Judges 15:1

But it came to pass within a while after, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he said, I will go in to my wife into the chamber. But her father would not suffer him to go in.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(1) Within a while after.—“After days” (Judges 11:4; Judges 14:8).

In the time of wheat harvest.—This, in the Shephelah, would be about the middle of May.

Visited his wife with a kid.—We find the same present given by Judah to Tamar in Genesis 38:17. We may compare the complaint of the elder brother of the prodigal, given him a kid (Luke 15:29).

I will go in to my wife.—Uxoriousness was the chief secret of the weakness and ruin of Samson, as it was afterwards of a very different type of man, Solomon.

Into the chamber.—Song of Solomon 1:4; Song of Solomon 3:4.

Benson Commentary

Jdg 15:1. In the time of the wheat harvest — Which was the proper season for what follows. With a kid — As a token of reconciliation. Into the chamber — Into her chamber, which the women had separate from the men’s.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

15:1-8 When there are differences between relations, let those be reckoned the wisest and best, who are most forward to forgive or forget, and most willing to stoop and yield for the sake of peace. In the means which Samson employed, we must look at the power of God supplying them, and making them successful, to mortify the pride and punish the wickedness of the Philistines. The Philistines threatened Samson's wife that they would burn her and her father's house. She, to save herself and oblige her countrymen, betrayed her husband; and the very thing that she feared, and by sin sought to avoid, came upon her! She, and her father's house, were burnt with fire, and by her countrymen, whom she thought to oblige by the wrong she did to her husband. The mischief we seek to escape by any unlawful practices, we often pull down upon our own heads.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Visited his wife with a kid - A common present (see Genesis 38:17; Luke 15:29). From Samson's wife being still in her father's house, it would seem that she was only betrothed, not actually married, to his companion.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

CHAPTER 15

Jud 15:1, 2. Samson Is Denied His Wife.

1. in the time of wheat harvest—that is, about the end of our April, or the beginning of our May. The shocks of grain were then gathered into heaps, and lying on the field or on the threshing-floors. It was the dry season, dry far beyond our experience, and the grain in a most combustible state.

Samson visited his wife with a kid—It is usual for a visitor in the East to carry some present; in this case, it might be not only as a token of civility, but of reconciliation.

he said—that is, to himself. It was his secret purpose.

into the chamber—the female apartments or harem.Samson desireth to visit his wife; is denied her; wherefore he tieth firebrands to three hundred foxes’ tails, and sets the corn on fire, Judges 15:1-5; for which they burn his wife and her father, Judges 15:6. Samson’s revenge, Judges 15:7,8. The Philistines pitch in Judah, and demand Samson: the men of Judah bind and deliver him, Judges 15:9-13. He breaketh his bands, and slayeth one thousand Philistines with the jawbone of an ass, Judges 15:14-17. He is athirst; prays; obtains water out of it, Judges 15:18-20.

In the time of wheat harvest; which circumstance is noted as the proper season for the following exploit.

Into the chamber; into her proper chamber, which women had distinct and separate from the men’s.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

But it came to pass within a while after,.... Or "after days", a year after, the same phrase as in Judges 14:8 in the time of wheat harvest; which began at Pentecost, as barley harvest did at the passover; this circumstance is mentioned for the sake of the following piece of history:

that Samson visited his wife with a kid; by this time his passion of anger subsided, and he "remembered" his wife, as the Targum expresses it, and thought proper to return to her, and attempt a reconciliation with her; and for that purpose took a kid with him to eat a meal with her in her own apartment, which in those days was reckoned an elegant entertainment, and was a present to a king, 1 Samuel 16:20. Isidore (s) derives the Latin word for a kid, "ab edendo", from eating, as if it was food by way of eminency, as it is both savoury and wholesome:

and he said, I will go with my wife into the chamber; where she was, as women had their chambers and apartments by themselves; this he said within himself, or resolved in his own mind, and perhaps expressed it in her father's hearing, or however moved that way, which plainly indicated his design:

but her father would not suffer him to go in; placed himself perhaps between him and the door, and parleyed with him, and declared he should not go into his daughter's chamber; Samson, through his superior strength, could easily have pushed him away, and broke open the door, but he did not choose to use such violent methods, and patiently heard what he had to say, and submitted.

(s) Origin. l. 12. c. 1. p. 101.

Geneva Study Bible

But it came to pass within a while after, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he said, I will {a} go in to my wife into the chamber. But her father would not suffer him to go in.

(a) That is, I will use her as my wife.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Ch. Jdg 15:1-8. Samson’s revenge

1. in the time of wheat harvest] From mid-May to mid-June in this region. The harvest is mentioned to prepare the scene for Jdg 15:5. Country weddings generally take place in March (Wetzstein, l.c.); a couple of months may have passed since the furious ending of the marriage feast.

a kid] Apparently a customary present on these occasions; Genesis 38:17. The custom may have been based on the heathen idea that the goat was sacred to the goddess of love (Ashtôreth); cf. Deuteronomy 7:13 Hebr.

into the chamber] The women’s quarters. The woman is still in her father’s house, though she is married (Jdg 14:20).

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 1. - Within a while - the same expression as that in Judges 14:8, rendered "after a time," and in Judges 11:4, rendered "in process of time." In the time of wheat harvest - about the month of May. The harvest, as appears from ver. 5, had begun, some corn being already cut, and in shocks; the rest still standing, and, being ready to be cut, of course extremely dry and inflammable. With a kid, as a present, intended no doubt to make peace (Genesis 38:17). His anger (Judges 14:19) had now passed away, and his love for his wife had returned. He was little prepared to find her married again to his friend. Judges 15:1

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Further Acts of Samson. - Judges 15:1-8. His Revenge upon the Philistines. - Judges 15:1.

Some time after, Samson visited his wife in the time of the wheat harvest with a kid-a customary present at that time (Genesis 38:17)-and wished to go into the chamber (the women's apartment) to her; but her father would not allow him, and said, "I thought thou hatedst her, and therefore gave her to thy friend (Judges 14:20): behold her younger sister is fairer than she; let her be thine in her stead."