Story of Samson

Episodes from the life of the Old Testament hero Samson constitute the central theme of this capital. The series begins with Samson’s battle with the lion, a scene which will form part of the riddle he tells to his future wife’s companions. The west side of the double capital combines two separate incidents: On the left is the wedding feast where Samson tells his riddle -“Out of the eater, something to eat; out of the strong, something sweet” - the answer to which is extorted from his wife. On the right Samson slaughters the Philistines, an event that he will repeat later on using the jaw bone of a ass.

One evening while he is visiting a prostitute, the townspeople plan to ambush the still-invincible Samson at the city gate. For his part, Samson leaves during the night, lifts the gate from its hinges, and takes it with him.

Finally, the cunning of another woman succeeds in subduing Samson. He tells Delilah the secret of his strength - his unshaven head - thus leading to his capture and blinding. On the right Samson is shown once more endowed with his strength, which he uses to pull down the house of the Philistines, killing both them and himself.

The name SANSON is inscribed several times on the capital. The Philistines are also designated with an inscription - FILIIS STEIS - and the east side of the capital also bears the inscribed caption: PO / NA / ANI / MA / ME / R.

inscription R ANI ME house MA blinding NA PO head STEIS capture strength secret Delilah FILIIS subduing cunning city prostitute gate bone ass hero jaw sweet Philistines answer strong eater feast companions wedding wife riddle lion battle Samson