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Judges Chapter
Fourteen
Judges 14
Outlines
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO JUDGES 14
This
chapter treats of Samson's courtship, and marriage of a Philistine woman, Judges 14:1 of his
meeting with a young lion as he went courting, and of his slaying it, and afterwards
finding honey in it, Judges 14:6, of a
riddle which be framed out of this incident, and put to his companions at his
marriage to solve, giving them seven days to do it in, with a promise of a
reward, Judges 14:10 and of
their solving it by means of his wife, who got the secret from him, Judges 14:15, which
led him to slay thirty Philistines, to make good his promise of thirty sheets
and changes of raiment, and to leave his newly married wife, who was given to
his companion, Judges 14:19.
Judges 14:1 Now
Samson went down to Timnah, and saw a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the
Philistines.
YLT
1And Samson goeth down to Timnath,
and seeth a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines,
And Samson went down to Timnath,.... A city which by lot
fell to the tribe of Judah, but was afterwards given to the tribe of Dan, and
now in the hands of the Philistines, Joshua 15:57. Judah
is said to go up to it, because the place where he lived lay below it, Genesis 38:13, but
Samson is said to go down to it, because he lived above it. The JewsF20T.
Bab. Sotah, fol. 10. 1. differ about the reconciliation of these two places;
some say there were two of this name, the one is a descent, and the other is an
ascent; others say there was but one, so situated, that they that came to it on
one side ascended, and they that came to it on the other side descended.
BochartF21IIierozoic. par. 1. l. 3. c. 4. col. 763, 764. approves of
the former. According to BuntingF23Travels, &c. p. 115. , this
was twelve miles from Eshtaol, where Samson lived:
and saw a woman in Timnath, of the daughters of the Philistines; who at this
time dwelt there; he saw no doubt many other women besides her, but he took
special notice of her, and entertained a particular affection for her; or, in
other words, on sight of her fell in love with her.
Judges 14:2 2 So he went up and told his
father and mother, saying, “I have seen a woman in Timnah of the daughters of
the Philistines; now therefore, get her for me as a wife.”
YLT
2and cometh up and declareth
to his father, and to his mother, and saith, `A woman I have seen in Timnath,
of the daughters of the Philistines; and now, take her for me for a wife.'
And he came up, and told his father and his mother,.... Of his
passion of love, being desirous of having their approbation and consent, in
which he acted a dutiful part, and what became him; and may be an example to
children to advise with their parents, and have their opinion and consent
before they engage in such an enterprise, even before courtship: and said:
I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines; whom he had a
good liking of, and a strong affection for; he is very open and ingenuous in
his account, does not go about to hide anything from his parents, or colour
things over, or conceal her descent, but frankly tells them she was a
Philistine woman, which he knew would at once furnish out an objection against
her:
now therefore get her for me to wife: for it seems
it was the custom then, when a young man had found a woman he liked, that it
was left to his parents to entreat with the woman and her friends about the
marriage of her to him.
Judges 14:3 3 Then his father and mother
said to him, “Is there no woman among the daughters of your brethren, or
among all my people, that you must go and get a wife from the uncircumcised
Philistines?” And Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she pleases
me well.”
YLT
3And his father saith to him
-- also his mother, `Is there not among the daughters of thy brethren, and
among all my people, a woman, that thou art going to take a woman from the
uncircumcised Philistines?' and Samson saith unto his father, `Take her for me,
for she is right in mine eyes.'
