Previously, Balladeer’s Blog examined non-Biblical Samson myths depicting the figure as a sun god. Here in this second installment, I will look at some of the traditions regarding Samson in Islamic literature. For the first post in this series click HERE.
SAMSON IN ISLAM – Right at the start, I’ll make it clear that there is no specific reference to Samson in the Koran. Period. In some of the other scholarly writings by Muslim authorities of the distant past they included Samson aka Shamsun by speculating that he was among the many unnamed prophets of their faith.
However, some of those sources simply list Samson as one of the Judges in the Children of Israel chapters and tend to keep him in the same time period as Biblical tales of the long-haired strong man. Other Islamic sources specifically name Samson/ Shamsun and place the period of his life anywhere from the 1st Century B.C.E. to the time of the Christian Saint George.
NOTE: Yes, that still puts Samson’s existence before Muhammad was even born, but the academic and religious debates about this are outside the material I am covering in this post.
For brevity’s sake I will avoid the in-depth arguments regarding exactly when Islam’s version of Samson supposedly lived. Suffice it to say that the Muslim literature in question states that Samson was born in a “Roman” city, placing his lifetime during the Roman occupation of the Middle East. This is much later than Biblical accounts of Samson. Continue reading
LOVE AND DEATH (1975) 
SAMSON AS A NON-BIBLICAL SUN GOD – Before getting into the Biblical and Talmudic Samson tales, let’s take a look at the tradition of Samson being an ancient sun deity. In this context his “seven locks/ braids of hair” were seven solar rays emanating from his head like in ancient artwork of other solar figures. 
DOWN GOES NUMBER TWO – Down in NCAA Division Three the 20th ranked BETHEL (MN) ROYALS played host to the number 2 team in the nation – the SAINT JOHN’S UNIVERSITY JOHNNIES. A 7-7 1st Quarter tie turned into a 10-7 Johnnies edge at the break and 17-14 to end the 3rd Quarter. In the 4th the Royals came from behind for a 28-24 victory. 
NUMBER THREE TAKES A FALL – In NCAA Division Two the UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA BRONCHOS (their spelling) welcomed the 3rd ranked NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE BEARCATS. The Bronchos put the Bearcats on Upset Alert by Halftime with a 13-7 lead, then carried through from there, winning the game 23-14. 
AND NUMBER SIX COMES TUMBLING AFTER – This D2 game pitted the traveling DELTA STATE STATESMEN against the number 6 team in the nation – the UNIVERSITY OF WEST FLORIDA ARGONAUTS. In DOUBLE OVERTIME the Statesmen emerged with a 45-42 Upset win. 
ADVENTURE COMICS Vol 1 #428 (August 1973) 
Ms. Linden sought shelter with her old school boyfriend from years earlier – brilliant scientist Philip Sylvian, an expert at botanical science. Carl Thorne’s thugs tracked Susan to Sylvian’s place and mortally wounded her. 
A DOUBLE-SHOT OF THAT OT LOVE – This game pitted the (7) SAN DIEGO MESA COLLEGE OLYMPIANS against their hosts the EAST LOS ANGELES COLLEGE HUSKIES. A 7-0 1st Quarter lead for the Olympians was cut to a 14-13 edge by Halftime. The Huskies went up 19-17 to end the 3rd Quarter but the 4th ended in a 25-25 tie. Neither team scored in the 1st OT but in the 2nd San Diego Mesa College logged 8 points to win the game 33-31. 
TWO IN A ROW – The COMPTON COLLEGE TARTARS took the field against the visiting SANTA MONICA COLLEGE CORSAIRS. The scoring in this game was as odd as the Tartars winning two in a row. Compton College led the Corsairs 6-0 in the opening Quarter and 12-0 at the break … And then no more points were scored, so the Tartars improved to 2-1 with this 12-0 win. 
THE SHADOW OF THE VULTURE – This story by Robert E. Howard, the ONLY Howard story to actually feature Red Sonya, was first published in the January 1934 issue of Magic Carpet Magazine. As I’ve mentioned in many other reviews of old pulp characters, Howard’s REAL Red Sonya was indeed a warrior woman, but not one from his fictional Hyborian Age. 
The Shadow of the Vulture is one of Howard’s historical adventures and it’s set during the 1520s, largely at the Siege of Vienna from September 27th to October 15th in 1529. Red Sonya of Rogatino is a Polish-Ukrainian woman who is more skilled than most men with swords and guns. 
64. The May of 1913 edition of James Larkin Pearson’s Fool-Killer was lacking in urgency and satirical bite, but I found it to have a certain slice of life feel to it that captured its era yet also underlined certain tableaus that are seemingly eternal. 
WAVELENGTH (1983) – This is an unjustly neglected science fiction film that stars Robert Carradine, Cherie Currie and Keenan Wynn in a very unconventional love triangle: both Carradine and Currie are fighting over Wynn. (I’m kidding!) 
UW-LACROSSE TOPPLES A D2 TEAM – NCAA Division 3’s (11) UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-LACROSSE EAGLES visited NCAA Division 2’s WAYNE STATE WARRIORS. The Warriors saw their 7-0 1st Quarter edge turn into a 21-14 Eagles advantage at the Half. A 21-21 tie ended the 3rd Quarter before UW-Lacrosse won out 28-21. 
DOWN GOES NUMBER SEVEN – Up in the NAIA, the ROOSEVELT UNIVERSITY LAKERS welcomed the number 7 team in the nation – the CONCORDIA (MI) CARDINALS. At the midpoint the score was knotted up 14-14 but from there the Lakers outscored Concordia 14-6 for a 28-20 Upset victory. 
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