Samson and Delilah (Rubens) was a Hebrew hero known for fighting the Philistines. Having fallen in love with Delilah, who has been bribed by the Philistines, Samson tells her the secret of his great strength: his uncut hair. Without his strength, Samson is captured by the Philistines. Rubens portrays the moment when, having fallen asleep on Delilah's lap, a young man cuts Samson's hair. Samson and Delilah are in a dark room, which is lit mostly by a candle held by an old woman to Delilah's left. Delilah is depicted with all of her clothes, but with her breasts exposed. Her left hand is
Delilah Ruth, and "bad" foreigners like Jezebel and Delilah. Contrariwise, Elizabeth Wurtzel sees Samson's relationship with Delilah as "the archetypal story of cross-cultural love between members of warring nations", akin to "Romeo and Juliet". According to the "Encyclopædia Britannica", Delilah's name has "become synonymous with a voluptuous, treacherous woman". The use of the name "Delilah" to connote deceit or betrayal can be found in works such as H. G. Wells' "The Invisible Man" (1897), the Tom Jones song "Delilah" (1968), Andrew Lloyd Webber's "The Phantom of the Opera" (1986), and Pat Conroy's "Beach Music" (1995). In "One Thousand and One Nights",