Judges 14:6

Jdg 14:6 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.

Ver. 6. And he rent him as he would have rent a kid.] So did the Lord Christ subdue the devil in the desert, {Mat 4:4; Mat 4:7; Mat 4:10-11} whereof David also was a type, when he slew the lion and the bear. {1Sa 17:36}

And he had nothing in his hand.] But so had Hercules, when he killed a lion and a bear, as the poets sing of him, and Lysimachus, one of Alexander’s worthies. Polydamus, Milo Crotonitates, and others are famous for their strength, but none comparable to Samson, the Church’s champion.

But he told not his father.] As some braggart would have done: this was his modesty. And it may be he feared to be chidden by his parents, for his rashness in this exploit.

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.

Whereby he had strength and boldness.

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

Verse 6. He 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.

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

(6) The Spirit of the Lord.—Implying here an access of courage and strength. The verb rendered “came mightily” literally means pervaded, as in Jdg_14:19, Jdg_15:14; 1Sa_10:10. (Comp. 1Sa_18:10—of the evil spirit rushing upon Saul; LXX., “leapt upon him;” Vulg., irruit.)

Rent him.—Josephus (with the intention of making his Greek readers think of Hercules and the Nemean lion) says “he throttled him.” Of course this was a most heroic exploit, but it is not unparalleled. Pausanias, in his Eliaca (ap. Suid. Lex. s.v Polydamas), related a feat of the athlete Polydamas, who in his youth slew, while unarmed, a great and strong lion in Olympus, B.C. 400. Cases are recorded in which Arabs have done the same. Similar acts of prowess are attributed to David (1Sa_17:54) and to Benaiah (2Sa_23:28).

He told not his father or his mother.—This reticence shows how free he was from all boastfulness.

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

6. came mightily upon him] Cf. Jdg_14:19, Jdg_15:14, 1Sa_10:6; 1Sa_10:10; 1Sa_11:6; the expression denotes a sudden rush of superhuman power.

and he rent him … a kid] rent him as a man rends a kid; the verb only here and in Lev_1:17, where it is used of the ritual learing asunder of a fowl in burnt offering. The comparison as one rends a kid may refer to some ceremonial act, as Moore suggests, but we have no evidence of such a practice. Milton’s version, ‘Who tore the lion, as the lion tears the kid,’ Samson Agonistes, l. 128, gets over the difficulty by substituting ‘the lion’ for the indefinite subject (as one rends). The hero’s fight with a lion is a favourite theme in ancient mythology and folk-lore; e.g. the scene represented on early Bab. seals, above, p. 130; the reliefs from the palace of Ashurbanipal (A. Jeremias, l.c. 479); Herakles and the Nemean lion figured on Greek coins1[55]; the stories of David and of Benaiah (1Sa_17:34-36, 2Sa_23:20).

[55] Hill, Catal. of Gk. Coins in the Brit. Mus., Cyprus, Pl. xxv. 6–8; Lycaonia, etc., Pl. xvii. 5, xl. 12. Instances of this motif from ancient sources are collected by Stahn, Die Simson-Sage, 1908, pp. 32 ff.

but he told not etc.] The clause introduces some confusion, and may be an interpolation from Jdg_14:9.

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 mightily upon him,.... The Spirit of might from the Lord, as the Targum, inspiring him with courage and intrepidity of mind, and increasing his bodily strength:

and he rent him as he would rend a kid; as he came up to him to seize him, he laid hold on him and strangled him, as Josephus (b) says, caught him by the throat, and tore it out; for it does not seem that the carcass was torn to pieces, or limb from limb, by what follows; and this he did with as much ease as if he had had only a kid to deal with:

