Shimshon and Shemuel/0
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Shimshon and Shemuel
Introduction
The Shimshon and Shemuel narratives each open with a scene in which the leader's birth and future destiny is promised. The two birth stories contain a significant number of plot similarities, buttressed by a few linguistic allusions. The similarities, though, mainly serve to highlight the many contrasts between the narratives and hence, the difference in character between the protagonists.
Content Parallels
Both stories revolve around a barren woman who is promised a child who then grows up to be a leader of the nation. There are many more specific parallels, which are summarized in the following table:
Mrs. Manoach and Channah |
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Shimshon and Shemuel |
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The Men |
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Literary Allusions
There are a handful of linguistic parallels as well:
EN/HEע/E
בשורת הולדת שמשון (ספר שופטים) | בשורת הולדת שמואל (ספר שמואל א') |
(יג:ב) וַיְהִי אִישׁ אֶחָד מִצָּרְעָה מִמִּשְׁפַּחַת הַדָּנִי וּשְׁמוֹ מָנוֹחַ | (א:א) וַיְהִי אִישׁ אֶחָד מִן הָרָמָתַיִם צוֹפִים מֵהַר אֶפְרָיִם וּשְׁמוֹ אֶלְקָנָה |
(יג:ה) וּמוֹרָה לֹא יַעֲלֶה עַל רֹאשׁוֹ כִּי נְזִיר אֱלֹהִים יִהְיֶה הַנַּעַר מִן הַבָּטֶן | (א:יא) וּנְתַתִּיו לַה' כָּל יְמֵי חַיָּיו וּמוֹרָה לֹא יַעֲלֶה עַל רֹאשׁוֹ |
(יג:כד) וַיִּגְדַּל הַנַּעַר וַיְבָרְכֵהוּ ה' | (ב:כא) וַיִּגְדַּל הַנַּעַר שְׁמוּאֵל עִם ה' |