Then his father and his mother said unto him,.... What he
might expect, and doubtless did expect:
is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or
among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised
Philistines? none in their own family, nor in the tribe of Dan, nor among the
whole nation of Israel, but must go among the uncircumcised Philistines; for
though they were not of the seven nations of the Canaanites, with whom marriage
was forbidden, yet they not only dwelt where they did, and where the Israelites
should, but were idolaters and impure persons, and therefore affinity should
not be contracted with them, as being of a dangerous consequence, which might
entice to idolatry. Ben Gersom observes, that their Rabbins say he made her a
proselyte first, though he did not acquaint his parents with it, and so
Abarbinel; but this seems not likely, for, had this been the case, he would
have had an easy and ready reply to this objection of theirs:
and Samson said unto his father, get her for me, for she pleaseth
me well; or "is right in mine eyes"F24ישרה בעיני "recta in oculis
meis", Montanus, Junius et Tremellius. ; not only his eyes were taken with
her beauty or external form, but it was right in his sight, in his judgment, to
marry her; he having an impulse upon his mind from the Spirit of God unto it,
though he did not let his parents know of it, but left them to conclude it
sprung from a strong affection to her person. Abarbinel observes, that he only
addressed his father, and not his mother, she being most vehemently against the
match, and expressing more uneasiness at it than his father did; but it is most
likely that he addressed his father particularly, because he was the proper
person to negotiate this affair for him.
Judges 14:4 4 But his father and mother
did not know that it was of the Lord—that He was seeking an
occasion to move against the Philistines. For at that time the Philistines had
dominion over Israel.
YLT
4And his father and his
mother have not known that from Jehovah it [is], that a meeting he is seeking
of the Philistines; and at that time the Philistines are ruling over Israel.
And his father and mother knew not that it was of the Lord,.... That he
should marry this uncircumcised Philistine; Samson knew it was, and that his
desire of having her in marriage did not arise from carnal affection to her
merely, being captivated with her beauty and external form, for she was not so
very fair, her younger sister was fairer than she, Judges 15:2 but he
perceived it was the mind and will of God that he should take such a person to
wife, by the impulse of the Spirit of God upon him, pointing it, unto him,
inclining and urging him to it, suggesting the end and design of it, and the
opportunity it would give him of quarrelling with the Philistines, and taking
vengeance on them; but this his parents were ignorant of, nor did he let them
know that this was of God:
that he sought an occasion against the Philistines; in this way,
by this means; they might know he sought to get an opportunity to be avenged on
them for their oppression, and to attempt the deliverance of Israel; but they
knew not that it was the will of God that a way should be opened for it by this
means. Samson might be directed by the Lord to reason thus in his mind, that if
he proposed to the Philistines to marry one of their daughters, and they should
reject his proposal, this would give him a reason to fall out with them, and
fall upon them; and if they should agree to such a match, he might expect they
would be kind to him, and to his people for his sake, being in alliance with
them, or he should resent it, and take occasion from hence to come to a quarrel
with them:
for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel; had invaded
their country, and dwelt in their cities, and made them tributary to them, and
used them ill; which Samson observing, was provoked to seek an opportunity of
avenging the injuries done them, and of delivering them, and he was directed to
it this way.
Judges 14:5 5 So Samson went down to
Timnah with his father and mother, and came to the vineyards of Timnah. Now to
his surprise, a young lion came roaring against him.
YLT
5And Samson goeth down --
also his father and his mother, to Timnath, and they come unto the vineyards of
Timnath, and lo, a lion's whelp roareth at meeting him,
Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath,.... They were
prevailed upon to go with him, either because they perceived his affections
were so strongly set upon a wife, that they thought it advisable to agree to
it, lest it should be of bad consequence to him, or because he let them know
that the thing was of God, and what was his design in it:
and came to the vineyards of Timnath; the land of
Canaan was a land of vineyards, and particularly that part of it which was
inhabited by the Philistines and Phoenicians; and though we nowhere read of the
wine of Timnath, yet frequent mention is made in authors of the wine of
Ashkelon, Gaza, and Sarepta, inhabited by the above people; these vineyards
seem to have lain somewhat out of Samson's way; but hither he turned on some
account or another from his parents, perhaps to eat some grapes:
and, behold, a young lion roared against him; not a whelp,
that is expressed by another word, but one more grown, and is afterwards called
a lion simply; and, by the Targum, a lion, the son of lions or lionesses; which
seeing him in the vineyards, where he was lurking, came out to meet him, and
roared at him in a hideous manner, and came up to him to destroy him: these
creatures, though now more rare in those parts, were at this time frequent, and
in later times: see 1 Samuel 17:34 and
several writersF25Strabo. Geograph. l. 16. p. 514. Curtius, l. 8.
sect. 1. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 16. make mention of lions in Mesopotamia and
Syria; and StraboF26Geograph, l. 16. p. 520. , and PlinyF1Nat.
