Judges 14:14

14 He said to them, "Out of the eater there came something to eat. Out of the strong there came something sweet." For three days they couldn't tell the answer to the riddle.

Judges 14:14 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 14:14

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. Josephus F13 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.


FOOTNOTES:

F13 Antiqu. l. 5. c. 8. sect. 6.

Judges 14:14 In-Context

12 Then Samson said to them, "Let me tell you a riddle. If you can figure it out and tell me the answer within the seven days of the feast, I'll give you thirty linen robes and thirty sets of clothes.
13 But if you can't tell me the answer, then it's you who have to give me thirty linen robes and thirty sets of clothes." So they replied to him, "Tell your riddle; let's hear it."
14 He said to them, "Out of the eater there came something to eat. Out of the strong there came something sweet." For three days they couldn't tell the answer to the riddle.
15 On the fourth day they said to Samson's wife, "Seduce your husband so he'll tell us the answer to the riddle, or else we'll set fire to you and your household. Were we invited here just to become poor?"
16 So Samson's wife cried on his shoulder and said, "You hate me! You don't love me! You told a riddle to my people but didn't tell me the answer." He replied to her, "Look, I haven't even told the answer to my father and mother. Why should I tell it to you?"
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