Is Your Preaching on Samson Weak? Consider Its Fourfold Sense

Since at least the third century, exegetes have read the Scriptures according to a fourfold sense, also known as the quadriga. Although discrete senses of Scripture (e.g., historical, literal, spiritual) were recognized by early Church Fathers, the fourfold sense was first articulated as such by John Cassian (AD 360–435), and would be further systematized in the medieval period.¹

Interest in the fourfold sense in biblical exegesis has seen a resurgence in interest and application ever since the landmark multivolume work, Medieval Exegesis by Henri de Lubac, originally published in French from 1959 to 1963. More recent champions of the fourfold sense as an interpretive approach have included Peter J. Leithart and Patrick Schreiner, who has a forthcoming book on the quadriga.

Certainly, the quadriga is of great interest to those who study historical theology and the history of exegesis, but one may wonder, “Just how practical is it? Will it help me in my week-to-week sermon preparation?”

In this article I hope to show the usefulness of the quadriga for regular preaching. Throughout, I will use the figure of Samson in the book of Judges as a test case.² I don’t necessarily recommend structuring sermon delivery in quads, but the exercise is invaluable for preparation.

How is the quadriga useful for preaching?

The quadriga reads Scripture through four distinct but inseparable senses. Each sense may be related to some aspect of preaching the Scripture. Preaching Scripture through the quadriga forces the preacher to deal with all Scripture in a distinctly Christian way. Even if you are not entirely convinced about an inherent fourfold sense of Scripture or the underlying presuppositions behind the quadriga, it can be a useful preaching tool.

It stretches us out of our comfort zones and forces us to engage with the text in ways that will bear fruit for preaching—often in ways that our congregations need to hear. People need to hear about Jesus from the Scripture, even if we’re preaching from a text about skin conditions (Lev 13–14) or from a narrative about the Levite of Dan (Judg 17–18), in which not a single admirable character exists. No matter the sermon text, the quadriga helps us to better impress on hearers what God has done for us in Christ, and thus what God requires of us as an outworking of our faith in him.

What follows is a brief description of each of the four senses of Scripture as outlined by the quadriga, followed by its application to the story of Samson (Judg 13–16), with a focus on his annunciation and his status as a Nazirite (Judg 13).

The literal sense (reading the letter)

This is the exposition of the text, unfolding its historical and literary function. The literal sense includes considerations of historical context, intertextuality, and literary genre and devices. The literal is the basic sense from which all other senses must flow. If you miss this, or if you do not root the other senses in the literal sense, then you can become unmoored from the true meaning of the text. As Thomas Aquinas says, “all the senses are founded on one—the literal—from which alone can any argument be drawn.”³

The literal sense includes attentiveness not only to a meaning behind the words on the page but the form of the text itself, its language, music, and rhythm. It also includes attention to intertextuality (how Scripture uses Scripture). Texts don’t exist in a vacuum but interact with each other.

Literally Samson

Samson’s story is the climax of the book of Judges. His birth is anticipated and foreshadowed almost from the beginning. The judge Shamgar, the son of the goddess Anat, who bears the name of a Hurrian solar deity,⁴ slew six hundred Philistines with a cattle prod (Judg 3:31). A few chapters later, Deborah sings of a people with loosed hair who will offer themselves to YHWH (Judg 5:2);⁵ she sings also of Shamgar (Judg 5:6), but she yearns for a future day when YHWH’s people will be like the sun, rising in might (Judg 5:31). Samson is the answer to Deborah’s prayer. His name means “little sun,” and he will surpass Shamgar’s six-hundred slain with his thousand, using the jawbone of a donkey (Judg 15:14–15).

When an angel appears to announce Samson’s birth to his mother (Judg 13:3), Israel is at a low point in its history. They are under the thumb of the Philistines and do not even call to God for help. In fact, they seem almost comfortable in their bondage.⁶ Manoah’s name means “place of rest,” and yet the land has no rest. His wife’s barrenness represents Israel’s spiritual barrenness. There is no peace with God, and so the angel will not eat their food (Judg 13:16). But the angel promises to the woman a child who would begin to save Israel from the Philistines. Because of his mission, he would be a Nazirite from the womb.

