GBS) Chxix ey
ch. v. 11. they fhall rebearfe, that is, with praife ” and thankfgiving, the righteous alts of the Lord;
and fo the daughters of J/rael went every year to the place where the daughter of Yephthab was, to {peak in the praifeé of her, of her heroifm,’ in fo chearfully {ubmitting to her father’s vow, “ad expreffing fuch gratitude and joy at the fame time for victory over the enemies of J/rael; and this they did in her prefence, and while the lived, to keep up her fpirits; or it may be, in fome public place, and even after her death, in memory of her, and toce-
Jebrate her praife. Epiphanius fays 1, that in his time at Sebafte, formerly called Samaria, they deified the daughter of Yephthab, and kept a feaft for her every year. ‘Fhe meeting of the daughters of Tfrael, {o long as the cuftom lafted, which perhaps was only during the life of Yephthab’s daughter, was four days in ayear, but whether they were four days running, or once in a quarter of a year, is not certain; the latter feems moft probable.
the cafe of his only child; threaten him in this brutifh manner. ¥. 2. And Fephthah faid unto them, I and my people were at a great firife with the children of Ammon, &c.] As to the caufe of the war, or the reafon of his going over to fight the children of Ammon, it was a ftrifé or contention between the Gileadites and them, concerning their country; which the children of Ammon claimed as theirs, and the Gz- proclamation made: in the Hebrew text itis, @| man of Ephraim; not a fingle man, but a body of eadites infifted on it they had a juft right to it; by which it appeared, that this was not a perfonal con- men, who met together and joined as one man. is highly probable, that there-were no lefs than 50,000 of them; for 42,000 of them were flain, ¥. 6. and went northward; or, went over north ward *; that is, over the river Fordan, which lay between Gilead and Ephraim; and when they had croffed the river, they turned northward; for Mizpeb, where Fephthab lived, \was in the north of the
It]tention between Fephthab andthem; and therefore the Ephraimites had no reafon to fall fo furioufly upon him particularly; and it was a contention which chiefly concerned the two tribes and a half, and not the reft; and fo could not be blamed for defending themfelves alone if they could, without interefting others in the quarrel: but this is not all he has to fay, headds, and when I called you, ye de- land, near Hermon and Lebanon, Fob. xi. 3. and faid unto Fephthab, wherefore paffedft thou over to Jight againft the children of Ammon? not over For dan, but over that part of the land of J/rae/ from the plain where Fephéhab dwelt, to the country of the children of Ammon: and didft not call us to go with thee? they quarrel with him juft in the fame manner as they did with Gideon: thefe Epbraimites were a proud and turbulent people, and efpecially were very jealous of the tribe of Manaffeh, of which both Gideon and Fephthab were; the one of the half-tribe on this fide Yordan, and the other the half that was on the other fide; and they were jealous of both, left any honour and glory fhould accrue thereunto, and they fhould get any fuperiority in any refpect over them, fince Faced their father had given the preference to Ephraim, and this feems tolieat the bottom of all their proceedings: we will burn thine houfe upon thee with fire; that is, burn him and his houfe, burn his houfe and him in it;-which fhews that they were in great wrath and fury, and argued not only the height of pride envy, but wretched ingratitude, and acruel dilpofition; who, inftead of congratulating him as J rael’s deliverer, and condoling him with refpeét to livered me not out of their hands; it feems he had called them to affift in driving the enemy out of their coafts when there, and they refufed to help him; though it is not elfewhere faid, and it is not denied by them, fo that it was falfe what they alledged; or however, fince they declined giving him any affiftance, when the children of Ammon were in his country, he could not expect they would join him in an expedition into theirs.
