Judges 14

1 One day [at a certain time, in a specific period] Samson [like the sun, a Danite and judge of Israel] went down [to a lower place, descended] to Timnah [a town in the hill country of Judah, meaning portion], where he saw [looked after, gazed at] a young [in her early years, youthful] Philistine [from the region of Philistia] woman [a female person, wife]. word study 2 So he returned [came up] and told [declared openly] his father [parent, ancestor] and mother [female parent, nurturer], “I have seen [looked upon, gazed at] a daughter [woman, female child] of the Philistines [immigrants from other places, non-Hebrew people] in Timnah [a town in the hill country of Judah, a portion]. Now [at this time, therefore] get [take, acquire] her for me as a wife [woman, spouse, companion].” word study 3 But his father [his parental guardians] and mother replied, “Can’t you find a young woman [a female, a daughter] among your relatives [kin, family members] or among any of our people [nation, community]? Must you go to the uncircumcised [those who have not received the covenant sign] Philistines [a pagan, Gentile nation] to get a wife [a spouse, a life partner]?” But Samson told his father [Abi, his paternal parent], “Get her for me, for she is pleasing [right, a delight] to my eyes [my sight, my perception].” word study 4 (Now his father [his parents] and mother did not know [were not aware, had no knowledge] this was from the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God], who was seeking [searching for, looking for an opportunity] an occasion [a chance, a purpose] to move against [to confront, to attack] the Philistines [the inhabitants of Philistia, a neighboring nation]; for [because, since] at that time [in that era, during that period] the Philistines [as a ruling power] were ruling [exercising dominion, in control] over Israel [the descendants of Jacob, God’s chosen people].) word study 5 Then Samson [the strong one, like the sun] went down [to a lower place, descended] to Timnah [a town in Judah, meaning portion] with his father [parent, ancestor] and mother [female parent, nurturer] and came to the vineyards [gardens for growing vines and crops] of Timnah [a place in Palestine]. Suddenly a young lion [a lion’s whelp] came roaring [shouting loudly, with a powerful voice] at him [toward him, in his direction], word study 6 and the Spirit [breath of life] of the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] came powerfully [mightily, with great strength] upon him, and he tore the lion apart [as one would tear a young goat, with ease] with his bare hands [unarmed, without any weapon] as one would tear a young goat [a kid, a juvenile goat]. But he did not tell [declare openly, reveal] his father [parent, ancestor] or mother [female parent, nurturer] what he had done [accomplished, made]. word study 7 Then Samson continued on his way [to go down, descending] down and spoke [to communicate, to talk] to the woman [a female person, wife], because she was pleasing [right, smooth, a delight] to his eyes [the source of sight, a window to the soul] [beautiful in his sight, lovely]. word study 8 When Samson returned [after a time, within a few days] later to take [get, receive] her, he left [turned aside, departed from] the road to see [look at, gaze upon] the lion’s carcass [dead body, remains], and in it was a swarm [congregation, gathering] of bees [community, industrious insects], along with their honey [sweet, valuable food]. word study 9 So he scooped [scraped, took] some honey [a sweet and valuable food] into his hands [the palm of his hand] and ate [devoured, consumed] it as he went along [walking, journeying]. And when he returned [came back, went back] to his father [a paternal figure, a leader] and mother [a maternal figure, a nurturer], he gave [offered, provided] some to them and they ate [consumed, devoured] it. But he did not tell [reveal, disclose] them that he had taken [removed, extracted] the honey from the lion’s carcass [body, corpse]. word study 10 Then his father [the patriarch, head of the family] went to visit [to see, to look upon] the woman [the bride, the female], and Samson [like the sun, a judge of Israel] prepared [made, arranged] a feast [a banquet, a celebration] there [in that place, at that time], as was customary [the usual practice, the tradition] for the bridegroom [the young man, the groom]. word study 11 And when the Philistines [the citizens of that place] saw him [came into view, perceived], they selected [brought, took] thirty [thirtieth in number] men to accompany [be with, near] him [as companions, friends]. word study 12 “Let me tell you a riddle [propose a puzzle, put forth a challenge],” Samson [the Danite judge, a Nazarite for life] said to them. “If you can solve [declare, find out] it for me within the seven days of the feast [banquet, celebration], I will give you thirty [a multitude, numerous] linen garments [fine linen, shirts] and thirty sets of clothes [changes of raiment, garments]. word study 13 But if you cannot [are unable to, lack the power to] solve it, you must give me thirty [a multiple of ten and three] linen garments [fine, white, or priestly robes] and thirty sets of clothes [changes of clothing, or garments for special occasions].” “Tell us your riddle [propose your puzzle, or pose your question],” they replied. “Let us hear [listen to, or pay attention to] it.” word study 14 So he said to them: “Out of the eater [one who consumes] came something to eat [food, sustenance], and out of the strong [fierce, powerful] came something sweet [pleasant, delightful].” For three [a period of testing, a short time] days they were unable [lacked the power, could not] to explain [to tell, declare] the riddle [a puzzling question, an enigma]. word study 15 So on the [seventh] fourth day they said to Samson’s wife, “Entice [to open wide, deceive] your husband to explain [to tell, declare openly] the riddle [puzzle, difficult question] to us, or we will burn [set on fire, kindle flames] you and your father’s household [family, dwelling place] to death. Did you invite [call out to, summon] us here to rob [impoverish, take from] us [to possess, take control of]?” word study 16 Then Samson’s wife [weeping, overcome with emotion] came to him, weeping [with tears of sorrow], and said, “You hate [have intense dislike for] me! You do not really love [have affection for] me! You have posed [proposed, presented] to my people [nation, family] a riddle [puzzle, enigma], but have not explained [told, revealed] it to me.” “Look [behold, see],” he said, “I have not even explained [told, revealed] it to my father [parent, ancestor] or mother [female parent, nurturer], so why should I explain [tell, disclose] it to you?” word study 17 She wept [with intense grief, bitterly] the whole seven [sacred, complete] days of the feast [celebration, banquet], and finally on the seventh [last, concluding] day, because she had pressed [urged, distressed] him so much, he told her the answer [solution, explanation]. And in turn she explained [declared, revealed] the riddle [puzzle, enigma] to her people [nation, community]. word study 18 Before sunset [before the sun went down, at the end of the day] on the seventh day [the final day of the week], the men of the city [the young men, the people of the town] said to Samson: “What [a question of wonder] is sweeter [more pleasant, delightful] than honey [a sweet and valuable food]? And what [a question of surprise] is stronger [more powerful, fierce] than a lion?” So he said to them: “If you had not plowed [cultivated, worked] with my heifer [a young female calf, a valuable possession], you would not have solved [found out, discovered] my riddle [a puzzle, a perplexing saying]!” word study 19 Then the Spirit [the divine breath] of the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] came mightily [with great power and strength] upon him, and he went down [descended, to a lower place] to Ashkelon [a major Philistine city], killed thirty of their men, took their apparel [spoils of war, loot], and gave their clothes [change of garments, a replacement] to those who had solved [declared, told openly] the riddle [a puzzle, a difficult question]. And burning with anger [his anger was kindled, furious], Samson returned to his father’s house [his family’s dwelling place, his ancestral home], word study 20 and his wife [the woman, female companion] was given [transferred, allotted] to one of the men [companions, friends] who had accompanied [walked with, attended] him. word study