10a. הוחל שבועתו של אבימלך דכתיב (בראשית כא, כג) אם תשקר לי ולניני ולנכדי,(שופטים יג, כד) ויגדל הנער ויברכהו ה' במה ברכו אמר רב יהודה אמר רב שברכו באמתו אמתו כבני אדם וזרעו כנחל שוטף,(שופטים טז, כח) ויקרא שמשון אל ה' ויאמר ה' אלהים זכרני נא וחזקני נא אך הפעם הזה ואנקמה נקם אחת משתי עיני מפלשתים אמר רב אמר שמשון לפני הקב"ה רבש"ע זכור לי עשרים (ושתים) שנה ששפטתי את ישראל ולא אמרתי לאחד מהם העבר לי מקל ממקום למקום,(שופטים טו, ד) וילך שמשון וילכד שלש מאות שועלים מאי שנא שועלים אמר רבי איבו בר נגדי א"ר חייא בר אבא אמר שמשון יבא מי שחוזר לאחוריו ויפרע מפלשתים שחזרו בשבועתן,תניא א"ר שמעון החסיד בין כתיפיו של שמשון ששים אמה היה שנאמר (שופטים טז, ג) וישכב שמשון עד חצי הלילה ויקם בחצי הלילה ויאחז בדלתות שער העיר ובשתי המזוזות ויסעם עם הבריח וישם על כתיפיו וגמירי דאין דלתות עזה פחותות מששים אמה,(שופטים טז, כא) ויהי טוחן בבית האסורים א"ר יוחנן אין טחינה אלא לשון עבירה וכן הוא אומר (איוב לא, י) תטחן לאחר אשתי מלמד שכל אחד ואחד הביא לו את אשתו לבית האסורים כדי שתתעבר הימנו אמר רב פפא היינו דאמרי אינשי קמי דשתי חמרא חמרא קמי רפוקא גרידיא דובלא,וא"ר יוחנן כל המזנה אשתו מזננת עליו שנאמר (איוב לא, ט) אם נפתה לבי על אשה ועל פתח רעי ארבתי וכתיב תטחן לאחר אשתי ועליה יכרעון אחרין והיינו דאמרי אינשי איהו בי קארי ואיתתיה בי בוציני,וא"ר יוחנן שמשון דן את ישראל כאביהם שבשמים שנאמר (בראשית מט, טז) דן ידין עמו כאחד וגו' וא"ר יוחנן שמשון על שמו של הקב"ה נקרא שנאמר (תהלים פד, יב) כי שמש ומגן ה' אלהים וגו' אלא מעתה לא ימחה אלא מעין שמו של הקב"ה מה הקב"ה מגין על כל העולם כולו אף שמשון מגין בדורו על ישראל,וא"ר יוחנן בלעם חיגר ברגלו אחת היה שנאמר (במדבר כג, ג) וילך שפי שמשון חיגר בשתי רגליו היה שנאמר (בראשית מט, יז) שפיפן עלי ארח,ת"ר חמשה נבראו מעין דוגמא של מעלה וכולן לקו בהן שמשון בכחו שאול בצוארו אבשלום בשערו צדקיה בעיניו אסא ברגליו,שמשון בכחו דכתיב (שופטים טז, יט) ויסר כחו מעליו,שאול בצוארו דכתיב (שמואל א לא, ד) ויקח שאול את החרב ויפל עליה,אבשלום בשערו כדבעינן למימר קמן צדקיה בעיניו דכתיב (מלכים ב כה, ז) ואת עיני צדקיהו עור ,אסא ברגליו דכתיב (מלכים א טו, כג) רק לעת זקנתו חלה את רגליו ואמר רב יהודה אמר רב שאחזתו פדגרא א"ל מר זוטרא בריה דרב נחמן לרב נחמן היכי דמי פדגרא א"ל כמחט בבשר החי מנא ידע איכא דאמרי מיחש הוה חש ביה ואיכא דאמרי מרביה שמע ליה וא"ד (תהלים כה, יד) סוד ה' ליראיו ובריתו להודיעם,דרש רבא מפני מה נענש אסא מפני שעשה אנגריא בתלמידי חכמים שנאמר (מלכים א טו, כב) והמלך אסא השמיע את כל יהודה אין נקי מאי אין נקי אמר רב יהודה אמר רב אפילו חתן מחדרו וכלה מחופתה,כתיב (שופטים יד, א) וירד שמשון תמנתה וכתיב (בראשית לח, יג) הנה חמיך עולה תמנתה א"ר אלעזר שמשון שנתגנה בה כתיב ביה ירידה יהודה שנתעלה בה כתיב ביה עליה,ר' שמואל בר נחמני אמר שתי תמנאות היו חדא בירידה וחדא בעליה,רב פפא אמר חדא תמנה הואי דאתי מהאי גיסא ירידה ודאתי מהאי גיסא עליה כגון ורדוניא ובי בארי ושוקא דנרש,(בראשית לח, יד) ותשב בפתח עינים א"ר אלכסנדרי מלמד שהלכה וישבה לה בפתחו של אברהם אבינו מקום שכל עינים צופות לראותו ר' חנין א"ר מקום הוא ששמו עינים וכן הוא אומר (יהושע טו, לד) תפוח והעינם,ר' שמואל בר נחמני אמר שנתנה עינים לדבריה כשתבעה אמר לה שמא נכרית את אמרה ליה גיורת אני שמא אשת איש את אמרה ליה פנויה אני שמא קיבל בך אביך קידושין אמרה ליה יתומה אני שמא טמאה את אמרה ליה טהורה אני,(בראשית כא, לג) ויטע אשל בבאר שבע אמר ריש לקיש מלמד שעשה פרדס ונטע בו כל מיני מגדים,רבי יהודה ורבי נחמיה חד אמר פרדס וחד אמר פונדק בשלמא למ"ד פרדס היינו דכתיב ויטע אלא למ"ד פונדק מאי ויטע כדכתיב (דניאל יא, מה) ויטע אהלי אפדנו וגו',ויקרא שם בשם ה' אל עולם אמר ריש לקיש אל תיקרי ויקרא | 10a. Samson’s parents were being told that bthe oath of Abimelech,king of the Philistines, bwas negated, as it is writtenthat Abimelech said to our forefather Abraham: “Now therefore swear unto me here by God bthat you will not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son’s son;but according to the kindness that I have done unto you, you shall do to me, and to the land wherein you have sojourned” (Genesis 21:23). The oath of the descendants of Abraham was no longer binding since the Philistines broke their oath by subjugating the Jewish people.,The verse states: “And the woman bore a son, and called his name