This chapter treats of Samson’s courtship, and marriage of a Philistine woman, Jude 1–5 of his meeting with a young lion as he went courting, and of his slaying it, and afterwards finding honey in it, Jude 6–9, of a riddle which be framed out of this incident, and put to his companions at his…

And Samson went down to Timnath A city which by lot fell to the tribe of Judah, but was afterwards given to the tribe of Dan, and now in the hands of the Philistines, .

And he came up, and told his father and his mother Of his passion of love, being desirous of having their approbation and consent, in which he acted a dutiful part, and what became him; and may be an example to children to advise with their parents, and have their opinion and consent before they…

Then his father and his mother said unto him What he might expect, and doubtless did expect: is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? none in their own family, nor in the tribe of Dan, nor…

And his father and mother knew not that it was of the Lord, &c.] That he should marry this uncircumcised Philistine; Samson knew it was, and that his desire of having her in marriage did not arise from carnal affection to her merely, being captivated with her beauty and external form, for she was…

Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath They were prevailed upon to go with him, either because they perceived his affections were so strongly set upon a wife, that they thought it advisable to agree to it, lest it should be of bad consequence to him, or because he let them…

And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him The Spirit of might from the Lord, as the Targum, inspiring him with courage and intrepidity of mind, and increasing his bodily strength: and he rent him as he would rend a kid; as he came up to him to seize him, he laid hold on him and strangled…

And he went down, and talked with the woman Entered into a conversation with her, that he might the better judge of her other qualifications, besides that of outward form and beauty, whether she would be a suitable yoke fellow for him; and he talked with her about marriage, and proposed it to her,…

And after a time he returned to take her Matters being agreed on, and settled on both sides, and the espousals made, he and his parents returned, and, at the proper usual time for the consummation of the marriage, he went again to Timnath for that purpose.

And he took thereof in his hands, and went on eating Josephus [[9]] says he took three honeycombs, he means three pieces of the honeycomb, and ate the honey as he went along to Timnath; which he might do without touching the carcass of the lion, and defiling himself thereby, which, as a Nazarite,…

So his father went down unto the woman At Timnath, whom Samson had espoused; the Targum is, “about the business of the woman;” about the consummation of the marriage with her; they all three went, the father, the mother, and the son, as appears from the preceding verse: for Samson made a feast, for…

And it came to pass; when they saw him That is, the Philistines, the citizens of Timnath, when they saw that he was come to consummate his marriage: that they brought thirty companions to be with him; to be the bridegroom’s men, or children of the bridechamber, as they are called, or friends of the…

And Samson said unto them His thirty companions, very likely on the first day of the feast: I will now put forth a riddle to you: a secret, hidden, abstruse thing, not easy to be understood; a dark saying, wrapped up in figurative terms; and this he proposed as an amusement to them, to exercise…

But if ye cannot declare it unto me Explain the riddle in the space of time allowed: then shall ye give me thirty sheets, and thirty change of garments; so many shirts and suits of apparel: and they said unto him, put forth thy riddle that we may hear it; not thereby to judge whether they would…

And he said unto them, out of the eater came forth meat Out of a devouring eater, such as the lion is, came forth honey, or that was taken out of it, which Samson, and his father and mother, ate of, and which was the common food of some persons, as of John the Baptist: and out of the strong came…

And it came to pass on the seventh day Not on the seventh day of the feast, for some time before that they applied to his wife, and she pressed him hard to disclose it; but on the sabbath day, as Kimchi, and so Jarchi says, on the seventh day of the week, not on the seventh day of the feast, for it…

And Samson’s wife wept before him When she came to him to get out of him the explanation of the riddle, thinking that her tears would move him to it: and said, thou dost but hate me, and lovest me not: another artifice she used, well knowing he could not bear to have his affection called in…

And she wept before him the seven days, while the feast lasted Those that remained of the seven days, from the fourth to this time, as Kimchi seems rightly to interpret it; though some think she began to beseech him with tears, on the first day of the feast, to impart the secret to her for her own…

And the men of the city said unto him, on the seventh day, before the sun went down And so soon, enough to free them from the obligation they otherwise would have been under, to have given him the sheets and changes of raiment agreed unto: what is sweeter than honey? nothing, at least that was…

And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him The Spirit of might from the Lord, as the Targum; which filled him with zeal and courage, animating him to the following undertaking, and increased his bodily strength to perform it: and he went down to Ashkelon; one of the five principal cities of the…

But Samson’s wife was given to his companion By her father, and with her consent, both being affronted and provoked by Samson leaving her, who judged her not only to be injured, but hereby discharged from him, and free to marry another: and whom he had used as his friend; though there were thirty…