Samson’s crying out to the Lord here is the first time he does so in the narrative. It is in fact the first crying out to the Lord
in the Samson cycle. Samson’s cry for deliverance is the very thing that Israel has not done yet, in contrast to all previous judge cycles, where Israel has always called out for deliverance after a period of oppression (Judges 3:9, Judges 3:15; Judges 3:15; Judges 6:6–7; Judges 10:12).1 To be sure, Samson’s calling out is different from Israel’s previous cries to God: Samson’s is a personal crisis whereas Israel’s was a national one.2 Nevertheless, that he cries out is still distinct in the narrative.
18 And he was very thirsty, and he called upon the LORD and said, “You have granted this great salvation by the hand of your servant, and shall I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?”