Hist. l. 5. c. 20. speak of a city in Phoenicia near Sidon, called the city of
lions, because perhaps it had been much infested with them; and for a like
reason it may be some cities in the tribes of Judah and Simeon were called
Lebaoth and Bethlebaoth, Joshua 15:32.
Judges 14:6 6 And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily
upon him, and he tore the lion apart as one would have torn apart a young goat,
though he had nothing in his hand. But he did not tell his father or his
mother what he had done.
YLT
6and the Spirit of Jehovah
prospereth over him, and he rendeth it as the rending of a kid, and there is
nothing in his hand, and he hath not declared to his father and to his mother
that which he hath done.
And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him,.... The
Spirit of might from the Lord, as the Targum, inspiring him with courage and
intrepidity of mind, and increasing his bodily strength:
and he rent him as he would rend a kid; as he came up
to him to seize him, he laid hold on him and strangled him, as JosephusF2Antiqu
l. 5. c. 8. sect. 5. says, caught him by the throat, and tore it out; for it
does not seem that the carcass was torn to pieces, or limb from limb, by what
follows; and this he did with as much ease as if he had had only a kid to deal
with:
and he had nothing in his hand; not a staff to keep it
off, nor a spear, sword, or knife to stab it with: in this Samson was a type of
Christ, who has destroyed our adversary the devil, compared to a roaring lion, 1 Peter 5:8 to a
lion for his strength, cruelty, and voraciousness; to a roaring lion, making a
hideous noise and stir when the Gospel was carried unto the Gentiles, and they
were about to be called and espoused to Christ; from among whom he was cast
out, and by no other weapon than the ministration of the Gospel, accompanied
with the power of Christ, and his Spirit:
but he told not his father or his mother what he had done; when he
overtook them, as he quickly did, he said not a word to them of his meeting
with a lion and slaying it; which, as it showed his modesty in not blazing
abroad his wonderful and heroic actions, in which also he was a type of Christ,
but his great prudence in concealing this, lest his great strength should be
known too soon, and the Philistines be upon their guard against him, or seek to
dispatch him privately; though no doubt he had pondered this in his own mind,
and considered it as an omen and presage of the advantage he should have over
the Philistines his enemies, whom he should as easily overcome as he had that
lion, and that without any instrument of war.
Judges 14:7 7 Then he went down and
talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well.
YLT
7And he goeth down and
speaketh to the woman, and she is right in the eyes of Samson;
And he went down, and talked with the woman,.... Entered
into a conversation with her, that he might the better judge of her other qualifications,
besides that of outward form and beauty, whether she would be a suitable yoke
fellow for him; and he talked with her about marriage, and proposed it to her,
or talked about her to her father and near relations; and, as the Targum
expresses it, asked the woman, not only asked of her consent, but demanded her
of her friends: it may refer, as Abarbinel observes, to his father, that he
went down and talked with the woman and with her relations about her,
concerning the affair of his son's marriage with her:
and she pleased Samson well; he liked her
conversation as well as her person, and the more he conversed with her, the
more agreeable she was to him, and the more desirous he was to marry her.
Though some observe from hence, that she did not please the father of Samson as
himself; so Abarbinel.
Judges 14:8 8 After some time, when he
returned to get her, he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion. And
behold, a swarm of bees and honey were in the carcass of the lion.
YLT
8and he turneth back after
[some] days to take her, and turneth aside to see the carcase of the lion, and
lo, a company of bees [are] in the body of the lion -- and honey.
