Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Judges 14:8
And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion: and, behold, [there was] a swarm of bees and honey in the carcass of the lion.
8. he returned ] i.e. to Zorah; the woman stays in her father’s house, as was the rule in a mot‘a marriage. The natural sense of the narrative is destroyed by the expression to take her, i.e. to marry her (a single word in the Hebr.); obviously it has been inserted. The marriage does not begin till later, Jdg 14:10.
a swarm of bees ] Though in a hot country the carcase would quickly decay and shrivel up, some time must have elapsed before the bees could hive in it and form honey-comb. But in a popular story, so full of marvels, this matter-of-fact detail would not be considered. The tale of Onesilus told by Herodotus, 14:114, has been quoted to illustrate the incident. If we wish to look for the origin of this popular story, Stahn (l.c. on p. 140) offers an explanation which is certainly plausible. The connexion between the lion and the honey may be founded on the observed fact that when the sun stands in the sign of Leo, i.e. in the month of May June, bees in Palestine produce their honey. This would be common knowledge, and would suggest an answer to the riddle in Jdg 14:14, which the Philistines might have answered if they had used their wits.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The formal dowry and gifts having been given by Samsons father, an interval, varying according to the Oriental custom, from a few days to a full year, elapsed between the betrothal and the wedding, during which the bride lived with her friends. Then came the essential part of the marriage ceremony, namely, the removal of the bride from her fathers house to that of the bridegroom or his father.
The carcase of the lion – The lion, slain by him a year or some months before, had now become a mere skeleton, fit for bees to swarm into. It was a universal notion among the ancients that bees were generated from the carcass of an ox.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 8. After a time] Probably about one year; as this was the time that generally elapsed between espousing and wedding.
A swarm of bees and honey in the carcass] By length of time the flesh had been entirely consumed off the bones, and a swarm of bees had formed their combs within the region of the thorax, nor was it an improper place; nor was the thing unfrequent, if we may credit ancient writers; the carcasses of slain beasts becoming a receptacle for wild bees. The beautiful espisode in the 4th Georgic of Virgil, beginning at ver. 317, proves that the ancients believed that bees might be engendered in the body of a dead ox: –
Pastor Aristaeus fugiens Peneia Tempe ___
Quatuor eximios praestanti corpore tauros
Ducit, et intacta totidem cervice juvencas.
Post, ubi nona suos Aurora induxerat ortus.
Inferias Orphei mittit, lucumque revisit.
Hic ver o subitum, ac dietu mirabile monstrum
Adspiciunt, liquefacta bourn per viscera toto
Stridere apes utero, et ruptis effervere costis;
Immensasque trahi nubes, jamque arbore summa
Confluere, et lentis uvam demittere ramis.
VIRG. Geor. lib. iv., ver. 550.
“Sad Aristaeus from fair Tempe fled,
His bees with famine or diseases dead ___
Four altars raises, from his herd he culls
For slaughter four the fairest of his bulls;
Four heifers from his female store he took,
All fair, and all unknowing of the yoke.
Nine mornings thence, with sacrifice and prayers,
The powers atoned, he to the grove repairs.
Behold a prodigy! for, from within
The broken bowels, and the bloated skin,
A buzzing noise of bees his ears alarms,
Straight issuing through the sides assembling swarms!
Dark as a cloud, they make a wheeling flight,
Then on a neighbouring tree descending light,
Like a large cluster of black grapes they show,
And make a large dependance from the bough.
DRYDEN.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
After a time, Heb. after days, i.e. either after some days; or rather, after a year, as that word oft signifies; as Exo 13:10; Lev 25:29; Num 9:22; Jdg 17:10; 1Sa 1:3 27:7; when the flesh of the lion, which by its strong smell is offensive to and avoided by bees, was wholly consumed, and nothing was left but the bones.