and he had nothing in his hand; not a staff to keep it off, nor a spear, sword, or knife to stab it with: in this Samson was a type of Christ, who has destroyed our adversary the devil, compared to a roaring lion, Pe1 5:8 to a lion for his strength, cruelty, and voraciousness; to a roaring lion, making a hideous noise and stir when the Gospel was carried unto the Gentiles, and they were about to be called and espoused to Christ; from among whom he was cast out, and by no other weapon than the ministration of the Gospel, accompanied with the power of Christ, and his Spirit:

but he told not his father or his mother what he had done; when he overtook them, as he quickly did, he said not a word to them of his meeting with a lion and slaying it; which, as it showed his modesty in not blazing abroad his wonderful and heroic actions, in which also he was a type of Christ, but his great prudence in concealing this, lest his great strength should be known too soon, and the Philistines be upon their guard against him, or seek to dispatch him privately; though no doubt he had pondered this in his own mind, and considered it as an omen and presage of the advantage he should have over the Philistines his enemies, whom he should as easily overcome as he had that lion, and that without any instrument of war.

(b) Antiqu l. 5. c. 8. sect. 5.

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

Spirit, increasing his courage and strength. (Menochius) --- This shews that the strength of Samson was miraculous, attached to the keeping of his hair, and the observance of the duties of the Nazarites. (Calmet) (Chap. xvi. 19.) --- Mother. The modesty which he displays is more wonderful than the feat of valour. (Haydock) --- Brave men are never boasters. (Menochius) --- He kept what he had done secret, designing to propose a riddle. (Salien)

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).

Came mightily upon him; stirred up and increased his courage and bodily strength.

As he would have rent a kid; as soon and as safely.

He told not his father or his mother, lest by their means it should be publicly known; for he wisely considered that it was not yet a fit time to awaken the jealousies and fears of the Philistines concerning him, as this would have done.

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

6. Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him — A remarkable supernatural quickening and strengthening of his physical powers, which enabled him to perform a feat beyond the measure of his ordinary strength. Observe that here the expression does not imply any great sanctity or moral purity in Samson, and is therefore not to be confounded with the New Testament gift of the Holy Ghost.

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 a spirit of dauntless courage and irresistible strength of body. Came mightily. Hebrew, fell upon him, or passed over upon him, as in ver. 19; Jud_1:15:14 1Sa_10:6, 10 18:10, etc. He rent him, etc. He "had nothing in his hand," no weapon or knife, nor even a stick; but he rent him with as much ease as the kid is rent. The Hebrew has the kid, with the definite article, which is not prefixed unless some particular kid is meant, as in Gen_38:23. Perhaps the kid means the one about to be served, which the cook rends open either before or after it is cooked. Unless some such operation is alluded to, it is not easy to understand what the rending of the kid means. He told not his father, etc. This is mentioned to. explain ver. 16; but it shows that Samson had wandered some distance from his parents among the vineyards (see note to ver. 5).

The mystery of spiritual might.

"And he had nothing in his hand." This is typical of the Christian. Christ"s injunctions to the seventy. In Samson"s case it was probably due to the regulation imposed by the Philistines upon a conquered people. Christians are commanded not to put their trust in earthly equipment or the arm of flesh.

I THAT OUR CONFLICTS WITH SATAN MAY BE TRUE SPIRITUAL EXERCISES AND NOT MERELY OUTWARD TRIUMPHS.

II THE INFLUX AND WITHDRAWAL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT LIMIT THE AUTHORITY AND SECURE THE HUMILITY OF THE AGENT. HOW helpless even a Samson but for the Spirit! Temptations of our own seeking may be left to our own resources. No enterprise ought to be undertaken without the aid of the Holy Spirit, and the Divine blessing. What God brings upon us he will help us to overcome.

III THE FAITH OF THE CHRISTIAN SOLDIER AND WORKER MUST BE WHOLLY IN GOD. M.

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

Came mightily - Increased his courage and bodily strength. A kid - As soon and as safely. Told not, &c. - Lest by their means it should be publickly known; for he wisely considered, that it was not yet a fit time to awaken the jealousies and fears of the Philistines concerning him, as this would have done.

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