Archaeologists recently discovered a temple, with two great pillars, in what was once the Philistine city of Gath. And they discovered evidence of a huge earthquake. One of the Bible’s most dramatic stories tells about the not always admirable but surely impressive Samson who, duped by his lover Delilah, loses the secret to his power (his hair) to the enemy Philistines. After a humiliating stint as their blinded prisoner, Sampson’s final tour de force is the dramatic destruction of the Philistine temple. Having regained his strength, he breaks its massive pillars to bring the temple down on the heads of his enemies. Some will likely determine that this find corroborates the biblical story. Others, reading less literally, may appreciate how architecture and natural events from biblical times influenced how the stories were told.
