The Bible's First Suicide Operation: Samson Kills 3,000 in Judges 16
The Holy Bible documents the first suicide operation in history, among whose victims were thousands of women. The Book of Judges records Samson’s deliberate collapse of the temple of Dagon upon himself and three thousand Philistines — men and women alike. Yet Antonious Fikry offers justifications that completely contradict the text without evidence or proof.
23 Now the lords of the Philistines gathered together to sacrifice a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice, and they said, “Our God has delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.”
24 And when the people saw him, they glorified their God, for they said, “Our God has delivered into our hand our enemy, who has laid waste our land and killed many of us.”
25 And it came to pass, when their hearts were glad, that they said, “Call Samson, that he may play for us.” So they called Samson out of the prison, and he played before them. Then they set him between the pillars.
26 Then Samson said to the young man who held him by the hand, “Please let me touch the pillars on which the house rests, so that I may lean on them.”
27 Now the house was full of men and women, and all the lords of the Philistines were there. On the roof were about three thousand men and women, watching Samson play.
28 Then Samson called upon the Lord and said, “O Lord God, remember me and strengthen me, O God, just this once, so that I may take vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes.”
29 Then Samson took hold of the two middle pillars on which the house stood, and leaned on them, one with his right hand and the other with his left.
30 Then Samson said, “Let my soul die with the Philistines.” And he leaned over with all his might, and the house fell on the lords and on all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed in his death were more than those whom he killed in his life.
31 Then his brothers and all his father’s household came down and took him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah. And he judged Israel twenty years.
Fikry’s interpretation is an attempt to liken Samson to Christ and his death. Of course, he was ashamed to call Samson’s death suicide, so he patched it up, saying that he did not commit suicide because he wanted to kill his enemies, as he is like a warrior.
[!quote] Antonious Fikry — Interpretation of Judges 16
“And Samson pretended to be tired before the young man who held his hand and said to him, ‘Let me touch the pillars.’ And this young man led him to dance and play. And Samson stretched out his hands just as Christ stretched out his arms on the cross. And just as Samson defeated his enemies by his death, so did Christ, so Samson’s suffering became a destruction for his persecutors (verse 30). And Christ’s death shattered the kingdom of death. The house of the god Dagon symbolizes the kingdom of Satan. And Christ’s death turned the kingdom of Satan upside down just as Samson turned the temple of Dagon while he was in it and broke it and destroyed all the lords of the Philistines. And there is a difference, for Samson died while praying, seeking revenge, and Christ died while praying, seeking forgiveness. However, we can say that Christ sought forgiveness for mankind and revenge on the devil. Samson’s death is not considered suicide, as he did not seek death for himself out of despair, but the death of his enemies, as he is like someone who fights. We notice that there are two pillars of the temple of Dagon, and there are two pillars on which the kingdom of the devil rests, which are greed and pleasures (1 Timothy 6:100). The love of money is the root of all evil + (Proverbs 7:26). All of its slain are strong. And when Samson’s family came to bury him and take his body, the Philistines did not dare to stop them after the destruction that happened to them.”
This statement suffers from fatal contradictions that expose it as patchwork.
Fikry claims Samson is like a warrior who fights, not someone who despairs and seeks his own death.
Samson explicitly declared his intention to die alongside his victims: “Let my soul die with the Philistines.” He took hold of the two pillars — the structural supports of the building — and deliberately collapsed the roof upon himself and everyone inside. He made no attempt to escape. By Fikry’s own admission, Samson knew this action would kill him; he simply preferred that his death also destroy his enemies. A deliberate act of self-destruction to mass-kill others is the definition of a suicide operation, regardless of whether despair or vengeance motivated it.
The text is in one valley and Antonious Fikry is in another. The apologist’s patching becomes even more apparent when his own ethical framework is applied against him.
Fikry draws a parallel between Samson’s death and Christ’s crucifixion, claiming both destroyed the kingdom of Satan.
The parallel collapses under the text’s own details. Samson prayed for revenge — “so that I may take vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes” — while Christ, according to Fikry, prayed for forgiveness. If Samson were truly to be likened to Christ, he would have needed to seek both forgiveness and revenge simultaneously, which the text does not support. The Christian command to turn the other cheek stands in direct opposition to Samson’s prayer for vengeance. These are not minor differences but opposing moral frameworks patched together by allegorical insertion.
Finally, a question for every Christian: if this story was mentioned in the Qur’an — and God forbid that the Qur’an contains such a thing — instead of mentioning it in the Bible, what would be your reaction towards the Qur’an and Islam then?
Samson’s words — “Let my soul die with the Philistines” — leave no ambiguity. He intended to kill himself alongside his enemies, making this the first documented suicide operation. Fikry’s attempt to transform this into a Christ-like sacrifice requires distorting the text beyond recognition.