Bible Name Meaning Tool — Search Any Name (KJV)

Samson

Pronounced SAM-sun

boy

✓ In the King James Bible — Yes — Samson appears in the King James Bible, including Judges 16:28.

Meaning: "Sun; Sunshine; Distinguished"
Origin: Hebrew (Shimshon)

Samson means "sun" or "sunshine" in Hebrew. He was an Israelite judge endowed with supernatural strength through the Spirit of the LORD, set apart as a Nazirite from birth to begin delivering Israel from the Philistines. Samson's feats of strength are legendary — killing a lion with his bare hands, slaying a thousand Philistines with a donkey's jawbone, and carrying the gates of Gaza on his shoulders. Yet his story is equally one of squandered potential, as his weakness for foreign women repeatedly led him into trouble. Samson's final act of faith came in his death. Blinded and humiliated, he prayed for strength one last time and brought down the temple of Dagon on the Philistine lords. Hebrews 11 lists Samson among the heroes of faith, showing that even a deeply flawed man can find redemption.

Spiritual meaning

Samson's name — 'sun' — speaks of brilliance that can either illuminate or burn. His life teaches that extraordinary gifts require disciplined stewardship, and that God's redemptive grace extends even to the final hour.

Related verses (KJV)

"For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines."
Judges 13:5 (KJV) →
"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."
Judges 16:28 (KJV) →

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Questions about biblical name meanings

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Type the name into the search box above. The tool returns the Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, or Latin root behind the name, its literal meaning, and the King James Version passages where it appears.

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No. Many modern Christian names never appear in Scripture, and some popular 'biblical meanings' circulating online are inaccurate. Where a name is thematic rather than scriptural, we say so plainly instead of inventing a verse for it.

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