Judges Chapter 14

Judges 14 tells the intriguing story of Samson’s encounter with a Philistine woman and the events that followed. Samson, a Nazirite and one of the judges of Israel, went to Timnath, where he saw a woman from the Philistine tribe. He was captivated by her and desired to marry her. On his way to Timnath, a young lion attacked Samson, but through God’s strength, he killed the lion with his bare hands.

Later, when Samson returned to Timnath for his wedding, he found the lion’s carcass with a beehive inside it. He took some honey from the beehive and ate it, also giving it to his parents, without revealing the source. Samson then proposed a riddle to the Philistine wedding guests: “Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness.” He wagered thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothing for anyone who could solve the riddle within seven days.

The Philistines were determined to unravel the riddle, so they approached Samson’s wife and threatened to burn her and her family if she didn’t coax the answer out of Samson. Pressured by her people, she persistently pleaded with Samson until he finally disclosed the riddle’s solution. When the guests solved the riddle, Samson became furious, realizing that his wife had betrayed him.

Click the links below to uncover the depths of each verse in its context: