Samson Judges, Old Testament

The Book of Judges covers over two hundred years of Israelite history following the death of Joshua, Moses' successor and the man charged with purging the Land of Canaan from all the native peoples  when the Children of Israel finally arrived after their decades-long trek from Egypt.
This command, however, was never fully carried out, and so Israel's occupation of the land was uneasy, and made more so by their rivals to the West, the Philistines.
Israel at this time had no permanent ruler, and existed in a kind of confederation of the twelve different tribes. When times became perilous, one or more individuals would rise to the rank of "Judge". A better term for our understanding might be "hero", "leader" or even "strong man". Some of them were faithful servants, but not all.
It was in this environment that we meet Samson, a man who had taken the oath of a Nazarite, which was supposed to mean that he was more fully dedicated to God. In addition to following certain dietary laws, the Nazarites let their hair grow as a symbol of their allegiance.
Almost everyone with any acquaintance with the Old Testament is familiar with Samson's physical power. What might not be as evident is that Samson was also, for lack of a more accurate term, "smart".
Though the Philistines made him their sworn enemy, it didn't seem to bother Samson, perhaps because he had never been bested before, and saw nothing to concern himself with from this group, either.
Of course,  the real threat to someone like Samson was that he might become a victim of his own hubris. We have known people like this who, if anything, seem a little bored with the challenges being put before them, and push the odds a little the other way just to give themselves a real test. Not to express too strong a political thought on this blog, but Bill Clinton as president may have had a little of this tendency.
But, to return to our subject, I think Samson had a clear idea, for example, of who Delila was, and for whom she was working. What else could he have concluded in response to her pestering questions about the source of his strength and how to defeat it? Why else would she care, unless there was something "in it" for her? His decision to tell her his secret says much more about him than her. "Go ahead", he seems to be saying. "You can't touch me no matter how much you think you know."
What we now know is - how this story ends. Samson's power is lost with the use of a pair of scissors, and the Philistines take delight in imprisoning him, forcing him to work like an animal at a grinding wheel. He finally earns a measure of vengeance against his captors, but the whole story leaves us shaking our heads sadly and wondering what might have been if only Samson had remained true to his covenants.