1 And Samson went down to Timnah and saw a woman in Timnah from daughters of Philistines. 2 And he went up and told his father and his mother. And he said, “I saw a woman in Timnah from daughters of Philistines. And now, get her for me for a woman.” 3 And his father and his mother said to him, “There is not among daughters of your brethren and among all my people a woman that you go to take a woman from foreskinned Philistines?” And Samson said, “Get her for me, for she is right i in my eyes.” 4 And his father and his mother did not know that it was from Yehvah, for he was seeking an occasion from Philistines. And at that time Philistines were ruling in Israel.
5 And Samson went down, and his father and his mother, to Timnah, and they came unto vineyards of Timnah, and behold, a young lion roaring to meet him. 6 And spirit of Yehvah rushed upon him, and he tore him in two as tearing the kid; ii and he had nothing in his hand. And he did not tell his father and mother what he did. 7 And he went down and spoke to the woman, and she was right iii in Samson's eyes.
8 After days, he returned to take her and turned aside to see the carcass of the lion. And behold, a congregation of bees in the corpse of the lion, and honey. 9 And he scraped it to his palms, and he went along and ate. And he went to his father and to his mother and gave to them, and they ate. And he did not tell them that from the corpse of the lion he scraped out the honey.
10 And his father went down to the woman. And Samson made there a feast, for thus the young men did. 11 And it was, when they saw him, so they took thirty companions; and they were with him. 12 And Samson said to them, “Please, let me pose a riddle to you. If declaring, you declare and find her to me the seven days of the feast, so I will give to you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes. 13 And if you are not able to declare to me, so you shall give to me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes.” And they said to him, “Pose your riddle, and we shall hear her.” 14 And he said to them, “From the eater came out food, and from a strong one came out sweetness.” And they were not able to tell the riddle three days.
15 And it was in the seventh day, so they said to Samson's woman, “Entice your man and have him tell us the riddle, lest we burn you and your father's house in the fire. To dispossess us you invited us? No?” 16 And Samson's wife wept upon him and said, “You only hate me and do not love me. The riddle you posed to sons of my people, and you have not told me.” And he said to her, “Look, I have not told my father and my mother, and I have not told you.” 17 And she wept on him the seven days which was during their feast. And it was, in the seventh day, so he told her; because she distressed him. And she told the riddle to sons of her people.
18 And the men of the city in the seventh day said to him before the coming in of the Sun, “What is sweeter than honey, and what is stronger than a lion.” And he said to them, “If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have found my riddle.” 19 And spirit of Yehvah rushed upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon and struck from them thirty men. And he took their spoils iv and gave the changes to those who declared the riddle. And his anger burned, and he went up to his father's house. 20 And Samson's woman was to his companion v who was a friend to him.
Translated by Darwin Fish. See original pdf.
- ה רה שר יה) yâshrâh) “right” YLT, ESV, OJB; “looks good” NAS; “pleases” NKJV – same exact word as in Ezra 8:21 (“right”); Psalm 107:7 (“right”); Ezekiel 1:7 (“straight”); Habakkuk 2:4 (“upright”). ^
- י די גר) gediy) “kid” = young goat ^
- ר ישר תי) tiyshar) “right” YLT, ESV, OJB; “looked good” NAS; “pleased” NKJV – same root word as in verse 3. ^
- ם יצותה לי חל) chaliytsotâm) “their spoils” (plural noun) - NAS, KJV “their spoil”; NKJV “their apparel”; BDB “what is stripped off a person, as plunder, in war” - found also only in 2 Samuel 2:21 (NAS “spoil”; NKJV “armor”). ^
- In other words, another man took his wife. ^
And the woman bore a son and called his name Samson. And the boy grew, and Yehvah blessed him. -- “Samson”; LXX Σαμψων (Sampsôn) - found also in Judges 14:1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 12; 15:1, 3-4, 6-7, 10-12, 16; 16:1-3, 6-7, 9-10, 12-14, 20, 23, 25-30; Hebrews 11:32 Σαμψων (Sampsôn).
And Judah captured Gaza and her border, and Ashkelon and her border, and Ekron and her border. -- ון לו טִק טִש אע') ashqelon) “Ashkelon” - found also in Judges 14:19; 1 Samuel 6:17; 2 Samuel 1:20; Jeremiah 25:20; 47:5, 7; Amos 1:8; Zephaniah 2:4, 7; Zechariah 9:5.
And the Amorite was determined to dwell in mount Heres, in Aijalon and in Shaalbim. And the hand of house of Joseph was heavy, and they were put to forced labor. -- ס ורֹק ח) cheres) “Heres” is another word for the “Sun” found in Judges 8:13 (KJV “sun”; NKJV, NAS “Heres”); 14:18; Job 9:7, “itch” in Deuteronomy 28:27, and as a location also in Judges 2:9.
A thousand men from Benjamin were with him, and Ziba, a young man of Saul's house, and fifteen of his sons, and twenty of his servants with him. And they rushed the Jordan before the king. -- חו לג צל) tsâlhu) “rushed” NAS, Green; “went over” NKJV, KJV; See footnote for Judges 14:6.