There was a swarm of bees; not generated of the dead lions body, but elsewhere, and settling themselves there, as they have sometimes done in a mans skull, and in a sepulchre, and such-like places.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
8. after a time he returned to takeherprobably after the lapse of a year, the usual intervalbetween the ceremonies of betrothal and marriage. It was spent by thebride elect with her parents in preparation for the nuptials; and atthe proper time the bridegroom returned to take her home.
he turned aside to see thecarcass of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honeyin the carcass of the lionIn such a climate, the myriads ofinsects and the ravages of birds of prey, together with theinfluences of the solar rays, would, in a few months, put the carcassin a state inviting to such cleanly animals as bees.
Jdg 14:10;Jdg 14:11. HISMARRIAGE FEAST.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And after a time he returned to take her,…. Matters being agreed on, and settled on both sides, and the espousals made, he and his parents returned, and, at the proper usual time for the consummation of the marriage, he went again to Timnath for that purpose. It is in the Hebrew text, “after days” c, which sometimes signifies a year, see Ge 4:3 and so Ben Gersom interprets it, that a year after this woman became Samson’s wife (i.e. betrothed to him) he returned to take her to himself to wife; and it seems, adds he, that twelve months were given her to prepare herself; and some considerable time must have elapsed, as appears from what had happened to the carcass of the lion, next related:
and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion: just before he came to Timnath he thought of the lion he had slain some time ago, and he went a little out of the way to see what was become of it, or had happened to it. Josephus says d, when he slew it he threw it into a woody place, perhaps among some bushes, a little out of the road; for which reason it had not been seen and removed, and was in a more convenient place for what was done in it:
and, behold, [there was] a swarm of bees and honey in the carcass of the lion; and though naturalists e tell us that bees are averse to flesh, and will not touch any, yet in the course of time that the carcass of this lion had lain, its flesh might have been clean eaten off by the fowls of the air, or was quite dried away and consumed, so that it was nothing but a mere skeleton; a bony carcass, as the Syriac version. Josephus f says, the swarm was in the breast of the lion; and it is no more unlikely that a swarm of bees should settle in it, and continue and build combs, and lay up their honey there, than that the like should be done in the skull of Onesilus king of Cyprus, when hung up and dried, as Herodotus g relates. Besides, according to Virgil h, this was a method made use of to produce a new breed of bees, even from the corrupt gore and putrid bowels of slain beasts; and Pythagoras i observes, they are produced from thence. This may be an emblem of those sweet blessings of grace, which come to the people of Christ through his having destroyed Satan the roaring lion, and all his works; particularly which came to the poor Gentiles, when the devil was cast out from them, and his empire there demolished.
c “a diebus”, Montanus; “post dies”, Vatablus. d Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 5. c. 8. sect. 5.) e Aristot. Hist. Animal. l. 9. c. 40. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 11. c. 21. f Ut supra, (Antiqu. l. 5. c. 8.) sect. 6. g Terpsichore, sive, l. 5. c. 114. h “—-quoquo modo caesis”, &c. Georgic. l. 4. ver. 284, &c. “Liguefacta boum per viscera”, &c. Ib ver. 555. i Apud Ovid. Melamorph. l. 15. fab. 4. ver. 365, 366.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
When some time had elapsed after the betrothal, he came again to fetch her (take her home, marry her), accompanied, as we learn from Jdg 14:9, by his parents. On the way “ he turned aside (from the road) to see the carcase of the lion; and behold a swarm of bees was in the body of the lion, also honey. ” The word , which only occurs here, is derived from , like from , and is synonymous with , cadaver , and signifies not the mere skeleton, as bees would not form their hive in such a place, but the carcase of the lion, which had been thoroughly dried up by the heat of the sun, without passing into a state of putrefaction. “In the desert of Arabia the heat of a sultry season will often dry up all the moisture of men or camels that have fallen dead, within twenty-four hours of their decease, without their passing into a state of decomposition and putrefaction, so that they remain for a long time like mummies, without change and without stench” ( Rosenmller, Bibl. Althk. iv. 2, p. 424). In a carcase dried up in this way, a swarm of bees might form their hive, just as well as in the hollow trunks of trees, or clefts in the rock, or where wild bees are accustomed to form them, notwithstanding the fact that bees avoid both dead bodies and carrion (see Bochart, Hieroz, ed. Ros. iii. p. 355).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Samson’s Riddle and Wedding Feast, vs. 8-20
Following the period of time required before Samson could take his wife he went down to her father’s house and claimed her. On the way down he remembered the lion he had killed and turned aside to look at the carcass. It appears that the hot sun had dried out the carcass, so that a hive of bees had taken over and produced honey, probably attached to the rib cage. Samson took some of the honey, ate it, and gave some to his parents who also ate of it. Samson did not tell them where the honey came from. He may still have wanted to keep his super strength secret, but there may also have . been another important reason. The law of the Nazarite required that he keep away from unclean things (Num 6:6). This is the first recorded infraction of the law by Samson, but there will be others. It indicates light esteem for the vow on his part.
