Judges 14:11

_AND IT CAME TO PASS, WHEN THEY SAW HIM, THAT THEY BROUGHT THIRTY COMPANIONS TO BE WITH HIM._ No JFB commentary on this verse....

10-20 Samson's riddle literally meant no more than that he had got honey, for food and for pleasure, from the lion, which in its strength and fury was ready to devour him. But the victory of Christ over Satan, by means of his humiliation, agonies, and death, and the exaltation that followed to him, with the glory thence to the Father, and spiritual advantages to his people, seem directly alluded to. And even death, that devouring monster, being robbed of his sting, and stripped of his horror, forwards the soul to the realms of bliss. In these and other senses, out of the eater comes forth meat, and out of the strong, sweetness. Samson's companions obliged his wife to get the explanation from him. A worldly wife, or a worldly friend, is to a godly man as an enemy in the camp, who will watch every opportunity to betray him. No union can be comfortable or lasting, where secrets cannot be i...

Verse Judges 14:11. _THEY BROUGHT THIRTY COMPANIONS_] These are called in Scripture _children of the bride-chamber_, and _friends of the_ _bridegroom_. See the whole of this subject particularly illustrated in the observations at the end, _Clarke "_John 3:25_"_....

THIRTY COMPANIONS - These were “the children of the bride-chamber” (Matthew 9:15; see Judges 14:20). From the number of them it may be inferred that Samson’s family was of some wealth and importance....

EXPOSITION JUDGES 14:10 SO HIS FATHER WENT DOWN. It is not clear what is meant by this mention of his father alone; but it was probably some part of the wedding etiquette that the father should go to the bride first alone; perhaps, as Kimehi says, to give her notice of the bridegroom's approach, that she might get ready. Among the preparations may have been the selection of the thirty young men to be "the children of the bride-chamber'' (Matthew 9:15). As these were all Philistines, the inference is that they were selected by the bride, just as with us the bride has the privilege of choosing the minister who is to officiate at the marriage. Judges 14:11

AND IT CAME TO PASS; WHEN THEY SAW HIM,.... That is, the Philistines, the citizens of Timnath, when they saw that he was come to consummate his marriage: THAT THEY BROUGHT THIRTY COMPANIONS TO BE WITH HIM; to be the bridegroom's men, or children of the bridechamber, as they are called, Matthew 9:15 or friends of the bridegroom, John 3:29 to keep him company during the nuptial feast: this they did according to custom, and in honour and respect unto him; though some think, and so Josephus l, that they were brought to be guards upon him, observing that he was a man of great might, strength, and courage, so that they were afraid of him, lest he should have some design upon them; but it is not certain that there was anything very visible or terrible in him, more than in another man, that showed him t

CHAPTER 14 THE FIRST DEEDS OF SAMSON _ 1. The woman in Timnath (Judges 14:1)_ 2. The killing of the young lion and the honey in the carcass (Judges 14:5) 3. The marriage feast and the riddle (Judges 14:10) 4. The riddle answered (Judges 14:15) 5. Thirty Philistines slain by Samson (Judges 14:19) Samson was called of God to be a true Nazarite, but in his life which was to manifest the Nazarite character he failed. “He went down to Timnath” is a foreboding beginning. It was a step in the wrong direction. He st

SAMSON'S MARRIAGE. As he could not take an unwelcomed bride to his father's house, Samson resolved to contract a marriage in which his wife would remain at her father's house (Judges 9:2 *). Judges 14:5 conveys the idea that his parents after all gave their consent, and even went down with him to the wedding. This in itself is improbable, and there is no indication of their presence at Timnath or of their returning home. Moore plausibly suggests that a later writer, taking offence at the story of an improper marriage, inserted and his father and his mother in order to regularise it. The same applies to Judges 14:10. Judges 14:6. _Cf._ D

WHEN THEY SAW HIM: i.e. saw what sort of man he was. Note emphasis on "him"....

_when they saw him_ With a slight change LXX. cod. A etc. read _because they feared him; they_must be the Philistines, though not mentioned in the context. The sight of Samson, _or_their fear of him, induced the Philistines to procure thirty _companions_(cf. Judges 14:20), nominally as friends and supporters, but really in self-defence. The text does not give an altogether satisfactory sense, and may have suffered from alterations. If we read _that he brought_, which would be an improvement, we must treat _when they saw him_as an interpolation. This is Moore's view, and Budde proposes further re-arrangements; the original state of the verse is not easy to recover. The _thirty_(cf. Song of Solomon 3:7 _sixty_) are of course Philistines,...