Three Blind Vices?

Abstract

Frequently Samson’s blindness is linked with newfound spiritual insight, with physical humiliation, and occasionally with instrumental talion. Few question the role of blindness in the text through other lenses or with knowledge of ancient theories of vision. Balancing this, I investigate Samson’s sight and blindness in the context of Judges 13-16, asking what his sensation and sensory impairment signified in the broader context of the Hebrew Bible (HB) and wider Ancient Near East (ANE).