Numbers 6 gives us the law of the Nazirite. A man or a woman became a Nazirite by taking a vow to YHWH. During their vow, they were like temporary priests. Like the high priest, they were not to make themselves unclean (Lev 21:11; Num 6:6–8). They were not to drink wine or any other fruit of the vine (Num 6:3–4). Priests couldn’t drink wine while serving in the sanctuary (Lev 10:9), but Nazirites didn’t drink wine anywhere. To them, the whole world is YHWH’s sanctuary.

Most famously because of Samson, Nazirites were not to cut their hair until their vow was complete. Why is that? It’s because their hair is their crown, which they wear for as long as they are under the vow. In fact, n-z-r means “crown,” like the crown and turban worn by the high priest, on which was emblazoned the words: “Holy to YHWH” (Exod 29:6).⁷ As long as the Nazirite wore his uncut hair, he or she was dedicated solely to God’s service. Thus, for Samson to be a Nazirite from the womb meant that he was consecrated like a priest, holy to YHWH, for all of his life.

When a Nazirite completed his vow, he offered every kind of sacrifice, all at once. He offered the near-bringing, the ascension, the sin offering, the grain and drink offerings, and a peace offering. At the end of his vow, he cut his hair—he removed his crown—and offered it on the altar together with the peace offering. Then he could rest and drink wine (Num 6:13–20).

But Manoah’s son will not bring Israel to their final resting place—he is only a beginning. Samson himself will never have rest. He is never to enjoy the fruit of the vine. He is never to remove his crown because he is under the vow for life. He is to have no rest except in death. He will not complete the work of bringing rest to the land—that remains for David to do (2 Sam 7:1).

Samson’s birth seems almost supernatural. There is no mention of Manoah having relations with his wife, and his wife even seems to suggest at first that the angel might be Samson’s father (see Judg 13:6)!⁸

Is Samson’s great strength a result of divine biological parentage? No, it’s clear that his strength is drawn from his dedicated status and from the Spirit of God that empowers him. Samson is the most Spirit-filled person in the Old Testament. The Spirit is always rushing upon him, moving him and enabling him to do mighty acts. But when Samson breaks his Nazirite vow by cutting his hair, the Spirit leaves him, and without the Spirit he is powerless (Judg 16:20). He has no strength in himself. Only when he once more prays to YHWH is he able to tear down the temple of Dagon and defeat the Philistines (Judg 16:28–30).

Samson is also a bridegroom seeking a bride. He wooed and married a Philistine, a woman of the gentiles, seeking an occasion to engage with the enemies of God (Judg 14:1–4). The man who tears apart lions (Judg 14:5–6) offered to her security, but she instead chose both loyalty and fear of her own people. Samson would have been bridegroom to her and was strong enough to defend her, but she rejected him and was destroyed (Judg 15:6).

After this, Samson was tempted by other women, to none of whom he extended the offer of marriage. He was called to loyalty to YHWH, but he split his loyalties and squandered God’s gift of the Spirit. Because of his folly he was ultimately betrayed by Delilah.

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The allegorical sense (reading through typology)

The allegorical sense teaches us what we are to believe based on the literal sense. It explores especially how a passage points to Christ and his work, and, because Christ has united the church to himself as his body, it speaks also of the church’s place in him. The presupposition of the second sense is that all of Scripture is ultimately about Jesus (John 5:46).

Although some texts may not appear to be directly about Christ or may seem irrelevant to our situation, typological reading follows the road signs and winding pathways to unveil the incarnate Word. Typology is the vehicle that transports the Scripture of Old Testament Law, Prophets, and Writings into the New Covenant.

