Delilah portrayed in the New Testament Samson's betrayal by Delilah has also been compared to Jesus' betrayal by Judas Iscariot; both Delilah and Judas were paid in pieces of silver for their respective deeds. However, Thomas de Vio Cajetan views Delilah in a somewhat sympathetic light, suggesting that she never intended Samson to be killed or wounded. He asserts that Delilah accepted a bribe from the Philistine leaders because they convinced her that Samson would merely be weakened. Caesarius of Arles views Delilah's temptation of Samson as similar to Satan's temptation of Christ. Isidore of Seville does see Samson as prefiguring
Delilah her name is applied to cunning women. Delilah also appears as a character in a number of works of art. John Milton's closet drama "Samson Agonistes", an allegory for the downfall of the Puritans and the restoration of the English monarchy, casts Delilah as an unrepentant, but sympathetic, deceiver and speaks approvingly of the subjugation of women. In 1735, George Frideric Handel wrote the opera "Samson", with a libretto by Newburgh Hamilton, based on "Samson Agonistes". The opera is almost entirely set inside Samson's prison and Delilah appears only briefly in Act II. In 1877, Camille Saint-Saëns composed the opera