Judges 14:4
in Judges 14(Now his father and mother did not know this was from the LORD, who was seeking an occasion to move against the Philistines; for at that time the Philistines were ruling over Israel.)
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But his father and his mother knew not that it was of Jehovah; for he sought an occasion against the Philistines. Now at that time the Philistines had rule over Israel.
KJV
But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the Lord, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.
⋯
This verse in Judges 14
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
His father and mother very properly opposed Samson’s marriage with a Pagan woman, the daughter of the oppressors of his race. But they could not prevail, because it was the secret purpose of God by these means to “seek occasion” against the Philistines; i. e. to make the misconduct of the father of Samson’s wife, which He foresaw, the occasion of destruction to the Philistines. Compare the marginal references for similar statements.
This site's exposition
Can’t you find a young woman
on Judges 14:3-4
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. Albert Barnes reads God as turning foreseen misconduct into “an occasion to move against the Philistines”.
This site's exposition
seeking an occasion to move against the Philistines
The verse is the narrator's aside, and it tells the reader what Samson's parents could not see. Albert Barnes reads the occasion as God's secret purpose against the Philistines, with their rule over Israel as the reason given. Every clash that follows grows from this marriage.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
It was not a thing evil in itself for him to marry a Philistine. It was forbidden because of the danger of receiving hurt by idolaters; where there was not only no danger of that kind, but an opportunity hoped for of doing that hurt to them which would be good service to Israel, the law might well be dispense with.
And his father and mother knew not that it was of the Lord,....
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאָבִ֨יו | veaviv | and father his | H1 → | 1212 times |
| וְאִמּ֜וֹ | veimo | and mother his | H517 → | 220 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָדְע֗וּ | yadeu | they knew | H3045 → | 945 times |
| כִּ֤י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| מֵיְהוָה֙ | meyahweh | [was] from Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| הִ֔יא | hi' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| כִּי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| תֹאֲנָ֥ה | toanah | an occasion | H8385 → | |
| הֽוּא־ | hu'- | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| מְבַקֵּ֖שׁ | mevakesh | [was] seeking | H1245 → | 225 times |
| מִפְּלִשְׁתִּ֑ים | mipelishtim | from [the] Philistines | H6430 → | 287 times |
| וּבָעֵ֣ת | uvaet | and at the time | H6256 → | 296 times |
| הַהִ֔יא | hahi' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| פְּלִשְׁתִּ֖ים | pelishtim | [the] Philistines | H6430 → | 287 times |
| מֹשְׁלִ֥ים | moshelim | [were] ruling | H4910 → | 81 times |
| בְּיִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ פ | beyisrael | over Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
וְאָבִ֨יוand father his
veavivH1 →1212 times
וְאִמּ֜וֹand mother his
veimoH517 →220 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יָדְע֗וּthey knew
yadeuH3045 →945 times
כִּ֤יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
מֵיְהוָה֙[was] from Yahweh
meyahwehH3068 →6520 times
הִ֔יאit
hi'H1931 →1879 times
כִּי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
תֹאֲנָ֥הan occasion
toanahH8385 →
הֽוּא־he
hu'-H1931 →1879 times
מְבַקֵּ֖שׁ[was] seeking
mevakeshH1245 →225 times
מִפְּלִשְׁתִּ֑יםfrom [the] Philistines
mipelishtimH6430 →287 times
וּבָעֵ֣תand at the time
uvaetH6256 →296 times
הַהִ֔יא<the> that
hahi'H1931 →1879 times
פְּלִשְׁתִּ֖ים[the] Philistines
pelishtimH6430 →287 times
מֹשְׁלִ֥ים[were] ruling
moshelimH4910 →81 times
בְּיִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ פover Israel
beyisraelH3478 →2507 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
Psalms 115:3Our God is in heaven; He does as He pleases.
it leads to
- Psalms 135:6
The LORD does all that pleases Him in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and in all their depths.
- Daniel 4:35
All the peoples of the earth are counted as nothing, and He does as He pleases with the army of heaven and the peoples of the earth. There is no one who can restrain…
- Isaiah 46:10
I declare the end from the beginning, and ancient times from what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and all My good pleasure I will accomplish.’
- Ephesians 1:11
In Him we were also chosen as God’s own, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything by the counsel of His will,
- Psalms 103:19
The LORD has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all.
- Psalms 135:6
Through
1 Kings 12:15So the king did not listen to the people, and indeed this turn of events was from the LORD, to fulfill the word He had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 2:30
But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass through, for the LORD your God had made his spirit stubborn and his heart obstinate, that He might deliver him into your hand, as…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Kings 11:29–38
During that time, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met Jeroboam on the road as he was going out of Jerusalem. Now Ahijah had wrapped himself in a new cloak, and the two of them…
- Deuteronomy 2:30
Through
Joshua 11:20For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts to engage Israel in battle, so that they would be set apart for destruction and would receive no mercy, being annihilated as the LORD…
it leads to
- Romans 9:18
Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden.
- Romans 9:18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Judges
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; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.