And after a time he returned to take her,.... Matters
being agreed on, and settled on both sides, and the espousals made, he and his
parents returned, and, at the proper usual time for the consummation of the
marriage, he went again to Timnath for that purpose. It is in the Hebrew text,
"after days"F3מימים "a
diebus", Montanus; "post dies", Vatablus. , which sometimes
signifies a year, see Genesis 4:3 and so
Ben Gersom interprets it, that a year after this woman became Samson's wife
(i.e. betrothed to him) he returned to take her to himself to wife; and it
seems, adds he, that twelve months were given her to prepare herself; and some
considerable time must have elapsed, as appears from what had happened to the
carcass of the lion, next related:
and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion: just before
he came to Timnath he thought of the lion he had slain some time ago, and he
went a little out of the way to see what was become of it, or had happened to
it. Josephus saysF4Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 5. c. 8. sect. 5.) , when
he slew it he threw it into a woody place, perhaps among some bushes, a little
out of the road; for which reason it had not been seen and removed, and was in
a more convenient place for what was done in it:
and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the
carcass of the lion; and though naturalistsF5Aristot. Hist. Animal. l. 9.
c. 40. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 11. c. 21. tell us that bees are averse to flesh,
and will not touch any, yet in the course of time that the carcass of this lion
had lain, its flesh might have been clean eaten off by the fowls of the air, or
was quite dried away and consumed, so that it was nothing but a mere skeleton;
a bony carcass, as the Syriac version. JosephusF6Ut supra, (Antiqu.
l. 5. c. 8.) sect. 6. says, the swarm was in the breast of the lion; and it is
no more unlikely that a swarm of bees should settle in it, and continue and
build combs, and lay up their honey there, than that the like should be done in
the skull of Onesilus king of Cyprus, when hung up and dried, as HerodotusF7Terpsichore,
sive, l. 5. c. 114. relates. Besides, according to VirgilF8"----quoquo
modo caesis", &c. Georgic. l. 4. ver. 284, &c. "Liguefacta
boum per viscera", &c. Ib ver. 555. , this was a method made use of to
produce a new breed of bees, even from the corrupt gore and putrid bowels of
slain beasts; and PythagorasF9Apud Ovid. Melamorph. l. 15. fab. 4.
ver. 365, 366. observes, they are produced from thence. This may be an emblem
of those sweet blessings of grace, which come to the people of Christ through
his having destroyed Satan the roaring lion, and all his works; particularly
which came to the poor Gentiles, when the devil was cast out from them, and his
empire there demolished.
Judges 14:9 9 He took some of it in his
hands and went along, eating. When he came to his father and mother, he gave some
to them, and they also ate. But he did not tell them that he had taken the
honey out of the carcass of the lion.
YLT
9And he taketh it down on to
his hands, and goeth on, going and eating; and he goeth unto his father, and
unto his mother, and giveth to them, and they eat, and he hath not declared to
them that from the body of the lion he took down the honey.
And he took thereof in his hands, and went on eating,.... JosephusF11Ut
supra. (Antiqu. l. 5. c. 8. sect. 6.) says he took three honeycombs, he means
three pieces of the honeycomb, and ate the honey as he went along to Timnath;
which he might do without touching the carcass of the lion, and defiling
himself thereby, which, as a Nazarite, he was more especially to be careful of:
and came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they did
eat; who went down with him to the consummation of the marriage, and
from whom he had turned a little aside; and now overtook them, and to whom he
gave some of his honey to eat, which, having travelled some way, might be
grateful to them. The above writer takes no notice of this, but says he gave of
it to the young woman whom he betrothed, when he came to her; but of that the
text makes no mention:
but he told not them that he had taken the honey out of the
carcass of the lion; either lest they should scruple eating it, being taken out of
such a carcass; or that the riddle, which perhaps he meditated as he came along
eating the honey, might not be found out, which might more easily have been
done, had this fact been known by any.
Judges 14:10 10 So his father went down to
the woman. And Samson gave a feast there, for young men used to do so.
