Bible Commentaries

And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.

Timnath - now Tibna, about three miles from Zorah, his birthplace.

Saw a woman ... of the Philistines.

And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife.

Get her for me to wife. In the East, parents did, stud do in many cases still negotiate the marriage alliances for their sons. During their period of ascendancy, the Philistine invaders had settled in the towns; and the contact between them and the Israelites was often of such a friendly and familiar character as to issue in matrimonial relations. Moreover, the Philistines were not in the number of the seven devoted nations of Canaan, with whom the law forbade them to marry.

Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.

Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren - i:e., of thine own tribe; a Danite woman.

Samson said ... Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well - is literally, 'she is right in mine eyes;' not by her beautiful countenance or handsome figure, but right or fit for his purpose. And this throws light on the historian's remark in reference to the resistance of his parents; 'they knew not that it was of the Lord, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines,'-rather, from the Philistines-originating on their side. The Lord, by a course of retributive proceedings, was about to destroy the Philistine power; and the means which He meant to employ was not the forces of a numerous army, as in the case of the preceding judges, but the miraculous prowess of the single-handed champion of Israel. In these circumstances, the provocation to hostilities could only spring out of a private quarrel; and this marriage scheme was doubtless suggested by the secret influence of the Spirit as the best way of accomplishing the intended result.

But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.

No JFB commentary on this verse.

Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against him.

A young lion - Hebrew, a lion in the pride of his youthful prime. The wild mountain passes of Judah were the lairs of savage beasts; and most, or all, the 'lions' of Scripture occur in that wild country.

And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done.

The Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him , [ watits

And he went down, and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well.

Talked with the woman - i:e., espoused her; because the interview between the youth of different sexes is extremely rare and limited in the East, and generally after they, are betrothed.

And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion.

After a time he returned to take her - probably after the lapse of a year, the usual interval between the ceremonies of betrothal and marriage. It was spent by the bride elect with her parents in preparation for the nuptials; and at the proper time the bridegroom returned to take her home.

A swarm of bees and honey in the carcass of the lion. Aristotle and other eminent naturalists affirm that bees will not alight upon a dead carcass, nor taste the flesh. Nor is there in the fact mentioned by the sacred historian anything at variance with this statement of Aristotle. In such a climate the myriads of insects and the ravages of birds of prey, together with the influence of the solar rays, would in a few months put the carcass in a state inviting to such cleanly animals as bees. And the phrase, "after a time," which introduces the relation of this incident, shows that the hiving of the bees in the carcass of the lion was long posterior to the death of the animal, when it had been completely divested of all putrid effluvia, and reduced to a mere skeleton.

And he took thereof in his hands, and went on eating, and came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they did eat: but he told not them that he had taken the honey out of the carcase of the lion.

No JFB commentary on this verse.

So his father went down unto the woman: and Samson made there a feast; for so used the young men to do.

His father went down. The father is mentioned as the head and representative of Samson's relatives.

Samson made there a feast. The wedding festivity lasted a week. The men and women were probably entertained in separate apartments-the bride, with her female relatives, at her parents' house; Samson, in some place obtained for the occasion, as he was a stranger. A large number of paranymphs, or 'friends of the bridegroom,' furnished, no doubt, by the bride's family, attended his party, ostensibly to honour the nuptials, but really as spies on his proceedings.

And it came to pass, when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him.

No JFB commentary on this verse.

And Samson said unto them, I will now put forth a riddle unto you: if ye can certainly declare it me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty sheets and thirty change of garments:

I will now put forth a riddle. Riddles are a favourite Oriental amusement at festive entertainments of this nature, and rewards are offered to those who give the solution. Samson's riddle related to honey gotten in the lion's carcass. The prize he offered was thirty sindinim, or shirts-not sheets, as in our version, but wide linen garments worn next the body, only, it would seem, by persons of rank and wealth-and thirty changes of garments, probably woollen. Three days were passed in vain attempts to unravel the enigma. The festive week was fast drawing to a close, when they secretly enlisted the services of the newly-married wife.

But if ye cannot declare it me, then shall ye give me thirty sheets and thirty change of garments. And they said unto him, Put forth thy riddle, that we may hear it. No JFB commentary on these verses.

And she wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted: and it came to pass on the seventh day, that he told her, because she lay sore upon him: and she told the riddle to the children of her people.

She wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted. Three days of the seven had already elapsed before she was asked and had undertaken to do so. But the full week is mentioned, according to the Jewish mode of reckoning, which is followed in Scripture; just as it was foretold that our Lord should be three days and three nights in the grave, although He was not laid in the tomb until late in the first, and He left it very early on the third day. Having gotten the secret, she revealed it to her friends.

Ploughed with my heifer - a metaphor borrowed from agricultural pursuits, in which not only oxen, but cows and heifers, were, and continue to be, employed in dragging the plow. Divested of metaphor, the meaning is taken by some in a criminal sense, but probably bears no more than that they had resorted to the aid of his wife-an unworthy expedient, which might have been deemed by a man of less noble spirit and generosity as releasing him from the obligation to fulfill his bargain. The Philistine plow, as seen in the Shephelah at the present day, is a very primitive implement, formed of a rude piece of wood, pointed with iron, and attached to a short upright handle, which the plowman holds in one hand, while he urges the cattle with a pole in the other. It is usually drawn, as from Samson's simile it may be concluded it was in his days, by a couple of small bullocks, or heifers.

And the men of the city said unto him on the seventh day before the sun went down, What is sweeter than honey? and what is stronger than a lion? And he said unto them, If ye had not plowed with my heifer, ye had not found out my riddle.

No JFB commentary on this verse.

And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave change of garments unto them which expounded the riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his father's house.

Went down to Ashkelon, and slew thirty men. This town was about 24 miles west by southwest from Timnath; and his selection of this place, which was dictated by the Divine Spirit, was probably owing to its bitter hostility to Israel.

Took their spoil. The custom of stripping a slain enemy was not unknown in Hebrew warfare.

But Samson's wife was given to his companion, whom he had used as his friend.

His companion, whom he had used as his friend - i:e., 'the friend of the bridegroom,' who was the medium of communicating during the festivities between him and his bride; and whose acceptance of her hand, therefore, was an act of base treachery, that could not fail to provoke the just resentment of Samson.