Juízes 14

BLIVRE · Chapter 14/21

¹E descendo Sansão a Timna, viu em Timna uma mulher das filhas dos filisteus.

²E subiu, e declarou-o a seu pai e a sua mãe, dizendo: Eu vi em Timna uma mulher das filhas dos filisteus: rogo-vos que a deis a mim por mulher.

³E seu pai e sua mãe lhe disseram: Não há mulher entre as filhas de teus irmãos, nem em todo meu povo, para que vás tu a tomar mulher dos filisteus incircuncisos? E Sansão respondeu a seu pai: Toma-a a mim por mulher, porque esta agradou a meus olhos.

⁴Mas seu pai e sua mãe não sabiam que isto vinha do SENHOR, e que ele buscava ocasião contra os filisteus: porque naquele tempo os filisteus dominavam sobre Israel.

⁵E Sansão desceu com seu pai e com sua mãe a Timna: e quando chegaram às vinhas de Timna, eis que um leão jovem que vinha bramando até ele.

⁶E o espírito do SENHOR caiu sobre ele, e despedaçou-o como quem despedaça um cabrito, sem ter nada em sua mão: e não deu a entender a seu pai nem a sua mãe o que havia feito.

⁷Veio, pois, e falou à mulher que havia agradado a Sansão.

⁸E voltando depois de alguns dias para tomá-la, apartou-se para ver o corpo morto do leão, e eis que no corpo do leão um enxame de abelhas, e um favo de mel.

⁹E tomando-o em suas mãos, foi-se comendo-o pelo caminho: e chegado que houve a seu pai e a sua mãe, deu-lhes também a eles que comessem; mas não lhes revelou que havia tomado aquela mel do corpo do leão.

¹⁰Veio, pois, seu pai à mulher, e Sansão fez ali banquete; porque assim costumavam fazer os rapazes.

¹¹E quando eles o viram, tomaram trinta companheiros que estivessem com ele;

¹²Aos quais Sansão disse: Eu vos proporei agora um enigma, o qual se nos sete dias do banquete vós me declarardes e descobrirdes, eu vos darei trinta sábanas e trinta mudas de vestidos.

¹³Mas se não o souberes declarar a mim, vós me dareis as trinta mantas e as trinta mudas de vestidos. E eles responderam: Propõe-nos teu enigma, e o ouviremos.

¹⁴Então lhes disse: Do comedor saiu comida, E do forte saiu doçura. E eles não puderam declarar-lhe o enigma em três dias.

¹⁵E ao sétimo dia disseram à mulher de Sansão: Induz a teu marido a que nos declare este enigma, para que não te queimemos a ti e à casa de teu pai. Chamaste-nos aqui para possuir-nos?

¹⁶E chorou a mulher de Sansão diante dele, e disse: Somente me aborreces e não me amas, pois que não me declaras o enigma que propuseste aos filhos de meu povo. E ele respondeu: Eis que nem a meu pai nem a minha mãe o declarei; e havia eu de declará-lo a ti?

¹⁷E ela chorou diante dele os sete dias que eles tiveram banquete: mas ao sétimo dia ele o declarou a ela, porque lhe constrangeu; e ela o declarou aos filhos de seu povo.

¹⁸E ao sétimo dia, antes que o sol se pusesse, os da cidade lhe disseram: Que coisa mais doce que o mel? E que coisa mais forte que o leão? Se não arásseis com minha novilha, Nunca teríeis descoberto meu enigma.

¹⁹E o espírito do SENHOR caiu sobre ele, e desceu a Asquelom, e feriu trinta homens deles; e tomando seus despojos, deu as mudas de vestidos aos que haviam explicado o enigma: e acendido em ira foi-se à casa de seu pai.

²⁰E a mulher de Sansão foi dada a seu companheiro, com o qual ele antes se acompanhava.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Samson marries a Philistine woman against his parents' wishes, kills a lion on the way to the wedding, poses a riddle at the feast, and reacts with violence when his wife reveals the answer to the Philistines.

