Samson kills the lion with his bare hands.
In this context, the lion symbolized a mighty enemy (just as the Philistines were for the people of Israel) that was defeated by Samson with God's help – demonstrating that God's plan could not be thwarted.
Not much is said about Benaiah in the Bible. You can read about him in more detail in 2 Samuel 23: 20-23. Verse 20 of 2nd Samuel states “he went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion". No big deal, he just pursued a lion into a pit on a snowy day and killed it.
Only the bravest and strongest men were able to kill a lion (Judges 14:5-6; 2 Samuel 23:20). However, David had killed both a lion and a bear. He had killed animals that were stronger than him. David did not believe that the strongest man would win the fight.
For example, David claimed to kill a lion with his bare hands in 1 Samuel 17:34-37.
Benaiah son of Jehoiada was a valiant fighter from Kabzeel, who performed great exploits. He struck down two of Moab's best men. He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion. And he struck down a huge Egyptian.
David explains to King Saul that by the grace of God he had killed a lion and bear that were attempting to have lamb chops for dinner. If God can deliver a lion and bear into David's hands while he is protecting his flock, surely God would deliver Goliath to protect all Israel.
His name is Benaiah and we learn about him in II Samuel 23:20-23: 20 Benaiah was a valiant man who had done many deeds. He killed two lion-like heroes of Moab. He also killed a lion down in a pit on a snowy day.
I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God.
'" When the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the prophet who had brought him back saddled his donkey for him. As he went on his way, a lion met him on the road and killed him, and his body was thrown down on the road, with both the donkey and the lion standing beside it.
In the book of Judges 14:5-6, it was recorded that Samson killed a young lion when he attacked him and his parents on their way to the vineyard of timnah. Immediately, the beast attacked, the Spirit of the Lord came heavily on him and he tore the mouth of the lion apart.
Benaiah, son of Jehoiada
According to the text, Benaiah was one of King David's mighty men, commander of the 3rd rotational army division; (2 Samuel 23:20; 1 Chronicles 27:5). He helped David's son Solomon become king, killed Solomon's enemies, and served as the chief of Solomon's army.
In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day is inspired by one of the most obscure yet courageous acts recorded in Scripture, a blessed and audacious act that left no regrets: “Benaiah chased a lion down into a pit. Then, despite the snow and slippery ground, he caught the lion and killed it” (2 Samuel 23:20 -21).
Biblical narrative
While travelling to Timnah to meet with the woman, Samson is attacked by a young lion. The Spirit of the Lord comes upon him, and he tears the lion apart with his bare hands. Some time later, Samson returns to Timnah to take the Philistine woman in marriage.
Director Cecil B DeMille was furious with Victor Mature for refusing to wrestle the real lion he procured for the scene, though the leading man gamely rolled around with a stuffed version in the close-ups.
Why didn't Samson tell his parents that the honey was from a carcass? Because at that time in Israel's history, touching the carcass of a dead animal was considered unclean (Leviticus 11). But Samson ate the honey anyway, gave some to his parents, and so defiled himself and his parents.
But it is also perhaps the bloodiest bear attack in written record. Let me recap. The hero of the story is the Prophet Elisha. Elisha is a major player in the Old Testament, a prophet so renowned that he also shows up in the Quran and the Book of Mormon.
The lions did not hurt Daniel because he trusted in his God. Then the king gave a command to bring the men who had accused Daniel to the lions' den. The men and their wives and children were thrown into the lions' den.
Just as a great Bear rushed to seize a stray kid, a Lion leaped from another direction upon the same prey. The two fought furiously for the prize until they had received so many wounds that both sank down unable to continue the battle.
Jesus is often referred to as the Lion of the tribe of Judah by those that follow the Christian religion because it is believed that he is a great leader and he will come back a second time to gather his followers.
In addition, in Christianity, according to a sermon by Augustine, the lion stands for Christ resurrected, the lamb for Christ's sacrifice ("He endured death as a lamb; he devoured it as a lion."—Augustine, Sermon 375A).
Jesus is called the Lion of Judah who has triumphed. Jesus has triumphed over temptation and sin, over pain and suffering, over fear, over death and even over the Devil himself. Jesus is the Lion who retreats before nothing!
Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with David but had left Saul. So he sent David away from him and gave him command over a thousand men, and David led the troops in their campaigns. In everything he did he had great success, because the LORD was with him.
The only human beings in the Hebrew Bible who killed a lion were Samson, David and Benaiah. In I Kings 13 the story is related about a man of God who was killed by a lion (I Kings 13:24-27). A similar incident is reported in I Kings 20:35-36 where a prophet was killed by a lion because of his disobedience.
Daniel in the lions' den (chapter 6 of the Book of Daniel) tells of how the biblical Daniel is saved from lions by the God of Israel "because I was found blameless before him" (Daniel 6:22).