Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother. As they approached the vineyards of Timnah, suddenly a young lion came roaring toward him. The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as easily as one tears a young goat. But he did not tell his father or mother what he had done. Then he went down and talked with the woman, and he liked her. Some time later, when he went back to marry her, he turned aside to look at the lion’s carcass, and in it he saw a swarm of bees and some honey. (Judges 14, 5–8)

According to the Bible, after Moses died, the leader Joshua guided the Jewish people in the conquest of Canaan and divided the land among the various tribes. After Joshua's death, local leaders known as judges took over. These men and women served as governors, military leaders, and administrators of justice. This period lasted until the establishment of the monarchy, with Saul as the first king.

In this scene, Samson, one of these judges, known for his extraordinary strength, is represented while he is killing a lion with his bare hands. The Bible mentions that his barren mother was told that her son would be a Nazirite, a man consecrated to God, and therefore had to abstain from drinking wine, cutting his hair, or marrying foreign women, Samson eventually broke these rules.