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14
1 One day Samson went to Timnah, where a young Philistine woman attracted his attention. 2 He went back home and told his father and mother, “A Philistine woman in Timnah caught my attention. Now get her for me because I want to marry her.”
3 But his father and mother replied, “Can't you find a young woman from our tribe or from our own people? Do you have to go to the heathen*Literally, “uncircumcised.” Philistines to get a wife?”
But Samson told his father, “Just get her for me, because she's†“She”: this is emphatic in the Hebrew, indicating Samson's determination that this particular woman become his wife. the one I find attractive.”
4 (His father and mother didn't realize that this was in the Lord's plans, who was looking for an opportunity to deal with the Philistines; because at that time the Philistines ruled over Israel.)
5 Samson went to Timnah with his father and mother. When they passed the Timnah vineyards, all of a sudden a young lion came out roaring and attacked him. 6 The Spirit of the Lord swept over him, and he ripped the lion apart with his bare hands‡“Bare hands”: literally “but there was nothing in his hand,” in other words, he had no weapon. as easily as ripping apart a young goat. But he didn't tell his father or mother what he'd done. Then he went on his way. 7 When Samson talked with the woman he decided she was right for him.
8 Later on when Samson returned to marry her, he turned off the road to look for the lion's carcass. Inside the body was a swarm of bees and their honey. 9 He scraped out some of the honey into his hands and ate it as he walked. When he got back to his father and mother, he gave some to them and they ate it. But he didn't tell them he'd taken the honey from a lion's carcass.§Even just touching anything from a dead body would have made them all ceremonially unclean.
10 While his father went to visit the woman, Samson held a drinking party there, because this was the custom among high-class young men. 11 When the Philistine people saw him, they arranged for thirty men to accompany him.*More likely as “minders” than “attendants,” since it seems the Philistines were rather fearful of what Samson might do.
12 “Let me pose a riddle to you,” Samson said to them. “If you can find its meaning and explain it to me during the seven days of the party, I'll give you thirty linen cloaks and thirty sets of clothes. 13 But if you can't explain it to me, you'll give me thirty linen cloaks and thirty sets of clothes.”
“Fine,” they replied. “Let's hear your riddle!”
14 “Food came out of the eater, and sweetness came out of the strong,” he said. Three days later they still hadn't worked it out. 15 On the fourth†“Fourth”: Septuagint reading. Hebrew “seventh.” day they came to Samson's wife and told her, “Use your charms to get your husband to explain the riddle and then tell us, or we'll burn you and all your family to death. Did you bring us here just to rob us?”
16 So Samson's wife went crying to him, saying, “You really do hate me, don't you! You don't love me at all! You have posed a riddle to my people, but haven't even explained it to me.”
“So?” he replied. “I haven't even explained it to my father or mother! Why should I explain it to you?”
17 She cried in front of him for the whole time of the party, and eventually on the seventh day he explained it to her because she nagged him so much. Then she explained the meaning of the riddle to the Philistine young men.
18 Before the sun set on the seventh day, the men of the town came to Samson and said, “What's sweeter than honey? What's stronger than a lion?”
“If you hadn't used my cow to plow with, you wouldn't have found out the meaning of my riddle,” Samson replied.
19 The Spirit of the Lord swept over him and he went to Ashkelon, killed thirty of their men, took their clothing, and gave it to those who had explained the riddle. Furiously angry, Samson went back to his father's house. 20 Samson's wife was given to his best man who had accompanied him at the wedding.

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*14:3 Literally, “uncircumcised.”

†14:3 “She”: this is emphatic in the Hebrew, indicating Samson's determination that this particular woman become his wife.

‡14:6 “Bare hands”: literally “but there was nothing in his hand,” in other words, he had no weapon.

§14:9 Even just touching anything from a dead body would have made them all ceremonially unclean.

*14:11 More likely as “minders” than “attendants,” since it seems the Philistines were rather fearful of what Samson might do.

†14:15 “Fourth”: Septuagint reading. Hebrew “seventh.”

© 2018 Dr. Jonathan Gallagher