Judges 14:1-9
THE PRELIMINARY ARRANGEMENTS... [ Continue Reading ]
THE PRELIMINARY ARRANGEMENTS... [ Continue Reading ]
And Samson went down to Timnath, in the region where the highlands of Judah merge into the plains of Philistia, AND SAW A WOMAN IN TIMNATH OF THE DAUGHTERS OF THE PHILISTINES, who were therefore encroaching pretty far upon the territory of the Israelites.... [ Continue Reading ]
And he came up, to the hilly country where the home of his parents was, 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. The act of giving children in marriage is clearly the prerogative of the p... [ Continue Reading ]
Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, of his own tribe, OR AMONG ALL MY PEOPLE, in all Israel, THAT THOU GOEST TO TAKE A WIFE OF THE UNCIRCUMCISED PHILISTINES, for the rite of circumcision was a distinction which Israel had above al... [ Continue Reading ]
But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the Lord, that Jehovah had so arranged matters, THAT HE SOUGHT AN OCCASION AGAINST THE PHILISTINES, a valid ground for a quarrel and for an attack upon them; FOR AT THAT TIME THE PHILISTINES HAD DOMINION OVER ISRAEL, the Lord had delivered Israel... [ Continue Reading ]
Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, the young man evidently preceding his parents in his eagerness to press his suit with the woman of his choice, AND CAME TO THE VINEYARDS OF TIMNATH, to the hills which bordered upon a more desolate section of country; AND, BEHOLD, A Y... [ Continue Reading ]
And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, urging him on with great force, AND HE RENT HIM AS HE WOULD HAVE RENT A KID, taking hold of the beast with his bare hands and slaughtering him with the greatest ease, AND HE HAD NOTHING IN HIS HAND, no weapon of any kind; BUT HE TOLD NOT HIS FATHER... [ Continue Reading ]
And he went down and talked with the woman, with the idea of finding out more of her character and suitability by a conversation with her; AND SHE PLEASED SAMSON WELL, the impression which he had first gained was confirmed.... [ Continue Reading ]
And after a time he returned to take her, coming down once more with his parents to celebrate the nuptials, AND HE TURNED ASIDE TO SEE THE CARCASS OF THE LION, for the heat of the dry season is so great as to take up all the moisture from a dead body before decay sets in; AND, BEHOLD, THERE WAS A SW... [ Continue Reading ]
And he took thereof in his hands, drawing it out with his fingers as the only spoons available and using his hands as vessels, AND WENT ON EATING, munched of the honey as he went along, AND CAME TO HIS FATHER AND MOTHER, AND HE GAVE THEM, AND THEY DID EAT, also relishing the delicacy; BUT HE TOLD NO... [ Continue Reading ]
The Riddle at the Wedding-Feast.... [ Continue Reading ]
So his father went down unto the woman, to signify his parental approval of the match and to attend the wedding; AND SAMSON MADE THERE A FEAST, intending to live in Timnath and not take his bride to the city of his parents; FOR SO USED THE YOUNG MEN TO DO, that was the custom at that time, that the... [ Continue Reading ]
And it came to pass, when they, the parents and relatives of the bride, SAW HIM, THAT THEY BROUGHT THIRTY COMPANIONS, attendants of the groom, "sons of the bride-chamber," TO BE WITH HIM, for Samson had neglected to provide himself with these very necessary witnesses, with this retinue of merrymaker... [ Continue Reading ]
And Samson said unto them, evidently as soon as the festivities began, I WILL NOW PUT FORTH A RIDDLE UNTO YOU, announce or propose it to them; IF YE CAN CERTAINLY DECLARE IT ME, give its solution, WITHIN THE SEVEN DAYS OF THE FEAST, AND FIND IT OUT, THEN I WILL GIVE YOU THIRTY SHEETS, ordinary garme... [ Continue Reading ]
but if ye cannot declare it me, then shall ye give me thirty sheets and thirty change of garments. And they said unto him, feeling sure of their ability to gain the prize held out before them, PUT FORTH THY RIDDLE THAT WE MAY HEAR IT.... [ Continue Reading ]
And he said unto them, Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness, literally, "Out of the feeder, consumer [German, _ Fresser_], came forth food, and out of the powerful one something sweet. " AND THEY COULD NOT IN THREE DAYS EXPOUND THE RIDDLE, for so long they att... [ Continue Reading ]
And it came to pass on the seventh day that they said unto Samson's wife, Entice thy husband that he may declare unto us the riddle, she was to manage in some way to get him to reveal the solution or at least a key to its understanding, LEST WE BURN THEE AND THY FATHER'S HOUSE WITH FIRE; HAVE YE CAL... [ Continue Reading ]
And Samson's wife wept before him and said, Thou dost but hate me, and lovest me not, the easiest and handiest reproach in the circumstances; THOU HAST PUT FORTH A RIDDLE UNTO THE CHILDREN OF MY PEOPLE AND HAST NOT TOLD IT ME. Her speech shows that the woman, in a choice between her husband and her... [ Continue Reading ]
And she wept before him the seven days, for her curiosity had prompted her to badger him from the very first day, WHILE THEIR FEAST LASTED; AND IT CAME TO PASS ON THE SEVENTH DAY THAT HE TOLD HER, BECAUSE SHE LAY SORE UPON HIM, she was unbearably importunate in her pleading; AND SHE TOLD THE RIDDLE... [ Continue Reading ]
And the men of the city said unto him on the seventh day before the sun went down, before the time as fixed by him had expired, 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, a proverbial expre... [ Continue Reading ]
And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, a city of the Philistines on the coast of the Mediterranean, AND SLEW THIRTY MEN OF THEM, AND TOOK THEIR SPOIL, their attire, of which the fallen were usually stripped, AND GAVE CHANGE OF GARMENTS UNTO THEM WHICH EXPOUNDED THE R... [ Continue Reading ]
But Samson's wife, for such the woman now was before all the world, WAS GIVEN TO HIS COMPANION, to his chief attendant at the wedding festival, to his "best man," WHOM HE HAD USED AS HIS FRIEND. Cf John 3:29. This action on the part of the woman's parents shows the low state of morals in their natio... [ Continue Reading ]