Chapter
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Verse
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Judges 15:1
ESV After some days, at the time of wheat harvest, Samson went to visit his wife with a young goat. And he said, "I will go in to my wife in the chamber." But her father would not allow him to go in.
NIV Later on, at the time of wheat harvest, Samson took a young goat and went to visit his wife. He said, "I’m going to my wife’s room." But her father would not let him go in.
NASB But after a while, in the time of wheat harvest, Samson visited his wife with a young goat, and said, 'I will go in to my wife in her room.' But her father did not let him enter.
CSB Later on, during the wheat harvest, Samson took a young goat as a gift and visited his wife. "I want to go to my wife in her room," he said. But her father would not let him enter.
NLT Later on, during the wheat harvest, Samson took a young goat as a present to his wife. He said, 'I’m going into my wife’s room to sleep with her,' but her father wouldn’t let him in.
KJV But it came to pass within a while after, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he said, I will go in to my wife into the chamber. But her father would not suffer him to go in.
NKJV After a while, in the time of wheat harvest, it happened that Samson visited his wife with a young goat. And he said, “Let me go in to my wife, into her room.” But her father would not permit him to go in.

What does Judges 15:1 mean?

Samson's wedding and the other events of chapter 14 likely took place in the early springtime. The wedding feast ended with his bride's betrayal of his secret (Judges 14:17–18). Samson may or may not have known that she did so after being threatened by the thirty Philistine wedding "companions." They said they would kill her and her family if she did not get the answer to Samson's unfair challenge (Judges 14:15).

After losing what he thought was a sure bet, Samson returned to his parents' home in a hot fury. This was after brutalizing other Philistines to get the clothes he owed for payment (Judges 14:19). Despite this, he apparently still thought of himself as being married to his Philistine bride. It's possible Samson's marriage to the young woman followed a custom of the time in which the bride would continue to live in her father's house for several months after the wedding. The groom would visit regularly, perhaps bringing a gift with him each time. However, Samson left in anger, and suddenly, which would explain why her father assumed she was being abandoned (Judges 14:20).

We're not told how much time has passed, but the wheat harvest in this region usually occurred in May. Samson arrives and announces his intent to take advantage of his marital rights with the Philistine woman. Her father stops him, delivering the hard news to Samson in the following verse (Judges 15:2).
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