Judges 14:1-20 And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.… 1. This verse has been very strangely and very unfortunately misunderstood by many. It has been thought to mean(1) That Samson was moved by the Spirit of God to desire this marriage; and(2) that Samson desired to enter into it for the purpose of finding occasion to quarrel with the Philistines. 2. This view seems open to three fatal objections. (1) The silence of Samson about any such movement of the Spirit of God. (2) It makes God inspire Samson to go contrary to the spirit of His own law. (3) It is opposed to the whole spirit of the narrative, which impresses one with the idea that Samson was sincere in his passion. 3. The marriage was of God, as the conquest of Nebuchadnezzar or the treachery of Judas, inasmuch as He permitted it and overruled it for bringing Samson into collision with the Philistines, and introducing him to the grand work of his life. (Thomas Kirk.) Parallel Verses KJV: And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.WEB: Samson went down to Timnah, and saw a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines. |
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