Judges 15:1

SAMSON'S VENGEANCE AGAINST THE PHILISTINES;

HIS VAIN ATTEMPT TO CONTINUE HIS MARRIAGE

"But it came to pass after awhile, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he said, I will go in to my wife, into the chamber. But her father would not suffer him to go in. 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. And Samson said unto them, This time shall I be blameless in regard of the Philistines, when I do them mischief."

The family into which Samson had married had suffered a shocking disgrace in the eyes of their whole city when Samson had rushed away without consummating the marriage, and since some time had evidently elapsed without Samson's making any appearance in his wife's home, one can readily understand the father-in-law's behavior in giving Samson's wife to the person we might call his "best man." The situation, however, could not have justified such an action.

"In the time of the wheat harvest" (Judges 15:1). This indicates a different season of the year from that when the wedding had occurred.

"Samson visited his wife with a kid" (Judges 15:1). This is an indication of the kind of marriage that was contracted. It was like that of Gideon and his concubine, in which the wife continued to live in her father's house, with the husband paying occasional visits. Myers tells us that the technical name of such a marriage was "a sadiga marriage."[1]

The gift of a little goat for his wife seems also to have been the customary price of conjugal visits, that being exactly the price that Judah agreed to pay Tamar for his "going in unto her," not knowing that she was his daughter-in-law (Genesis 38:17). It seems never to have occurred to Samson that he was a bit late with this attempt to consummate his marriage.

Of course, Samson's father-in-law would not allow Samson to see his new wife and explained what had happened.

"Her younger sister is fairer than she ... take her, I pray thee, instead of her" (Judges 15:2). Samson's father-in-law learned, as had Samson's parents, that "nobody, but nobody, would be allowed to help Samson get a wife"!

"I shall be blameless, when I do them mischief" (Judges 15:3). This was Samson's blunt rejection of the offer of her younger sister, and it was also the statement of his intention to take vengeance on all the Philistines. Neither Samson nor the Philistines knew anything about a "Golden Rule." The father-in-law had indeed avoided what he considered a disgrace to his family, but he had failed to take into account the kind of man Samson was. He had a just cause for revenge, and he would certainly take advantage of it. The father-in-law's offer of the younger sister was an admission of the injustice done to Samson.

Barnes explained the new situation here, as follows:

"When the Philistines, earlier, had injured Samson (in the matter of the riddle), he was in covenant with the Timnathites through his marriage and the laws of hospitality, for which reason he went down to Ashkelon to take his revenge (Judges 14:19), but now that the Philistines themselves had broken this bond, he was free to take his revenge on the spot."[2]