Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Judges 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.
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.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
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.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
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.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
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, 1Pe 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.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(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. 18:10of 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.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
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.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jdg 14:6 a
‘And the Spirit of Yahweh came mightily on him and he tore him as he would tear a kid, and he had nothing in his hand.’
Calling on the One to whom his life was dedicated, and thus endued with the Spirit of Yahweh, Samson exerted his strength against the man-eater and with no weapon in his hand seized it and broke its neck as though it had been a young goat. It was his life or the lion’s. From now on he knew that Yahweh was with him and would be his strength.
Samson’s strength was clearly an unusual phenomenon. We need not doubt that he was of strong build, and even stronger than most men. But it would appear that because of his awareness of his special dedication to Yahweh he was at times able to arouse within himself a huge amount of adrenalin which made him invincible (we might to some extent compare him with the berzerkers, although the source of their strength was probably demonic). Once his dedication failed he found himself unable to arouse such strength.
Jdg 14:6 b
‘But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done.’
This may well have been through modesty, but the point behind this is that they did not know what he had done and so could not later give away the answer to his riddle.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
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.
Carrying on the idea of Samson being a type of Christ, do we not see here an emblem of Jesus’ triumph over the powers of darkness, when he was led up of the Spirit into the wilderness, to be tempted of the devil? Mat 4:1 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
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 he told not his father.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
the Spirit. Hebrew. ruach. App-9.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
the Spirit: Jdg 3:10, Jdg 11:29, Jdg 13:25, 1Sa 11:6
rent him: Now it is not intimated that he did this by his own natural strength; but by the supernatural strength communicated by the Spirit of the Lord coming mightily upon him; which strength was not at his own command, but was, by the will of God, attached to his hair and nazarate. Jdg 15:8, Jdg 15:15, Jdg 16:30, 1Sa 17:34-37, 1Sa 17:46, Zec 4:6, 1Jo 3:8
he told: Isa 42:2, Mat 11:29
Reciprocal: Deu 33:22 – General Jdg 14:19 – the Spirit Jdg 15:14 – the Spirit 1Sa 10:16 – matter 1Sa 14:1 – he told not 1Sa 16:13 – the Spirit 1Sa 17:35 – smote him 2Sa 23:20 – slew a lion 1Ch 11:22 – slew a Psa 91:13 – tread Heb 11:33 – stopped
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
14:6 And the Spirit of the LORD {c} 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.
(c) By which he had strength and boldness.