And his father and mother knew not that it was of the Lord,.... That he should marry this uncircumcised Philistine; Samson knew it was, and that his desire of having her in marriage did not arise from carnal affection to her merely, being captivated with her beauty and external form, for she was not so very fair, her younger sister was fairer than she, Jud 15:2 but he perceived it was the mind and will of God that he should take such a person to wife, by the impulse of the Spirit of God upon him, pointing it, unto him, inclining and urging him to it, suggesting the end and design of it, and the opportunity it would give him of quarrelling with the Philistines, and taking vengeance on them; but this his parents were ignorant of, nor did he let them know that this was of God:that he sought an occasion against the Philistines; in this way, by this means; they might know he sought to get an opportunity to be avenged on them for their oppression, and to attempt the deliverance of Israel; but they knew not that it was the will of God that a way should be opened for it by this means.
Bible Commentary
Judges 14:4
Judges 14:4
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible · John Gill (1697–1771) · Public Domain
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Judges 14 — OverviewJudges 14 · Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole BibleThe idea which this chapter gives us of Samson is not what one might
have expected concerning one who, by the special designation of heaven,
was a Nazarite to God and a deliverer of Israel; and yet really he was…Judges 14 — OverviewJudges 14 · Treasury of Scripture KnowledgeJudges 14:1, Samson desires a wife of the Philistines; Judges 14:6, In his journey he kills a lion; Judges 14:8, In a second journey he finds honey in the carcase; Judges 14:10, Samson’s marriage feast; Judges 14:12,…Judges 14 — OverviewJudges 14 · John Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleThis chapter treats of Samson's courtship, and marriage of a Philistine woman, Jud 14:1 of his meeting with a young lion as he went courting, and of his slaying it, and afterwards finding honey in it, Jud 14:6, of a…Judges 14:1-9Judges 14:1-9 · Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole BibleHere, I. Samson, under the extraordinary guidance of Providence, seeks
an occasion of quarrelling with the Philistines, by joining in affinity
with them--a strange method, but the truth is Samson was himself a…Judges 14:1-9Judges 14:1-9 · The Pulpit CommentaryEXPOSITION
14:1
Timnath, or, more correctly, Thimnathah, as in Joshua 19:43, a town in the tribe of Dan, the name of which survives in the modern Tibneh, about three miles south-west of Zorah ( 13:2, note). It may or…Judges 14:4Judges 14:4 · Treasury of Scripture Knowledgeit was of the Lord: That is, God permitted it, that it might be a means of bringing about the deliverance of Israel. Such marriages were forbidden to the Israelites, to keep them separate from the idolatrous nations.…