Samson's Marriage

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Judges 14:1) And Samson went down to Timnath and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.

In the last chapter and post, Samson was born and was prophesied to be a Nazarite from birth, and he would begin to deliver the Israelites from the hand of the Philistines who had oppressed them for forty years.  Samson had now grown to adulthood and went to Timnath, a city within the tribe of Dan which was now in the hands of the Philistines.  He took special notice of a Philistine woman there.

(2) 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."

Samson told his parents about the woman he had seen and asked that they get her for him as a wife, which seems to have been the custom at that time.

(3) Then his father and his mother said to him, "Is there no woman among the daughters of your brethren or among all my people, that you go to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines?" And Samson said to his father, "Get her for me, for she pleases me well."

Samson's mother and father asked him if he could not find a wife among the daughters of his brethren or of his father's people, that he had to go to the uncircumcised and pagan Philistines to find a wife.  Samson told his father that he wanted that particular Philistine woman as she was the one who pleased him.

(4) But his father and his mother did not know that it was of the Lord, that He sought an occasion against the Philistines, for at that time, the Philistines had dominion over Israel.

However, Samson's parents did not realize that his desire for a Philistine woman was being used by the Lord for an occasion against the Philistines, for as we have already learned, the Philistines had dominion over Israel at that time.

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

Therefore, Samson and his parents went to Timnath.  They came into vineyards in Timnath where a young lion roared against Samson.

(6) And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and nothing in his hand, but he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done.

The Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson mightily and he tore apart the lion with his bare hands as easily as he might have torn apart a baby goat.  He must have been some distance away from his parents when he did this as they did not see him, and he did not tell them about it.

(7) And he went down and talked with the woman, and she pleased Samson well. 

Samson then went down to the woman and talked with her.  After conversation, she indeed still pleased Samson well.

(8) And after a time, he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and behold, a swarm of bees and honey in the carcass of the lion.

After some time, Samson returned to take the woman with him, and he turned aside a bit to see the carcass of the lion he had killed the time before.  He did, in fact, find it, and inside the carcass, which was surely dry bones by then, was a swarm of bees and honey.  This would seem to be a symbol of God's abundance and sweetness.

(9) And he took of it in his hands and went on, eating, and came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they did eat, but he did not tell them that he had taken the honey out of the carcass of the lion.

However, it appears that Samson disregarded the Nazarite vow that he should not touch any dead thing, when he took the honey out of the lion's carcass and ate it.  He gave of the honey to his parents, but he did not tell them where it had come from.

(10) So his father went down to the woman, and Samson made a feast there, for young men used to do so.

Samson's father went on to the woman Samson desired as wife while Samson prepared a feast there.

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

When the woman's family and companions saw Samson, they brought thirty companions to him, probably to be as groomsmen, children of the bridechamber (Matthew 9:15).

(12) And Samson said to them, "I will now put forth a riddle to you; if you can certainly declare it to me within the seven days of the feast and find it out, then I will give you thirty sheets and thirty changes of garments, (13) But if you cannot declare it to me, then you shall give me thirty sheets and thirty changes of garments." And they said to him, "Put forth your riddle that we may hear it."

Samson put forth a proposal to his groomsmen, probably just meant to be a form of entertainment in the seven days that the marriage feast would last.  He told them he would put forth a riddle and if they could answer it within the seven feast days, he would give them thirty sheets, bed clothes or linens, and thirty changes of garments for the day.  However, if they could not correctly answer the riddle, then they were to give him thirty sheets and thirty changes of garments.  It appears they accepted the challenge when they asked him to tell them his riddle.

(14) And he said to them "Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness." And they could not in three days explain the riddle.

Samson told them his riddle, that out of the eater (the devouring lion) came forth meat (food, something to eat), and out of the strong (strong in body, but in this instance, might refer to strong ill smell of the dead carcass), came forth sweetness (of course, the honey).  The groomsmen could not figure out the riddle for three days.  How could they, really?  It was not a common occurrence; it was something they would have had to see for themselves.

(15) And it came to pass on the seventh day that they said to Samson's wife, "Entice your husband that he may declare to us the riddle, lest we burn you and your father's house with fire. Have you called us to take what we have?"

On the seventh day, the men still had not figured out the riddle.  They went to Samson's new wife and told her to get Samson to tell the answer to the riddle, or else they would burn her and her father's house.  They had decided that she must have been a part of designing the riddle in a way to take from the groomsmen.

(16) And Samson's wife wept before him, and said, "You do but hate me and do not love me; you have put forth a riddle to the children of my people and have not told me." And he said to her, "Behold, I have not told my father nor my mother, and I shall tell you?"

Samson's wife cried before him, declaring that he must hate her and not love her, that he would put forth a secret riddle to her people and not tell her, his beloved, the answer.  However, he told her he had not revealed it to anyone, not his father or mother, so why should he feel compelled to tell her?  It wasn't personal.

(17) 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.

Samson's wife wept before him for seven days, the whole seven days of the wedding feast.  The seventh day that the groomsmen had been trying to figure out the riddle (verse 15) must have been seven days before the actual wedding feast began.  But now, definitely feeling pressure as she had been threatened by the men, she therefore pressured Samson to tell her the answer to the riddle, which he eventually did tell her on the seventh day of the feast, and she told it to the groomsmen of her people.

(18) And the men of the city said to 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 to them, "If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have found out my riddle."

The men of the city, at least the thirty of them to whom Samson had proposed the riddle, came to him before the end of that seventh day and gave him the answer to his riddle, honey and a lion.  He said that if they had not plied the answer out of his wife (whom he called a heifer), they would have never known the answer to his riddle.

(19) And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave change of garments to them who explained the riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his father's house. (20) But Samson's wife was given to his companion whom he had used as his friend.

The Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson, giving him the might and the strength, as it had been God's plan all along to use Samson to begin to deliver Israel out of the hands of the Philistines (Judges 13:5).  He went to Ashkelon, one of the principal cities of the Philistines, and killed thirty men, and took their spoil, their linens and clothing, and gave them to the men who had answered the riddle, as he had promised.  Samson's anger against his wife and the thirty groomsmen had then subsided, and he went back to his father's house.  However, his wife was given to the companion closest to Samson, the best man at his wedding.

In this chapter, we begin to see a flawed individual in Samson.  He was a Nazarite, devoted to God, yet he chose a Philistine pagan to be his wife and ate from a dead carcass.  He felt betrayed by his wife, yet he himself had betrayed his secret by telling her.  Then, in a fit of anger, he killed thirty different men than the ones he felt had deceived him.  However, we were told in verse 4, that this was from the Lord.  The Lord would not have someone purposely disobey his Nazarite vows, but the Lord used such a man as He knew would act as Samson did in order to begin to begin to deliver Israel out of the hands of the Philistines.  The Spirit of the Lord gave Samson strength, in verse 6, to tear a lion apart, and in verse 19, to kill thirty men.  The Lord gave Samson strength, but how he used and abused it, was all Samson.  God often used flawed individuals for His purposes.  Actually, He always used flawed individuals, as we are all flawed and sinful, but it should give us hope and encouragement that He can even use our own sinful selves.