Judges 14:6
in Judges 14and the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon him, and he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as one would tear a young goat. But he did not tell his father or mother what he had done.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the Spirit of Jehovah 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.
KJV
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.
⋯
This verse in Judges 14
Commentary
8 notes on this verseHe rent him as he would have rent a kid - Now it is not intimated that he did this by his own natural strength, but by the Spirit of the Lord coming mightily upon him: so that his strength does not appear to be his own, nor to be at his command; his might was, by the will of God, attached to his hair and to his Nazarate.
This site's exposition
came to the vineyards of Timnah
on Judges 14:5-6
The lion meets him among “the vineyards of Timnah”, and Numbers 6:3-4 bars a Nazirite from everything the vine yields, though the text records nothing of what he ate there. This is the second of four comings of the Spirit on Samson, and “came powerfully upon him” is stronger than what is said of Othniel at 3:10 and Gideon at 6:34. He told neither parent.
This site's exposition
as one would tear a young goat
Adam Clarke reads Samson's strength as the Spirit's, given by the will of the LORD and joined to his hair and his vow. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown describe the young lion as a lion in its prime. Samson told neither his father nor his mother.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Many of the fathers have spoken a great deal about this lion, beloved brothers, and all of them have said what is fitting and in accord with the facts. Some have said that the lion prefigured Christ our Lord. Truly, this is very appropriate, for …
This request was granted; and Samson on his return to visit his promised bride, turned a little way out of the road, and straightway there met him a lion from the wood, fierce in its savage freedom. Samson had no companion, nor any weapon in his hand; but he felt ashamed to fly, and conscious power gave him courage.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him,....
He was exalted in his own strength. That which added much to the glory of Samson's triumph over the lion was that when he had done this great exploit he did not boast of it, did not so much as tell his father nor mother that which many a one would soon have published through the whole country.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
a young lion--Hebrew, a lion in the pride of his youthful prime. The wild mountain passes of Judah were the lairs of savage beasts; and most or all the "lions" of Scripture occur in that wild country.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתִּצְלַ֨ח | vatitzlach | and it rushed | H6743 → | 65 times |
| עָלָ֜יו | ʾalav | on him | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| ר֣וּחַ | ruach | [the] spirit of | H7307 → | 378 times |
| יְהוָ֗ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַֽיְשַׁסְּעֵ֙הוּ֙ | vayshaseehu | and he tore apart it | H8156 → | |
| כְּשַׁסַּ֣ע | keshasa' | as tears apart | H8156 → | |
| הַגְּדִ֔י | hagedi | <the> kid | H1423 → | 16 times |
| וּמְא֖וּמָה | umeumah | and [was] anything | H3972 → | |
| אֵ֣ין | ʾein | there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| בְּיָד֑וֹ | beyado | in hand his | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| וְלֹ֤א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הִגִּיד֙ | higid | he told | H5046 → | 370 times |
| לְאָבִ֣יו | leaviv | to father his | H1 → | 1212 times |
| וּלְאִמּ֔וֹ | uleimo | and to mother his | H517 → | 220 times |
| אֵ֖ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | [that] which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עָשָֽׂה׃ | ʾasah | he had done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
וַתִּצְלַ֨חand it rushed
vatitzlachH6743 →65 times
עָלָ֜יוon him
ʾalavH5921 →5755 times
ר֣וּחַ[the] spirit of
ruachH7307 →378 times
יְהוָ֗הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַֽיְשַׁסְּעֵ֙הוּ֙and he tore apart it
vayshaseehuH8156 →
כְּשַׁסַּ֣עas tears apart
keshasa'H8156 →
הַגְּדִ֔י<the> kid
hagediH1423 →16 times
וּמְא֖וּמָהand [was] anything
umeumahH3972 →
אֵ֣יןthere not
ʾeinH369 →789 times
בְּיָד֑וֹin hand his
beyadoH3027 →1618 times
וְלֹ֤אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
הִגִּיד֙he told
higidH5046 →370 times
לְאָבִ֣יוto father his
leavivH1 →1212 times
וּלְאִמּ֔וֹand to mother his
uleimoH517 →220 times
אֵ֖ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
אֲשֶׁ֥ר[that] which
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
עָשָֽׂה׃he had done
ʾasahH6213 →2628 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
Zechariah 4:6So 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.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 32:7–8
“Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged before the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater One with us than with him.
- 2 Corinthians 10:4–5
The weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the world. Instead, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
- 1 Corinthians 2:4–5
My message and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,
- Psalms 33:16
No king is saved by his vast army; no warrior is delivered by his great strength.
- Isaiah 11:2–4
The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD.
- 2 Chronicles 32:7–8
Through
1 Samuel 17:46This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand. This day I will strike you down, cut off your head, and give the carcasses of the Philistines to the birds of the air…
it leads to
- Isaiah 52:10
The LORD has bared His holy arm in the sight of all the nations; all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.
- Joshua 4:24
He did this so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, and so that you may always fear the LORD your God.”
- 2 Kings 19:19
And now, O LORD our God, please save us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, O LORD, are God.”
- Isaiah 52:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Judges
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ambrose of Milan, Letter 19.14; Caesarius of Arles, SERMON 119.1; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.