Text -- Judges 14:18-20 (NET)

14:18 On the seventh day, before the sun set, the men of the city said to him, “What is sweeter than honey? What is stronger than a lion?” He said to them, “If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have solved my riddle!” 14:19 The Lord’s spirit empowered him. He went down to Ashkelon and murdered thirty men. He took their clothes and gave them to the men who had solved the riddle. He was furious as he went back home. 14:20 Samson’s bride was then given to his best man.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Jdg 14:18

¹ sn Plowed with my heifer. This statement emphasizes that the Philistines had utilized a source of information which should have been off-limits to them. Heifers were used in plowing (Hos 10:11), but one typically used one’s own farm animals, not another man’s.

NET Notes: Jdg 14:19

¹ tn Heb “equipment”; or “gear.”

² tn Heb “changes [of clothes].”

³ tn Heb “he went up to his father’s house.”

NET Notes: Jdg 14:20

¹ tn Heb “to his companion who had been his attendant.”