Anakin Skywalker, also known as the Chosen One, was the prophesied person to bring about the end of the Sith. He was a Jedi Knight and a veteran of the Clone Wars, but he eventually fell to the Dark Side, becoming Darth Vader, and terrorized the galaxy on behalf of and alongside his master, Darth Sidious.
I’ve seen many comparisons between Anakin and Jesus, and I have to say that while both have undeniable parallels, it is a less appropriate comparison than the one I am about to discuss; the only things they have in common are being born to a woman who did not have sexual relations before she was preganant, and the fact that they died to save someone they love. I believe that Anakin’s biblical counterpart, his biblical counterpart, is a man in the Old Testament named Samson.
But who, exactly, is Samson? Samson possessed incredible God-given strength and was one of Israel’s last judges, and he only appears in chapters 13-16 in the book of Judges. The judges in Israel were responsible for administering justice and keeping the people faithful to God throughout the 325 year time period of the book, and they were the tribal leaders before Israel had a king (the first king being Saul and then David). Every time a judge died, Israel would be led astray. Then God would discipline them and send a judge to deliver them after they repented. And then they would be led astray. And the cycle went on and on until Israel became a monarchy. When Samson was alive, the Israelites were in the hands of the Philistines and had been for forty years.
The tale of Samson the Judge is similar to Anakin’s, with some key differences. However, they have similar personalities: both are brash, rebellious, vengeful, and irresponsible. They’re sarcastic, passionate about all the wrong things, and believed that their power would always be there to get them out of trouble. However, they were also good-natured, humorous, and incredibly witty.
Circumstance of Birth
Samson was the child of an unnamed woman and Manoah of Zorah. Manoah and his wife were childless and unable to have children. One day the angel of the Lord approached his wife and said, “You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son…You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines” (Judges 13:3-5).
Anakin was the son of Shmi Skywalker, a slave woman on the backwater planet of Tatooine. He had no biological father and was conceived by the Force in response to the growing power of the Sith. Qui-Gon Jinn believed him to be the prophesied Chosen One, the one who would destroy the Sith and bring balance to the Force.
The Jedi and the Nazirites
In the Bible, Nazirites are people who took vows to be set apart for God’s service. We find their requirements laid out in Numbers 6:
“The Lord said to Moses, ‘Speak to the Israelites and say to them: “If a man or woman wants to make a special vow, a vow of dedication to the Lord as a Nazirite, they must abstain from wine and other fermented drink and must not drink vinegar made from wine or other fermented drink. They must not drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins. As long as they remain under their Nazirite vow, they must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, not even the seeds or skins.
“ ‘During the entire period of their Nazirite vow, no razor may be used on their head. They must be holy until the period of their dedication to the Lord is over; they must let their hair grow long.
“ ‘Throughout the period of their dedication to the Lord, the Nazirite must not go near a dead body. Even if their own father or mother or brother or sister dies, they must not make themselves ceremonially unclean on account of them, because the symbol of their dedication to God is on their head. Throughout the period of their dedication, they are consecrated to the Lord.
“ ‘If someone dies suddenly in the Nazirite’s presence, thus defiling the hair that symbolizes their dedication, they must shave their head on the seventh day—the day of their cleansing. Then on the eighth day they must bring two doves or two young pigeons to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting. The priest is to offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to make atonement for the Nazirite because they sinned by being in the presence of the dead body. That same day they are to consecrate their head again. They must rededicate themselves to the Lord for the same period of dedication and must bring a year-old male lamb as a guilt offering. The previous days do not count, because they became defiled during their period of dedication.
“ ‘Now this is the law of the Nazirite when the period of their dedication is over. They are to be brought to the entrance to the tent of meeting. There they are to present their offerings to the Lord: a year-old male lamb without defect for a burnt offering, a year-old ewe lamb without defect for a sin offering, a ram without defect for a fellowship offering, together with their grain offerings and drink offerings, and a basket of bread made with the finest flour and without yeast—thick loaves with olive oil mixed in, and thin loaves brushed with olive oil.
“ ‘The priest is to present all these before the Lord and make the sin offering and the burnt offering. He is to present the basket of unleavened bread and is to sacrifice the ram as a fellowship offering to the Lord, together with its grain offering and drink offering.
“ ‘Then at the entrance to the tent of meeting, the Nazirite must shave off the hair that symbolizes their dedication. They are to take the hair and put it in the fire that is under the sacrifice of the fellowship offering.
“ ‘After the Nazirite has shaved off the hair that symbolizes their dedication, the priest is to place in their hands a boiled shoulder of the ram, and one thick loaf and one thin loaf from the basket, both made without yeast. The priest shall then wave these before the Lord as a wave offering; they are holy and belong to the priest, together with the breast that was waved and the thigh that was presented. After that, the Nazirite may drink wine.
“ ‘This is the law of the Nazirite who vows offerings to the Lord in accordance with their dedication, in addition to whatever else they can afford. They must fulfill the vows they have made, according to the law of the Nazirite.’ ” Numbers 6:1-21
However, people typically chose to be Nazirites. Samson, on the other hand, was chosen specifically by God.
