Judges 14:3
in Judges 14But his father and mother replied, “Can’t you find a young woman among your relatives or among any of our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife?” But Samson told his father, “Get her for me, for she is pleasing to my eyes.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Judges 14
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The uncircumcised Philistines - Compare 1Sa 14:6; 1Sa 17:26; 1Sa 31:4, for a similar use of the term as one of reproach. Also Act 11:3.
This site's exposition
Can’t you find a young woman
on Judges 14:3-4
The parents object to “the uncircumcised Philistines”, as Jonathan says at 1 Samuel 14:6 and David at 1 Samuel 17:26. In Hebrew, Samson says she is right in his eyes, the sentence the book closes on at 17:6 and 21:25. Matthew Henry takes the marriage rule as set aside to strike the oppressor, and Albert Barnes reads God as turning foreseen misconduct into “an occasion to move against the Philistines”.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Now Samson, approved by such signal tokens from above, turned his thoughts as soon as he grew up, to marriage; whether this was that he abhorred those vague and licentious desires in which young men are wont to indulge, or that he was seeking an occasion of releasing the necks of his countrymen from the power of the hard yoke of the Philistines.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Then his father and his mother said unto him,....
He that in the choice of a wife is guided only by his eye, and governed by his fancy, must afterwards thank himself if he find a Philistine in his arms. (2.) Yet it was wisely and well done not to proceed so much as to make his addresses to her till he had first made his parents acquainted with the matter.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Is there never a woman - To marry with any that did not belong to the Israelitish stock, was contrary to the law, Exo 34:16; Deu 7:3. But this marriage of Samson was said to be of the Lord, Jdg 14:4; that is, God permitted it, (for in no other sense can we understand the phrase), that it might be a means of bringing about the deliverance of Israel. For she pleaseth me well - כי היאישרה בעיני ki hi yisherah beeynai, for she is right in my eyes. This is what is supposed to be a sufficient reason to justify either man or woman in their random choice of wife or husband; the maxim is the same with that of the poet: - “Thou hast no fault, or I no fault can spy; Thou art all beauty or all blindness I.” When the will has sufficient power, its determinations are its own rule of right. That will should be pure and well directed that says, It shall be so, because I Will it should be so. A reason of this kind is similar to that which I have seen in a motto on the brass ordnance of Lewis XIV., Ultima Ratio Regum, the sum of regal logic; i.e., “My will, backed by these instruments of destruction, shall be the rule of right and wrong.” The rules and principles of this logic are now suspected; and it is not likely to be generally received again without violent demonstration.
The words behind it
28 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֨אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| ל֜וֹ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| אָבִ֣יו | ʾaviv | father his | H1 → | 1212 times |
| וְאִמּ֗וֹ | veimo | and mother his | H517 → | 220 times |
| הַאֵין֩ | haein | ¿ [is] there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| בִּבְנ֨וֹת | bivnot | among [the] daughters of | H1323 → | 588 times |
| אַחֶ֤יךָ | ʾacheikha | brothers your | H251 → | 630 times |
| וּבְכָל־ | uvekhol- | and among all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| עַמִּי֙ | ʾami | people my | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| אִשָּׁ֔ה | ʾishah | a woman | H802 → | 781 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אַתָּ֤ה | ʾatah | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| הוֹלֵךְ֙ | holekh | [are] going | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| לָקַ֣חַת | lakachat | to take | H3947 → | 966 times |
| אִשָּׁ֔ה | ʾishah | a wife | H802 → | 781 times |
| מִפְּלִשְׁתִּ֖ים | mipelishtim | from [the] Philistines | H6430 → | 287 times |
| הָעֲרֵלִ֑ים | haarelim | <the> uncircumcised | H6189 → | |
| וַיֹּ֨אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| שִׁמְשׁ֤וֹן | shimshon | Samson | H8123 → | 38 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אָבִיו֙ | ʾaviv | father his | H1 → | 1212 times |
| אוֹתָ֣הּ | ʾotah | <obj.> her | H853 → | 10935 times |
| קַֽח־ | kach- | get | H3947 → | 966 times |
| לִ֔י | li | for <the> me | ||
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הִ֖יא | hi' | she | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| יָשְׁרָ֥ה | yasherah | she is pleasing | H3474 → | |
| בְעֵינָֽי׃ | veeinai | in view my | H5869 → | 887 times |
וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
ל֜וֹto <the> him
lo
אָבִ֣יוfather his
ʾavivH1 →1212 times
וְאִמּ֗וֹand mother his
veimoH517 →220 times
הַאֵין֩¿ [is] there not
haeinH369 →789 times
בִּבְנ֨וֹתamong [the] daughters of
bivnotH1323 →588 times
אַחֶ֤יךָbrothers your
ʾacheikhaH251 →630 times
וּבְכָל־and among all
uvekhol-H3605 →5413 times
עַמִּי֙people my
ʾamiH5971 →1873 times
אִשָּׁ֔הa woman
ʾishahH802 →781 times
כִּֽי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
אַתָּ֤הyou
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
הוֹלֵךְ֙[are] going
holekhH1980 →1546 times
לָקַ֣חַתto take
lakachatH3947 →966 times
אִשָּׁ֔הa wife
ʾishahH802 →781 times
מִפְּלִשְׁתִּ֖יםfrom [the] Philistines
mipelishtimH6430 →287 times
הָעֲרֵלִ֑ים<the> uncircumcised
haarelimH6189 →
וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
שִׁמְשׁ֤וֹןSamson
shimshonH8123 →38 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אָבִיו֙father his
ʾavivH1 →1212 times
אוֹתָ֣הּ<obj.> her
ʾotahH853 →10935 times
קַֽח־get
kach-H3947 →966 times
לִ֔יfor <the> me
li
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
הִ֖יאshe
hi'H1931 →1879 times
יָשְׁרָ֥הshe is pleasing
yasherahH3474 →
בְעֵינָֽי׃in view my
veeinaiH5869 →887 times
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
1 Samuel 14:6Jonathan said to the young man bearing his armor, “Come, let us cross over to the outpost of these uncircumcised men. Perhaps the LORD will work on our behalf. Nothing can hinder the LORD…
it leads to
- Matthew 19:26
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
- Romans 8:31
What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
- Zechariah 4:6
So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of Hosts.
- Deuteronomy 32:30
How could one man pursue a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the LORD had given them up?
- 2 Chronicles 14:11
Then Asa cried out to the LORD his God: “O LORD, there is no one besides You to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on…
- Matthew 19:26
Through
1 Samuel 17:36Your servant has killed lions and bears; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.”
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 17:10
Then the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel this day! Give me a man to fight!”
- 1 Samuel 17:10
Through
Judges 15:18And being very thirsty, Samson cried out to the LORD, “You have accomplished this great deliverance through Your servant. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?”
it leads to
- Psalms 3:7–8
Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked.
- Psalms 22:14–15
I am poured out like water, and all my bones are disjointed. My heart is like wax; it melts away within me.
- Psalms 3:7–8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Judges
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Ambrose of Milan, Letter 19.13; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.