士師記 14:12-18 JCB

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Judges 14:10-20

We have here an account of Samson's wedding feast and the occasion it gave him to fall foul upon the Philistines. I. Samson conformed to the custom of the country in making a festival of his nuptial solemnities, which continued seven days, Jdg. 13:10. Though he was a Nazarite, he did not affect, in a thing of this nature, to be singular, but did as the young men used to do upon such occasions. It is no part of religion to go contrary to the innocent usages of the places where we live: nay, it... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Judges 14:12

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 their wits, which it seems was usual to entertain guests with, and might be both pleasing and profitable: if you can certainly declare it unto me within the seven days of the feast ;... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Judges 14:13

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 agree to his proposals, but hereby suggesting that they accepted his terms and conditions, either to give or receive the above premium, if they did or did not hit on the explanation of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Judges 14:14

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 forth sweetness : not only out of that which was strong in body while alive, but of a strong and ill scent, as the carcass of a dead lion is, and out of that came forth honey, than which... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Judges 14:15

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 was the seventh day of the feast; this is so clear, that the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions, instead of the seventh, read the fourth day: that they said unto Samson's wife,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Judges 14:16

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 question, which was now very strong, as is usual with newly married persons: thou hast put forth a riddle unto the children of my people ; her countrymen, fellow citizens, and neighbour,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Judges 14:17

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 satisfaction; and then, after the men had urged her on the fourth day to persuade her husband to it, she continued pressing him more earnestly with tears unto the seventh day. Some, as... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Judges 14:18

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 known, sugar not being invented. Julian the emperor F14 Opera, par. 9. epist. 24. , in commendation of figs, shows, from various authors, that nothing is sweeter than they, excepting... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Judges 14:12

I will now put forth a riddle - Probably this was one part of the amusements at a marriage-feast; each in his turn proposing a riddle, to be solved by any of the rest on a particular forfeit; the proposer forfeiting, if solved, the same which the company must forfeit if they could not solve it. Thirty sheets - I have no doubt that the Arab hayk , or hake , is here meant; a dress in which the natives of the East wrap themselves, as a Scottish Highlander does in his... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Judges 14:14

And he said unto there - Thus he states or proposes his riddle: - Out of the eater came forth meat, And out of the strong came forth sweetness. Instead of strong, the Syriac and Arabic have bitter. I have no doubt that the riddle was in poetry; and perhaps the two hemistichs above preserve its order. This was scarcely a fair riddle; for unless the fact to which it refers were known, there is no rule of interpretation by which it could be found out. We learn from the Scholiast,... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Judges 14:10-20

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Judges 14:12

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Judges 14:13

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Judges 14:14

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Judges 14:15

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Judges 14:16

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Judges 14:17

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Judges 14:18

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Judges 14:12

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Judges 14:14

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