Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Judges 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.

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 ‘Asaln, 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.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

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.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

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 Gods 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.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

19, 20. went down to Ashkelon, andslew thirty men of themThis town was about twenty-four mileswest by southwest from Timnah; and his selection of this place, whichwas dictated by the Divine Spirit, was probably owing to its bitterhostility to Israel.

took their spoilThecustom of stripping a slain enemy was unknown in Hebrew warfare.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

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.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

(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 chalsah 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.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

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.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Jdg 14:19 a

‘And the Spirit of Yahweh came on him, and he went down to Ashkelon and slew thirty men of them and took their spoil, and gave the changes of clothing to those who gave the answer to the riddle.’

Time would need to be given to him to provide the clothing for all would recognise that he would not have thirty changes of clothing with him. They would certainly have expected to wait until after the consummation of the marriage. But the matter had become too bitter, and he left the marriage feast without consummating the marriage and disappeared. No wonder the father thought that he wanted nothing further to do with his daughter. Nevertheless he paid Samson a great insult by giving his wife to someone else.

In fact Samson travelled the twenty three miles (thirty seven kilometres) to the major Philistine city of Ashkelon and sought out thirty Philistine warriors, killing them and taking their clothing. We are given no details about how this was accomplished, but it is noteworthy that no repercussions resulted. He may have killed them one by one, after personally challenging them in some recognised way, tracing them by the quality of their houses, or more likely he may have challenged them at some public festal celebration, possibly even at something like a mediaeval tournament, where such challenges were acceptable and expected. This would explain why there would appear to have been no repercussions. Or we may see this activity as similar to that of the Maquis in France during the second world war, a directed attack on an occupying enemy carried out in secret. Whatever way it was done he then returned to Timnah, (probably immediately in view of what he had done in Ashkelon), and handed the clothing over to the thirty men. Then, probably seething with fury he went to his own home without seeing his wife or father-in-law. He was hardly in a mood to want to consummate the marriage or to see his treacherous bride.

The trip to Ashkelon may have been because he thought it would be easier to cover up his activities in a large city, or because he thought that there he would not be recognised, or it may have been because he knew that there he would find men with the quality of clothing that he required, possibly at some well known local festivity, or it may have been because he knew that they would have some ‘games’ there where competitive fighting took place, or it may have been because the original thirty came from Ashkelon.

But the writer saw in this an aspect of the activity of the Spirit of Yahweh. The Philistines were the enemies of Israel and this was a powerful blow in Israel’s cause, for these thirty would be important as elite warriors. They were part of the elite ruling class. Samson clearly had no compunction in doing this. It was in order to somehow attack the Philistines that he had married the Philistine woman and now he saw his opportunity. Thus the action of the young men had precipitated his campaign against the Philistines. It may well, however, be that there was something in Philistine customs that could be seen as justifying his action, at least to some extent (in his state of mind he would not interpret it too particularly), especially if the young men at the previous pre-wedding feast had come from Ashkelon. Using threats to discover the answer to important riddles may have been heavily frowned on, like cheating at cards today, and they were a warlike nation to whom killing was almost a sport. So by using a personal excuse such as this, and being married to a Philistine, his behaviour would be looked on as a Philistine activity and not as rebellion by Israel. Thus he was safeguarding his people. If the original young men had come from Ashkelon it might even have been seen as a form of rough justice, or it may have been in fair competition. Ashkelon had attacked him, and he had returned the favour. Certainly the Philistines appear to have taken no action against him, just as they took no action against the men who slew his wife and her family. On the other hand perhaps they did not immediately connect Samson with what happened at Ashkelon. There may have been no witnesses.

It may be that the phrase ‘the Spirit of Yahweh came on him’ is intended to refer to the whole passage up to Jdg 15:8, for Jdg 15:8 was certainly of the greater significance. The thirty were the firstfruits but the great slaughter was the full final result. We can compare how the phrase has always previously referred, not just to one event, but to a series of events that followed the enduing.

Jdg 14:19 b

‘And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his father’s house.’

His state of mind is made clear, and it is no wonder that he was angry. The fact that he ‘went up to his father’s house’ may indicate that normally he would have remained with his new family.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Jdg 14:19. And slew thirty men of them This action is prefaced by a declaration, that the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, moving him to so extraordinary a deed, which no one has a right to imitate; for, 1st. The Philistines were considered as in a state of war with the Israelites; they were their tyrants and oppressors. 2nd. Samson was actually general of the Israelites, appointed by heaven to punish the Philistines. 3rdly. He was in this case no other than an instrument in the hand of God to punish offenders.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

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.

I beg the Reader, not only in confirmation of what I said before, but also by way of keeping his eye on the whole history of Samson, as typical of some of the great outlines of redemption, to observe again in this place, that like our Jesus, this Nazarite was anointed with the Spirit of the Lord. Act 10:38 .

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

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.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)