According to the custom of the times Samson arranged for a feast in celebration of his wedding. The Philistines furnished a party of thirty young men to be his companions during the seven days of the feast. They were to entertain the bridegroom and feast on his banquet. Samson took the occasion to set in motion a scheme to stir up trouble with them. He proposed a riddle, the answer to which would have been impossible for them to expound by ordinary logic. They accepted the challenge, and Samson stated his riddle, which was, of course, based on his experience with the lion in the vineyards, “Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness.” They were to answer it within the seven days of the feast. The wager was the exchange of thirty linen sheets (or wraps) and thirty garments. Just one suit of such clothing was an expensive item, so the Philistines were very anxious to find the answer.
After three days the Philistine wedding party was no nearer the answer and becoming fearful lest they be financially stripped if they had to pay off Samson. So they came to Samson’s wife and told her she must get the answer for them, threatening to burn down her father’s house over them if they did not get the answer. It was not an empty threat, and Samson’s wife was very afraid. She began to beg and plead for Samson to enlighten her. Surely Samson knew her purpose and withstood her cajoling, pouting, and crying. An indication of his estimation of her is seen in his words to his wife. She accused Samson of hating her and having no love for her, and he told her he had not even told his parents, so she, a mere wife, should not expect him to tell her.
Finally, the last day of the feast, Samson was so frustrated by the nagging of his wife that he told her the answer, (Pro 21:19). Perhaps he thought she could not get the answer to the Philistines so late in the week. But she immediately told them the answer, for she feared for the lives of herself and her family. The men seem to have waited to the end of the day, then came mockingly to Samson, saying, “What is sweeter than honey? and what is stronger than a lion?” Samson accused them of cheating, “plowing with his heifer,” which means that they had coerced her into divulging the answer.
Again, Spirit power flexed Samson’s muscles, and he went down to one of the chief of the Philistine cities, Ashkelon, twenty-five or thirty miles from Timnah, on the sea. There he slew thirty men of that city and got the garments and sheets from them to pay off the wedding party. Thus Samson struck a blow against the enemy of Israel. But he was so angry that he left his wife and returned to Zorah to his father’s house. Consequently, Samson’s wife was taken by her father and given to the one who had been the friend of the bridegroom at Samson’s wedding. And so the stage was set for Samson’s next escapade.
Learn that 1) there should be no delay in carrying out the work which the Lord has impressed upon us; 2) the Lord may lead some in unique ways to carry out His will, contrary to our own thought in the matter; 3) one can quickly get into trouble by not observing the Lord’s requirements for his life; 4) giving vent to intense passion will only result in regret and bring on trouble.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
Samsons Feast and Riddle Jdg. 14:8-20
8 And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion.
9 And he took thereof in his hands, and went on eating, and came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they did eat: but he told not them that he had taken the honey out of the carcase of the lion,
10 So his father went down unto the woman: and Samson made there a feast; for so used the young men to do.
11 And it came to pass, when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him.
12 And Samson said unto them, I will now put forth a riddle unto you: if ye can certainly declare it me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty sheets and thirty change of garments:
13 But if ye cannot declare it me, then shall ye give me thirty sheets, and thirty change of garments. And they said unto him, Put forth thy riddle, that we may hear it.
14 And he said unto them,
Out of the eater came forth meat,
and out of the strong came forth sweetness.
