Joshua 15:1,2

Samson Is Denied His Wife Judges 15:1-2

But it came to pass within a while after, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he said, I will go into my wife into the chamber. But her father would not suffer him to go in.
2 And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion: is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her.

1.

What was the time of the wheat harvest? Judges 15:1

Wheat harvest comes in Palestine in the early part of June. By that time, several weeks of the dry season have elapsed, and the fields are in full bloom. Samson went down to Philistia at this very interesting and beautiful time of the year. With him, he took a present for his wife. The present may seem strange to modern times, but it was a customary present for that time. If the animal was used at the time, all who participated in the festive occasion would enjoy the benefits of a gift of a young goat. A delicious and nourishing meal would have been prepared, and the festive occasion would have brought joy to all.

2.

Why did Samson's father-in-law give his wife to another man? Judges 15:2

Samson was shocked to learn that he was no longer welcome in his father-in-law's house as the husband of his older daughter. The father-in-law excused himself for having given his older daughter to another man by saying he supposed Samson was not pleased with her. He would have come to this conclusion because Samson had gone out from the wedding feast in a rage and killed thirty Philistine men in order to give thirty changes of raiment to his companions who had tricked him into revealing the meaning of his riddle. The father-in-law must have received another dowry from a second husband, and his greediness probably prompted him to make this arrangement for his daughter's second marriage. His eagerness to give his younger daughter to Samson indicates his desire for the dowry which would have been customary.