Y. 3. And when I faw that ye delivered me not, &c.] Gave him no affiftance againft their common ofjenemy, did not attempt to fave him and his people out of their hands, but left them to defend themfelves: / put my life in my bands, ready to deliver it up in the defence of his country; the meaning is, that he expofed himfelf to the utmoft danger, hazarded his life in going with a few troops into an enemy’s country to fight him, and fo liable to lofe his life; which was in as much danger, as fome obferve, as any brittle thing contained in the hand is in danger of falling, or of beandJing fhatched out of it: and paffed over againjt thé children of Ammon; took a long and fatiguing -|march over the land of Gilead into that of the children of Ammon, to fight with them: andthe
Ch. xi. ¥.4—9. wd UDGE &. 42 Lord delivered them into my band, gave him victory over or. iets fhewed a his eo ae was not an juft, and his call to engage in itclear: wherefore then areye come up unto me this day to fight againft me 2 who rather fhould have come with thanks to ' him for the fervice he had done, not only for the Gileadites, but for all J/rael;
y. 4. Then Fephthab gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim, &c. Epbraimites not being pacified with the account Fephthah gave of the war between him and Children of Ammon, but continuing in their tumultuous outrage; he, beinga man of fpirit and courage, got as many of the -Gileadites together as he could, and gave them battle: and the men of Gilead Jmote Ephraim, had the advantage of them, worfted them, killed many of them, and put the reft to flight: decaufe they faid, ye Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim among the Epbraimites, and among the Manaffites,; what provoked them to fall upon them with the greater fury, and ufe them the more feverely when they had the better of them, their reproachful language to them; infulting the Gileadite$, who perhaps were chiefly, if not all, the half tribe of Manaffeh beyond ‘fordan, of *ephthab was, that they were the fcum of the houfe of “Fofeph, that they had -run.away from their brethren, and dwelt in a corner of the land by themfelves; and were of no account at all among Ephraim and Manaffeb, and difclaimed by them both, and not efteemed_by either. The Targum is, “ the fugitives of Ephraim faid, what are ye Gileadites accounted of among the Epbhraimites, and among the Manajfites?” on which Kimchi remarks, thatthofe Ephraimites that came in this multuous manner, and infulted ‘ephthab, were moft abjeét company of men, the refufe of the tribe of Ephraim, fhepherds who through fity were obliged to come over Jordan with their flocks and herds for pafture: but the words may be rendered, for they faid, fugitives of Epbraim.are ye, even the Gileadites, who were, or being Jetween the Epbraimites and the Manaffites; that is, the Gileadites called the Epbraimites fo, when they fled before them, and when they got at the fords ordan, which lay between Epbraim and the halflof tribe of Manajeb on the other fide Yardan, and they are in the next verfe exprefsly fo called. 5. And the Gileadites took the paffages of ‘Fordan before the Ephraimites, &c.] Being either fwifter of foot, or going a nearer and fhorter way, being ‘better acquainted with their own country: and it was fo, that when thofe Epbraimites which qwere efcaped faid, let me go overs the fugitives of | Ephraim, as before called, who ran away fromthe battle, made their efcape, and the beft of their way to the paflages of Fordan, to get over there to their own country: shat the men of Gilead faid unto him, to every one of them, as they came up, art thou an Epbraimite? or an Ephrathite, for fo it feems thole of the tribe of Epbraim were a8 Feroboam, 1 Kings xi. 26. if be fai 5 iy Ebkealithl roi Oo gear y. 6. Then faid they unto bin, fay now Shibboleth, 8c.) Wish agioes a ties or grat water, at which they now were; and fo it was as if they had bid them fay, ‘* may I, or let me; pafs for had he not fought jover the ftream of this river;” fo archi; eid this being the café, though it was done to try them, and by their pronunciation learn whether they were Ephraimites or no, they were not upon their gtiard, particu- but in an hurry, and at once exprefied the word asthey comrhonly did: and be faid, fibboleth, pronouncing the letter /hin as if it was fin, or a famech; juft as the French, as Kimchi ob{erves, prolike a¢; and though the Gileadites and Ephraimites were of the fame nation of Irael, and The fpoke the fame language, yet their pronunciation differed, as did that of the Galilean ‘fews from thejothers in the times of Chrift; Matt. xxvi. 73. and fo in all nations, among the Greeks, Romans; and among ourfelves, people in different counties pronounce in a different manner; which Kimchi thinks was in the Epbraimites owing to the air or climate, as the French, hé oblerves, pronounce / as a #5 with a foft and gentle found: for be could not framé t0 pronounce it right; ot thus‘, as he was bid to do; being ufed to pronounce otherwife, he could not frame the organs of fpéech; of fo difpofe and order them as to fay /bibboleth; or he did not frame, wasjorder, and difpofe»; he was not careful to do it, though with fome care he could, being not aware of of the defign of the Gileadites in it: then they took bint which and flew him at the paffages of Fordan, every one as they came thither, who could not fay foibdoleth; thefe they fuffered not to pafs over, but flew them:- and there fell at that time of the Epbraimites 42,000: not at the paflages of Fordan only; but what fell there, with thofe at the battle, and in the purfuit, amounted to this number; fo that the Ephraimites paid dear for their pride and infolence. Y.°7. And Fepbthab judged Ifrael fix years, 8c.} After the affair of the Ephraimites, he was acknowtu- ledged by all J/rael as their judge and fupreme goajvernor, but did not live long; being perhaps depreffed and worn away with grief, on account of his necef-jdaughter, and other troubles that attended him: then died Fepbthah the Gileadite, and was buried in one of the cities of Gilead; it is not faid in what city he was buried, but very probably it was in his own city Mizpeh, where he dwelt. Fofephus™ fays it was in his owncountry Sebee a city of Gilead. ¥- 8. And after him Ibzan of Bethlebem judged Ifof rael;|] There were two Bethlebems, one in the tribe Zebulun, Foo. xix. 15. of which fome think this man was;_and another in the tribe of Fudab, the city of Jefe and David, and of the Meffiah; and ‘Fofepbus fays*, Ibzan was of the tribe of Fu dab, of the city of Bethlehem; and becaufe Boaz was of the fame place, and lived inthe times of the judges, the Fewifo Rabbins’ are of opinion, that he is the fame with Jbzan; fo Farchi and Ben Gerom.
