Shofetim 14:18

18 And the anshei haIr said unto him on the yom hashevi’i before the sun went down, What is sweeter than devash? And what is stronger than an ari? And he said unto them, If ye had not plowed with my heifer, ye had not hit upon my khidah.

Shofetim 14:18 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 14:18

And the men of the city said unto him, on the seventh day,
before the sun went down
And so soon, enough to free them from the obligation they otherwise would have been under, to have given him the sheets and changes of raiment agreed unto:

what is sweeter than honey?
nothing, at least that was known, sugar not being invented. Julian the emperor ^F14, in commendation of figs, shows, from various authors, that nothing is sweeter than they, excepting honey:

and what is stronger than a lion?
no creature is, it is the strongest among beasts, ( Proverbs 30:30 ) . Homer ^F15 gives the epithet of strong to a lion:

and he said unto them, if ye had not ploughed with my heifer;
meaning his wife, whom he compares to an heifer, young, wanton, and unaccustomed to the yoke ^F16; and by "ploughing" with her, he alludes to such creatures being employed therein, making use of her to get the secret out of him, and then plying her closely to obtain it from her; and this diligent application and search of theirs, by this means to inform themselves, was like ploughing up ground; they got a discovery of that which before lay hid, and without which they could never have had the knowledge of, as he adds:

ye had not found out my riddle;
the explanation of it. Ben Gersome and Abarbinel interpret ploughing of committing adultery with her; in which sense the phrase is used by Greek and Latin writers ^F17; but the first sense is best, for it is not said, "ploughed my heifer", but with her.

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FOOTNOTES:

F14 Opera, par. 9. epist. 24.
F15 Odyss. 4. ver. 336.
F16 Vid. Horat. Carmin, l. 2. ode 5. Graja. "Juvenca venit". Ovid. ep. 5. ver. 117.
F17 Vid. Bochart. Hierozoic par. 1. l. 2. c. 41. col. 406.

Shofetim 14:18 In-Context

16 And the isha of Shimshon wept before him, and said, Thou dost but hate me, and lovest me not; thou hast put forth a khidah unto the bnei ami, and hast not told it me. And he said unto her, Hinei, I have not told it avi nor immi, and shall I tell it thee?

17 And she wept before him the shivat hayamim, while their mishteh lasted; and it came to pass on the yom hashevi’i, that he told her, because of the pressing of her nagging; and she told the khidah to the bnei of her Am (People).

18 And the anshei haIr said unto him on the yom hashevi’i before the sun went down, What is sweeter than devash? And what is stronger than an ari? And he said unto them, If ye had not plowed with my heifer, ye had not hit upon my khidah.

19 And the Ruach Hashem came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon and struck down shloshim ish of them and took as spoil their garments and gave unto them which expounded the khidah. And his af (anger) was kindled, and he went up to his bais avi.

20 But the isha of Shimshon was given to his companion, who had been his best man (i.e., his Shoshvin. See Yochanan 3:29 OJBC).