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Rosh
Samson is an enslaved man whom Rosh’s group steals from a passing caravan. Daniel is placed in charge of him. Samson doesn’t appear to understand Daniel’s language, but after Daniel removes Samson’s chains, Samson becomes deeply attached and loyal to him. Samson is immensely strong, which is the only thing most people value about him, but Daniel takes the time to talk to Samson and grows fond of him. When Daniel leads a raid to rescue Joel, Samson leaps into the action at the last moment and saves Daniel’s life. He is fatally wounded in the fray.
Samson Quotes in The Bronze Bow
The The Bronze Bow quotes below are all either spoken by Samson or refer to Samson. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 3 Quotes
Why did I come here? he thought. Already he yearned to be away from this place. Hunger gnawed at him. Up on the mountain the men would be still sitting about the fire, their stomachs satisfied […] He wondered if Joktan had made sure that Samson had enough to eat. He wondered how long the man had waited at the top of the trail. Suddenly he flung himself on his face and buried his head in his arms and could have wept for homesickness.
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Chapter 11 Quotes
[Daniel] was almost at the point of tears. Yet in the same instant such a fierce resentment sprang up in him that he dared not look his friend in the face. […] Everyone—the doctor, Leah, the neighbors, and now Simon, took it for granted that he had come home to stay. […] What about his life on the mountain? What about Rosh and Samson, and the work that must be done in the cave? Wasn’t that more important than a few farmers who wanted their wheels mended? Everything he loved […] the irresponsible life, the excitement of the raids, rose up and fought off the shackles that Simon held out to him in kindness.
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Chapter 20 Quotes
In the darkness the same words echoed over and over. “They who live by the sword will perish by the sword.” […] Jesus had spoken them on a hot summer morning under a blue sky. Daniel had not questioned the words. To live by the sword was the best life he knew. To take the sword for his country’s freedom and to perish by it—what better could a man hope for? But something he had not reckoned on had happened. He had taken the sword, but Samson, instead, had perished by it, who had no freedom to gain, and Nathan, who had left behind a bride. Their deaths were on his head. And freedom was farther away than before.
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Chapter 21 Quotes
“[Samson] did not give you vengeance. He gave you love. There is no greater love than that, that a man should lay down his life for his friend. Think, Daniel, can you repay such love with hate?”
“It’s too late to love Samson. He is probably dead.” Then, as Jesus waited, “Should I love the Romans who killed him?” he asked with bitterness.
Jesus smiled. “You think that is impossible, don’t you? Can’t you see, Daniel, it is hate that is the enemy? Not men. Hate does not die with killing. It only springs up a hundredfold. The only thing stronger than hate is love.”
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Samson Character Timeline in The Bronze Bow
The timeline below shows where the character Samson appears in The Bronze Bow. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2
...the group has already finished their dinner. In their absence, they’ve named the enslaved man “Samson,” and they’ve decided that Daniel is Samson’s guardian. After Daniel gives Samson food, he gets...
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When Daniel finishes filing off the chains, Samson suddenly kneels in front of him and presses his forehead to Daniel’s foot. Daniel, shocked...
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Chapter 3
Daniel works at his iron forge on a hot day, with Samson working the oven’s bellows by his side. Samson has been in Rosh’s camp for a...
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...stay for just a day or two, and even Rosh consents, grudgingly admiring Simon’s persistence. Samson tries to follow Daniel down the mountain until Daniel angrily waves him off.
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...he thinks of Rosh’s men enjoying a stolen meal around the campfire. He wonders if Samson has eaten enough. He is so homesick he could cry.
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Chapter 4
...back up the trail toward the mountain cave. When he gets there, he’s greeted by Samson’s beaming smile.
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Chapter 8
...By the time he staggers up the mountain, he isn’t sure he’ll make it. Suddenly Samson hurries down the trail and scoops Daniel up. He carries Daniel carefully back to the...
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Chapter 14
When Samson strides into camp with a large sheep, he and Daniel greet each other joyfully. Later...
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The next morning, Daniel wishes he could take Samson back to the village with him, but he can’t see Samson fitting into village life—he...
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Chapter 18
...begging to join Daniel’s band of fighters. Daniel quickly agrees, though he feels disappointed that Samson didn’t follow him instead. He and Joktan join the boys waiting in the watchtower and...
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Chapter 19
...slope. Then he sees a crouched figure charging down the bank and realizes it is Samson! Seizing his chance, Daniel throws himself down after the rushing man and thrusts his dagger...
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...of him and his irons struck Daniel. The soldiers have gone. Daniel suddenly remembers seeing Samson. Joel explains that it was Samson, not a soldier, who threw Daniel against a rock....
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...the mission to rescue Joel. Yet they also know that if it hadn’t been for Samson, they would have failed altogether. Their confidence is shattered.
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Chapter 20
...best life. But now that he’s taken the sword, all he has seen is death—with Samson’s and Nathan’s deaths on his head. Freedom is no closer than before.
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Chapter 21
...has all gone wrong, leaving him with a debt to pay. Jesus asks Daniel about Samson, and Daniel explains how Samson died for him, as well as the rest of the...
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Jesus agrees with Daniel—Scripture says that we must repay each other in kind. But Samson did not give Daniel vengeance—he gave him love, the greatest kind of love. How, then,...
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Daniel says it’s too late to love Samson, as he’s probably dead. Is Jesus saying that Daniel should love the Romans who are...
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Chapter 23
...he remembers Jesus’s kindness and the way Jesus removed Daniel’s guilt when he spoke of Samson. One day, after work, he goes to Capernaum.
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