Samson as type of Christ

Samson prefigures Jesus in striking ways, beginning with the announcement of his birth. An angel appears to both mothers—to Manoah’s wife and to the Virgin Mary (Luke 1:26–38). Samson is a Nazirite, holy to YHWH from his conception to his death. Gabriel also tells Mary that the child to be born to her would come through the power of the Holy Spirit, and so the child “will be called holy—the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). While the narrative of Samson’s birth is ambiguous, the conception and birth of Jesus is explicitly supernatural.

Both Manoah’s wife and Mary receive the news joyfully, while Manoah and Joseph both need later reassurances from the angel (Judg 13:8–20; Matt 1:18–25).

While Samson was only a “little sun,” Jesus Christ is the greater Sun, the Sun of righteousness (see Mal 4:2; Matt 17:2; Rev 1:16). Zechariah anticipates the immanent birth of Jesus, singing of it as “the sunrise [that] shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death” (Luke 1:78–79).

Jesus received the Spirit in full, which drove him to face the enemy (Luke 4:1). While Samson only began to deliver, Jesus delivered completely, from sin, death, and Satan—all greater enemies than the Philistines. Filled with that Spirit, Jesus lived a life dedicated fully to his Father’s work. It is possible that when Matthew 3:23 says Jesus went to reside in Nazareth, and the prophets were fulfilled that “He would be called a Nazarene,” the evangelist has a sort of wordplay in mind between Nazarene and Nazarite.⁹ Whether or not this is the case, the intense dedication and consecration of the Nazarite vow appropriately typifies the character of his mission.

Jesus made a kind of Nazirite vow (Luke 22:18)—and he completed it. He himself became the offering of every kind on the cross. Like Samson, it is only through his death that he defeated the enemy. Unlike Samson, through his resurrection, he not only began God’s deliverance, but finished it (Rom 4:25), ushering in the kingdom of God. The true Nazirite, Jesus, accepted the crown of his earthly priesthood and fulfilled his sacrifice. Then he removed the crown of thorns and put on the crown of life.

Unlike Samson, who succumbed to the temptation of Delilah, Jesus resisted the temptation of the devil and of the flesh (Matt 4:1–11) and remained loyal to his bride, the church (John 3:29; Eph 5:25–32). Jesus, the great bridegroom who is strong to defend, woos the nations and draws them to himself. Although there are harlots and false brides, Jesus is ever faithful, loyal to only one—one whom he will vindicate and glorify. Moreover, the church is a bride who, unlike Samson’s false bride, will also prove loyal to her bridegroom by God’s grace, because the Spirit is given to her as well (Rev 17:5; 19:1–7; 22:17).

The tropological sense (the “so what?”)

The tropological teaches us faith and practice. It applies the Scripture to the hearer. This sense is always appropriate because all texts are about Christ’s people. Tropology that does not go through typology tends toward moralism—using the biblical narratives merely as positive examples for us to follow or abject examples to caution us: “Be like Joshua; have courage.” Or, “Don’t be like Samson, that loose cannon.”

An old adage cited by de Lubac goes, “The fruits of tropology can come only after the flowers of allegory [typology].”¹⁰ By reading typologically, it is, in fact, possible to get to something like a more nuanced form of the applications mentioned above without falling into the trap of simplistic moralizing.¹¹

Samson: types of Christ’s people

You are called to this same calling—the calling of Samson to be like Christ. It is not only Jesus, but his people who will shine like the sun (Matt 13:43; 2 Cor 3:12–18).

Samson was presented as a type of the son of God. In Jesus Christ, through the leading of his Holy Spirit, you have been made true sons of God (Rom 8:14–17). Your birth is supernatural, not of blood, or the will of flesh, or the will of men, but of God (John 1:12–13).

You are his Nazirites, dedicated to God. Like Samson, your vows have no end—they will not end even with your death. You are always to be holy, consecrated for God’s service as Jesus was (John 17:19). But, your holiness is on this side of Christ’s victory. So, your holiness looks different from Samson’s.

