Judges 14

Samson went down to Timnah, and saw a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines.

He came up, and told his father and his mother, saying, “I have seen a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines. Now therefore get her for me as my wife.”

Then his father and his mother said to him, “Isn’t there a woman among your brothers’ daughters, or among all my people, that you go to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines?” Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she pleases me well.”

But his father and his mother didn’t know that it was of the LORD; for he sought an occasion against the Philistines. Now at that time the Philistines ruled over Israel.

Then Samson went down to Timnah with his father and his mother, and came to the vineyards of Timnah; and behold, a young lion roared at him.

The LORD’s Spirit came mightily on him, and he tore him as he would have torn a young goat with his bare hands, but he didn’t tell his father or his mother what he had done.

He went down and talked with the woman, and she pleased Samson well.

After a while he returned to take her, and he went over to see the carcass of the lion; and behold, there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey.

He took it into his hands, and went on, eating as he went. He came to his father and mother and gave to them, and they ate, but he didn’t tell them that he had taken the honey out of the lion’s body.

His father went down to the woman; and Samson made a feast there, for the young men used to do so.

When they saw him, they brought thirty companions to be with him.

Samson said to them, “Let me tell you a riddle now. If you can tell me the answer within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothing;

but if you can’t tell me the answer, then you shall give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothing.” They said to him, “Tell us your riddle, that we may hear it.”

He said to them, “Out of the eater came out food. Out of the strong came out sweetness.” They couldn’t in three days declare the riddle.

On the seventh day, they said to Samson’s wife, “Entice your husband, that he may declare to us the riddle, lest we burn you and your father’s house with fire. Have you called us to impoverish us? Isn’t that so?”

Samson’s wife wept before him, and said, “You just hate me, and don’t love me. You’ve told a riddle to the children of my people, and haven’t told it to me.” He said to her, “Behold, I haven’t told my father or my mother, so why should I tell you?”

She wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted; and on the seventh day, he told her, because she pressed him severely; and she told the riddle to the children of her people.

The men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down, “What is sweeter than honey? What is stronger than a lion?” He said to them, “If you hadn’t plowed with my heifer, you wouldn’t have found out my riddle.”

The LORD’s Spirit came mightily on him, and he went down to Ashkelon and struck thirty men of them. He took their plunder, then gave the changes of clothing to those who declared the riddle. His anger burned, and he went up to his father’s house.

But Samson’s wife was given to his companion, who had been his friend.

Chapter overviewAI-generated

Overview.
This chapter introduces Samson’s pursuit of a Philistine woman from Timnah, setting in motion a series of events that reveal both his personal weaknesses and God’s sovereign use of flawed individuals to begin delivering Israel from Philistine oppression. Though Samson’s desires appear driven by impulse and fleshly attraction, the narrative notes that “it was of the LORD,” indicating divine purpose behind his actions. The chapter unfolds through a lion’s carcass yielding honey, a riddle tied to that strange event, and betrayal by Samson’s bride, culminating in violence and rupture.

Flow.

Samson demands his parents arrange a marriage with a Philistine woman, against their protest, though the narrator reveals this is part of the Lord’s plan to confront the Philistines.
On the way to Timnah, Samson kills a lion by the Spirit’s power, later discovering bees have made honey in its carcass, which he eats and shares without revealing its origin.
At the wedding feast, Samson poses a riddle based on the lion and honey; when the Philistine companions pressure his wife, she extracts the answer from Samson and betrays him.
Enraged by their deceit, Samson slays thirty men in Ashkelon to fulfill his pledge, then departs in anger, while his wife is given to another.

Connections.
Following chapter 13, which recounts Samson’s miraculous birth and consecration as a Nazirite, this chapter shows the first public acts of his calling, demonstrating both the empowerment of the Spirit and the inconsistency of his personal conduct. His descent to Timnah echoes earlier biblical movements (e.g., Joseph to Egypt) that bring about redemptive purposes despite human flaws. The tension between Samson’s Nazirite status and his attraction to Philistines anticipates the larger failure of leadership in Judges, which chapter 15 takes up by detailing the escalating conflict sparked by the betrayal in this chapter.

What it teaches.
God can work through human weakness and even disobedience to accomplish His purposes, as seen in Samson’s flawed choices becoming an occasion for confronting the Philistines (WCF 5.7). The Spirit’s empowerment enables extraordinary acts—tearing a lion, slaying thirty men—yet Samson’s failure to uphold the boundaries of his Nazirite vow (e.g., secret consumption of honey from a dead body, intermarriage) reveals the moral dissonance that marks his life (LkCat 94). The riddle itself—“out of the eater came forth food”—points to God’s capacity to bring provision and insight from unexpected sources, even from death and corruption, reflecting the broader biblical theme of life from death (WCF 16.4; HC LD 22).

Apply.
God may use flawed decisions for His sovereign purposes, but this does not nullify the consequences of disobedience.

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