YLT
10And his father goeth down
unto the woman, and Samson maketh there a banquet, for so the young men do;
So his father went down unto the woman,.... At
Timnath, whom Samson had espoused; the Targum is,"about the business of
the woman;'about the consummation of the marriage with her; they all three
went, the father, the mother, and the son, as appears from the preceding verse:
for Samson made a feast, for so used the young men to do; at the time
of marriage; this was the nuptial feast common in all nations; but it seems the
custom now and here was for the bridegroom to make it; whereas from other
instances we learn, that the father of the bridegroom used to make it,, Matthew 22:2 and
the Vulgate Latin version here renders it:
and he made a feast for his son Samson; the
Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions add, seven days, and so long this feast
was kept, Judges 14:12. Now
this marriage of Samson with a daughter of the Philistines was a type of the
marriage of Christ with his people, especially with the Gentile church, such as
were not of the commonwealth of Israel, but sinners of the Gentiles, very
ignorant of divine things, reproached by the Jews, and their calling an offence
to them; and may fitly express the love of Christ to his church, though
unworthy of it, which is a love of complacency and delight, arising from his
own good will and pleasure, and not owing to any superior beauty, excellence,
worth, or worthiness in them, they being no better than others, children of
wrath, even as others, see Judges 15:2 as well
as there is an agreement in the manner of his obtaining and betrothing her,
which was by applying to his father to get her for him, and being got and
given, be betrothed her; so Christ asked his people of his father to be his
spouse, which request being obtained, he betrothed them to himself in
righteousness; and the Gospel feast, or ministry of the word, is kept and
continued on account of it, Psalm 21:2.
Judges 14:11 11 And it happened, when they
saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him.
YLT
11and it cometh to pass when
they see him, that they take thirty companions, and they are with him.
And it came to pass; when they saw him,.... That is,
the Philistines, the citizens of Timnath, when they saw that he was come to
consummate his marriage:
that they brought thirty companions to be with him; to be the
bridegroom's men, or children of the bridechamber, as they are called, Matthew 9:15 or
friends of the bridegroom, John 3:29 to keep
him company during the nuptial feast: this they did according to custom, and in
honour and respect unto him; though some think, and so JosephusF12Ut
supra. (Antiqu. l. 5. c. 8. sect. 6.) , that they were brought to be guards
upon him, observing that he was a man of great might, strength, and courage, so
that they were afraid of him, lest he should have some design upon them; but it
is not certain that there was anything very visible or terrible in him, more
than in another man, that showed him to be of extraordinary courage and strength,
since it was but at times the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and as yet he
had done nothing to their knowledge which showed him to be such; had they
indeed known of his encounter with the lion, they might have had such thoughts
of him, but this they knew nothing of.
Judges 14:12 12 Then Samson said to them,
“Let me pose a riddle to you. If you can correctly solve and explain it to me
within the seven days of the feast, then I will give you thirty linen garments
and thirty changes of clothing.
YLT
12And Samson saith to them,
`Let me, I pray you, put forth to you a riddle; if ye certainly declare it to
me [in] the seven days of the banquet, and have found [it] out, then I have
given to you thirty linen shirts, and thirty changes of garments;
And Samson said unto them,.... His thirty
companions, very likely on the first day of the feast:
I will now put forth a riddle to you: a secret,
hidden, abstruse thing, not easy to be understood; a dark saying, wrapped up in
figurative terms; and this he proposed as an amusement to them, to exercise
their wits, which it seems was usual to entertain guests with, and might be
both pleasing and profitable:
if you can certainly declare it unto me within the seven days of
the feast; for so long the nuptial feast was usually kept, see Genesis 29:27. If
they could find it out; and with clearness and certainty explain the riddle to
him within that period of time, which was giving them time enough to do it in:
then I will give you thirty sheets, and thirty change of garments: that is,
every man one of each. By "sheets" he means, as Kimchi and Ben Melech
interpret it, a covering of the body in the night next to the flesh, in which a
man lies, and was made of linen; meaning either what we call shirts, or bed
sheet, and by change of raiment, a suit of clothes worn in the daytime.