Samson; band the child grew, and the Lord blessed him”(Judges 13:24). The Gemara asks: bWith what did He bless him? Rav Yehuda saysthat bRav says:It means bthat He blessed him with regard to his penis,that despite his youth bhis penisshould function blikethat of physically mature bmen, andthat bhis seedshould be blike an overflowing river. /b,Prior to Samson’s death, the verse states: b“And Samson called unto the Lord, and said: Lord God, remember me, I pray to You, and strengthen me, I pray to You, only this once,O God, bthat I may be this once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes”(Judges 16:28). bRav saidthat bSamson said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe, rememberon bmybehalf the btwenty-two years that I judged the Jewish peoplewithout receiving any reward, band I did noteven bsay to any one of them: Move a stick for me fromone bplace toanother bplace. /b,The verse states earlier: b“And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes,and took torches, and turned tail to tail, and put a torch in the midst between every two tails” (Judges 15:4). The Gemara asks: bWhat is differentabout bfoxesthan any other animal, that he chose them for this purpose? bRabbi Aivu bar Nagdi saysthat bRabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba says: Samson said: Letthe animal bthat goes in reversewhen it tries to escape, i.e., the fox, bcome and exact punishment from the Philistines, who reneged on their oaththat Abimelech swore to Abraham., bIt is taughtin a ibaraitathat bRabbi Shimon the Pious said:The width bbetween the shoulders of Samson was sixty cubits, as it is stated: “And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and grabbed hold of the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and plucked them up, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders,and carried them up to the top of the mountain that is before Hebron” (Judges 16:3). The verse indicates that the width of the gate of the city of Gaza was equal to the width of Samson’s shoulders, band it is learnedas a tradition bthat doorsof the gate bof Gaza were no less than sixty cubitswide.,With regard to Samson’s capture, the verse states: “And the Philistines laid hold on him, and put out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; band he did grind in the prison-house”(Judges 16:21). bRabbi Yoḥa says: Grinding is nothing otherthan ba language of a transgressionof sexual intercourse, band sothe verse bsays: “Then let my wife grind unto another man”(Job 31:10). This bteaches that each and everyPhilistine man bbrought his wife to the prison in order that she should be impregnated bySamson. bRav Pappa said: Thisis an example of the folk saying bthat people say: Before a wine drinker,bring bwine; before one who digs in the ground,bring bfigs.So too, Samson, who married Philistine women, was brought more Philistine women while in prison., bAnd Rabbi Yoḥa says:With regard to banyone who commits adultery, his wife commits adultery against him, as it is stated: “If my heart has been enticed unto a woman, and I have lain in wait at my neighbor’s door”(Job 31:9), band it is written: “Then let my wife grind unto another man and may strangers kneel over her”(Job 31:10). bAnd thisexplains the folk saying bthat people say: He isfound bamong the pumpkins [ ikarei /i] and his wife among the zucchinis [ ibutzinei /i],which are similar types of vegetables. In other words, she acts the same way that he does., bAnd Rabbi Yoḥa says: Samson judged the Jewish people as their Father in Heavendoes, with complete justice, bas it is stated: “Dan shall judge his people, as oneof the tribes of Israel” (Genesis 49:16), which is interpreted to mean that Samson, from the tribe of Dan, judges his people just as God, Who is “One.” bAnd Rabbi Yoḥa says: Samson [ iShimshon /i] is called by the name of the Holy One, Blessed be He, as it is stated: “For the Lord God is a sun [ ishemesh /i] and a shield”(Psalms 