ANIMADVERSIONES What Was Samson Thinking in Judges 16,17 and 16,20? Samson’s recorded thoughts in Judg 16,20 seem to contradict the narrator’s statements in 16,17.18 that Samson “told [Delilah] his whole heart ” (wblAlkAta hlAdygh/dygyw) 1. In 16,5 the Philistines hire Delilah to discover the secret of Samson’s strength. When Samson finally “tells her his whole heart”, the use of this idiom indicates that Samson reveals his inner thoughts. This idiom presents his revelation about the source of his strength in v. 17 as honest and sincere. Elsewhere in biblical prose, the idiom, “to tell one’s whole heart”, suggests transparent access into a character’s inner thoughts 2. Yet, the subsequent narration of Samson’s inner thoughts in v. 20 suggests that he was lying to Delilah in v. 17. Following his haircut, v. 20b states, “When he awoke from his sleep, he thought (dmayw without an object), ‘I will go out as at other times (μ[pb μ[pk), and shake myself free.’ But he did not know that the Lord had left him” 3. Samson’s comparison of his current situation to the “ other times” refers to the three times in which he deceived Delilah. She also uses μ[p in v. 15b when she says to Samson, “You have mocked me three times [μym[p] now and have not told me what makes your strength M y translation. With occasional modifications, all other biblical 1 quotations follow the NRSV and its versification unless indicated otherwise. For example, in 1 Sam 9,19, Samuel identifies himself as a seer and 2 promises to “tell you [Saul] all that is in your heart” (Èl dyga Èbblb rça lkw) This use of this idiom in relation to both Saul and Samson seems quite appropriate since the narrator provides unusually frequent access into the inner lives of both of these characters. On Saul’s transparency, see R. ALTER, The Art of Biblical Narrative (New York 1981) 118. Alter contrasts Saul’s transparency with David’s opaqueness. Similarly, Samson’s transparency contrasts with Delilah’s opaqueness. Several major translations interpret v. 20 as reflecting Samson’s inner 3 thoughts (cf. NAB, NIV, NJB, NJPS, NRSV). Yet, my survey of critical scholarly commentaries on Judges found no discussion of this potential contradiction even among those commentators that assume v. 20 reveals his inner thoughts. See, among others, Y. AMIT, J u d g e s. I n t r o d u c t i o n and Commentary (Tel Aviv 1999) [Hebrew]; R. BOLING, Judges (AB 7; Garden City, NY 1975); G. MOORE, Judges (ICC ; New York 1969); T. SCHNEIDER, Judges (Collegeville, Minn. 2000) ; J.A. SOGGIN, Judges. A Commentary (Philadelphia, PA 1981).