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Bën-Mân•ōꞋakh, ha-Nâ•zirꞋ Philistia (The Shᵊpheil•âhꞋ); ca. B.C.E. 1183
Patronizes A Prostitute |
 Shi•mᵊsh•ōnꞋ’s Primary Travels |
One day, Shi•mᵊsh•ōnꞋ walked down toward AzꞋâh, where a prostitute attracted his interest—and he went in and patronized her.
The Azâ•timꞋ grapevine was buzzing, “Shi•mᵊsh•ōnꞋ has come! He’s here right now!” Then they stealthily locked the village gate to keep him inside the walls of the village, quietly laying in ambush during the night, saying, “At dawn, we will kill him.”
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 Ancient Gate, Bolt, Lock & Key (photo Ahmed Saad) |
Rips Village Gate Out Of Ground, Carries It To Summit Of Har Khë•vᵊr•onꞋ |
 Har Khë•vᵊr•onꞋ from the south (Jerusalem Post, Reuters 2015.08.11) |
Meanwhile, Shi•mᵊsh•ōnꞋ laid with the prostitute until around midnight, then arose to leave. When he arrived at the gate and found himself locked in and the key gone, he realized the villagers’ vile villainy. He grabbed the entire gate, worked it back and forth in the ground a few times until he was able to pull-up the entire gate out of the ground, mᵊzuz•âhꞋ posts and all. Balancing the gate on his shoulders, he carried the entire assembly to the summit of the har on the south side of Khë•vᵊr•onꞋ.
Betrayed By His Pᵊli•shᵊt•inꞋ Wife, DᵊlilꞋâhAfter some time had passed, Shi•mᵊsh•ōnꞋ eventually fell in love with a woman in NaꞋkhal SōrꞋeiq, named DᵊlilꞋâh.
Then some Pᵊli•shᵊt•inꞋ VIPs visited her, insisting, “Dally with him and find out the secret of his great strength, and how we may overcome him, bind him and afflict him—and each of us will give you 1,100 silver coins.”
So, DᵊlilꞋâh asked Shi•mᵊsh•ōnꞋ, “Explain to me, prithee, wherein is your great power? Is there anything that could hold you if someone wanted to harm you?”
”If they tie me up with seven unused bowstrings that were never dried,” Shi•mᵊsh•ōnꞋ answered, “then I’d become weak like any â•dâmꞋ.”
Accordingly, the Pᵊli•shᵊt•inꞋ VIPs brought her seven unused bowstrings that were never dried.
Later, she enticed him to let her tie him up with the bowstrings. She brought in bushwhackers to lie in ambush in the next room.
Then, while the bushwhackers were lying in ambush in the next room, she alerted Shi•mᵊsh•ōnꞋ, “Some Pᵊli•shᵊt•inꞋ are here to see you.” Then he broke the bowstrings like braided chaff when it touches fire. So his power remained a mystery.
”You’ve hung me out to dry by telling me a lie!”, DᵊlilꞋâh exclaimed to Shi•mᵊsh•ōnꞋ. “Now explain to me, prithee, what could hold you?”
”If they’d just tied me up with new ropes that were never used for mᵊlâkh•âhꞋ, I would have become weak like any â•dâmꞋ.”
So DᵊlilꞋâh obtained some new ropes and tied him up again. Then, while the bushwhackers were lying in ambush in the next room, she alerted Shi•mᵊsh•ōnꞋ, “Some Pᵊli•shᵊt•inꞋ are here to see you.” Then he broke the new ropes from his arms like a thread.
 350x210.jpg "Loom, horizontal ground, sheds (drawing by Annika Jeppsson after Broudy, 1979)") |
 700x420.jpg "Click to enlarge"){kind=small} Loom, horizontal ground, sheds (drawing by Annika Jeppsson after Broudy, 1979) |
”Up ‘til now, you’ve been making me the butt of your jokes while telling me lies!” DᵊlilꞋâh nagged Shi•mᵊsh•ōnꞋ. “Tell me what would hold you!”
”If you weave the seven locks of hair on my head into the the mask of a loom”, he answered.
Again waiting until Shi•mᵊsh•ōnꞋ fell asleep, DᵊlilꞋâh wove his seven locks of hair onto the collector-beam of a loom, fastened to the ground with a wooden peg. Again, while the bushwhackers were lying in ambush in the next room, she alerted Shi•mᵊsh•ōnꞋ, “Some Pᵊli•shᵊt•inꞋ are here to see you.” Awakened, he rose up, plucking the peg out of the ground, along with the collector-beam and the mask.
”How can you say you love me,” she whined, “when your heart isn’t with me? You’ve made me the butt of your jokes three times—and you still haven’t explained to me the secret of your great power.”
and DᵊlilꞋâh?Optional parental preparation:
What was a nâ•zirꞋ?
Parents should consider how they wish to deal with introducing a child they may have shielded from reality, to “the facts of life”. Perhaps viewing “Lion King”, followed by a couple of National Geographic nature documentaries, followed by a factual and natural discussion—before the child has “learned” it, replete with misconceptions and perhaps deviantly, from classmates in elementary school—yeah, elementary school or, worse, from the internet. Better to get it right from parents than “messed up” from classmates or an internet pedophile or other deviant. Someone is going to criticize you no matter what you do or don’t do. So follow your best reasoning and then tell critics where to get off the train. 
What, and where, is AzꞋâh (Anglicized to Gaza)?
Where is Khë•vᵊr•onꞋ (Anglicized to “Hebron”)?
What does “betray” mean?
What does “dally” mean?
What is weaving?
Questions you might anticipate that your child might raise and be prepared to discuss:
What’s a VIP?
What does “patronize” mean?
What is a figurative “grapevine” in contrast to a literal grapevine? (And what does “figurative” and “literal” mean)?
What does it mean for a grapevine or crowd to “buzz”?
What is stealth?
What is an ambush?
What is dawn? (Ever seen it?)
What is a summit?
What does “bind” mean? “Afflict”?
What is a bowstring?
What is a “bushwhacker”? (in garden and Wild West)
What does “alert” mean? (e.g. sirens in Israel)
What is “chaff” and what does “braid” mean?
What does it mean “to hang someone out to dry”? (abandon in time of need)
What is a thread?
What is a “lock” of hair?
What is the “butt” of a joke?
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