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Verse-by-Verse Commentary

The Book of Judges

Chapter 14: Out of the Strong Came Forth Sweetness

Samson's strength first shows itself when the Spirit of the LORD comes mightily upon him and he tears a lion bare-handed. Later, honey fills the lion's carcase, and from it comes his famous riddle. Yet the same mighty man is led by his own eyes into a forbidden marriage, and the chapter mixes wonder and warning: God's power and a man's weakness side by side.

About This Commentary

This is a verse-by-verse study of Judges chapter 14. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Chapter 14 shows the strange mixture that is Samson: mightily used by God's Spirit, yet ruled by his appetites. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.

Strength and Sweetness

The Lion and the Honey (Judges 14:1-9)

Samson demands a Philistine wife against his parents' counsel, but on the way the Spirit empowers him to tear a lion, and from its carcase he later takes honey.

Judges 14:1-9

The Spirit of the LORD Came Mightily Upon Him

"And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines. And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife. Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well. But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel. Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against him. And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done. And he went down, and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well. And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion. And he took thereof in his hands, and went on eating, and came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they did eat: but he told not them that he had taken the honey out of the carcase of the lion."

Word Study

"came mightily," Hebrew tsalach (צָלַח), "to rush upon, to break forth, to prosper mightily." The verb pictures the Spirit of the LORD rushing upon Samson like a sudden surge of power. It is the same word used again in this book of Samson (Judges 14:19; 15:14) and of Saul and David when the Spirit "came upon" them. Samson had no weapon, "he had nothing in his hand", yet by that inrushing Spirit he tore a young lion "as he would have rent a kid." Here is the paradox of Samson's whole life: his strength was never his own but the LORD's, given by the Spirit for God's purposes. The lesson is plain: what is impossible to the flesh is nothing to the Spirit of God. "This is the word of the LORD... Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit" (Zechariah 4:6). Samson's tragedy is that he treated this holy power as his personal possession.

Explanation

Samson's story opens on a warning note: he "saw a woman... of the daughters of the Philistines" and demanded her, over his parents' godly protest, "for she pleaseth me well", literally, "she is right in my eyes." That phrase is the epitaph of the whole book: everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Yet God, who overrules even our failings, meant to use the occasion "against the Philistines." On the road the Spirit rushes on him and he tears a lion bare-handed. Returning later, he finds bees and honey in the dry carcase and eats, telling no one, a detail that quietly compromises his Nazarite vow, for touching the dead was forbidden. Strength and carelessness, God's power and Samson's weakness, run together from the very start.

Gospel Focus

"Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness." The lion that roared to devour became a storehouse of honey; out of death came sweetness and life. It is a picture, however dimly, of the gospel's deepest wonder: out of the death of Christ came the sweetness of our salvation, out of the grave, the honey of life. Samson met the roaring lion and overcame it by the Spirit, and Scripture calls our adversary "a roaring lion" (1 Peter 5:8), while Christ is "the Lion of the tribe of Juda" who "prevailed" (Revelation 5:5). From the strong One's victory over death flows all the sweetness we shall ever taste. Yet Samson also warns us: he was mighty in the Spirit but reckless in the flesh; power to serve God is no substitute for obedience to Him.

A Riddle at the Feast

Out of the Eater Came Forth Meat (Judges 14:10-14)

At his wedding feast Samson wagers a riddle drawn from his secret, and the Philistines are baffled by it for days.

Judges 14:10-14

The Riddle

"So his father went down unto the woman: and Samson made there a feast; for so used the young men to do. And it came to pass, when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him. And Samson said unto them, I will now put forth a riddle unto you: if ye can certainly declare it me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty sheets and thirty change of garments: But if ye cannot declare it me, then shall ye give me thirty sheets and thirty change of garments. And they said unto him, Put forth thy riddle, that we may hear it. And he said unto them, Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness. And they could not in three days expound the riddle."

Word Study

"riddle," Hebrew chidah (חִידָה), "a riddle, dark saying, enigma, puzzle." A chidah was a puzzle whose meaning is hidden until it is explained, exactly what Samson set before the thirty Philistines. The word is used elsewhere of the deep sayings of wisdom, "to understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings" (Proverbs 1:6), where "dark sayings" is the plural chidot, and of the profound truths of God's dealings, "I will open my dark saying upon the harp" (Psalm 49:4). Some truths of God are like Samson's riddle: hidden to the outsider, opened only to those given the key. The apostle Paul spoke of "the mystery" of the gospel, once hidden, now revealed (Ephesians 3:9), and Jesus "without a parable spake he not unto them" (Mark 4:34), so that the humble would understand and the proud remain in the dark. God's deepest sweetness is found only by those to whom He gives the answer.

Explanation

Samson keeps the seven-day marriage feast in Philistine custom, and thirty "companions", really a guard set to watch this dangerous Israelite, are brought to him. He wagers a riddle: solve it in seven days and win thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes; fail, and pay him the same. His riddle springs from his private experience of the lion and the honey, "Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness", a puzzle no one could solve without knowing his secret. For three days the Philistines are stumped. What began as festive sport is about to turn deadly, for a wager they cannot win becomes a threat they will not tolerate.

