Judges 14:14-19

14 He replied, “Out of the eater, something to eat; out of the strong, something sweet.” For three days they could not give the answer.

15 On the fourth^[a] day, they said to Samson’s wife, “Coax your husband into explaining the riddle for us, or we will burn you and your father’s household to death. Did you invite us here to steal our property?”

16 Then Samson’s wife threw herself on him, sobbing, “You hate me! You don’t really love me. You’ve given my people a riddle, but you haven’t told me the answer.” “I haven’t even explained it to my father or mother,” he replied, “so why should I explain it to you?”

17 She cried the whole seven days of the feast. So on the seventh day he finally told her, because she continued to press him. She in turn explained the riddle to her people.

18 Before sunset on the seventh day the men of the town said to him, “What is sweeter than honey? What is stronger than a lion?” Samson said to them, “If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have solved my riddle.”

19 Then the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon him. He went down to Ashkelon, struck down thirty of their men, stripped them of everything and gave their clothes to those who had explained the riddle. Burning with anger, he returned to his father’s home.

Judges 14:14-19 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JUDGES 14

This chapter treats of Samson's courtship, and marriage of a Philistine woman, Jud 14:1-5 of his meeting with a young lion as he went courting, and of his slaying it, and afterwards finding honey in it, Jud 14:6-9, of a riddle which be framed out of this incident, and put to his companions at his marriage to solve, giving them seven days to do it in, with a promise of a reward, Jud 14:10-14 and of their solving it by means of his wife, who got the secret from him, Jud 14:15-18, which led him to slay thirty Philistines, to make good his promise of thirty sheets and changes of raiment, and to leave his newly married wife, who was given to his companion, Jud 14:19,20.

Cross References

• 1. ver 18
• 2. Judges 16:5; Ecclesiastes 7:26
• 3. S Leviticus 20:14; Judges 15:6
• 4. Judges 16:15
• 5. Esther 1:5
• 6. ver 14
• 7. Numbers 11:25; S Judges 3:10; Judges 6:34; Judges 11:29; Judges 13:25; Judges 15:14; 1 Samuel 11:6; 1 Samuel 16:13; 1 Kings 18:46; 2 Chronicles 24:20; Isaiah 11:2
• 8. S Joshua 13:3
• 9. 1 Samuel 11:6

Footnotes

• [a]. Some Septuagint manuscripts and Syriac; Hebrew "seventh"