And they could not in three days expound the riddle.
15 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said unto Samsons wife, Entice thy husband, that he may declare unto us the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy fathers house with fire: have ye called us to take that we have? is it not so?
16 And Samsons 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?
17 And she wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted: and it came to pass on the seventh day, that he told her, because she lay sore upon him: and she told the riddle to the children of her people.
18 And the men of the city said unto him on the seventh day before the sun went down,
What is sweeter than honey?
And what is stronger than a lion?
And he said unto them,
If ye had not plowed with my heifer,
ye had not found out my riddle.
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 fathers house.
20 But Samsons wife was given to his companion, whom he had used as his friend.
7.
Why did Samson not tell his parents where he got the honey? Jdg. 14:9
Another part of Samsons vow was his oath not to eat any unclean food. The people of Israel were allowed to eat honey. The land is described as a land flowing with milk and honey; but since the honey was in the sunbleached carcase of a dead lion, the food would be unclean. Even Samsons mother had been told by the angel who announced Samsons birth that she should not eat any unclean food. If Samson had told his parents where he got the honey, his mother at least would have refused to eat it. He also would have revealed his violation of his Nazarite vow.
8.
Why did the Philistines give Samson thirty companions? Jdg. 14:11
Commentators are divided over the reason for the Philistines providing thirty young men to be with Samson. They ask whether it was to honor the bridegroom or to watch him. From the first, suspicion must have been in the Philistines mind as this passionate, young Israelite came among them. It must have seemed necessary to have as many as thirty to one in order to awe Samson, In the course of a feast there often would be quarrels. Without a strong guard on the Hebrew from Dan, Timnath might have been in danger.
9.
Where did Samson get the idea for his riddle? Jdg. 14:12
Samsons experience with the lion must have been a traumatic episode. In the course of the wedding feast, the company fell to composing riddles. Samson, probably annoyed by the Philistines who watched every movement, gave them his riddle. The terms he proposed were quite fair. In his riddle, we see a man perfectly self-reliant, full of easy superiority, courting danger, and defying his opponents. The thirty may win if they can. In that case, he was willing to pay a forfeit. When he put forth the riddle he couched it in these words, Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness. The riddle itself is a curiosity of old world banter. Some see in it a kind of gospel for the Philistines. It is true that like many witty sayings, the riddle had a range of meaning far wider than Samson intended. Any adverse influence conquered, any temptation mastered, any difficulty overcome, any struggle of faithfulness will supply us not only with happy recollections but also with arguments against infidelity. Anyone who can glory in his tribulations that have brought experience and hope, whether he be in bonds and imprisonments, or at liberty, can use this riddle. Vigor comes from what threatens life; joy comes out of sorrow. The man who walks with God is helped by the forces which oppose him. Samson demanded, however, a particular interpretation of his riddle.
10.
Did Samson gamble with his riddle? Jdg. 14:12-13
There was no gamble involved in the proposal Samson made to the Philistines. It was a promise on his part to give them a reward if they could find the answer to his riddle. On the other hand, if he was able to propound a riddle which defied them, they in turn were to reward him with thirty changes of garments and thirty sheets. The reward was proportionate to the number of companions given to be with Samson. It was a matter of each of his companions giving a reward to him. He probably never entertained the thought of their being able to learn the meaning of his riddle, but he was willing to reward each of them if such an event came to pass.
11.
How long did Samsons wife try to learn his riddle? Jdg. 14:17
His wife wept before him during the seven days of the banquet. Such a statement is not at variance with the statement made in verse fifteen. The woman had evidently already come to Samson every day with her entreaties from simple curiosity. Samson resisted them until the seventh day. At that time she became more urgent than ever because of the threat on the part of the Philistines. On the seventh day he finally told her, and she immediately went to those who had enticed her to wheedle the answer out of her husband. As a result the Philistines were able to come to Samson before sundown and give the answer to his riddle.
12.