againft the children of Ammon, and conquered them, they would have foon not only over-run and opprefied Gilead, but would have come over Fordan, and difpofieffed the other tribes, and larly Ephraim, as they had done already, ch. x. g. fo that it was bafe ingratitude in thefe people to come to fight againft Yepbrhab, who had fought for them, and wrought falvation for them. nounce y. 9- nd be bad 30 fons and 30 daughters, &c.] Which was a very uncommon cafe, for a man to have fo many children, and thofe as to their fex to be equal. Between the former judge and him there was a great difference, in refpect of this circumftance of children; he had but one daughter, called,!an only child; and fhe, by reafonof his vow, not
322 ¥$ UDGE ¥. Ch. witty 1— 3, fuffered to miarty. Such a difference does God, his all-wife providence, make even among: -men; noris thisany certain characteriftic of a man. Danaus had 50 daughters, and his. brother Egyptus 50 fons; who were married to each other; in. ried in Aijalom in the’ country of Zebalon, which is — good!added tondiftinguifh it: from another Aijalon in the good tribe of Dan, chi ing5e: 05 6 Bin;
¥.13. And after him Addon the fon of Hillel’, ¢ Pirathonite, judged Ifracl,\. So called.from Pira- — thon, where he was born, -and which was in the and the hufbands were all flain by their wives but one, on the wedding night, and fo far from being happy in them: but it was otherwife with this judge, when be fent abroad, and took in thirty daughters from abroad for bis fons; his daughters he fent abroad, or married them, to perfons not of another nation, nor of another tribe, but of another family of the fame tribe, and thefe he difmiffed from him -to live with their hufbands; and he took in daughters of families in the fame tribe to be wives to his fons, and who feem to have dwelt together; ing the cuftom then for fons, though married, abide with their father, and their wives with them; as Abarbinel {ays is the cuftom at Zenobia unto day: and he judged Ifrael feven years, and in days the wars of Troy are faid * to begin; but they began in the times of Jephtbab his predecefior, tribe of Ephraim, as appeatsfromy.415-. ¥..14., And be had 4oJons, and 30 nephews, &c.] Or fons fons, that is, grandfons; fo that he lived not only to fee~his. fons. married, but his grandchildren grown up to men’s eftate; fince it follows, ¢hat rode on 70 a/s-colts; who were either employed by him to ride about on thefe animals, which ia thofe times were reckoned honourable; fee ch. v. 10. to adminifter -juftice throughout the nation in it be-;theii circuits; or rather, not following any trade, edloy being concerned in hufbandry, or feeding cattle, but being men of eftates, rode about like gentlefia chert:; and he judged Ifrael 8 years; in his time it his is faid ° the city of Trey was deftroyed; fo Eujedivs*, who calls,this judge Labdon, though he elfewhere * places it in the times of 4%; fee on y¥.10, Then died Ibzan, and was buried in Bethlehem 3] He died at the end of his feven years government, and was buried inhis native place 5 nothing memorable having happened during his being judge; this is-all that is recorded of him.
¥.15. And Abdon the fon of Hillell the Pirathonite died, &cc.] At the end of his 8 years government: and was buried at. Pirathon, im the land of Ephraim, in the mount of the Amalekites; in the place where he was born, and from. whence he had the name of a Pirathonite; and this was in the and hejtribe of Ephraim, and the particular {pot was mount Amalek; fo called either from the name of the perfen to whom it belonged, or becaufe the Amalekites formerly dwelt in it; or rather, becaufé of fome remarkable advantage got over them at this place; this judge hada magnificent funeral,;
y. 11. And after, bim Elon a Zebulanite judged Ifrael, &c.) One of the tribe of Zebulon: judged Ifrael ten years; adminiftered juftice to them, preferved them in the true religion, and from idolatry; though it does:not appear that any enemies arofe inhis time againft them, from whom he delivered them. here, Yo/epbus fays*,.
