The Unnamed Mother of Samson: Authorial Reading

Literary reading of the birth narrative of Samson has revealed interesting scholarly opinions. Of particular interest is the literary function of the unnamed mother of Samson. An authorial reading is employed to highlight a shared social convention of the author and the authorial audience relative to motherhood. It is argued that the author may have intentionally unnamed Samson’s mother to portray her as an ideal Israelite mother who performed her motherly responsibility as enjoined by YHWH; hence, the namelessness of Samson’s mothers exonerates her from the shameful demise of a promised son.