What was the meaning of Samsons answer to the Philistines? Jdg. 14:18
Samson said that they would have been unable to find out the meaning of his riddle if they had not used his wife unfairly. John Milton in his poem, Samson Agonistes, puts the answer in poetical form by saying, You had not found out my answer I trow; if with my heifer you did not plow. It is not very complimentary to refer to his wife as a heifer, but the meaning of his statement is quite clear.
13.
Why did Samson kill the thirty men? Jdg. 14:19
He was angry. He had promised the thirty men who were his companions at the wedding feast that he would give them each a change of raiment and thirty sheets of cloth. He went out to find thirty men whom he could kill, He evidently took their garments and gave them to his companions. The thirty whom he killed were evidently not the thirty who were given to be his companions.
14.
How did the Spirit of the Lord cause this? Jdg. 14:19
God empowered him. The Spirit of the Lord began to move Samson at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol according to the statement made in Jdg. 13:25. When the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, he was evidently able to perform deeds which he was not physically equipped to do without Gods help. It was a supernatural gift; and as long as he was keeping his Nazarite vow, the Lord was with him.
15.
Why was Samsons wife given to another man? Jdg. 14:20
Samsons father-in-law looked upon his daughter more as chattel than as a person. He was anxious to get dowries from young men who wanted to marry his daughter. If one young man did not give the father satisfaction, he felt perfectly at liberty to arrange for his daughters marriage to another man. Such a low view of marriage was prevalent in countries where they did not have the full revelation of God. Even among some of the Israelite people marriage did not have its high and holy estate to which it was raised in the teaching of Jesus. Nonetheless, Samson appears to be enraged when he learns later that his wife had been taken from him and given to someone else.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(8) After a time.There is nothing to show how long this time was. A betrothal might last a year. In Jdg. 11:4 the same phrase (after days ) is used of many years.
To take her.To lead her to his own home after the bridal feast.
A swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion.This incident has been questioned, because it is truly said that bees hate all putrescence and decomposition, and that the notion of bees being generated in the rotting bodies of oxen (which we find in Virgil, Georgic 4, &c.) is a vulgar error. But it is overlooked that the word carcase here means (as the Syriac renders it) skeleton. The fierce sun of the East dries up all the animal moisture of a dead body, and reduces it to a skeleton with extreme rapidity, and bees have no dislike to dried bones as a place in which to swarm. Thus Herodotus tells us (v. 114) that when the Amathusians cut off the head of Onesilus, because he besieged them, and hung it over their gates, a swarm of bees filled the skull with their combs and honey. Rosenmller also quotes the authority of the physician Aldrovand for the story that swarms of bees built their combs between the skeletons of two sisters who were buried in the Church of Santa Croce, at Verona, in 1566. (Comp. Plin. H. N., xi. 24; Varro, R. R., 3:16.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
8. After a time he returned to take her That is, to consummate the marriage. Several months, often a year, elapsed between the betrothal and the wedding.
A swarm of bees and honey in the carcass of the lion “This, it must be confessed,” says Dr. Thomson, “is an extraordinary occurrence. The word for bees is the Arabic for hornets, and these we know are very fond of flesh, and devour it with the greatest avidity. I have myself seen a swarm of hornets build their comb in the skull of a dead camel, and this would incline me to believe that it was really our debabir hornets that had settled in the carcass of Samson’s lion, if it were known that they manufactured honey enough to meet the demands of the story. However, we find that not long after this bees were so abundant in a wood at no great distance from this spot that the honey dropped down from the trees on the ground, (1Sa 14:26😉 and I have explored densely-wooded gorges on Hermon and southern Lebanon where wild bees are still found, both in trees and in clefts of the rocks. It keeps up the verisimilitude of the narrative that these are just the places where wild beasts still abound, and though bees ordinarily avoid dead carcasses, it is possible that they on this occasion selected that of the lion for their hive.” Rosenmuller in his “Bible Archaeology” says: “In the desert of Arabia the heat of a sultry season will often dry up all the moisture of men or camels that have fallen dead, within twenty-four hours of their decease, without their passing into a state of decomposition and putrefaction, so that they remain for a long time like mummies, without change and without stench.” In such a case it would be very possible and likely that a swarm of bees would take up their abode in what more resembled a crust of rock than a decayed carcass. Or we may suppose that the carcass had become a dry and naked skeleton, and that some sort of wild bees had formed their nest and combs within it. On this point we may well add the weighty testimony of Dr. Kitto: “In the East, vultures and insects, particularly numerous swarms of ants and these abound in vineyards will, in an astonishingly short time, clean completely out all the soft parts of any carcass, leaving the skeleton entire, covered by its integuments, for, the flesh having been picked out, the skin would not be rent and destroyed. All the softer parts being thus removed, the bones and skin will rapidly be deprived of all their moisture by the heat of the sun; and the skeleton, covered over with the dry parchment into which the skin has been turned, becomes a sweet and very convenient habitation, in which a swarm of bees would be very likely to settle, especially in a secluded spot, among the shrub-like vines. In the East, bees establish themselves in situations little thought of by us; many wild swarms, being left to find homes for themselves, fix in any hollow which seems to them suited to their wants.”