Judges 14:13 13 But if you cannot explain it
to me, then you shall give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of
clothing.” And they said to him, “Pose your riddle, that we may hear it.”
YLT
13and if ye are not able to
declare [it] to me, then ye have given to me thirty linen shirts, and thirty
changes of garments.' And they say to him, `Put forth thy riddle, and we hear
it!'
But if ye cannot declare it unto me,.... Explain the riddle
in the space of time allowed:
then shall ye give me thirty sheets, and thirty change of garments; so many
shirts and suits of apparel:
and they said unto him, put forth thy riddle that we may hear it; not thereby
to judge whether they would agree to his proposals, but hereby suggesting that
they accepted his terms and conditions, either to give or receive the above
premium, if they did or did not hit on the explanation of the riddle.
Judges 14:14 14 So he said to them: “Out
of the eater came something to eat, And out of the strong came something
sweet.” Now for three days they could not explain the riddle.
YLT
14And he saith to them: `Out
of the eater came forth meat, And out of the strong came forth sweetness;' and
they were not able to declare the riddle [in] three days.
And he said unto them, out of the eater came forth meat,.... Out of a
devouring eater, such as the lion is, came forth honey, or that was taken out
of it, which Samson, and his father and mother, ate of, and which was the
common food of some persons, as of John the Baptist:
and out of the strong came forth sweetness: not only out
of that which was strong in body while alive, but of a strong and ill scent, as
the carcass of a dead lion is, and out of that came forth honey, than which
nothing is sweeter. JosephusF13Antiqu. l. 5. c. 8. sect. 6.
expresses it,"that which devours all things furnishes out pleasant food,
when that itself is altogether unpleasant:"
and they could not in three days expound the riddle; so long they
laboured to find it out, but then began to despair of it.
Judges 14:15 15 But it came to pass on the
seventh[a] day that
they said to Samson’s wife, “Entice your husband, that he may explain the
riddle to us, or else we will burn you and your father’s house with fire. Have
you invited us in order to take what is ours? Is that not so?”
YLT
15And it cometh to pass, on
the seventh day, that they say to Samson's wife, `Entice thy husband, that he
declare to us the riddle, lest we burn thee and the house of thy father with
fire; to possess us have ye called for us? is it not?'
And it came to pass on the seventh day,.... Not on
the seventh day of the feast, for some time before that they applied to his
wife, and she pressed him hard to disclose it; but on the sabbath day, as
Kimchi, and so Jarchi says, on the seventh day of the week, not on the seventh
day of the feast, for it was the seventh day of the feast; this is so clear,
that the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions, instead of the seventh, read
the fourth day:
that they said unto Samson's wife, entice thy husband, that he may
declare unto us the riddle; that is, persuade him to tell the meaning
of it to her, that she might declare it to them:
lest we burn thee and thy father's house with fire; in which she
now was, not as yet being taken home to her husband, and her in it; this they
said to terrify her, and make her importunate with Samson to explain the riddle
to her, if he had any value for her, and her life:
have ye called us to take that we have? invited them
to the wedding feast, to strip them of their clothes, and even take their very
shirts off of their backs, which they must have been obliged to part with, if
they could not explain the riddle, or send for other suits and shirts from
their own houses: "is it not so?" verily this is the case, nor can it
be understood otherwise than a contrived business between thee and thy husband,
to get our raiment, woollen and linen, from us.
Judges 14:16 16 Then Samson’s wife wept on
him, and said, “You only hate me! You do not love me! You have posed a riddle
to the sons of my people, but you have not explained it to me.” And he
said to her, “Look, I have not explained it to my father or my mother;
so should I explain it to you?”
YLT
16And Samson's wife weepeth
for it, and saith, `Thou hast only hated me, and hast not loved me; the riddle
thou hast put forth to the sons of my people -- and to me thou hast not
declared it;' and he saith to her, `Lo, to my father and to my mother I have
not declared [it] -- and to thee I declare [it]!'
