Judges 14:17

And she wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted: and it came to pass on the seventh day, that he told her, because she lay sore upon him: and she told the riddle to the children of her people.

King James Version · Read in your translation · Open the Explore console

Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
wept	וַתֵּ֤בְךְּ va.Te.vek	H1058	to weep · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular
seven	שִׁבְעַ֣ת shiv.'At	H7651	seven (as the sacred full one) · noun, common both genders singular construct
days	הַיָּמִ֔ים hai.ya.Mim	H3117	a day (as the warm hours) · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
feast	הַמִּשְׁתֶּ֑ה ha.mish.Teh	H4960	drink · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
lasted	הָיָ֥ה ha.Yah	H1961	to exist · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
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
told	וַיַּגֶּד vai.ya.ged-	H5046	properly · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
sore	הֱצִיקַ֔תְהוּ he.tzi.Kat.hu	H6693	to compress · verb, hiphil perfect, 3rd person feminine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
told	וַתַּגֵּ֥ד va.ta.Ged	H5046	properly · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular
riddle	הַחִידָ֖ה ha.chi.Dah	H2420	a puzzle · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
children	לִבְנֵ֥י liv.Nei	H1121	a son (as a builder of the family name) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct
people	עַמָּֽהּ 'a.Mah	H5971	a people (as a congregated unit) · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular

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 16:16 And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death;
Luke 18:4-5 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;
Genesis 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she…
Judges 16:6 And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee.
Judges 16:13 And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her…
Job 2:9 Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.
Proverbs 2:16-17 To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;
Proverbs 7:21 With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.

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…

Read the whole note in the console

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 14:17

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 Abarbinel observes, and to whom he seems to incline, think there were fourteen days, seven days before the festival began, on the last of which they importuned her to try to get the secret from him, Judges 14:15…

Read the whole note in the console

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
Feasts · Marriage feasts provi — Marriage feasts provi
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 14:17

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 14:17

Dictionary and topics

Judges 14:17

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 14:17

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Judges 14:10–end

Rashi on Judges 14:17