God in the form of extreme strength. The biblical account states that Samson was a Nazirite and that he was given immense strength to aid him against his enemies and allow him to perform superhuman feats, including slaying a lion with his bare hands and massacring a Philistine army with a donkey's jawbone. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Samson is the 64th most popular religious figure (down from 25th in 2019), the 13th most popular biography from Israel (down from 9th in 2019) and the 11th most popular Israeli Religious Figure.

Samson is most famous for being a biblical figure who was given superhuman strength by God. He was captured by the Philistines and forced to work for them, but he eventually killed them with the jawbone of a donkey.

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Among RELIGIOUS FIGURES

Among religious figures, Samson ranks 64 out of 3,187Before him are Pope Leo XII, John the Apostle, Matthias the Apostle, James, brother of Jesus, Saint Stephen, and Elizabeth. After him are Saint Lucy, Pope Pius VIII, Muhammad al-Bukhari, Pope Adrian VI, Ignatius of Loyola, and Anthony the Great.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1118 BC, Samson ranks 1After him is Jephthah. Among people deceased in 1078 BC, Samson ranks 1

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In Israel

Among people born in Israel, Samson ranks 13 out of 466Before him are Ramesses II (-1303), Elijah (-1000), Jonah (-850), Herod the Great (-73), Matthias the Apostle (1), and James, brother of Jesus (-20). After him are Baldwin IV of Jerusalem (1161), Mary Magdalene (-10), Isaiah (-800), Eusebius (265), Judas Iscariot (50), and Benjamin Netanyahu (1949).

Among RELIGIOUS FIGURES In Israel

Among religious figures born in Israel, Samson ranks 11Before him are Matthew the Apostle (10), Isaac (-1900), Elijah (-1000), Jonah (-850), Matthias the Apostle (1), and James, brother of Jesus (-20). After him are Mary Magdalene (-10), Isaiah (-800), Eusebius (265), Judas Iscariot (50), Thomas the Apostle (1), and Bartholomew the Apostle (-100).