There are several difficulties in the text, especially concerning Samson's parents' involvement in the phases preceding the wedding, and concerning chronological aspects in the description of the feast and the riddle. Traditional exegesis tends to harmonize the difficulties, but in critical exegesis, these difficulties are usually treated by assuming that the text has undergone several editorial phases. Some scholars, such as Othniel Margalith, think that the Samson cycle in general, and Samson's riddle and its surrounding narrative in particular, were largely influenced by Philistine culture, which is generally thought to be related to
Ancient Greek culture by way of the
Mycenaeans. Accordingly, some scholars treat the narrative, or certain motifs in it, in light of parallel stories of
Greek mythology and folklore.
Tearing of the lion The tearing of the lion can be treated as a legendary description meant to exalt Samson as a superhuman hero, like other descriptions in the Samson cycle that demonstrate his prodigious physical strength. The motif of a hero defeating a lion is widespread in world folklore, and appears in other places in the Hebrew Bible; similar stories are told of
David (1 Samuel 17:36) and of
Benaiah (2 Samuel 23:20). According to
Paul Carus, the lion is a mythical symbol of the heat of the sun, and Samson represents the
solar deity who can "kill the lion", that is, diminish the heat of the sun. Carus' conjecture is rooted in an old scholarly approach, not accepted in current research, which considers Samson a mythological "solar hero" – that is, a god or a demigod related to the sun – and interprets the stories about him from this point of view. Othniel Margalith points out the fact that in other occurrences of the motif of the defeating of a lion in the Bible, and in the
ancient Near East in general, the hero hunts the lion and does not kill him bare-handed as in the Samson story. On the other hand, this detail of killing the lion bare-handed is widespread in Greek sources. This indicates, according to Margalith, the Mycenaean background of the biblical story. Margalith compares the story about Samson tearing the lion to the story about
Heracles killing the
Nemean lion bare-handed; and to other heroes of Greek mythology, who like Samson kill a lion bare-handed on their way to obtain a wife. In 2012, archaeologists excavating Tel Beit Shemesh in the
Judaean Hills near
Jerusalem discovered an ancient stone seal that may depict the story of Samson's fight with a lion. The seal, measuring 1.5 centimeters in diameter, shows a large animal with a feline tail attacking a human figure with what appears to be long hair. It has been dated to roughly the 11th century BCE, a period many scholars consider to be the time of the Biblical judges. The seal was unearthed near the river
Sorek, which marked the boundary between the Israelites and their Philistine foes, indicating that the figure on the seal could potentially represent Samson or could evidence the origin story of Samson's fight with the lion.
Honey in the lion's carcass Samson's discovery of a beehive in the lion's carcass is difficult to explain in realistic terms, as bees would normally avoid putrifying flesh. It is sometimes suggested that the word usually translated "carcass" should actually read "skeleton", or that the insects found by Samson were in fact
carrion flies, but neither explanation gives a satisfactory reading. The incident is more often considered to be a miraculous occurrence, or to be inspired by the ancient belief in
spontaneous generation, the emergence of living creatures from nonliving matter. Numerous Greek and Roman literary sources describe a ritual known as
bugonia, which was said to be a way of producing bees from the carcass of an ox, and this may have been the basis of the Samson narrative.
The riddle Samson's riddle – the only explicit example of a riddle in the Hebrew Bible – has been described as an unfair one, as it is apparently impossible to guess the answer without knowledge of Samson's encounter with the lion, which he had kept a secret from everyone. Many commentators have therefore attempted to prove that the riddle is capable of other solutions.
Heymann Steinthal, writing in the late 19th century, observed that bees in ancient Palestine would have been at their most productive when the sun was in the sign of
Leo, a fact which Samson's guests ought to have known.
Hans Bauer suggested that the riddle was a play on words, positing that the original text of the story made use of an Arabic word for "honey" which, in Hebrew, would be identical to the word for "lion". According to this theory, the riddle was etymological, with the solution being: "the word 'honey' was derived from the word 'lion. However, later scholars have been unable to confirm the existence of the Arabic word in question.
James L. Crenshaw has argued that possible solutions to the riddle include "vomit" and "semen", which would both connect with the circumstances of the wedding feast. In support of the "semen" interpretation, Crenshaw cites several other passages in biblical writing in which eating and drinking are used as metaphors for sexual intercourse. The solution offered by the wedding guests – "What is sweeter than honey, and what is stronger than a lion?" – also has the appearance of a riddle. Hermann Stahn suggested that this may have been a traditional wedding riddle, with the answer being "love". Other potential solutions to this second riddle include "venom", "death" and "knowledge". One Christian interpretation holds that the story of the riddle discloses "the entire divine logic governing Samson's life". Samson's strength, throughout his story, is employed towards violent ends, but "something sweet" ultimately emerges from his actions; that is, the destruction of the enemies of Israel. ==In popular culture==