Judges 14

Jud 14:1-5.

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

[De 7:1-3]

--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.

Jud 14:5-9.

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.

Jud 14:10, 11.

HIS

MARRIAGE

FEAST.

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.

Jud 14:12-18.

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.

Jud 14:19, 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.