And Samson's wife wept before him,.... When she came to him
to get out of him the explanation of the riddle, thinking that her tears would
move him to it:
and said, thou dost but hate me, and lovest me not: another
artifice she used, well knowing he could not bear to have his affection called
in question, which was now very strong, as is usual with newly married persons:
thou hast put forth a riddle unto the children of my people; her
countrymen, fellow citizens, and neighbour, and could not but be dear to her,
and respected by her; so that what affected and afflicted them must have some
influence upon her:
and hast not told me; that is, the explanation
of it, otherwise it is likely she had heard the riddle itself told:
and he said unto her behold, l have not told it my father nor my
mother, and shall I tell it thee? his parents he was
greatly indebted to, for whom he had the highest reverence and esteem, whose
fidelity and taciturnity he had sufficient knowledge of, and yet he had not
thought fit to impart it to them; how therefore could she expect to be trusted
with such a secret, with whom he had not been long acquainted, not long enough
to know whether she could keep it or not?
Judges 14:17 17 Now she had wept on him
the seven days while their feast lasted. And it happened on the seventh day
that he told her, because she pressed him so much. Then she explained the
riddle to the sons of her people.
YLT
17And she weepeth for it the
seven days [in] which their banquet hath been, and it cometh to pass on the
seventh day that he declareth [it] to her, for she hath distressed him; and she
declareth the riddle to the sons of her people.
And she wept before him the seven days, while the feast lasted,.... Those
that remained of the seven days, from the fourth to this time, as Kimchi seems
rightly to interpret it; though some think she began to beseech him with tears,
on the first day of the feast, to impart the secret to her for her own
satisfaction; and then, after the men had urged her on the fourth day to
persuade her husband to it, she continued pressing him more earnestly with
tears unto the seventh day. Some, as Abarbinel observes, and to whom he seems
to incline, think there were fourteen days, seven days before the festival
began, on the last of which they importuned her to try to get the secret from
him, Judges 14:15, and
that she continued pressing all the second seven days; but it seems quite clear
that it was at the beginning of the seven days of the feast that the riddle was
put, which was to be explained within that time, Judges 14:12.
and it came to pass on the seven day, that he told her, because
she lay sore upon him; pressed him most earnestly with her entreaties, cries, and
tears:
and she told the riddle to the children of her people; though she
knew it would be to her husband's detriment, and that he must be obliged to give
them thirty sheets of linen, and as many suits of apparel, and though it is
probable she had promised not to tell them.
Judges 14:18 18 So the men of the city
said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down: “What is
sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion?” And he said to
them: “If you had not plowed with my heifer, You would not have solved my
riddle!”
YLT
18And the men of the city say
to him on the seventh day, before the sun goeth in: -- `What [is] sweeter than
honey? And what stronger than a lion?' And he saith to them: `Unless ye had
ploughed with my heifer, Ye had not found out my riddle.'
And the men of the city said unto him, on the seventh day, before
the sun went down,.... And so soon, enough to free them from the obligation they
otherwise would have been under, to have given him the sheets and changes of
raiment agreed unto:
what is sweeter than honey? nothing, at least that
was known, sugar not being invented. Julian the emperorF14Opera,
par. 9. epist. 24. , in commendation of figs, shows, from various authors, that
nothing is sweeter than they, excepting honey:
and what is stronger than a lion? no creature is, it is
the strongest among beasts, Proverbs 30:30.
HomerF15Odyss. 4. ver. 336. gives the epithet of strong to a lion:
and he said unto them, if ye had not ploughed with my heifer; meaning his
wife, whom he compares to an heifer, young, wanton, and unaccustomed to the
yokeF16Vid. Horat. Carmin, l. 2. ode 5. Graja. "Juvenca
venit". Ovid. ep. 5. ver. 117. ; and by "ploughing" with her, he
alludes to such creatures being employed therein, making use of her to get the
secret out of him, and then plying her closely to obtain it from her; and this
diligent application and search of theirs, by this means to inform themselves,
was like ploughing up ground; they got a discovery of that which before lay
hid, and without which they could never have had the knowledge of, as he adds:
ye had not found out my riddle; the explanation of it.
