Did Samson believe that his super strength lay in his hair?

[tonychanyt]

Judges 16:

17 Samson told [Delilah] all that was in his heart:

Samson did not lie. He told the truth. He believed:

“My hair has never been cut, because I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaved, my strength will leave me, and I will become as weak as any other man.”

Being a Nazirite did not automatically give anyone super-strength. God might have told him this bonus condition.

Did Samson believe that his super strength lay in his hair?

Not exactly. Samson believed that his super strength was connected to his hair. More precisely, he knew that his super strength came from God. His hair was an external demonstration of his relationship with God. It was the sign of the covenant/agreement with God.

19 And having lulled him to sleep on her lap, she called a man to shave off the seven braids of his head. In this way she began to subdue him, and his strength left him.

Samson was deep in sleep. The shaving did not wake him up.

20 Then she called out, “Samson, the Philistines are here!”
When Samson awoke from his sleep, he thought, “I will escape as I did before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him.

Why did Samson think that he still possessed super strength?

He had just woken up from his sleep. His thinking was hazy. He might not have been aware that his hair was gone. He remembered his previous occasions when he shook himself free. He did not know that the LORD had departed from him this time because he had betrayed the covenant/agreement with God. He revealed to Delilah the secret sign of the agreement with God.

 

[Aaron112]

He had just woken up from his sleep. His thinking was hazy. He might not have been aware that his hair was gone. He remembered his previous occasions when he shook himself free. He did not know that the LORD had departed from him this time because he had betrayed the covenant/agreement with God. He revealed to Delilah the secret sign of the agreement with God.

and so he did know about his hair, when awake long enough this time.