84:12). The Gemara comments: bIf that is so,then his name bshould not be erasedjust like other sanctified names are not erased. bRather,he is not called by the name of God but his name bis akin to the name of the Holy One, Blessed be He,for bjust as the Holy One, Blessed be He, protects the entire world, so too Samson, in his generation, protected all the Jewish people. /b, bAnd Rabbi Yoḥa says: Balaam was lame in one of his legs, as it is statedwith regard to him: b“And he went, limping [ ishefi /i]”(Numbers 23:3). bSamson was lame inboth of bhis two legs, as it is statedthat when Jacob mentioned the tribe of Dan in the prophecy that pertained to Samson, he referred to him as: “Dan shall be a serpent in the way, ba horned snake [ ishefifon /i] in the path”(Genesis 49:17), which is double ishefi /i, i.e., doubly lame.,§ bThe Sages taughtin a ibaraita /i: bFiveindividuals bwere createdwith a characteristic that is bakin to a representation of theOne on bHigh, and they were all stricken by thatcharacteristic. bSamsonwas glorified bin his strength, Saul in his neck(see I Samuel 9:2), bAbsalom in his hair, Zedekiah in his eyes,and bAsa in his feet. /b,The Gemara clarifies: bSamsonwas stricken bby his strength,which led to his demise, bas it is written:“And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man and had the seven locks of his head shaved off; and she began to afflict him, band his strength went from him”(Judges 16:19)., bSaulwas smitten bin his neck, as it is written:“Then said Saul to his armor-bearer: Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and make a mock of me. But his armor-bearer would not; for he was sore afraid. bTherefore, Saul took his sword and fell upon it”(I Samuel 31:4); he fell with his neck upon the sword., bAbsalomwas stricken bin his hair, as we will state later. Zedekiahwas stricken bin his eyes, as it is written:“And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, band put out the eyes of Zedekiah,and bound him in fetters, and carried him to Babylon” (II Kings 25:7)., bAsawas stricken bin his feet, as it is written:“Now the rest of all the acts of Asa, and all his might, and all that he did, and the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? bBut in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet”(I Kings 15:23). bAnd Rav Yehuda saysthat bRav says:This indicates bthat gout [ ipadagra /i] grabbed hold of him. Mar Zutra, son of Rav Naḥman, said to Rav Naḥman: What are the circumstancesof bgout?What pain does it involve? bHe said to him:It feels blike a needleinserted binto living flesh.The Gemara asks: bFrom where did he know this?The Gemara answers: bSome saythat he himself bsuffered from thiscondition, band some saythat bhe heard it from his teacher, and some saythat he knew it through divine inspiration, as it stated: b“The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him; and His covet, to make them know it”(Psalms 25:14)., bRava taught: For whatreason was bAsa punishedin his feet? bBecause he made Torah scholars perform forced labor [ iangarya /i], as it is stated: “Then King Asa made a proclamation unto all Judah; none was exempted;and they carried away the stones of Ramah and the timber thereof, with which Baasa had built, and King Asa built with them Geba of Benjamin and Mizpah” (I Kings 15:22). The superfluous expression “unto all” indicates that the proclamation was issued to beveryone, includingTorah scholars. The Gemara asks: bWhatis the meaning of the next phrase in the verse: b“None was exempted [ iein naki /i]”? Rav Yehuda saysthat bRav says:This includes beven a bridegroom from his chamber and a bride from her canopy,as the verse states with regard to a bridegroom: “He shall be free [ inaki /i] for his house one year” (Deuteronomy 24:5).,§ bIt is writtenwith regard to Samson: b“And Samson went down to Timnah,and saw a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines” (Judges 14:1), band it is writtenin the Torah passage