Judges 14:15

And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said unto Samson’s wife, Entice thy husband, that he may declare unto us the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy father’s house with fire: have ye called us to take that we have? is it not so?

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
seventh	הַשְּׁבִיעִ֗י ha.she.vi.'I	H7637	seventh · definite article + ordinal number, masculine singular absolute
day	בַּיּ֣וֹם bai.Yom	H3117	a day (as the warm hours) · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
said	וַיֹּאמְר֤וּ vai.yo.me.Ru	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
Samson’s	שִׁמְשׁוֹן֙ shim.shOn	H8123	Shimshon · proper noun, a man's name
wife	לְאֵֽשֶׁת le.'e.shet-	H802	a woman · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct
Entice	פַּתִּ֣י pa.Ti	H6601	to open · verb, piel imperative, 2nd person feminine singular
husband	אִישֵׁ֗ךְ 'i.Shekh	H376	a man as an individual or a male person · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person feminine singular
declare	וְיַגֶּד ve.ya.ged-	H5046	properly · conjunction + verb, hiphil jussive, 3rd person masculine singular
riddle	הַ֣חִידָ֔ה ha.chi.Dah	H2420	a puzzle · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
burn	נִשְׂרֹ֥ף nis.Rof	H8313	to be (causatively · verb, qal imperfect, 1st person common plural
father’s	אָבִ֖יךְ 'a.Vikh	H1	father · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person feminine singular
house	בֵּ֥ית beit	H1004	a house (in the greatest variation of applications · noun, common masculine singular construct
fire	בָּאֵ֑שׁ ba.'Esh	H784	fire (literally or figuratively) · preposition with the article + noun, common both genders singular absolute
called	קְרָאתֶ֥ם ke.ra.Tem	H7121	to call out to (i.e. properly · verb, qal perfect, 2nd person masculine plural
have	הַלְיָרְשֵׁ֕נוּ hal.ya.re.She.nu	H3423	to occupy (by driving out previous tenants · interrogative particle + preposition + verb, piel infinitive construct + pronominal suffix

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Judges 15:6 Then the Philistines said, Who hath done this? And they answered, Samson, the son in law of the Timnite, because he had taken his wife, and…
Judges 16:5 And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what mean…
Micah 7:5 Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.
Genesis 3:1-6 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye…
Judges 12:1 And the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and went northward, and said unto Jephthah, Wherefore passedst thou over to fight again…
Proverbs 1:11 If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:
Proverbs 5:3 For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil:
Proverbs 6:26 For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Judges 14:10–end

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 14:10. 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 is a reproach to religion when those who profess it give just occasion to others to call them covetous, sneaking, and morose. A good man should strive to make himself, in the best sense, a good companion…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Judges 14:12

HIS RIDDLE. (Jdg 14:12-18) I will now put forth a riddle--Riddles are a favorite Oriental amusement at festive entertainments of this nature, and rewards are offered to those who give the solution. Samson's riddle related to honey in the lion's carcass. The prize he offered was thirty sindinim, or shirts, and thirty changes of garments, probably woolen. Three days were passed in vain attempts to unravel the enigma. The festive week was fast drawing to a close when they secretly enlisted the services of the newly married wife, who having got the secret, revealed it to her friends.

John Gill on 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, entice thy husband, that he may declare unto us the riddle; that is, persuade him to tell the meaning of it to her, that she might declare it to them: lest we burn thee and thy father's house with fire; in which…

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Dictionary and topics

Riddle — (Heb. hodah). The oldest and, strictly speaking, the only example of a riddle was that propounded by Samson (Judg. 14:12-18). The parabolic prophecy in Ezek. 17:2-18 is there called a “riddle.” It…
Timnath — Gen. 38:12, 14. (1.) Heb. Timnathah, which is appropriately rendered in the Revised Version, Timnah, a town in Judah. (2.) The town where Samson sojourned, probably identical with “Timnah” (1) (Judg.…
Betting · By Sam — By Sam
Riddle · Used as a test of wit: at Sam — Used as a test of wit: at Sam
Samson · His marriage feast and the riddle propoun — His marriage feast and the riddle propoun
Wives · Bad — Exemplified: Samson’s wife — Bad — Exemplified: Samson’s wife

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Judges 14:15

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Judges 14:10–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Judges 14:12

John Gill on Judges 14:15

Dictionary and topics

Judges 14:15

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Judges 14:10–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Judges 14:12

John Gill on Judges 14:15

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Judges 14:10–end

Rashi on Judges 14:15