Judges 14:10
in Judges 14Then his father went to visit the woman, and Samson prepared a feast there, as was customary for the bridegroom.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And his father went down unto the woman: and Samson made there a feast; for so used the young men to do.
KJV
So his father went down unto the woman: and Samson made there a feast; for so used the young men to do.
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This verse in Judges 14
Commentary
2 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Made a feast ... - This was the wedding-feast, protracted in this instance seven days, in that of Tobias (Tobit 8:19) fourteen days. It was an essential part of the marriage ceremony Gen 29:22; Est 2:18; Mat 22:2-4; Rev 19:7, Rev 19:9.
This site's exposition
his father went down unto
on Judges 14:10-11
The word rendered feast here is mishteh, built on the verb to drink, and it is the ordinary word for the banquet at Genesis 21:8 and Esther 1:3. Numbers 6:3 bars a Nazarite from wine and from strong drink, and this verse puts him at the drinking feast the young men kept, while saying nothing about what he took. The thirty companions are read two ways: Albert Barnes takes their number as a mark of the standing of Samson's family, and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown take them for a watch set on a stranger by the bride's people.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
His father descended to discuss the woman. With regard to the woman.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Friends. Companions who formed the retinue of wedding attendants.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֵּ֥רֶד | vaiyered | and he went down | H3381 → | 381 times |
| אָבִ֖יהוּ | ʾavihu | father his | H1 → | 1212 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הָאִשָּׁ֑ה | haishah | the woman | H802 → | 781 times |
| וַיַּ֨עַשׂ | vaiyaas | and he prepared | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| שָׁ֤ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| שִׁמְשׁוֹן֙ | shimshon | Samson | H8123 → | 38 times |
| מִשְׁתֶּ֔ה | mishteh | a feast | H4960 → | 46 times |
| כִּ֛י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| כֵּ֥ן | ken | thus | H3651 → | 771 times |
| יַעֲשׂ֖וּ | yaasu | they did | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| הַבַּחוּרִֽים׃ | habachurim | the young men | H970 → |
וַיֵּ֥רֶדand he went down
vaiyeredH3381 →381 times
אָבִ֖יהוּfather his
ʾavihuH1 →1212 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הָאִשָּׁ֑הthe woman
haishahH802 →781 times
וַיַּ֨עַשׂand he prepared
vaiyaasH6213 →2628 times
שָׁ֤םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
שִׁמְשׁוֹן֙Samson
shimshonH8123 →38 times
מִשְׁתֶּ֔הa feast
mishtehH4960 →46 times
כִּ֛יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
כֵּ֥ןthus
kenH3651 →771 times
יַעֲשׂ֖וּthey did
yaasuH6213 →2628 times
הַבַּחוּרִֽים׃the young men
habachurimH970 →
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 2:9and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not know where it was from, but the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he…
it leads to
Through
Ecclesiastes 10:19A feast is prepared for laughter, and wine makes life merry, but money is the answer for everything.
it leads to
- Psalms 104:15
wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil that makes his face to shine, and bread that sustains his heart.
- Isaiah 23:18
Yet her profits and wages will be set apart to the LORD; they will not be stored or saved, for her profit will go to those who live before the LORD, for abundant food…
- 1 Peter 4:3
For you have spent enough time in the past carrying out the same desires as the Gentiles: living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and detestable idolatry.
- Isaiah 24:11
In the streets they cry out for wine. All joy turns to gloom; rejoicing is exiled from the land.
- Philippians 4:15–19
And as you Philippians know, in the early days of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church but you partnered with me in the matter of giving and receiving.
- Psalms 104:15
Through
Genesis 29:22So Laban invited all the men of that place and prepared a feast.
it leads to
- Revelation 19:9
Then the angel told me to write, “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”
- Revelation 19:9
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 Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament and Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible.
