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God, Science and the Bible

News from the world of science about God and the Bible

by Mario Seiglie, Tom Robinson and Scott Ashley

Archaeology supports story of Samson and Philistine temple

Archaeology has been found to support yet another biblical story—the account of mighty Samson and his death in a Philistine temple.

Samson, you may recall, was the Israelite hero whose strength was legendary among the Israelites and their enemies, the Philistines. Tricked, captured and blinded by the Philistines, he was put to work grinding grain as a beast of burden. The story of Samson concludes in Judges 16:23-30:

"Now the lords of the Philistines gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice . . . So it happened, when their hearts were merry, that they said, 'Call for Samson, that he may perform for us.' So they called for Samson from the prison, and he performed for them. And they stationed him between the pillars . . .

"And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars which supported the temple, and he braced himself against them, one on his right and the other on his left. Then Samson said, 'Let me die with the Philistines!' And he pushed with all his might, and the temple fell on the lords and all the people who were in it. So the dead that he killed at his death were more than he had killed in his life."

Critics, of course, have doubted the story and called it a myth. They have argued that a Philistine temple would not have had two central pillars supporting the roof since this wasn't a typical architectural design of Middle Eastern temples.

But after the remains of two Philistine temples have been excavated, what do they reveal? Both had two main pillars supporting the roof.

Read the full article at www.gnmagazine.org/issues/gn68/science68.htm

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