of conclusion, it is best to look at a few different types of stories.
             In the book of Judges is the story of Samson who was the twelfth and last judge of Israel. His story of revenge is very complex and included multiple retaliations by both he and the Philistines. Samson asks the Philistines a riddle that they cannot answer, they threaten to kill his wife, he kills 30 men from Ashkelon, the Philistines rape his wife, he burns their fields, they burn his wife, he kills many of them, the Philistines capture Samson and blind him, he kills the Philistines and himself by toppling their temple.
             This text displays the vicious cycle that can result from personal retaliation. "Private vengeance was deeply rooted in the ANE practice... [it led] to cyclical retaliation in the form of blood feuds." Samson did not receive an actual punishment for his actions as many others did after they committed an act of personal revenge. This could have possibly been because of his heroic death, which was just as miraculous as his being born to a barren woman. Here the text seems to draw parallels with each other, creating yet another cycle. This narrative presents the ideas of deception and betrayal (as Samson betrayed the Judeans by acting in his own interests only) of others, and of God (because human revenge was strictly forbidden). Beyond the cycle of revenge, there is a cycle of Samson and his obvious weakness for women. He gets into the situation because of a woman, is then betrayed by another woman (Delilah) and is later condemned by the Philistines to do a woman's work.
             Since human revenge was strictly forbidden, and since Samson went unpunished, then it must be true that this was not personal vengeance in the eyes of the Lord. Samson was not told by the Lord to punish the Philistines so he was not exacting punishment for the Lord, but he was definitely at war. As researched by H. G. L. Peels, the idea to be taken ...