Ben Gersome and Abarbinel interpret ploughing of committing adultery with her;
in which sense the phrase is used by Greek and Latin writersF17Vid.
Bochart. Hierozoic par. 1. l. 2. c. 41. col. 406. ; but the first sense is
best, for it is not said, "ploughed my heifer", but with her.
Judges 14:19 19 Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon him
mightily, and he went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty of their men, took
their apparel, and gave the changes of clothing to those who had
explained the riddle. So his anger was aroused, and he went back up to his
father’s house.
YLT
19And the Spirit of Jehovah
prospereth over him, and he goeth down to Ashkelon, and smiteth of them thirty
men, and taketh their armour, and giveth the changes to those declaring the
riddle; and his anger burneth, and he goeth up to the house of his father;
And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him,.... The
Spirit of might from the Lord, as the Targum; which filled him with zeal and
courage, animating him to the following undertaking, and increased his bodily
strength to perform it:
and he went down to Ashkelon; one of the five
principal cities of the Philistines; it lay near the Mediterranean sea, and,
according to BuntingF18Travels of the Patriarchs, &c. p. 116. ,
was twenty four miles from Timnath; why he went so far, is not easy to say;
some think there was some grand solemnity or festival observed there at this
time, which he knew of, when persons put on their best suits of apparel, and
such he wanted: and slew thirty men of them; in vindication of which, it may be
observed, that Samson was now raised up of God to be judge of Israel; and that
he acted now as such, and under the direction and impulse of the Spirit of God,
and the persons he slew were the common enemies of Israel; and if now observing
a festival in honour of their gods, they were justly cut off for their
idolatry:
and took their spoil; their clothes off their
backs, stripped them of their apparel, and even of their shirts, all which he
brought away with him: and here it may be observed, that though Samson was a
Nazarite, yet not a common one, and was an extraordinary person, and not in all
things bound to the law of the Nazarites; at least that law was dispensed with
in various instances relative to him, as taking honey out of the carcass of the
lion, and here stripping dead bodies which were defiling, and other things:
and gave change of garments unto them which expounded the riddle; to the thirty
companions, to whom it was proposed, each man a suit of apparel taken from the
thirty men he slew at Ashkelon, and sheets or shirts also no doubt, though not
expressed. Indeed some have thought, because they did not find out the riddle
of themselves, he did not give them the whole premium, and that by their own
consent:
and his anger was kindled; against his wife, for
her treachery and unfaithfulness to him, and against his companions for their
deceitful usage of him, and against the citizens of the place, who perhaps laughed
at him, being thus tricked and deceived:
and he went up to his father's house; left his
wife, and her relations, and his companions, and the men of Timnath, and betook
himself to his father's house again, as if he had been never married; his
parents very probably had returned before him.
Judges 14:20 20 And Samson’s wife was given
to his companion, who had been his best man.
YLT
20and Samson's wife becometh
his companion's, who [is] his friend.
But Samson's wife was given to his companion,.... By her
father, and with her consent, both being affronted and provoked by Samson
leaving her, who judged her not only to be injured, but hereby discharged from
him, and free to marry another:
and whom he had used as his friend; though there were thirty
of them that were his companions, yet there was one of them that was the
principal of them, and was the most intimate with him, whom he used in the most
friendly manner, and admitted to a more free conversation than the rest, the
same that is called the friend of the bridegroom, John 3:29 while the
others were called the children of the bridechamber, Matthew 9:15. It is
not unlikely that this person had too much intimacy with Samson's wife before,
and so had the secret of the riddle from her, and so very readily married her,
as soon as Samson departed; and all this furnished out an occasion and
opportunity, which Samson sought for, to be revenged on the Philistines, as in
the following chapter.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)