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Religious Studies Department, SCU
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Research Topics
  Samson
(Judges 13:24–16:31)

Resources for
Historical Analysis
Resources for
Modern Modes

Bar Rose
Historical Analysis
 
Authors
according to the Documentary Hypothesis; click on links for information
 
 
 
Commentaries
 
Boling, Robert G.  Judges: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary, Anchor Yale Bible 6A.  Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1975.
 
Matthews, Victor Harold.  "Judges."  In Fortress Commentary on the Bible: The Old Testament and Apocrypha (ed. Gale A. Yee, Hugh R. Page, Jr. and Matthew J. M. Coomber; Minneapolis: Fortress, 2014) 329-49.
[Link above is to the print copy; here is a link to an electronic copy]
 
--------.  Judges and Ruth, New Cambridge Bible Commentary.  New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
 
Niditch, Susan.  Judges: A Commentary, Old Testament Library.   Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2008.
 
Olson, Dennis T.  "The Book of Judges."  In The New Interpreter's Bible, vol. 2, Numbers to Samuel (Nashville: Abingdon, 1998) x.
 
 
Secondary Literature
 
Crawford, Timothy.  "Reading Samson with the Dead."  Perspectives in Religious Studies 35:3 (2008) 223-36.
 
Crowell, Bradley L.  "Good Girl, Bad Girl: Foreign Women of the Deuteronomistic History in Postcolonial Perspective."  Biblical Interpretation 21:1 (2013) 1-18.
 
Galpaz-Feller, Pnina.  Samson: The Hero and the Man. The Story of Samson (Judges 13–16), Bible in History 7.  New York: Peter Lang, 2006.
 
Gottwald, Norman.  "Themes and Perspectives in the Historical Writings."  In Fortress Commentary on the Bible: The Old Testament and Apocrypha (ed. Gale A. Yee, Hugh R. Page, Jr. and Matthew J. M. Coomber; Minneapolis: Fortress, 2014) 277-99.
[Link above is to the print copy; here is a link to an electronic copy]
 
Monaco, David G.  "Samson: The Anti-Judge."  The Josephinum Journal of Theology 23:1 (2016) 46-55.
 
O'Brien, Mark A.  "Judges and the Deuteronomistic History."  In The History of Israel's Traditions: The Heritage of Martin Noth (ed. Steven L. McKenzie and M. Patrick Graham; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1994) 235-59.
 
Snyder, Josey Bridges.  "Delilah and Her Interpreters."  In Women's Bible Commentary (ed. Carol A. Newsom, Sharon H. Ringe and Jacqueline E. Lapsley; 3rd ed.; Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2012) 138-41.
 
Wilson, Stephen M.  "Samson the Man-Child: Failing to Come of Age in the Deuteronomistic History."  Journal of Biblical Literature 133:1 (2014) 43-60.
 
 
Bar Rose
 
Modern Modes
Religious   Secular
 
Bar Rose
 
I grandi condottieri [Great Leaders of the Bible: Gideon and Samson], dir. Marcello Baldi and Francisco Pérez-Dolz (1965)
 
Primary Text Citation
 
I grandi condottieri [Great Leaders of the Bible: Gideon and Samson].  Prod. Toni Di Carlo; dir. Marcello Baldi and Francisco Pérez-Dolz.  101 min.  San Pablo Films, 1965.  [format you watched it in].

1.55.31
 
 
Secondary Literature
 
Relevant Databases for Secondary Sources
  • ATLA Religion Database
  • ComAbstracts
  • Communication Source
  • Film & Television Literature Index with Full Text
  • Film Literature Index
 
Blyth, Caroline.  Reimagining Delilah's Afterlives as Femme Fatale: The Lost Seduction, The Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies, Playing the Texts 208.  New York: T&T Clark, 2017.
 
Exum, J. Cheryl.  "Samson and Delilah in Film."  In The Bible in Motion: A Handbook of the Bible and Its Reception in Film.  Boston: Walter de Gruyter, 2016) 83-100.
 
Hughes, Howard.  "Cinema Italiano: The Complete Guide from Classics to Cult.   New York: I. B. Tauris, 2011.
 
 
Film Reviews
Because these are short and popular, you can read them, but they don't replace the need for at least two professional sources.
 
Smith, Gary Allen.  "115. Great Leaders."  In Epic Films: Casts, Credits and Commentary on More than 350 Historical Spectacle Movies (2d ed.; Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2004) 107.
 
Bar Rose
 
Jackson, Story of Samson (2010)Story of Samson, Donald Jackson (2010)
 
Primary Text Citation
 
Jackson, Donald.  Story of Samson (Judg 13–16).   2010.  Illuminated manuscript.  The Saint John's Bible, St. John's University, Collegeville, Minnesota, USA.
 
 
Mode
Patella, Michael.  Word and Image: The Hermeneutics of the Saint John's Bible.  Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2013.
[esp. pp. 116-7]
 
 
Secondary Literature
 
Relevant Databases for Secondary Sources
  • Art Full Text
  • Art Index Retrospective
  • ARTstor
  • Arts & Humanities Citation Index
  • ATLA Religion Database
  • Humanities & Social Sciences Index Retrospective
  • Humanities Full Text
 
Calderhead, Christopher.  Illuminating the Word: The Making of The Saint John’s Bible, 2nd ed.   Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2015.
 
