Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Judges 14:16
And Samson’s wife wept before him, and said, Thou dost but hate me, and lovest me not: thou hast put forth a riddle unto the children of my people, and hast not told [it] me. And he said unto her, Behold, I have not told [it] my father nor my mother, and shall I tell [it] thee?
16. before him ] upon him and Jdg 14:17, i.e. on his neck; the same idiom in Gen 45:15. For the woman’s wile cf. Jdg 16:15.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Though I have had much more experience of their fidelity and taciturnity than of thine.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And Samson’s wife wept before him,…. When she came to him to get out of him the explanation of the riddle, thinking that her tears would move him to it:
and said, thou dost but hate me, and lovest me not: another artifice she used, well knowing he could not bear to have his affection called in question, which was now very strong, as is usual with newly married persons:
thou hast put forth a riddle unto the children of my people; her countrymen, fellow citizens, and neighbour, and could not but be dear to her, and respected by her; so that what affected and afflicted them must have some influence upon her:
and hast not told me; that is, the explanation of it, otherwise it is likely she had heard the riddle itself told:
and he said unto her behold, l have not told it my father nor my mother, and shall I tell it thee? his parents he was greatly indebted to, for whom he had the highest reverence and esteem, whose fidelity and taciturnity he had sufficient knowledge of, and yet he had not thought fit to impart it to them; how therefore could she expect to be trusted with such a secret, with whom he had not been long acquainted, not long enough to know whether she could keep it or not?
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(16) Wept before him.Samsons riddle had the effect of making the whole wedding-feast of this ill-starred marriage one of the most embittered and least joyous that ever fell to a bridegrooms lot. This was a just punishment for his lawless fancies, though God overruled them to His own ends. A weeping, teazing, fretting bride and sullen guests might have served as a warning that Philistine marriages were not good for the sons of Israel.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
16. I have not told it my father nor my mother A thing kept secret from one’s parents is, with the Orientals, a thing not to be told in other ears, or, at least, very rarely. “The greatest proof of confidence,” says Roberts, “is to say, I have told you what I have not revealed to my father. In proof of the great affection one has for another, it is said, He has told things to him that he would not have related to his parents. ‘My friend, do tell me the secret.’ ‘Tell you? Yes, when I have told my parents.’”
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘ And Samson’s wife wept before him, and said, “Really you hate me and do not love me. You have propounded a riddle to the children of my people and have not told me the answer.” And he said to her, “Look, I have not told it my father or my mother, and shall I tell it you?” ’
Samson was unaware of the threat to his prospective wife. So when she pressed him for the answer he was probably at first a little amused. Quite reasonably he pointed out that he had not even told his parents. But as her tears continued it began to ruin the wedding. Yet he still stood firm. If the solution leaked out he was a ruined man.
His wife must have been living in terror. She knew the threat hanging over her family and she had no doubt that they meant it. She was already looked on as Samson’s wife, for such arrangements as they had were binding. Thus they would blame her for what ‘her family’ had done to them.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jdg 14:16 And Samson’s wife wept before him, and said, Thou dost but hate me, and lovest me not: thou hast put forth a riddle unto the children of my people, and hast not told [it] me. And he said unto her, Behold, I have not told [it] my father nor my mother, and shall I tell [it] thee?
Ver. 16. And Samson’s wife wept before him.] Tears are women’s weapons or engines, and many of them
“ Ut flerent oculos erudiere suos. ” – Ovid, Amor., lib. ii.
Apollodorus in Athenaeus telleth of the harlot Phryne, that from her feigned tears she was surnamed , laugh-cry; because she could easily do either.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
children = sons.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Thou dost: Jdg 16:15
I have not: Gen 2:24
Reciprocal: Jdg 15:2 – I verily
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
14:16 And Samson’s wife wept before him, and said, Thou dost but hate me, and lovest me not: thou hast put forth a riddle unto the {h} children of my people, and hast not told [it] me. And he said unto her, Behold, I have not told [it] my father nor my mother, and shall I tell [it] thee?
(h) To those who are of my nation.