Judges 14:19

HE SLAYS THIRTY PHILISTINES. (Jdg 14:19-20)

went down to Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them--This town was about twenty-four miles west by southwest from Timnah; and his selection of this place, which was dictated by the Divine Spirit, was probably owing to its bitter hostility to Israel.

took their spoil--The custom of stripping a slain enemy was unknown in Hebrew warfare.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Jdg 14:19 And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave change of garments unto them which expounded the riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his father’s house.

Ver. 19. And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him.] These extraordinary impulses of the Spirit Samson had not always, but when and as long as the Lord pleased. The prophets also had not always the gift of prophecy: nor the apostles the power of working miracles.

And he went down to Ashkelon.] Which was one of the five chief cities of the Philistines, {1Sa 6:17} where, by a bold attempt, he slew in that populous place thirty men of that tyrannical and accursed nation; the rest of the citizens running away, likely, and hiding themselves for fear of Samson. Did ever any Hercules do the like? The proverb is, Ne Hercules quidem contra duos.

And his anger was kindled,] viz., Against his perfidious wife and his injurious companions: and now he meditateth revenge, which is the next effect of anger.

And he went up to his father’s house.] Whose counsel he now wisheth he had taken in the choice of his wife. Leo cassibus irretitur, &c. Si praescivissem.

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.

Which was one of the five chief cities of the Philistines.

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

Verse 19. The Spirit of the Lord came upon him] "The spirit of fortitude from before the Lord."-Targum. He was inspired with unusual courage, and he felt strength proportioned to his wishes.

He - slew thirty men - and took their spoils] He took their hayks, their kumjas, and caftans, and gave them to the thirty persons who, by unfair means, had solved his riddle; thus they had what our version calls thirty sheets, and thirty changes of raiment. See Clarke on Jud 14:12.

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

(19) To Ashkelon.—Probably he seized the opportunity of some great feast to Dagon, or even of another marriage festival, since the linen robes and rich garments would not be such as would be worn every day.

Took their spoil.—The Hebrew word chalîsah is rendered “armour” in 2Sa_2:21 (LXX.,panoplia), and the Targum on Jdg_14:13 seems to understand “suits of armour.”

Gave . . . unto them which expounded the riddle.—They were unaware whence he had obtained the means to discharge his wager. The morality of the act can, of course, only be judged from the standpoint of the time.

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

19. The sudden access of superhuman power seems to coincide with the outburst of natural passion, as in Jdg_14:6, Jdg_15:14.

Ashkelon] Perhaps Khirbet ‘Asḳalûn, about 4 m. S. of Tibneh (Timnah), rather than the well-known Ashkelon on the sea-coast, 24 m. or 8 hours distant. The anger ought to precede rather than follow the exploit; but the writer probably did not trouble about logical sequence in his narrative of marvels. There is no need to regard the feat at Ashkelon as a later addition (Moore, Budde, Nowack) because it leads to nothing in the sequel.

their spoil] lit. things stripped off a dead enemy, exuviae; only again 2Sa_2:21.

he went up] without consummating the marriage, as the previous verses seem to imply (esp. Jdg_14:18); although it is true that sometimes the consummation took place on the first and not on the last day of the feast, Gen_29:23.

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 the Spirit of the Lord came upon him,.... The Spirit of might from the Lord, as the Targum; which filled him with zeal and courage, animating him to the following undertaking, and increased his bodily strength to perform it:

and he went down to Ashkelon; one of the five principal cities of the Philistines; it lay near the Mediterranean sea, and, according to Bunting (r), was twenty four miles from Timnath; why he went so far, is not easy to say; some think there was some grand solemnity or festival observed there at this time, which he knew of, when persons put on their best suits of apparel, and such he wanted: and slew thirty men of them; in vindication of which, it may be observed, that Samson was now raised up of God to be judge of Israel; and that he acted now as such, and under the direction and impulse of the Spirit of God, and the persons he slew were the common enemies of Israel; and if now observing a festival in honour of their gods, they were justly cut off for their idolatry:

and took their spoil; their clothes off their backs, stripped them of their apparel, and even of their shirts, all which he brought away with him: and here it may be observed, that though Samson was a Nazarite, yet not a common one, and was an extraordinary person, and not in all things bound to the law of the Nazarites; at least that law was dispensed with in various instances relative to him, as taking honey out of the carcass of the lion, and here stripping dead bodies which were defiling, and other things:

and gave change of garments unto them which expounded the riddle; to the thirty companions, to whom it was proposed, each man a suit of apparel taken from the thirty men he slew at Ashkelon, and sheets or shirts also no doubt, though not expressed. Indeed some have thought, because they did not find out the riddle of themselves, he did not give them the whole premium, and that by their own consent:

and his anger was kindled; against his wife, for her treachery and unfaithfulness to him, and against his companions for their deceitful usage of him, and against the citizens of the place, who perhaps laughed at him, being thus tricked and deceived:

and he went up to his father's house; left his wife, and her relations, and his companions, and the men of Timnath, and betook himself to his father's house again, as if he had been never married; his parents very probably had returned before him.