The Jedi are very similar. They are separated from the secular world at a very young age and serve the Force, and they have a set of rules prohibiting them from certain circumstances or actions. While permitted to drink, they were prohibited from forming attachments and having possessions.
An Eye for an Eye
Anakin’s first real tragedy—besides spending his childhood as a slave—was the death of his mother, Shmi Skywalker. Shmi was a slave on Tatooine and had been kidnapped and beaten by Tusken Raiders. Her husband at the time had gone out with a group to rescue her, but he got his legs cut off in the process (which might be foreshadowing to Anakin’s own loss of limbs). To rescue her, Anakin snuck into their camp, only to have arrived too late. His mother died in his arms, and he slaughtered the entire village out of revenge.
One day, Samson went to Timnath and saw a young Philistine woman (who remains unnamed in the Bible). On his way back to Timnath, he came across a young lion. He killed it with his bare hands thanks to strength given to him by God. He talked to the woman, and after a time returned to Timnath to take her as his wife, and he saw the carcass of the lion. Bees had begun living in the carcass, and Samson took out some of the honey and ate it (thus breaking a Nazirite command).
He and his father went to see the woman, and while there Samson ended up holding a feast (at the time this was customary for young men). A group of 30 Philistine men wanted to cause trouble, and so they approached him. Samson, in turn, presented them a challenge: a riddle. If they could not answer it within a week of the feast, they had to give him 30 sheets and clothing. If they could answer it, Samson would give each of the men sheets and clothing.
“…Out of the eater came forth meat, And out of the strong came forth sweetness.…” Judges 14:14 KJV
The men could not answer it and threatened to burn Samson’s wife and her family. She approached Samson and wept, asking for the answer to the riddle. On the seventh day of the feast he gave her the answer. She told the Philistine men, and they gave Samson their answer just before the sun went down.
“…What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion?…” Judges 14:18 KJV
To pay them the debt of clothing, he killed 30 men from Ashkelon. Samson was enraged, and his wife was given to his companion.
During the wheat harvest, Samson went to visit his wife. However, his father-in-law would not let him see her, and he offered him her younger sister instead.
“And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion: is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her.”
Judges 15:2 KJV
Samson retaliated: “And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails. And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and olives.” Judges 15:4-5 KJV
Then the Philistines retaliated by burning Samson’s wife and her family. Samson then single-handedly went to war against the Philistines. At one point he killed 1000 of them with nothing but the jawbone of a donkey.
Hey there, Delilah
Although Anakin did not have a woman problem like Samson, he married in secret. As his trust in the Jedi and their trust in him waned during the Clone Wars, his wife, Padmé, became the only source of trust in his life from his point of view. Eventually she was used by Palpatine to manipulate Anakin into falling to the dark side.
One of Samson’s weaknesses was foreign women. For an Israelite to have any romantic or sexual relations with a Philistine was incredibly taboo, and yet Samson is recorded to have such relations with three of them.
The one to bring about his ultimate downfall was a woman named Delilah.
Delilah is described in the Bible as a harlot. When the Philistines caught word that Samson was involved with her, the lords approached her and offered her 1100 pieces of silver if she could tell them what gives him his strength. They intended to weaken him, ambush him, and then kill him. Three times she asked him.
“And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green withs that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.” Judges 16:7 KJV
“And he said unto her, If they bind me fast with new ropes that never were occupied, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.” Judges 16:11 KJV
“And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web.” Judges 16:13 KJV
Distressed, Delilah pestered him and pestered him until, finally, he told her the truth.
“And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death; that he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.” Judges 16:16-17 KJV
Delilah alerted the Philistines that he had given up the secret, and they ambushed him in the night after she put him to sleep and shaved his head. The Philistines gouged out his eyes, bound him, brought him to Gaza, and forced him to grind in a prison house.
Wasted Potential
Anakin had the potential to be the most powerful Force-user and Jedi to ever exist. He wanted that destiny. He wanted everything, but he ended up with nothing. He was going to bring about the end of the Sith, but he ended up spending half his life as one. It wasn’t until his son, Luke Skywalker’s, faith in him brought him back to the light.
Although Samson was chosen to be a Nazirite since before he was even conceived, he did little to honor God and protect Israel throughout the 20 years he served as a judge: he laid with foreign prostitutes, goaded the nation oppressing his people, nearly caused Israel to be under further oppression, and allowed his carnal desires to dictate his life. However, much like Anakin, in the end he allowed a higher power to govern his actions, and both became a sacrifice for a higher purpose.
“And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.” Judges 16:28 KJV
God strengthened Samson one last time, and Samson knocked over the two middle pillars of a house full of Philistine lords and ladies.
“And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the Lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.” Judges 16:30 KJV
Supernatural Power
Fueled by the Force, Anakin possesses the highest midichlorian count in Star Wars history, and, in turn, incredible power. Samson was given extraordinary strength by God Himself. Contrary to Anakin, the power Samson possessed was not his. God took and gave him that power at His will.
Their Higher Purpose
Both men are heroes at heart. While Samson lived in rebellion against God pretty much his whole life, God used him to accomplish His purpose: weaken the Philistines. Anakin defeated Palpatine to save his son, and in turn he brought balance to the Force. Though they resisted their divine callings, in the end they fulfilled them more dramatically than we ever could have imagined!
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