Judges 14
14
1One day Samson went to Timnah, where a young Philistine woman attracted his attention. 2He went back home and told his father and mother, “A Philistine woman in Timnah caught my attention. Now get her for me because I want to marry her.”
3But his father and mother replied, “Can't you find a young woman from our tribe or from our own people? Do you have to go to the heathen#14:3. Literally, “uncircumcised.” Philistines to get a wife?”
But Samson told his father, “Just get her for me, because she's#14:3. “She”: this is emphatic in the Hebrew, indicating Samson's determination that this particular woman become his wife. the one I find attractive.”
4(His father and mother didn't realize that this was in the Lord's plans, who was looking for an opportunity to deal with the Philistines; because at that time the Philistines ruled over Israel.)
5Samson went to Timnah with his father and mother. When they passed the Timnah vineyards, all of a sudden a young lion came out roaring and attacked him. 6The Spirit of the Lord swept over him, and he ripped the lion apart with his bare hands#14:6. “Bare hands”: literally “but there was nothing in his hand,” in other words, he had no weapon. as easily as ripping apart a young goat. But he didn't tell his father or mother what he'd done. Then he went on his way. 7When Samson talked with the woman he decided she was right for him.
8Later on when Samson returned to marry her, he turned off the road to look for the lion's carcass. Inside the body was a swarm of bees and their honey. 9He scraped out some of the honey into his hands and ate it as he walked. When he got back to his father and mother, he gave some to them and they ate it. But he didn't tell them he'd taken the honey from a lion's carcass.#14:9. Even just touching anything from a dead body would have made them all ceremonially unclean.
10While his father went to visit the woman, Samson held a drinking party there, because this was the custom among high-class young men. 11When the Philistine people saw him, they arranged for thirty men to accompany him.#14:11. More likely as “minders” than “attendants,” since it seems the Philistines were rather fearful of what Samson might do.
12“Let me pose a riddle to you,” Samson said to them. “If you can find its meaning and explain it to me during the seven days of the party, I'll give you thirty linen cloaks and thirty sets of clothes. 13But if you can't explain it to me, you'll give me thirty linen cloaks and thirty sets of clothes.”
“Fine,” they replied. “Let's hear your riddle!”
14“Food came out of the eater, and sweetness came out of the strong,” he said. Three days later they still hadn't worked it out. 15On the fourth#14:15. “Fourth”: Septuagint reading. Hebrew “seventh.” day they came to Samson's wife and told her, “Use your charms to get your husband to explain the riddle and then tell us, or we'll burn you and all your family to death. Did you bring us here just to rob us?”
16So Samson's wife went crying to him, saying, “You really do hate me, don't you! You don't love me at all! You have posed a riddle to my people, but haven't even explained it to me.”
“So?” he replied. “I haven't even explained it to my father or mother! Why should I explain it to you?”
17She cried in front of him for the whole time of the party, and eventually on the seventh day he explained it to her because she nagged him so much. Then she explained the meaning of the riddle to the Philistine young men.
18Before the sun set on the seventh day, the men of the town came to Samson and said, “What's sweeter than honey? What's stronger than a lion?”
“If you hadn't used my cow to plow with, you wouldn't have found out the meaning of my riddle,” Samson replied.
19The Spirit of the Lord swept over him and he went to Ashkelon, killed thirty of their men, took their clothing, and gave it to those who had explained the riddle. Furiously angry, Samson went back to his father's house. 20Samson's wife was given to his best man who had accompanied him at the wedding.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
Judges 14
14
1And Samson went down to Timnah, and saw a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines. 2And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife. 3Then his father and his mother said unto him, 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? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well. 4But his father and his mother knew not that it was of Jehovah; for he sought an occasion against the Philistines. Now at that time the Philistines had rule over Israel.
5Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnah, and came to the vineyards of Timnah: and, behold, a young lion roared against him. 6And the Spirit of Jehovah came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid; and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done. 7And he went down, and talked with the woman, and she pleased Samson well. 8And after a while he returned to take her; and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey. 9And he took it into his hands, and went on, eating as he went; and he came to his father and mother, and gave unto them, and they did eat: but he told them not that he had taken the honey out of the body of the lion.
10And his father went down unto the woman: and Samson made there a feast; for so used the young men to do. 11And it came to pass, when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him. 12And Samson said unto them, Let me now put forth a riddle unto you: if ye can declare it unto me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of raiment; 13but if ye cannot declare it unto me, then shall ye give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of raiment. And they said unto him, Put forth thy riddle, that we may hear it. 14And he said unto them,
Out of the eater came forth food,
And out of the strong came forth sweetness.
And they could not in three days declare the riddle.
15And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said unto Samson’s wife, Entice thy husband, that he may declare unto us the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy father’s house with fire: have ye called us to impoverish us? is it not so? 16And Samson’s wife wept before him, and said, Thou dost but hate me, and lovest me not: thou hast put forth a riddle unto the children of my people, and hast not told it me. And he said unto her, Behold, I have not told it my father nor my mother, and shall I tell thee? 17And she wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted: and it came to pass on the seventh day, that he told her, because she pressed him sore; and she told the riddle to the children of her people. 18And the men of the city said unto 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 unto them,
If ye had not plowed with my heifer,
Ye had not found out my riddle.
19And the Spirit of Jehovah came mightily upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and smote thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave the changes of raiment unto them that declared the riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his father’s house. 20But Samson’s wife was given to his companion, whom he had used as his friend.
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