Judges 14:19 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon and struck down thirty men of the town and took their spoil and gave the garments to those who had told the riddle. In hot anger he went back to his father’s house.

NIV: Then the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon him. He went down to Ashkelon, struck down thirty of their men, stripped them of everything and gave their clothes to those who had explained the riddle. Burning with anger, he returned to his father's home.

NASB: Then the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty men of them and took what they were wearing and gave the outfits of clothes to those who told the riddle. And his anger burned, and he went up to his father’s house.

CSB: The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully on him, and he went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty of their men. He stripped them and gave their clothes to those who had explained the riddle. In a rage, Samson returned to his father's house,

NLT: Then the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him. He went down to the town of Ashkelon, killed thirty men, took their belongings, and gave their clothing to the men who had solved his riddle. But Samson was furious about what had happened, and he went back home to live with his father and mother.

KJV: And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave change of garments unto them which expounded the riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his father's house.

NKJV: Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon him mightily, and he went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty of their men, took their apparel, and gave the changes of clothing to those who had explained the riddle. So his anger was aroused, and he went back up to his father’s house.

For the second time in this chapter, the Spirit of the Lord rushes on Samson. He has lost a bet to thirty men from Timnah because they used his wife to betray him. Despite their unfairness—which was in response to his own deceptive attempts—he now owes them each a set of clothes (Judges 14:11–18).

Samson travels to the fortified Philistine city of Ashkelon. The choice of a city which was likely a full day's travel away from Timnah might have been to avoid being recognized. He does this without staying to consummate the marriage to his new bride; he will not return to her for some time. This leads to further misunderstanding and scandal (Judges 14:20).

Scripture uses the Hebrew root word nakah to describe Samson's act. This word literally means to "strike" or to "beat." It is usually interpreted to mean "killing." However, the Bible sometimes needs to specify that it has caused death (Numbers 35:16; 2 Samuel 1:15; 11:15). The same root word will be used later to describe Samson's retaliation against the Philistines, implying death without explicitly counting casualties. Most likely, this verse means Samson killed thirty men and took their clothes to pay his debt. It's possible, but less likely, that he attacked the men and robbed them of their garments, instead.

Samson has behaved defiantly and foolishly throughout this passage. That began with deciding to marry a Philistine woman in the first place (Exodus 34:15–16). It likely continued by breaking aspects of the Nazirite vow (Judges 13:5; 14:10). What he does here is only briefly described, but it's certainly not self-defense. It's an act of aggression and violence. That raises the question which lingers over Samson's entire life: why does the Spirit of the Lord empower Samson at all, let alone in moments such as this?

The answer comes earlier, when explaining why God allowed Samson to pursue his marriage to a Philistine bride (Judges 14:4). God's overall plan for Samson is to disrupt the Philistines' comfortable control over Israel (Judges 13:1, 5). After forty years, Israel has grown complacent in captivity. They seem resigned to living under the rule of the Philistines. Unlike previous times, Israel has not called out for rescue from their condition (Judges 2:16–19). Samson's willingness to marry a pagan, idol-worshipping Philistine and his parents' weak resistance are evidence of this lack of conviction. Samson's sins are just that—sins—and he will suffer for them throughout his life. And yet, the Lord intends to use Samson's lack of character and self-control to ignite a spark of resistance within Israel.

Even after such a violent act, Samson, is still boiling over with rage. That seems to include anger at his betrothed wife. Rather than returning to her and consummating the marriage, he returns to his parents' home in Zorah.

Judges 14:10–20 explains the disastrous outcome of Samson's attempted marriage to a Philistine woman. As was the custom, a weeklong wedding feast is held. Thirty Philistines companions are assigned to Samson. He makes an exorbitant bet with them, making a riddle about his killing of the young lion (Judges 14:5–6). The men threaten the future bride, who pesters Samson until he tells her the secret, which she gives to the groomsmen. Enraged at her betrayal, and empowered by the Lord's Spirit, Samson assaults thirty Philistine men in another town (Judges 14:4). He takes their clothes as the payment for the wager. Because Samson angrily abandons the wedding feast, his bride is given to another man.

Samson (Judges 13:24–25) is now old enough to marry. He demands his parents arrange marriage to a Philistine woman with whom he is infatuated. When attacked by a lion, Samson rips the animal apart with his bare hands, empowered by the Holy Spirit. Later, he finds a beehive and honey in the lion's carcass. At the wedding feast, Samson proposes a wager based on this secret. His thirty Philistine companions become frustrated when they can't solve it. They threaten Samson's bride, and she manipulates him to get the secret. Samson attacks thirty Philistines in another town to pay the wager.

The Book of Judges describes Israel's history from the death of Joshua to shortly before Israel's first king, Saul. Israel fails to complete God's command to purge the wicked Canaanites from the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4). This results in a centuries-long cycle where Israel falls into sin and is oppressed by local enemies. After each oppression, God sends a civil-military leader, labeled using a Hebrew word loosely translated into English as "judge." These appointed rescuers would free Israel from enemy control and govern for a certain time. After each judge's death, the cycle of sin and oppression begins again. This continues until the people of Israel choose a king, during the ministry of the prophet-and-judge Samuel (1 Samuel 1—7).