Samson had no rest, and so abstained from the fruit of the vine. But through Jesus Christ, you have a resting place, even while engaging in your holy war against sin and every kind of evil (Eph 6:12; 1 Pet 2:11). Satan is now a defeated foe, disarmed and stripped naked by the cross (Col 2:13–15).¹² Even in the midst of your enemies, God sets a table for you, and Jesus, the Nazirite who has completed his work, invites you to drink wine in the sanctuary. You now have peace with God. So, he does not refuse your offerings today but invites you to eat with him (1 Cor 5:7–8; 11:23–26; Heb 13:10).

Jesus has not only put on the crown of life, but to the one who endures, he shares his crown (Rev 2:10). In baptism, you have been called by his name, marked on your forehead as a priest, holy to the Lord (1 Cor 6:11; Rev 14:1). This is life to you. Never remove this crown (Rev 3:11). Because, like Samson, you are Spirit-empowered—you have no strength in yourself. Since you are holy, live like those who are holy (Rom 12:1), consecrated to Christ’s service as his royal priesthood (Rev 1:6; 5:10).

Since you have rest in Christ, rest in him, trusting him. From Jesus, who sends the Helper (John 14:26; 15:26; 16:7), you have received the Holy Spirit to the measure of inebriation (Eph 5:18). So, walk not according to the flesh, but according to that Spirit, who empowers you (Rom 8:3–4).

Rest in Christ and the filling of the Holy Spirit does not mean life will be easy. The Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness to be tested and tempted by the devil. Our heavenly Father will also test us, so that his discipline will produce fruit in us (Heb 12:7–11). Our trials and persecutions may even result in our deaths. But for us, as with Christ, death brings only a crown (Rev 2:10). The conclusion will be our victory over sin and death, and over the world (John 16:33; 1 John 4:4; 5:4–5; Phil 1:21).

Jesus Christ is the bridegroom of the church. He came to woo sinners (Matt 9:15; John 3:29). Do not fear the world or let your loyalty waver, as Samson’s bride did. Take heart and trust in the one who has overcome the world (John 16:33). Be loyal also to the same bride for whom Christ died—to the church, the heavenly Jerusalem (Rev 21:9–11).

The anagogical sense (future-minded reading)

The anagogical sense teaches us what we are to hope for as believers. It reminds us that all of Scripture is concerned not only with the past history, or even just the here and now, but points us forward to the consummation of all things in Jesus Christ.

Hope in the head-crushing conqueror

Samson’s final performance brought down the house (of Dagon), cutting off the heads of Philistia and leaving them leaderless.¹³ Jesus’s death and resurrection not only defeated Satan and swept away the need for earthly shadowy sanctuaries (Heb 8:5–6), but it laid the foundation for a new house, a spiritual temple not made with hands, which is being built up in us, his living stones (1 Pet 2:4–7; Eph 2:19–22).

Through Jesus Christ, our high priest, you have come up to Mount Zion (Heb 12:22). But that heavenly Jerusalem has not yet fully descended to earth. Like John, we wait with eager anticipation for her continued unveiling in history (Rev 21:2–4).

The greater Sun has conquered through his cross, and he calls us to join him in his continuing work to fill the world with the knowledge of God (Matt 28:18–20). We will suffer resistance and persecution in that mission, but the one who conquers will soon crush Satan—under our feet (Rom 16:20; Luke 21:16–18). Our work will not be in vain. Our Lord’s victory assures ours, as well.

Christ’s victory over sin, death, and Satan is much more than Samson’s victory over the heads of the Philistines, Israel’s oppressive gentile neighbors. But it is not less. YHWH’s subduing of the nations is an expectation throughout the Old Testament, not only in the Samson narrative (2 Chron 20:6; Ps 2:8; 47:3; 79:1; 82:8; 111:6, Isa 60:5; Jer 16:19; Dan 7:14; 4:34–35; Zech 14:14). That hope of God’s reign over the whole earth does not disappear in the New Testament. It is accomplished in Jesus. And so, Christ claims kingship not only over spiritual powers, but over the earthly rulers and authorities, as well (Matt 28:18; Phil 2:9–11; 1 Cor 15:24–27; Col 1:16–20; Rom 13:2–4). All authority has been given to him in heaven and on earth, and the mission he gives to the church to disciple the nations of the world flows from that authority.

