Judges 14:11

Jdg 14:11 And it came to pass, when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him.

Ver. 11. And it came to pass, when they saw him.] His stature, strength, countenance, carriage, &c.

That they brought thirty companions to be with him.] Honoris quidem specie, sed cautionis ergo: under a pretence of doing him honour, but indeed to secure themselves, they set a guard upon him. So the Turks at this day suffer no stranger to come into the presence of their Emperor, but they clasp him by the arms, under colour of doing him honour, but indeed lest he should offer the Emperor any violence, as Miles Cobelite, a poor wounded Christian soldier, did Amurah III, whom he slew under pretence of coming near to crave his life of him. {a}

{a} Turk. Hist., p. 200, 715.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Jdg 14:11. When they saw him — Or, observed him, his stature, and strength, and countenance, and carriage, which were extraordinary. They brought thirty companions — Partly in compliance with the custom of having bride-men; though they were not so numerous, but principally by way of caution, and as a guard put upon him under a pretence of respect and affection.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

That is, her parents or friends.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 11. They brought thirty companions] These are called in Scripture children of the bride-chamber, and friends of the bridegroom. See the whole of this subject particularly illustrated in the observations at the end, Clarke "Joh 3:25".

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(11) When they saw him.—The reason why this clause is added is somewhat obscure, and this is perhaps the reason why the LXX. and Josephus, without any warrant, render it “when they were afraid of him, which would involve a change in the reading.

They brought thirty companions.—It was necessary to the splendour of the marriage feast that there should be these paranymphs (shoshbenim, or “children of the bride-chamber,” Mat_9:15). The fact that Samson had brought none with him seems to prove that his marriage was highly unpopular among his own countrymen. Thirty, however, was a most unusual number.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

11. when they saw him] With a slight change LXX. cod. A etc. read because they feared him; they must be the Philistines, though not mentioned in the context. The sight of Samson, or their fear of him, induced the Philistines to procure thirty companions (cf. Jdg_14:20), nominally as friends and supporters, but really in self-defence. The text does not give an altogether satisfactory sense, and may have suffered from alterations. If we read that he brought, which would be an improvement, we must treat when they saw him as an interpolation. This is Moore’s view, and Budde proposes further re-arrangements; the original state of the verse is not easy to recover. The thirty (cf. Son_3:7 sixty) are of course Philistines, Jdg_14:18. At village weddings in Syria the bridegroom is still attended by a body-guard of young men with their leader (Jdg_14:20), who superintend the festivities and bear the cost. This ancient institution probably goes back to days when the party really needed protection (Wetzstein, Z. f. Ethnologie, 1873, 288 f.).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And it came to pass; when they saw him,.... That is, the Philistines, the citizens of Timnath, when they saw that he was come to consummate his marriage:

that they brought thirty companions to be with him; to be the bridegroom's men, or children of the bridechamber, as they are called, Mat 9:15 or friends of the bridegroom, Joh 3:29 to keep him company during the nuptial feast: this they did according to custom, and in honour and respect unto him; though some think, and so Josephus (l), that they were brought to be guards upon him, observing that he was a man of great might, strength, and courage, so that they were afraid of him, lest he should have some design upon them; but it is not certain that there was anything very visible or terrible in him, more than in another man, that showed him to be of extraordinary courage and strength, since it was but at times the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and as yet he had done nothing to their knowledge which showed him to be such; had they indeed known of his encounter with the lion, they might have had such thoughts of him, but this they knew nothing of.

(l) Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 5. c. 8. sect. 6.)

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Thirty companions - These were “the children of the bride-chamber” (Mat 9:15; see Jdg 14:20). From the number of them it may be inferred that Samson’s family was of some wealth and importance.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

With him. Some imagine that these were placed to watch his motions. But he had surely invited them, ver. 15. During the time that the nuptials were celebrated, these men (who are called the friends of the bridegroom, Matthew ix. 15,) are said to have been exempted from all public charges. (Montanus) (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

When they saw him, or, observed or considered him, his stature, and strength, and countenance, and carriage, which were extraordinary.

They brought thirty companions to be with him; partly in compliance with the custom of having bridemen; of which see Mat 9:15; Mar 2:19; Joh 3:29, though they were not so numerous; and principally by way of caution, and as a guard put upon him under a pretence of respect and affection.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

11. When they saw him — That is, when the bride’s parents and relatives saw him. Bush and others think these words indicate that they saw in Samson’s stature and bearing something that aroused their suspicions, and told them he was a man to be watched, and they therefore brought thirty companions more, for the purpose of setting so many spies about him rather than for showing him respect or honour. But the phrase to be with him hardly harmonizes with such a thought, and the joviality and good cheer of their intercourse is against it. The parents and friends of the bride had seen Samson before, and had there been any thing suspicious about his stature and countenance they would have discovered it before this time. The verse merely means that when they saw him make his appearance with his parents in Timnath, to celebrate the wedding feast, they proceeded at once to do their part in furnishing him guests.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

When they saw him, i.e. when the father and mother and friends of the bride saw him approaching, they went to meet him with the thirty companions who had been selected. We still see a strong resemblance to the wedding arrangements referred to in Mat_9:15, and Mat_25:1-12; only in this case they were young men instead of young women who went out to meet the bridegroom. We may observe, by the way, that the scale of the wedding feast, as regards numbers and duration, indicates that Samson s family was one of wealth and position.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Saw him - Or, observed him, his stature, and strength, and countenance, and carriage, which were extraordinary. Brought - Partly in compliance with the custom of having bride-men; though they were not so numerous; but principally by way of caution, and as a guard put upon him under a pretense of respect and affection.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Friends. Companions who formed the retinue of wedding attendants.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.