John Gill Commentary Judges 14

And Samson went down to Timnath
A city which by lot fell to the tribe of Judah, but was afterwards given to the tribe of Dan, and now in the hands of the Philistines, (Joshua 15:57) (19:43) . Judah is said to go up to it, because the place where he lived lay below it, (Genesis 38:13) , but Samson is said to go down to it, because he lived above it.

The Jews ^F20 differ about the reconciliation of these two places; some say there were two of this name, the one is a descent, and the other is an ascent; others say there was but one, so situated, that they that came to it on one side ascended, and they that came to it on the other side descended.

Bochart ^F21 approves of the former. According to Bunting ^F23 , this was twelve miles from Eshtaol, where Samson lived:

and saw a woman in Timnath, of the daughters of the Philistines ;
who at this time dwelt there; he saw no doubt many other women besides her, but he took special notice of her, and entertained a particular affection for her; or, in other words, on sight of her fell in love with her.

FOOTNOTES:

• F20: T. Bab. Sotah, fol. 10. 1.
• F21: IIierozoic. par. 1. l. 3. c. 4. col. 763, 764.
• F23: Travels p. 115.

And he came up, and told his father and his mother
Of his passion of love, being desirous of having their approbation and consent, in which he acted a dutiful part, and what became him; and may be an example to children to advise with their parents, and have their opinion and consent before they engage in such an enterprise, even before courtship: and said,

I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines ;
whom he had a good liking of, and a strong affection for; he is very open and ingenuous in his account, does not go about to hide anything from his parents, or colour things over, or conceal her descent, but frankly tells them she was a Philistine woman, which he knew would at once furnish out an objection against her:

now therefore get her for me to wife :
for it seems it was the custom then, when a young man had found a woman he liked, that it was left to his parents to entreat with the woman and her friends about the marriage of her to him.

Then his father and his mother said to him
What he might expect, and doubtless did expect:

is there never a woman among the daughters of your brethren, or among
all my people, that you go to take a wife of the uncircumcised
Philistines ?
none in their own family, nor in the tribe of Dan, nor among the whole nation of Israel, but must go among the uncircumcised Philistines; for though they were not of the seven nations of the Canaanites, with whom marriage was forbidden, yet they not only dwelt where they did, and where the Israelites should, but were idolaters and impure persons, and therefore affinity should not be contracted with them, as being of a dangerous consequence, which might entice to idolatry.

Ben Gersom observes, that their Rabbins say he made her a proselyte first, though he did not acquaint his parents with it, and so Abarbinel; but this seems not likely, for, had this been the case, he would have had an easy and ready reply to this objection of theirs:

and Samson said to his father, get her for me, for she pleases me
well ;
or "is right in mine eyes" ^F24 ; not only his eyes were taken with her beauty or external form, but it was right in his sight, in his judgment, to marry her; he having an impulse upon his mind from the Spirit of God to it, though he did not let his parents know of it, but left them to conclude it sprung from a strong affection to her person. Abarbinel observes, that he only addressed his father, and not his mother, she being most vehemently against the match, and expressing more uneasiness at it than his father did; but it is most likely that he addressed his father particularly, because he was the proper person to negotiate this affair for him.

FOOTNOTES:

• F24: (ynyeb hrvy) "recta in oculis meis", Montanus, Junius et Tremellius.

And his father and mother knew not that it was of the Lord ,
&c.] That he should marry this uncircumcised Philistine; Samson knew it was, and that his desire of having her in marriage did not arise from carnal affection to her merely, being captivated with her beauty and external form, for she was not so very fair, her younger sister was fairer than she, (Judges 15:2) but he perceived it was the mind and will of God that he should take such a person to wife, by the impulse of the Spirit of God upon him, pointing it, unto him, inclining and urging him to it, suggesting the end and design of it, and the opportunity it would give him of quarrelling with the Philistines, and taking vengeance on them; but this his parents were ignorant of, nor did he let them know that this was of God:

that he sought an occasion against the Philistines ;
in this way, by this means; they might know he sought to get an opportunity to be avenged on them for their oppression, and to attempt the deliverance of Israel; but they knew not that it was the will of God that a way should be opened for it by this means. Samson might be directed by the Lord to reason thus in his mind, that if he proposed to the Philistines to marry one of their daughters, and they should reject his proposal, this would give him a reason to fall out with them, and fall upon them; and if they should agree to such a match, he might expect they would be kind to him, and to his people for his sake, being in alliance with them, or he should resent it, and take occasion from hence to come to a quarrel with them:

for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel ;
had invaded their country, and dwelt in their cities, and made them tributary to them, and used them ill; which Samson observing, was provoked to seek an opportunity of avenging the injuries done them, and of delivering them, and he was directed to it this way.

Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to
Timnath
They were prevailed upon to go with him, either because they perceived his affections were so strongly set upon a wife, that they thought it advisable to agree to it, lest it should be of bad consequence to him, or because he let them know that the thing was of God, and what was his design in it:

and came to the vineyards of Timnath ;
The land of Canaan was a land of vineyards, and particularly that part of it which was inhabited by the Philistines and Phoenicians.

Though we nowhere read of the wine of Timnath, yet frequent mention is made in authors of the wine of Ashkelon, Gaza, and Sarepta, inhabited by the above people.

These vineyards seem to have lain somewhat out of Samson's way; but hither he turned on some account or another from his parents, perhaps to eat some grapes:

and, behold, a young lion roared against him ;
Not a whelp, that is expressed by another word, but one more grown, and is afterwards called a lion simply; and, by the Targum, a lion, the son of lions or lionesses.

Which seeing him in the vineyards, where he was lurking, came out to meet him, and roared at him in a hideous manner, and came up to him to destroy him.

These creatures, though now more rare in those parts, were at this time frequent, and in later times: see (1 Samuel 17:34) (1 Kings 13:24) (20:36).

And several writers ^F25 make mention of lions in Mesopotamia and Syria; and Strabo ^F26, and Pliny ^F1 speak of a city in Phoenicia near Sidon, called the city of lions, because perhaps it had been much infested with them; and for a like reason it may be some cities in the tribes of Judah and Simeon were called Lebaoth and Bethlebaoth, (Joshua 15:32) (19:6).

FOOTNOTES:

• F25: Strabo. Geograph. l. 16. p. 514. Curtius, l. 8. sect. 1. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 16.
• F26: Geograph, l. 16. p. 520.
• F1: Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 20.