Gospel Focus

The riddle turns on a truth that runs through all of Scripture: God brings sweetness out of the strong, life out of death, food out of the devourer. Israel learned it when bitter waters were made sweet (Exodus 15:25); Joseph learned it when his brothers' evil became the saving of many; the church learned it forever at the cross, where the worst that death and hell could do became the fountain of eternal life. "Out of the strong came forth sweetness" is the pattern of God's redemption. The very things meant to devour His people, He turns into their nourishment; "all things work together for good to them that love God" (Romans 8:28). What roars against you today, God can make a hive of honey tomorrow.

Plowed with His Heifer

The Riddle Betrayed (Judges 14:15-20)

Under threat, Samson's wife weeps the secret out of him and betrays it, and his anger drives him to a Spirit-empowered vengeance.

Judges 14:15-20

If Ye Had Not Plowed with My Heifer

"And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said unto Samson's wife, Entice thy husband, that he may declare unto us the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy father's house with fire: have ye called us to take that we have? is it not so? And Samson's wife wept before him, and said, Thou dost but hate me, and lovest me not: thou hast put forth a riddle unto the children of my people, and hast not told it me. And he said unto her, Behold, I have not told it my father nor my mother, and shall I tell it thee? And she wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted: and it came to pass on the seventh day, that he told her, because she lay sore upon him: and she told the riddle to the children of her people. And the men of the city said unto him on the seventh day before the sun went down, What is sweeter than honey? and what is stronger than a lion? And he said unto them, If ye had not plowed with my heifer, ye had not found out my riddle. 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. But Samson's wife was given to his companion, whom he had used as his friend."

Word Study

"entice," Hebrew pathah (פָּתָה), "to persuade, seduce, coax, deceive." The Philistines command Samson's wife to pathah her husband, to work on him with tears and pressure until she pries loose his secret, and "she lay sore upon him" until he broke. The same verb describes the seductions that lead the simple astray, "if sinners entice thee, consent thou not" (Proverbs 1:10), and, ominously, it will be used again of Delilah's fatal coaxing (Judges 16:5). Here is the first appearance of Samson's lifelong weakness: he could tear a lion but could not withstand a woman's tears. Strong against the roaring enemy without, he was defenseless against the enticement within his own house. It is the timeless warning that our greatest strength is worthless if there is an unguarded door in our heart.

Explanation

The thirty companions, unable to solve the riddle, threaten to burn Samson's wife and her family alive unless she gets the answer. Trapped, she weeps on him the whole feast, accusing him of not loving her, until on the seventh day he gives in and tells her, and she betrays it at once. The Philistines spring the answer on him just before the deadline, and Samson knows how they got it: "If ye had not plowed with my heifer, ye had not found out my riddle." Then the Spirit of the LORD comes upon him again, and he goes to Ashkelon, kills thirty men, and pays the wager with their garments. But his marriage is over; in his anger he goes home, and his wife is given to his best man. Betrayal, rage, and loss, the bitter fruit of an unequal yoke.

Gospel Focus

Samson's downfall traces back to one root: he chose a wife "of the uncircumcised Philistines" because "she is right in my eyes," ignoring his parents and the plain will of God. The unequal yoke bore its predictable harvest, betrayal, strife, and heartbreak, exactly what Scripture warns: "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers" (2 Corinthians 6:14). And behind it lay the sin of the wandering eye, walking by sight rather than by faith. God can and does overrule our failures for His purposes, He turned even this to strike the Philistines, but that is His mercy, not our license. Samson teaches every believer that the Spirit's power upon a life is no shield against the ruin of a heart governed by the eyes. Guard your affections; do not be yoked with what pulls you from God.

Chapter 14 in Review

Judges 14 sets the pattern of Samson's whole life: mighty by the Spirit, weak in the flesh. Against his parents' counsel he demands a Philistine wife "right in his eyes," yet on the way the Spirit rushes on him and he tears a lion bare-handed. From the lion's carcase comes honey, and from that his riddle, "Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness." But his bride is enticed to betray the riddle, his anger flares in a Spirit-empowered slaughter at Ashkelon, and his marriage collapses. Power and folly, wonder and warning, side by side.

For the Apostolic reader, the chapter preaches two truths at once. First, God brings sweetness out of the strong, life out of death, the gospel pattern fulfilled at the cross, where the roaring lion's worst became our honey. Second, Samson warns that the Spirit's mighty power is no substitute for a guarded heart: he could master a lion but not his own eyes, and the unequal yoke he chose bore bitter fruit. Be not unequally yoked, and do not walk by sight.

Key Takeaways
  • Samson's strength was the Spirit "rushing" on him; the power was God's, not his own.
  • "Out of the strong came forth sweetness", God brings life out of death, fulfilled at the cross.
  • Samson chose a wife because "she is right in my eyes", the epitaph of a man who walked by sight.
  • He could tear a lion but not resist enticement; the Spirit's power is no shield for an unguarded heart.

Questions for Reflection

  • Do you choose by what is "right in your eyes," or by the will of God and godly counsel?
  • Where has God brought sweetness out of something that once roared against you?
  • Samson was strong against the lion but weak against enticement. What door in your heart is unguarded?

References & Sources

Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). The Hebrew terms are standard and can be checked in any Hebrew lexicon. Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.

  1. The Spirit rushing upon Samson; the lion and the honey: Judges 14:1-9; Zechariah 4:6; 1 Peter 5:8; Revelation 5:5.
  2. The riddle; sweetness out of the strong: Judges 14:10-14; Proverbs 1:6; Psalm 49:4; Exodus 15:25; Romans 8:28.
  3. The enticement and the unequal yoke: Judges 14:15-20; Proverbs 1:10; 2 Corinthians 6:14.
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