Judges 14:20
in Judges 14and his wife was given to one of the men who had accompanied him.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But Samson’s wife was given to his companion, whom he had used as his friend.
KJV
But Samson’s wife was given to his companion, whom he had used as his friend.
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This verse in Judges 14
Commentary
8 notes on this verseBut Samson’s wife was given to his companion - This was the same kind of person who is called the friend of the bridegroom, Joh 3:29. And it is very likely that she loved this person better than she loved her husband, and went to him as soon as Samson had gone to his father’s house at Zorah. She might, however, have thought herself abandoned by him, and therefore took another; this appears to have been the persuasion of her father, Jdg 15:
This site's exposition
he went down to Ashkelon
on Judges 14:19-20
Ashkelon lies about twenty-four miles from Timnah by Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, so the thirty men are not the thirty who won it. This third coming of the Spirit on Samson is followed by a killing. Meanwhile “his wife was given to one of the men who had accompanied him”.
This site's exposition
his wife was given to one
Albert Barnes reads the wife given to one of the men who accompanied Samson as a sign of how lightly the Philistines held marriage. He draws from the chapter a lesson against ungodly marriages. Matthew Henry calls the Philistine match foolish from the start.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
But Samson's wife was given to his companion,....
As the negotiation of Samson's marriage was a common case, we may observe, (1.) That is was weakly and foolishly done of him to set his affections upon a daughter of the Philistines; the thing appeared very improper. Shall one that is not only an Israelite, but a Nazarite, devoted to the Lord, covet to become one with a worshipper of Dagon?
Instead of begging his pardon for the wrong she had done him, when he justly signified his resentment of it only by withdrawing in displeasure for a time, she immediately marries him that was the chief of the guests, the friend of the bridegroom, whom perhaps she loved too well, and was too willing to oblige, when she got her husband to tell her the riddle.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Samson's wife was given to his companion, whom he had used as his friend--that is, "the friend of the bridegroom," who was the medium of communicating during the festivities between him and his bride.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
His companion - Perhaps one of those mentioned in Jdg 14:11. The transaction denotes loose notions of the sanctity of marriage among the Philistines. It should be noted carefully that the practical lesson against ungodly marriages comes out most strongly in this case and that the providential purpose which out of this evil brought discomfiture to the Philistines, has nothing to do with the right or wrong of Samson’s conduct.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתְּהִ֖י | vatehi | and she belonged | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| אֵ֣שֶׁת | ʾeshet | [the] wife of | H802 → | 781 times |
| שִׁמְשׁ֑וֹן | shimshon | Samson | H8123 → | 38 times |
| לְמֵ֣רֵעֵ֔הוּ | lemereehu | to companion his | H4828 → | 7 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| רֵעָ֖ה | reah | he was a special friend | H7462 → | |
| לֽוֹ׃ | lo | to <the> him |
וַתְּהִ֖יand she belonged
vatehiH1961 →3559 times
אֵ֣שֶׁת[the] wife of
ʾeshetH802 →781 times
שִׁמְשׁ֑וֹןSamson
shimshonH8123 →38 times
לְמֵ֣רֵעֵ֔הוּto companion his
lemereehuH4828 →7 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
רֵעָ֖הhe was a special friend
reahH7462 →
לֽוֹ׃to <the> him
lo
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
John 13:18I am not speaking about all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the Scripture: ‘The one who shares My bread has lifted up his heel against Me.’
it leads to
- Psalms 41:9
Even my close friend whom I trusted, the one who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.
- Matthew 26:23
Jesus answered, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with Me will betray Me.
- John 17:12
While I was with them, I protected and preserved them by Your name, the name You gave Me. Not one of them has been lost, except the son of destruction, so that the Scripture…
- Psalms 41:9
Through
John 3:29The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom stands and listens for him, and is overjoyed to hear the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.
it leads to
- Hosea 2:19
So I will betroth you to Me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in loving devotion and compassion.
- Isaiah 54:5
For your husband is your Maker—the LORD of Hosts is His name—the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; He is called the God of all the earth.
- Ephesians 5:25–27
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her
- Matthew 9:15
Jesus replied, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while He is with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.
- Ezekiel 16:8
Then I passed by and saw you, and you were indeed old enough for love. So I spread My cloak over you and covered your nakedness. I pledged Myself to you, entered into a…
- Hosea 2:19
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Judges
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.