The 1880 Bible collection · ART0008
Samson and the Lion
Printed caption: SAMSON SLAYING THE LION.
Judges 14:5–9; wider narrative Judges 14
This original-leaf photograph documents the story. Explore the collection for framed originals.
Explore framed originals →The story behind the image
While traveling toward Timnath, Samson encounters a roaring young lion. Judges 14 attributes his extraordinary strength to the Spirit of the Lord and describes him killing the animal with empty hands. On a later visit, he finds bees and honey in its carcass, an experience that becomes the basis of his wedding riddle. The illustration concentrates on the struggle itself, setting the intertwined bodies against an expansive landscape. Read as an artistic interpretation, its tense posture emphasizes the sudden danger and physical force of the encounter. The wider chapter adds secrecy, conflict, and consequences to that powerful moment.
Take a closer look
Two details to notice
- Samson and the lion are intertwined in a struggle, with the lion’s jaws at the center.
- An expansive landscape surrounds the close encounter, drawn with delicate parallel lines.
About this original
- Source
- Original 1880 Bible
- Collection
- Bible illustrations
- Photograph
- Original leaf and illustration detail
- Visible condition
- Edge tears, spots and marks within the image area.
- Piece reference
- ART0008
These original pages were salvaged from a damaged book. The age and individual marks of each physical leaf are part of what makes it unique.
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The illustration is an artistic interpretation. The linked source gives context for this short introduction.
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