Explanation

Samson's marriage to a Philistine woman, despite the clear prohibition against intermarriage, is described by the text itself as something that 'was of the LORD,' who used this questionable decision of Samson's as an occasion to confront the Philistines - showing how God can work through complicated circumstances without approving the disobedience itself. The riddle of the lion ('out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness') and its solution through his wife's betrayal reveals the pattern that would repeat throughout Samson's life: his impressive physical strength walked hand in hand with emotional weakness before women who manipulated him. This chapter already establishes the tragic cycle of impulsiveness and personal revenge that would mark his entire career as judge.

Fun facts

The custom of posing riddles at wedding feasts, with clothing wagered as the prize, was a social practice documented in various cultures of the ancient Near East as a form of entertainment among guests.
The honey found in the dead lion's carcass is biologically plausible: bees can build hives in the cavities of bones and dry carcasses in hot climates like that of Israel.

Verse-by-verse explanation

Juízes 14:1Samson goes down to Timnath and sees there a Philistine woman who pleases him.
Juízes 14:2He comes back and asks his parents to arrange this marriage, having already decided he wants that Philistine woman as his wife.
Juízes 14:3His parents are puzzled, asking why he wants to marry an uncircumcised Philistine instead of choosing someone from his own people; Samson insists, saying she is the one who pleases him.
Juízes 14:4The text explains that Samson's desire for a Philistine woman came, without his knowing it, from an opportunity God was using against the Philistines. It is a passage in which the narrative credits God with a plan behind a choice Samson's parents considered wrong.
Juízes 14:5Samson goes down to Timnath with his parents, and as he draws near the vineyards there, a young lion roars and comes toward him.
Juízes 14:6The Spirit of the Lord comes upon Samson with such force that he tears the lion apart with his bare hands, as one would tear a young goat, without telling his parents anything about it.
Juízes 14:7Samson goes down and talks with the woman, who still pleases him well.
Juízes 14:8Days later, returning to get her, Samson turns aside to see the dead lion's carcass and finds a swarm of bees making honey inside it.
Juízes 14:9He scoops out the honey with his own hands, eats it as he walks along, and even gives some to his parents, without telling them where he got it.
Juízes 14:10Samson's father goes down to the woman, and Samson holds a wedding feast there, as was the custom among young men of that time.
Juízes 14:11When they see Samson, the local Philistines choose thirty companions to stay with him during the feast.
Juízes 14:12Samson proposes a riddle to the thirty companions: if they can solve it during the seven days of the feast, he will give them thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothing.
Juízes 14:13But if they cannot, they must give Samson those same prizes instead; the companions accept the challenge and ask to hear the riddle.
Juízes 14:14Samson's riddle only makes sense to someone who knows the story of the dead lion with the honeycomb inside it, something only he and his parents had seen. This explains why no one can solve it unless his wife pries the answer out of him first.
Juízes 14:15On the seventh day, the companions threaten Samson's wife, saying they will burn her and her father's house if she does not get the secret of the riddle from her husband.
Juízes 14:16His wife weeps before Samson, saying he does not truly love her since he will not even tell her the riddle; Samson answers that he has not told even his own parents, so why would he tell her.
Juízes 14:17She weeps through the seven days of the feast until he gives in and tells her, worn down by so much pressing; she then passes the answer on to the Philistine companions.
Juízes 14:18On the seventh day, before sunset, the men of the city answer the riddle correctly; Samson realizes at once that they only found it out because they used his wife against him, comparing it to plowing with his heifer.
Juízes 14:19Furious, Samson kills thirty Philistine men in Ashkelon, takes their clothes to pay off the bet, and goes up angrily to his father's house, without returning to his wife.
Juízes 14:20Samson's wife ends up being given to the companion who had attended him at the wedding, leaving the situation even more tense for the next chapter.