Samson and Heracles Revisited

In the past scholars have suspected that Greek legends about Heracles and other Greek narratives may have influenced the emergence of the Samson narratives in Judges 13-16. Usually Philistine mediation of these Heracles legends to the Israelites in the pre-monarchic era was suggested. However, the a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scandinavian journal of the Old Testament
Main Author: Gnuse, Robert Karl 1947- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Taylor & Francis [2018]
In: Scandinavian journal of the Old Testament
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Samson Biblical character / Herakles / Legend / Bible. Judge 13-16 / Philistines
IxTheo Classification:BE Greco-Roman religions
HB Old Testament
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:In the past scholars have suspected that Greek legends about Heracles and other Greek narratives may have influenced the emergence of the Samson narratives in Judges 13-16. Usually Philistine mediation of these Heracles legends to the Israelites in the pre-monarchic era was suggested. However, the author suggests that the Heracles legends arose in the sixth century BCE and later, so the biblical author could have encountered Greek stories only in the Persian or Hellenistic eras. The Samson narratives then would be a late redaction into the Deuteronomistic History. The author believes that the large number of similarities indicates not simply familiarity with general folkloristic motifs, but rather that the author of the Samson narratives was familiar with the Heracles legends.
ISSN:1502-7244
Contains:Enthalten in: Scandinavian journal of the Old Testament
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/09018328.2017.1376519