The road to Tel Zor’a and Samson’s Tomb, studded with sculptures and picnic areas, runs through the Jewish National Fund (JNF)’s President’s Forest, not far from the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway.

This is truly Samson’s country – located right in the area of the burly champion’s birth and burial, “between Zor’a and Eshta’ol” (Judges 13:25; 16:31).

Visitors climb Tel Zor’a to see the white-washed, blue-domed traditional tomb of Samson and that of his father Manoah. They also get a wonderful view of the rolling, forested Judean Mountains, with a panoramic sign on hand naming all the sites. Also part of the vista is Kibbutz Zor’a founded in 1948. Eshta’ol, a nearby moshav, was founded a year later.

Thus, Samson’s birthplace lives on. So does his legacy, thanks to a Ministry of Tourism's project to signpost the paths of Tel Zor’a with biblical verses telling the complex story of Samson, the tragic hero who was the last of the judges.

You can hike, bike or drive to Tel Zor’a and Samson’s Tomb, just over two miles off road 44 . For exact directions, call the JNF’s forest hotline in Israel  at 1-800-350-550.