Samson as a Palestinian “freedom fighter”

A friend tells me that the Flanders Opera in Antwerp has an updated, re-written production of the Saint-Saens opera, Samson and Delilah, in which the Israelites of the original Bible story are changed into modern day Palestinians, and the Philistines of the Bible account are changed into modern day Israelis.

Thus Samson is now a Palestinian hero who is betrayed by his Israeli girlfriend Delilah into the hands of the Israelis.

I didn’t ask my friend, but I suppose that in the last scene Sampson, blinded by his Israeli captors, sets off a suicide bomb belt and brings down the Israeli temple.

The left must be hugging themselves over this one. It’s so easy being on the left. All you have to do is take some Western story or art work and turn it around and pervert it to your heart’s desire.

Turning away from the left’s perversions, here is the last part of the original story of Samson, from the Book of Judges, Chapter 16, King James Version, in which Samson finally gives into the importunings of his Philistine mistress Delilah that he tell her the secret of his great strength, and she uses the information to destroy him.

And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death; That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a rasor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother’s womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.

And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand.

And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.

And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the Lord was departed from him.

But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.

Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.

Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.

And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us.

And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars.

And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them.

Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport.

And Samson called unto the Lord, and said, O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.

And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left.

And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein.

So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.

Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the buryingplace of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years.

- end of initial entry -

LA writes:

Of course, many people today don’t like the King James version, finding the language too difficult; and certainly we need to turn to modern translations occasionally. But no other English translation of the Bible comes close to this great passage:

And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein.

A reader writes from Belgium:

On the premiere of this opera (which gets state subsidies), during and after the performance, the people in the audience sneered and booed.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at May 08, 2009 03:18 PM | Send