---
title: "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible -  Judges 14"
description: "CHAPTER 14   :-. SAMSON DESIRES
A WIFE OF THE
PHILISTINES. 1, 2. Timnath—now Tibna, about
three miles from Zorah, his birthplace. saw a woman . . . of the"
image: "/images/missing.jpg"
url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/judges/14"
---

CHAPTER 14

. SAMSON DESIRES
A WIFE OF THE
PHILISTINES.

**1, 2. Timnath**—now Tibna, about
three miles from Zorah, his birthplace.
**saw a woman . . . of the
Philistines; and told his father and his mother, and said, . . . get
her for me to wife**—In the East parents did, and do in many
cases still, negotiate the marriage alliances for their sons. During
their period of ascendency, the Philistine invaders had settled in
the towns; and the intercourse between them and the Israelites was
often of such a friendly and familiar character as to issue in
matrimonial relations. Moreover, the Philistines were not in the
number of the seven devoted nations of Canaan [] —with whom the law forbade them to marry.

**3, 4. Is there never a woman among
the daughters of thy brethren**—that is, "of thine own
tribe"—a Danite woman.
**Samson said . . . Get her for
me; for she pleaseth me well**—literally, "she is right in
mine eyes"; not by her beautiful countenance or handsome figure,
but *right* or *fit for his purpose.* And this throws light
on the historian's remark in reference to the resistance of his
parents: they "knew not that it was of the Lord, that he sought
an occasion against the Philistines"—rather, "*from*
the Philistines"—originating on their side. The Lord, by a
course of retributive proceedings, was about to destroy the
Philistine power, and the means which He meant to employ was not the
forces of a numerous army, as in the case of the preceding judges,
but the miraculous prowess of the single-handed champion of Israel.
In these circumstances, the provocation to hostilities could only
spring out of a *private* quarrel, and this marriage scheme was
doubtless suggested by the secret influence of the Spirit as the best
way of accomplishing the intended result.
. HE KILLS
A LION.

**5-9. a young lion**—*Hebrew,*
a lion in the pride of his youthful prime. The wild mountain passes
of Judah were the lairs of savage beasts; and most or all the "lions"
of Scripture occur in that wild country. His rending and killing the
shaggy monster, without any weapon in his hand, were accomplished by
that superhuman courage and strength which the *occasional*
influences of the Spirit enabled him to put forth, and by the
exertion of which, in such private incidental circumstances, he was
gradually trained to confide in them for the more public work to
which he was destined.

**7. he went down, and talked with the
woman**—The social intercourse between the youth of different
sexes is extremely rare and limited in the East, and generally so
after they are betrothed.

**8. after a time he returned to take
her**—probably after the lapse of a year, the usual interval
between the ceremonies of betrothal and marriage. It was spent by the
bride elect with her parents in preparation for the nuptials; and at
the proper time the bridegroom returned to take her home.
**he turned aside to see the
carcass of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey
in the carcass of the lion**—In such a climate, the myriads of
insects and the ravages of birds of prey, together with the
influences of the solar rays, would, in a few months, put the carcass
in a state inviting to such cleanly animals as bees.
[Judges 14:10](../../../kjv/judges/14/10);
[Judges 14:11](../../../kjv/judges/14/11). HIS
MARRIAGE FEAST.

**5-9. a young lion**—*Hebrew,*
a lion in the pride of his youthful prime. The wild mountain passes
of Judah were the lairs of savage beasts; and most or all the "lions"
of Scripture occur in that wild country. His rending and killing the
shaggy monster, without any weapon in his hand, were accomplished by
that superhuman courage and strength which the *occasional*
influences of the Spirit enabled him to put forth, and by the
exertion of which, in such private incidental circumstances, he was
gradually trained to confide in them for the more public work to
which he was destined.

**10, 11. his father went down**—The
father is mentioned as the head and representative of Samson's
relatives.
**Samson made there a feast**—The
wedding festivity lasted a week. The men and women were probably
entertained in separate apartments—the bride, with her female
relatives, at her parents' house; Samson, in some place obtained for
the occasion, as he was a stranger. A large number of paranymphs, or
"friends of the bridegroom," furnished, no doubt, by the
bride's family, attended his party, ostensibly to honor the nuptials,
but really as spies on his proceedings.
. HIS RIDDLE.

**12-18. I will now put forth a
riddle**—Riddles are a favorite Oriental amusement at festive
entertainments of this nature, and rewards are offered to those who
give the solution. Samson's riddle related to honey in the lion's
carcass. The prize he offered was thirty *sindinim,* or shirts,
and thirty changes of garments, probably woolen. Three days were
passed in vain attempts to unravel the enigma. The festive week was
fast drawing to a close when they secretly enlisted the services of
the newly married wife, who having got the secret, revealed it to her
friends.

**18. If ye had not plowed with my
heifer, ye had not found out my riddle**—a metaphor borrowed from
agricultural pursuits, in which not only oxen but cows and heifers
were, and continue to be, employed in dragging the plough. Divested
of metaphor, the meaning is taken by some in a criminal sense, but
probably means no more than that they had resorted to the aid of his
wife—an unworthy expedient, which might have been deemed by a man
of less noble spirit and generosity as releasing him from the
obligation to fulfil his bargain.
[Judges 14:19](../../../kjv/judges/14/19);
[Judges 14:20](../../../kjv/judges/14/20). HE
SLAYS THIRTY
PHILISTINES.

**19, 20. went down to Ashkelon, and
slew thirty men of them**—This town was about twenty-four miles
west by southwest from Timnah; and his selection of this place, which
was dictated by the Divine Spirit, was probably owing to its bitter
hostility to Israel.
**took their spoil**—The
custom of stripping a slain enemy was unknown in Hebrew warfare.

**20. Samson's wife was given to his
companion, whom he had used as his friend**—that is, "the
friend of the bridegroom," who was the medium of communicating
during the festivities between him and his bride. The acceptance of
her hand, therefore, was an act of base treachery, that could not
fail to provoke the just resentment of Samson.

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