Homrighausen, Jonathan.  Illuminating Justice: The Ethical Imagination of The Saint John's Bible.  Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2018.
 
Patella, Michael.  "The Theology of The Saint John's Bible."  Arts 17:1 (2005) 20-28.
 
Sink, Susan.  The Art of the Saint John's Bible, vol. 3, A Reader's Guide to Historical Books, Letters and Revelation.  Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2012.
 
--------.  The Art of The Saint John's Bible: The Complete Reader's Guide.   Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2013.
 
 
 
Bar Rose
 
Samson (Zecca, 1902)Samson and Delilah, dir. Ferdinand Zecca (1902)
 
Primary Text Citation
 
Samson and Delilah.  Dir. Ferdinand Zecca.  6 min.  Pathés Frères, 1902.  [format you watched it in].
Mode
 
 
 
Secondary Literature
 
Relevant Databases for Secondary Sources
  • ATLA Religion Database
  • ComAbstracts
  • Communication Source
  • Film & Television Literature Index with Full Text
  • Film Literature Index
 
Bach, Alice.  "'Throw Them to the Lions, Sire': Transforming Biblical Narratives into Hollywood Spectaculars."  Semeia 74 (1996) 1-13.
 
Blyth, Caroline.  Reimagining Delilah's Afterlives as Femme Fatale: The Lost Seduction, Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies, Playing the Texts 208.  New York: T&T Clark, 2017.
 
Koosed, Jennifer and Tod Linafelt.  "How the West Was Not One: Delilah Deconstructs the Western."  Semeia 74 (1996) 167-81.
 
 
Film Reviews
Because these are short and popular, you can read them, but they don't replace the need for at least two professional sources.
 
x
 
 
Bar Rose
 
Samson und Delila, dir. Alexander Korda (1922)
 
Primary Text Citation
 
Samson und Delila.  Prod. N. Szucs; dir. Alexander Korda.  x min.  Corda Film Consortium and Vita Konzern, 1922.  [format you watched it in].

20.35
 
 
Secondary Literature
 
Relevant Databases for Secondary Sources
  • ATLA Religion Database
  • ComAbstracts
  • Communication Source
  • Film & Television Literature Index with Full Text
  • Film Literature Index
 
Bach, Alice.  "'Throw Them to the Lions, Sire': Transforming Biblical Narratives into Hollywood Spectaculars."  Semeia 74 (1996) 1-13.
 
Blyth, Caroline.  Reimagining Delilah's Afterlives as Femme Fatale: The Lost Seduction, Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies, Playing the Texts 208.  New York: T&T Clark, 2017.
 
Koosed, Jennifer and Tod Linafelt.  "How the West Was Not One: Delilah Deconstructs the Western."  Semeia 74 (1996) 167-81.
 
 
Film Reviews
Because these are short and popular, you can read them, but they don't replace the need for at least two professional sources.
 
x
 
 
Bar Rose
 
Samson and Delilah, dir. Cecil B. DeMille (1949)
 
Primary Text Citation
 
Samson and Delilah.  Prod. and dir. Cecil B. DeMille.  131 min.  Paramount Pictures, 1949.  [format you watched it in].

2.10
 
 
Secondary Literature
 
Relevant Databases for Secondary Sources
  • ATLA Religion Database
  • ComAbstracts
  • Communication Source
  • Film & Television Literature Index with Full Text
  • Film Literature Index
 
Bach, Alice.  "'Throw Them to the Lions, Sire': Transforming Biblical Narratives into Hollywood Spectaculars."  Semeia 74 (1996) 1-13.
 
Blyth, Caroline.  Reimagining Delilah's Afterlives as Femme Fatale: The Lost Seduction, Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies, Playing the Texts 208.  New York: T&T Clark, 2017.
 
Davis, Dean.  "Echo in the Darkness."  Psychoanalytic Review92:1 (2005) 137-151.
 
Koosed, Jennifer and Tod Linafelt.  "How the West Was Not One: Delilah Deconstructs the Western."  Semeia 74 (1996) 167-81.
 
Kozlovic, Anton Karl.  "Cecil B. DeMille and the Art of Applied Suggestibility: Violence, Sex and False Memories within His Biblical (And Other) Cinema."  Kinema 35 (2011) 41-62.
 
--------.  "Exploring the Subtle Varieties of Love within Cecil B. DeMille's Samson and Delilah (1949)."  Kinema 30 (2008) 47-66.
 
--------.  "Some Subtle Gradations of Feminine Beauty within Cecil B. DeMille's Samson and Delilah (1949): The 'Good" and "Bad' Girls."  Kinema 45 (2016) 4-44.
 