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jdg 14:8 a
‘And after a time he returned to take her.’
It is clear that her parents were satisfied with the arrangements, and with the gifts offered, which confirms that Samson’s parents were also well-to-do. So as the marriage day approached he went again on his way to Timnah to take her as his wife. This was a marriage between two aristocracies, a judge of Israel and the daughter of one of the Philistine elite.
Jdg 14:8 b
‘And he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcass of the lion, and honey.’
On his way to Timnah he took a diversion in order to see the carcass of the lion he had killed, and found that bees had swarmed there. Bees are averse to flesh and it is thus probable that mainly only the bones were left which provided a nest for the bees in which to produce honey. Scavengers and ants had seemingly meanwhile done their work.
Like many young men Samson did not like turning up with his parents and so here, as previously, he took a separate route. This incident occurred en route, so that when he met his parents in Timnah he was able to give them some honey.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jdg 14:8. And after a time In the Hebrew, after days; i.e. (as this phrase frequently signifies, and as the circumstances seem to render probable,) after a year; See Exo 13:10. For it was not usual to celebrate the nuptials between a man and an espoused virgin till twelve months after the espousals. See Selden Uxor. Heb. lib. 2: cap. 8 and so long time seems necessary for the reducing the carcase of the lion, to a state proper for the reception of bees; which, as Aristotle and other naturalists observe, being remarkably abhorrent of all foetid smells, would scarcely settle in the carcase of a lion till the flesh was wholly consumed by the birds and beasts and time; but that being done, there is nothing more probable, than that a swarm of bees should settle in such a skeleton. See Boch. Hieroz. pars 2: lib. 4 and Vossius de Orig. et Prog. Idol. lib. 4: cap. 72. We have here a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. The devil is the roaring lion, whom our divine Samson has destroyed; and from his victory consolations are brought to the believer’s soul, sweeter than honey and the honey-comb.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Jdg 14:8 And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion: and, behold, [there was] a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion.
Ver. 8. And after a time. ] Some convenient time there must be betwixt the contract and the wedding, but let it not be over long, for many reasons; whereof elsewhere.
And he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion.
And, behold, there was a swarm of bees.
a Lav.
b Pliny, Columella.
to take her: Gen 29:21, Mat 1:20
a swarm: It is probable, that the flesh had been entirely consumed off the bones, which had become dry; and the body having been throw into some private place – for Samson turned aside to visit it a swarm of bees had formed their combs in the cavity of the dry ribs, or region of the thorax; nor was it a more improper place than a hollow rock.
Reciprocal: Gen 24:55 – a few days Psa 81:16 – honey Pro 25:16 – Hast
Jdg 14:8-9. After a time Hebrew, after days; that is, either after some days, or rather, after a year, as that word often signifies; when the flesh of the lion (which, by its strong smell, is offensive to bees) was wholly consumed, and nothing was left but the bones. Bees Settling themselves there, as they have sometimes done in a mans scull, or in a sepulchre. Came to his father and mother From whom he had turned aside for a season, Jdg 14:8.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments