The narrative of Samson (Judg 13-16) occupies a prominent place within the book of Judges. This narrative, settled between the failed kingship of Abimelech in Judges 9, and several narratives containing the refrain “in those days there was no king in Israel” (Judg 17:6, 18:1, 19:1, 21:25; indicating the apparent societal failures in the absence of a king), seems to foreshadow the possibility of Samson as an ideal king. As a possessor of extraordinary strength, a lion-killer, and dispenser of wisdom (adept at navigating riddles), Samson would parallel well the ideology of kingship within the broader ancient Near East. However, we see that Samson never lives up to these expectations. This paper examines each of the significant episodes within Samson’s narrative that point towards these royal ideals, both in light of ancient Near Eastern parallels, and within their immediate literary context. In so doing, it will be hopefully shown that these intimations towards understanding Samson as possessing some promise to fulfill the role of king was intentional by the author, and heightened the rhetorical effect of his failure in this regard (especially within the broader literary context of the surrounding narratives).