Finally, Samson, the “little sun,” points us to the sun-like light of Christ and his people now, but he also points us to a greater day, a day when we will no longer have need for a sun, because we shall live in light of God (Rev 22:5). The great bridegroom will prove himself strong to save, putting down the oppressors of his bride. He will invite us to the great marriage supper of the Lamb (Rev 19:1–9).

Conclusion

The God we serve is infinite, and his revelation in Scripture is a gloriously multifaceted treasure trove of wisdom. The Apostle Paul expressed his desire to unveil those glories in his preaching:

To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. (Eph 3:8–10; emphasis mine)¹⁴

May God grant us the same desire for our own preaching. Not that people should hear our words but that we might be instruments of God’s word—prisms refracting the glory of Christ’s riches into a kaleidoscope of glorious color.

The contention over the proper view of the sense of Scripture will no doubt continue with good exegetes on both sides of the debate. However, I hope this brief exploration has demonstrated that the quadriga can be a practical tool, especially suited to convey the depth of Scripture in our preaching.

Share your thoughts

How should we preach the Samson narrative? Join us in the Word by Word group to share your thoughts.

Christopher Kou’s recommended resources

• De Lubac, Henri. Medieval Exegesis: The Four Senses of Scripture. Translated by Mark Sebanc and E. M. Macierowski. 3 vols. Eerdmans, 1998–2009.
• Jordan, James B. Judges: A Practical and Theological Commentary. Wipf & Stock, 1999.

Further reading

• David, Goliath—& Jesus? A Familiar Story’s Fourfold Sense
• Typology’s Logic: Chekov’s Gun & Bible Interpretation
• The Christological Character of Typological Reading
• How Old Testament Typology Reveals Shadows of Salvation

1. Mitchell L. Chase, 40 Questions About Typology and Allegory (Kregel Academic, 2020), 88.
2. Portions of this article are adapted from a sermon I preached last year on Judges 13.
3. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae (Emmaus Academic, 2018), 15–16.
4. K. van der Toorn, “Shimige,” in Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible, ed. Bob Becking et al. (Eerdmans, 1999), 773.
5. On the translation of this verse, see Susan Niditch, Judges, Old Testament Library (Westminster John Knox, 2008), 70.
6. Judah would rather turn Samson over to the Philistines than stand with him (Judg 15:9–13).
7. L. Michael Morales, Numbers 1–19, Apollos Old Testament Commentary (Apollos, 2024), 159.
8. Robert B. Chisholm Jr., A Commentary on Judges and Ruth, Kregel Exegetical Library (Kregel Academic, 2013), 391–93n58.
9. W. D. Davies and Dale C. Allison Jr., A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel according to Saint Matthew, International Critical Commentary (T&T Clark, 2004), 1:276.
10. Henri de Lubac, Medieval Exegesis: The Four Senses of Scripture, trans. Mark Sebanc (Eerdmans, 2000), 2:19.
11. It should be noted that de Lubac did not like the terminology of “typology” as something distinct from “allegory.” The nature of this distinction is an ongoing debate. De Lubac, Medieval Exegesis, 2:128.
12. Contemplating a reversal here, the present nakedness of hostile spiritual rulers and authorities contrasted to the shame of nakedness in the man and woman in Eden (Gen 2:25; 3:1, 7) may bear some fruit.
13. If Samson is contemporaneous with Samuel, as it seems, then his death likely immediately precedes the victory of Samuel and Israel at Mizpah in 1 Samuel 7:5–14. See Peter J. Leithart, A Son to Me: An Exposition of 1 & 2 Samuel (Canon, 2003), 58–63.
14. The Greek πολυποίκιλος, translated “manifold,” can denote a garment woven from diverse colors. In Genesis 37:3, the robe of Joseph given to him by his father is similarly rendered in the Greek LXX as ποικίλον.