Judges chapter 14

English Standard Version

1Samson went down to Timnah, and at Timnah he saw one of the daughters of the Philistines. 2Then he came up and told his father and mother, "I saw one of the daughters of the Philistines at Timnah. Now get her for me as my wife." 3But his father and mother said to him, "Is there not a woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you must go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?" But Samson said to his father, "Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes."

4His father and mother did not know that it was from the Lord, for he was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines. At that time the Philistines ruled over Israel.

5Then Samson went down with his father and mother to Timnah, and they came to the vineyards of Timnah. And behold, a young lion came toward him roaring. 6Then the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and although he had nothing in his hand, he tore the lion in pieces as one tears a young goat. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done. 7Then he went down and talked with the woman, and she was right in Samson 's eyes.

8After some days he returned to take her. And he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and behold, there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey. 9He scraped it out into his hands and went on, eating as he went. And he came to his father and mother and gave some to them, and they ate. But he did not tell them that he had scraped the honey from the carcass of the lion.

10His father went down to the woman, and Samson prepared a feast there, for so the young men used to do. 11As soon as the people saw him, they brought thirty companions to be with him. 12And Samson said to them, "Let me now put a riddle to you. If you can tell me what it is, within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes, 13but if you cannot tell me what it is, then you shall give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes." And they said to him, "Put your riddle, that we may hear it." 14And he said to them, "Out of the eater came something to eat. Out of the strong came something sweet." And in three days they could not solve the riddle.

15On the fourth day they said to Samson 's wife, "Entice your husband to tell us what the riddle is, lest we burn you and your father 's house with fire. Have you invited us here to impoverish us?" 16And Samson 's wife wept over him and said, "You only hate me; you do not love me. You have put a riddle to my people, and you have not told me what it is." And he said to her, "Behold, I have not told my father nor my mother, and shall I tell you?" 17She wept before him the seven days that their feast lasted, and on the seventh day he told her, because she pressed him hard. Then she told the riddle to her people. 18And the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down, "What is sweeter than honey? What is stronger than a lion?" And he said to them, "If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have found out my riddle."

19And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon and struck down thirty men of the town and took their spoil and gave the garments to those who had told the riddle. In hot anger he went back to his father 's house. 20And Samson 's wife was given to his companion, who had been his best man.

What does Judges chapter 14 mean?

Samson was set apart, even before birth, as a Nazirite (Judges 13:5, 24–25). His unique mission as a judge (Judges 2:16–19) is not to achieve Israel's redemption, but to "begin to save Israel from the hand from the Philistines." The nature of Samson's early life might look like one deeply connected to God. Immediately, however, that image falls apart. The Samson we meet in his adulthood does not seem interested in this mission. Nor does he seem committed to maintaining a godly character.

Samson travels the short distance from his parents' home in Zorah to the Philistine city of Timnah. There he sees and likes a young Philistine woman. He returns home and demands that his parents get her for his wife. They object and ask him if there isn't any Israelite woman he could marry. Philistines were not among the explicitly-forbidden nations, from which Israel was never to take wives (Deuteronomy 7:1–4). Yet they are just as idolatrous, opposed to God, and currently oppressing the nation. Samson's parents seem to object more out of distaste than piety. Samson blatantly rejects any reasons other than personal preference: this is what he wants, so this is what he intends to get (Judges 14:1–3).

What follows is a statement which is key to understanding the entire story of Samson. Despite being irresponsible, impulsive, violent, and blatantly sinful, God empowers Samson in his conflicts with the Philistines (Judges 14:19; 15:14–15; 16:3). Here, God allows this designated man to insist on marriage into a pagan culture. That paradox is resolved by noting that God plans to use Samson as an instigator. The Lord's intent is for Samson to disrupt the Philistine's sense of control over Israel. Samson's poor choices will result in his own misery, but God will also arrange events so that they help Israel, in the end (Judges 14:4).

On his way to Timnah to make wedding arrangements, Samson is attacked by a young lion. The Lord's Spirit supernaturally empowers him. He tears the lion apart with his bare hands. He tells no one—perhaps because this is the first time such a thing has happened. He proceeds to Timnah to meet the young woman and talk with her. This affirms his infatuation; he resolves that marrying her is the right thing to do (Judges 14:5–7).

Once the wedding arrangements are made, Samson once again returns to Timnah for the wedding feast. Scripture does not say how much time passed between visits, but it might have been many weeks. On the way, he stops to see the lion's carcass. He discovers something extremely unusual: a beehive inside the remains. Whether this means a hive in the lion's skull, or the dried remnants of skin and bone, no details are given. Samson scoops out honey and eats some—a ritually unclean act. He even shares the honey with his parents without telling them what happened (Judges 14:8–9).

Samson hosts a traditional week-long wedding feast. This may have involved copious amounts of alcohol. Thirty Philistine companions are assigned to him for the week. He challenges them to a bet. If they can solve his "riddle" within the seven-day celebration, he will give each of them a set of clothes. If they cannot solve it, each of them will give him a set of clothes. True riddles can be solved by clever thinking; the guests might have thought Samson was adding entertainment to a gift. They agree, not realizing that what Samson has in mind is a blatantly unfair trick (Judges 14:10–13).

Samson's challenge is not a true "riddle," but a poetic reference to a secret only he knows: the lion carcass with a beehive in it. After three days, the Philistine men seem to suspect this is not a fair challenge. Frustrated, they threaten to kill Samson's bride and her family if she does not get the answer. Likely terrified, she manipulates Samson to tell her the secret. When he finally gives in, she tells her fellow townspeople, and they declare the answer to the puzzle on the last day of the feast. Samson immediately realizes that he's been betrayed, reacting with a crude insult of his bride (Judges 14:14–18).

In a rage, Samson heads to the fortified Philistine city of Ashkelon, about a full day's travel away. Once again empowered by the Spirit to spark rebellion against the Philistines (Judges 14:4), he attacks thirty men there. He takes their clothes and returns to Timnah to pay off his wager. He then leaves, without the bride, and likely without even consummating the marriage. Thinking that Samson will not return, his bride's father gives her to one of the groomsmen (Judges 14:19–20).

Samson will return after some time, while assuming he still has marital rights with the Philistine woman. When he realizes she's been given to someone else, his rage will again boil over (Judges 15:1–3).

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Book Summary
The Book of Judges describes Israel's history from the death of Joshua to shortly before Israel's first king, Saul. Israel fails to complete God's command to purge the wicked Canaanites from the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4). This results in a centuries-long cycle where Israel falls into sin and is oppressed by local enemies. After each oppression, God sends a civil-military leader, labeled using a Hebrew word loosely translated into English as "judge." These appointed rescuers would free Israel from enemy control and govern for a certain time. After each judge's death, the cycle of sin and oppression begins again. This continues until the people of Israel choose a king, during the ministry of the prophet-and-judge Samuel (1 Samuel 1—7).

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Chapter Context
This chapter leaps forward from Samson's birth (Judges 13:5, 24–25) to somewhere in his adulthood. He demands a Philistine woman for a wife. At the wedding feast, he proposes a bet with thirty Philistine men. They learn the answer to his trick question by threatening to kill the bride. Samson attacks thirty Philistines in another town to secure the payment for the wager. His bride is given to one of the men who threatened her. Samson will return, expecting marital rights, only to be told she has been given to someone else (Judges 15:1–2).

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