(r) Travels of the Patriarchs, &c. p. 116.

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

Riddle. Samson must no longer be considered as a private man. He was authorized by the Spirit of the Lord, thus to punish the oppressors of Israel. (Calmet) --- Though these 30 men had done him no injury in person, (Haydock) they had sinned against God, and deserved to die. (Salien) --- He slew them publicly in the city (Menochius) though others believe that he did it in the neighbouring country, as it does not appear that the people knew of their death. (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).

The Spirit of the Lord came upon him; though he had a constant habit of eminent strength and courage, yet that was exceedingly increased upon special occasions, by the extraordinary influences of God’s Spirit.

To Ashkelon; either to the territory, which oft comes under the name of the city; or to the city itself, where he had both strength and courage enough to attempt what here follows; and upon the doing hereof they were doubtless struck with such a terror, that every one sought only to preserve himself, and none durst oppose or pursue him.

Change of garments, together with their sheets or shirts, which it sufficed to imply here, being expressed above, Jdg 14:13.

His anger was kindled, for the treachery of his wife and companions.

And he went up, to wit, alone, or without his wife.

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

19. Ashkelon — Some twenty-five miles distant to the southwest.

Slew thirty men of them — That is, men of Ashkelon. He would not stain his hands with the blood of the citizens of Timnath, but goes far off to take his spoil; yet will he make Philistine blood pay for this Philistine treachery. His whole object in going to Ashkelon to get his spoils is not clear. To justify this wholesale murder by any standard of New Testament morality is idle and absurd.

His anger was kindled — He doubtless felt that he did well to be angry, and his slaughter of the thirty men of Ashkelon is to be regarded largely as a fearful revenge, by which he would awe and terrify the Timnathites who had treated him so treacherously. The changes of garments which he paid them he probably flung at their feet all stained with human blood, and in a spell of ferocious indignation at their perfidy left them, and went up to his father’s house at Zorah.

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

The Spirit of the Lord, etc. as in ver. 6 and Jud_1:13:25, where see notes. The verb here, came upon him, is the same as in ver. 6. Thirty men the number of the companions to whom he felt bound to pay the thirty changes of garment. Ashkelon (Jud_1:18) one of the five Philistine cities, but the least often mentioned, owing, it is thought, to its remote situation "on the extreme edge of the shore of the Mediterranean, far down in the south." It still preserves its ancient name, and was famous in the time of the Crusaders. "Within the walls and towers now standing Richard (Coeur de Lion) held his court." The onion called eschalot, or shallot, is named from Eshkalon, or Ashkalon. Their spoil that which was stripped from them. His anger was kindled against the Philistines in general, and his wife in particular, so that he went back to his father s house without her.

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

The spirit came - Though he had constant strength and courage; yet that was exceedingly increased upon special occasions, by the extraordinary influences of God's spirit. To Ashkelon - Either to the territory; or to the city itself, where he had both strength and courage enough to attempt what follows; and upon the doing hereof they were doubtless struck with such terror, that every one sought only to preserve himself, and none durst pursue him. His anger was kindled - For the treachery of his wife and companions. He went - Without his wife. It were well for us, if the unkindnesses we meet with from the world, and our disappointments therein has this good effect on us, to oblige us to return by faith and prayer, to our heavenly father's house.

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

came on Samson with power

The phrase "came on" means that Yahweh's Spirit influenced Samson. In this case, he made him very strong. AT: "made Samson very strong" or "made Samson very powerful" (See: Idiom)

killed thirty of their men

"killed 30 of their men" - (See: Numbers)

their men

"the men who lived there"

plunder

things taken by force, usually after a fight or battle

their clothes

These were from the plunder he had taken from Ashkelon. AT: "the sets of clothing that he had taken" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

Burning with anger

"Very angry"

went up to his father's house

The phrase "went up" is used here because Samson was at Timnah which is lower in elevation than where his father's house is located.

Samson's wife was given to his best friend

This can be stated in active form. AT: "his wife's father gave her to his best friend" (See: Active or Passive)

best friend

"closest friend"

translationWords

Yahweh

Holy Spirit

Samson

power

Ashkelon

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

The Divine spirit. A spirit of power, Divinely inspired.

Their garments. The garments which he had stripped from them.

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.