Richter 14:9

9 Und er nahm ihn in seine Hand und aß davon unterwegs und ging zu seinem Vater und zu seiner Mutter und gab ihnen, daß sie auch aßen. Er sagte ihnen aber nicht an, daß er den Honig aus des Löwen Leibe genommen hatte.

Richter 14:9 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 14:9

And he took thereof in his hands, and went on eating
Josephus F11 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.


FOOTNOTES:

F11 Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 5. c. 8. sect. 6.)

Richter 14:9 In-Context

7 Da er nun hinabkam redete er mit dem Weibe, und sie gefiel Simson in seinen Augen.
8 Und nach etlichen Tagen kam er wieder, daß er sie nähme; und trat aus dem Wege, daß er das Aas des Löwen besähe. Siehe, da war ein Bienenschwarm in dem Leibe des Löwen und Honig.
9 Und er nahm ihn in seine Hand und aß davon unterwegs und ging zu seinem Vater und zu seiner Mutter und gab ihnen, daß sie auch aßen. Er sagte ihnen aber nicht an, daß er den Honig aus des Löwen Leibe genommen hatte.
10 Und da sein Vater hinabkam zu dem Weibe, machte Simson daselbst eine Hochzeit, wie die Jünglinge zu tun pflegen. {~}
11 Und da sie ihn sahen, gaben sie ihm dreißig Gesellen zu, die bei ihm sein sollten.
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