What is the context?
The Philistine lords gather to sacrifice to Dagon and celebrate Samson’s capture. They credit their god with delivering the enemy who devastated their land. Samson is brought from prison to entertain them and placed between the building’s supporting pillars.
He asks the servant guiding him to let him feel the pillars. The building is full, all the Philistine lords are present, and about three thousand men and women watch from the roof. Samson prays for God to remember and strengthen him once more, asking to avenge the loss of his eyes.
He braces himself against the two central pillars and pushes. The building falls on the lords and the people inside, and Samson dies with them. The narrator says he kills more in his death than during his life. His brothers and his father’s family recover his body and bury him in Manoah’s tomb, closing the account of his twenty years as judge.
How is this passage commonly understood?
Augustine, in City of God 1.21, explains Samson’s death as an exceptional act that can be justified only by special direction from God. His reasoning does not turn Samson’s action into general permission to kill oneself or others. The special direction is Augustine’s explanation; Judges records the prayer and outcome without quoting an additional command.
Wesley and Henry also understand this as a judge acting for God’s honor and Israel’s deliverance, with the answered prayer showing divine approval. They distinguish that purpose from ordinary personal revenge, even though Samson’s recorded request specifically mentions his eyes. These are their readings of the event; the passage supplies both the public setting and his personal words.
Both Protestant commentators also see a comparison with Christ: death becomes the means of defeating an enemy. They regard the final prayer as renewed dependence on God. The story ends with Samson seeking strength from the Lord rather than assuming that past strength guarantees what he can do.
Where does this fit in God's plan?
The comparison with Jesus is strongest in the outcome: a death that looks like defeat brings victory. Hebrews 2:14–18 states the Christian claim directly—Jesus shares our humanity and through death breaks the devil’s power, releasing people held in fear of death.
The differences matter as well. Samson asks for vengeance for his eyes and dies while destroying his captors. In John 10:11–18, Jesus describes willingly laying down His life for His sheep and taking it up again. Samson’s death brings the account of his service to an end; Jesus’ death and resurrection bring His people lasting rescue. This is a comparison drawn from the two accounts, not a claim that the New Testament explains every detail of Samson’s death as a prediction.
What is our position?
We don't have a position on this passage yet. When our study reaches a conclusion the text supports, it will appear here.