 
Film Reviews
Because these are short and popular, you can read them, but they don't replace the need for at least two professional sources.
 
x
 
 
Bar Rose
 
Samson (Wajda, 1961)Samson, dir. Andrzej Wajda (1961)
 
Primary Text Citation
 
Samson.  Dir. Andrzej Wajda. 117 min.  Zespól Filmowy "Droga," Zespól Filmowy "Kadr," 1961.  [format you watched it in].
Secondary Literature
 
Relevant Databases for Secondary Sources
  • ATLA Religion Database
  • ComAbstracts
  • Communication Source
  • Film & Television Literature Index with Full Text
  • Film Literature Index
 
Bach, Alice.  "'Throw Them to the Lions, Sire': Transforming Biblical Narratives into Hollywood Spectaculars."  Semeia 74 (1996) 1-13.
 
Blyth, Caroline.  Reimagining Delilah's Afterlives as Femme Fatale: The Lost Seduction, The Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies, Playing the Texts 208.  New York: T&T Clark, 2017.
 
Mazierska, Ewa.  "Non-Jewish Jews, Good Poles and Historical Truth in the Films of Andrzej Wajda."  Historical Journal of Film, Radio & Television 20:2 (2000) 213-26.
 
 
Film Reviews
Because these are short and popular, you can read them, but they don't replace the need for at least two professional sources.
 
x
 
 
Bar Rose
 
Samson and Delilah, dir. Lee Philips (1984)
 
Primary Text Citation
 
Samson and Delilah.  Prod. Gregory Harrison, Franklin R. Levy and Matthew Rushton; dir. Lee Philips.  95 min.  First National Telecommunications Inc. and Catalina Productions, 1984.   [format you watched it in].

1.35.20
 
 
Secondary Literature
 
Relevant Databases for Secondary Sources
  • ATLA Religion Database
  • ComAbstracts
  • Communication Source
  • Film & Television Literature Index with Full Text
  • Film Literature Index
 
Bach, Alice.  "'Throw Them to the Lions, Sire': Transforming Biblical Narratives into Hollywood Spectaculars."  Semeia 74 (1996) 1-13.
 
Blyth, Caroline.  Reimagining Delilah's Afterlives as Femme Fatale: The Lost Seduction, Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies, Playing the Texts 208.  New York: T&T Clark, 2017.
 
Koosed, Jennifer and Tod Linafelt.  "How the West Was Not One: Delilah Deconstructs the Western."  Semeia 74 (1996) 167-81.
 
 
Film Reviews
Because these are short and popular, you can read them, but they don't replace the need for at least two professional sources.
 
x.
 
 
 
Bar Rose
 
Samson and Delilah, dir. Warwick Thornton (2009)
 
Primary Text Citation
 
Samson and Delilah.  Prod. Peter Bartlett and Kath Shelper; dir. Warwick Thornton.  101 min.  CAAMA Productions and Scarlett Pictures, 2009.   [format you watched it in].

2.01
 
 
Secondary Literature
 
Relevant Databases for Secondary Sources
  • ATLA Religion Database
  • ComAbstracts
  • Communication Source
  • Film & Television Literature Index with Full Text
  • Film Literature Index
 
Bach, Alice.  "'Throw Them to the Lions, Sire': Transforming Biblical Narratives into Hollywood Spectaculars."  Semeia 74 (1996) 1-13.
 
Blyth, Caroline.  Reimagining Delilah's Afterlives as Femme Fatale: The Lost Seduction, Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies, Playing the Texts 208.  New York: T&T Clark, 2017.
 
Collins-Gearing, Brooke.  "Reclaiming the Wasteland: Samson and Delilah and the Historical Perception and Construction of Indigenous Knowledges in Australian Cinema."  M/C Journal 13:4 (2010) 5.
 
Haag, Oliver.  "Racializing the Social Problem: Reception of Samson and Delilah in Germany."  Continuum: Journal of Media and Cultural Studies 28:5 (2014) 666-77.
 
Khorana, Sukhmani.  "Film Festivals and Beyond: Activist Discourses in the Reception of Samson and Delilah and The Tall Man."  Studies in Australasian Cinema 6:2 (2012) 217-27.
 
Knopf, Kerstin.  "Kangaroos, Petrol, Joints and Sacred Rocks: Australian Cinema Decolonized."  Studies in Australasian Cinema 7:2/3 (2013) 189-200.
 
Koosed, Jennifer and Tod Linafelt.  "How the West Was Not One: Delilah Deconstructs the Western."  Semeia 74 (1996) 167-81.
 
 
Film Reviews
Because these are short and popular, you can read them, but they don't replace the need for at least two professional sources.
 
Davis, Therese.  "Love and Social Marginality in Samson and Delilah."  Senses of Cinema 51 (2009) 19.
 
Fisher, Tess.  "Samson and Delilah (Warwick Thornton, 2009)."  Senses of Cinema 70 (2014) 10.
 
 
Bar Rose
 
Samson and Delilah Game, Purely Games
 
Primary Text Citation
 
Purely Games.  Samson and Delilah Game.  Online, http://www.purely-games.com/samson_and_delilah_game.html, [your access date].
 
 
Mode
 
 
 
Secondary Literature
 
Relevant Databases for Secondary Sources
  • ATLA Religion Database
  • x
  • x
 
x
 
 
 
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