concerning the incident of Judah and Tamar: “And it was told to Tamar, saying: bBehold, your father-in-law is going up to Timnahto sheer his sheep” (Genesis 38:13). The verses contain an apparent contradiction as to whether Timnah was a place to which one must descend or a place to which one must ascend. bRabbi Elazar says:These terms do not refer to the manner of traveling to Timnah but are used figuratively. Concerning bSamson, who was disgraced therein Timnah, the term indicating bdescent is written with regard to hisjourney. Concerning bJudah, who was elevated there,the term indicating bascent is written with regard to hisjourney., bRabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani saysdifferently: bThere were twocities named bTimnah, onewas reached bby descentinto a valley, band onewas reached bby ascent. /b, bRav Pappa saiddifferently: bThere was one Timnah,and it was located on the slope of a mountain. One bwho came from this sidereached it by bdescent, andone bwho came from that sidereached it by bascent.The Gemara presents examples of such cities: bFor example: Vardonia, and Bei Varei, and the market of Neresh. /b,The verse states with regard to Tamar: “And she put off from her the garments of her widowhood, and covered herself with her veil, and wrapped herself, band sat in the entrance of Enaim [ ibefetaḥ einayim /i],which is by the way to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown up, and she was not given unto him to wife” (Genesis 38:14). The iamora’imdispute the meaning of the word ieinayim /i. bRabbi Alexandri says:This bteaches that she went and she sat at the entranceof the home bof Abraham our forefather, a place that all eyes hope to see it,as she was certain that Judah would pass there. bRabbi Ḥaninsays that bRav says:It is ba place called Enaim, and similarlythe verse bstatesin the list of cities in Eretz Yisrael in the portion of Judah: b“Tappuah and Enam”(Joshua 15:34)., bRabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani says: She provided eyes [ ieinayim /i] for her statements,i.e., with her words she provided an opening [ ipetaḥ /i] for Judah to solicit her. bWhenJudah bsolicited herto engage in sexual intercourse with him, bhefirst attempted to verify her status and bsaid to her:Are byou perhaps are a gentile? She said to him: I am a convert.He asked: bPerhaps you are a married woman? She said to him: I am an unmarried woman.He asked: bPerhaps your father accepted betrothal for youand you are unaware of it? bShe said to him: I am an orphan.He asked: bMaybe you are impure? She said to him: I am pure. /b,The Gemara discusses Abraham’s house: It is written: b“And he planted an ieshelin Beersheba,and called there on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God” (Genesis 21:33). bReish Lakish says:This bteaches thatAbraham bmade an orchard and planted in it all kinds of sweet things. /b,The tanna’im bRabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Neḥemyadisagree as to the meaning of the word “ ieshel /i.” bOne saidthat it means ban orchard [ ipardes /i], and one saidthat it means ban inn [ ipundak /i].The Gemara continues: bGranted, according to the one who saidthat it means ban orchard, this is what is written: “And he planted,”and this is suitable language for an orchard. bBut according to the one who saidthat he opened ban inn, what isthe meaning of the phrase b“and he planted”?The Gemara answers: bAs it is written: “And he shall plant [ ivayitta /i] the tents of his palacebetween the seas and the beauteous holy mountain; and he shall come to his end, and none shall help him” (Daniel 11:45), indicating that the word vayitta, and he planted, is also used to indicate pitching tents.,The verse there states: “And he planted an ieshelin Beersheba, band called there [ ivayyikra /i] on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God”(Genesis 21:33). bReish Lakish said: Do not readthis word literally as b“ ivayyikra /i,”and he called |