What does Judges 14:2 mean?

Common practice throughout much of ancient history has been for parents to arrange the marriages of their children. Often, marriages were composed to build alliances or financial advantage. Samson's story illustrates how marriages could also be arranged at the request of the children. If the heads of the households agreed, they would still handle the details.

Samson has gone to the Philistine-occupied town of Timnah, not far from his home in Zorah. There he saw a young Philistine woman who captivated him. He returns home, up out of the valley, and immediately demands that his parents get this woman for him as a wife. Throughout Samson's life, he will show a marked lack of self-control when it comes to women (Judges 16:1, 4).

This marriage would be a violation of Israel's God-given laws (Exodus 34:15–16). Though the Philistines were not as explicitly forbidden as other groups, intermarrying with idol-worshippers was a sin. It was also a major source of the nation's misery in the book of Judges (Deuteronomy 7:3–4; Judges 2:16–19). Samson's parents will object to his request, though not strongly enough to deny it (Judges 14:3).