Abstract
Samson’s biblical riddle “Out of the eater came something to eat, and out of the strong came something sweet”, referring to honey and a swarm of bees which came out of the carcass of a lion he had torn apart with his bare hands in Timnah, reinterpreted in the light of recent archaeological discoveries in the Timna Valley, where there was an Egyptian shrine associated with ancient copper mines and metallurgical activities, seems to hide a metaphor linked to the world of metallurgy, with particular reference to the smelting of metals: in fact, the smelting furnace “eats” the mineral with the fire, emitting a sort of roar similar to that of lions, and then the copper gushes out, which has a colour similar to that of wild honey. This is confirmed by the examination of analogous myths and tales spread among various civilizations, starting from that of the Nemean lion killed by Heracles and arriving at the Japanese myth in which Susanoo kills a dragon, in whose tail he finds a sword considered one of the treasures of the Japanese imperial dynasty. Keywords: Samson, Samson’s riddle, honey, Timna Valley, metallurgy, Heracles, Nemean lion, Susanoo
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