This 11th century seal from Beth Shemesh shows a person next to a leonine figure. The site and chronology have led some to associate the seal with the Biblical story of Samson. Photo by Raz Lederman, from Ha'aretz

The recent discovery of a small 11th-century B.C.E. seal at Beth Shemesh featuring a crude representation of a person next to a lion has sparked associations between the discovery and Samson’s lion fight in Judges 14. In the late Iron Age, the site lay in the frequently changing border territory between the Canaanites, Israelites and Philistines. It lies opposite Zorah, Samson’s birthplace, and nearby Timnah (Tel Batash), where Samson was smitten with a Philistine girl whom he insisted on marrying despite his parents’ objections (Judges 14:1–3). There Samson propounded his famous riddle: “Out of the eater came something to eat, / Out of the strong came something sweet” (Judges 14:14).

The depiction on the seal itself appears too crude to identify with a specific individual. While the animal does bear resemblance to contemporary depictions of lions, the lack of a weapon in the figure’s hand challenges the notion that this is a violent scene. In an article in Ha’aretz, the excavation directors suggest that “a story was being told at the time of a hero who fought a lion, and that the story eventually found its way into the Biblical text and onto the seal.”* ATelegraph article titled “Israeli Scholars Claim Possible Evidence of Samson” draws a closer tie between the seal and the Biblical figure. Both associations between the Samson narrative and the Beth Shemesh seal rely on an implicit understanding that this is, in fact, a man fighting a lion. If this can be proven, then the seal, discovered near Samson’s hometown during the time of Judges, may very well be linked to Samson or a related hero figure.