y. 12. And Elon the Zebulonite died, &c.]\ At the end of his ten years government: and was bu- se
FF HIS chapter relates the birth of Sam/on, anof other of the judges of J/rael, which was foretold by an angel to his mother, who told her hufband of it, ¥.1—7. upon whofe intreaty the angel appeared again, and related the fame to them both, y¥. 8—14. and who was very refpectfully| treated by the man, and by the wonderful things gin to deliver J/rael out of their hands; fo that the oppreffion lafted 40,years, According to others, it began at the fame time as the oppreffion of the mmonites did, though it laftédlonger, ch. - x. 7... ae?
y¥.2. And there was a certain man of Zorab, of the family of the Danites, &c.] Of the tribe of Dan, he did was known by him ‘to be an angel of the
Lord, which greatly furprized him, ¥. 15—23. and the chapter.is clofed with an account of;the birth of Samfon, and of his being early endowed with the fpirit of God, ¥. 24,.25..
_ 21. And the children of Ifrael did evil in the fight ofthe Lord, 8c:}, Committed idolatry, which was the evil they were prone unto, and were guilty of: and the Lord delivered them into tbe hands of the Philiftines,40 years; which according to Fo- Jepbus§ are to be reckoned from-the death of the laft judge, and the time of Sam/on’s birth; or rather from fome time after the death of Fephthah, particularly taking in the. two laft years of Jozan, when the, £pbraimites having been weakened thro’ the flaughter, of them by Yephtbab, might encourage the Philifines to break in upon them; from which time. to -the birth of Sam/on ‘were 20 years, and 20,more may be allowed beforehe could beman was not a mean man, but of rank and figiire, a principal man in the country, according to Fobeian: whofe name was Manoah, which re, and has much the fame fignification'as WVoab’; frequently;and by this name,he,was well. Know in thofe times, and among his people: and “b is A barren, and bare not; had no child, as the Targum’; and it is obferved by many, that feveral eminent — perfons were born of women that h ‘been barren, as Ifaac, Facob, Samuel, and Fobn the Baptif } and it is remarkable, that the ftrongeft man't at ever was, was-born of fuch a woman, 4s the following account relates. The name of this woman, the mother of Sam/on, is faid' to be Zalalpouith, fee 1 Chron. iv. 3. ae _y. 3.. Aud the angel of the Lord appeared unto the — woman, &c.] According to Fofepbus *, it was: plain without the city and that he:appeared in the in’ajothers, wrought falvatién© for his people's ee Vy. |xiii.
form of a man is certain from y¥. 6, &c. but was} not a mere man, a prophet of the Lord, ’ created angel, but the uncreated one, the covenant, the Son and Word of God, who often appeared in an human form; fince his name is {aid to be wonderful, and he to do wonderful things, and is called Fehovab, ¥. 18, 23. and faid unto her, bebold, now thou art barren, and beareft not; barren at that time, and fo the had been ever fince fhe was married to that time; and this is obferved, that it might appear the more wonderful that fhe fhould after this have a child: but thou fralt conceive, and bear a fon; which to do, muft be afcribed to -divine power, that one in her circumftances fhould bear a fon; -as_ the prediction of it was owing to -divine onnnifcience, and a proof of it.
¥. 4. Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor firong drink, &c.] Any liquor inebria-
nor a|&c.] To whom it would be joyful the angel of}toher: /aying,
¥..6. Then the woman caine aid told ber bh/band, news, as it was 4 tan of God came unto me? hé appeared in an human form, and therefore fhe calls hith a man;_ and by his mien and deportmerit, and the meffage he'browght, flie concluded he wa? a man of God; that is, a prophet; by which ‘naime fuch perfons went in thofe days 3, and fo thé Targum calls him a prophet of the Lord’ but it isa mere conceit of Ben. Gerfom that it was Phinébas, who in all probability was not living; befides what js after related fhews, that this was a divine perfon, and no other than'the Son of’ God: and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible; for though fhe might never \have feen an angel, yet it being a common notion:that angels were very illuftrious, of a beautiful forin and of a fhining countenance, and very majefti¢, ting and intoxicating, neither new wine nor old wine, as the Targum, and fo Farchi;.the reafon of this appears: in the next verfe, becaufe the fhould conceive-and bear was to be a Nazarite, the compares the man fhe faw to one; for by being: very terrible, is not’meant that he was frightful, child the and {truck her with horror, but venerable and’maand jeftic, which filled her with admiration: Sze °L to be one from, his mother’s womb’; and from all fuch liquors, Nazarites, according to the law, were!
afked him not whence he was, neither told be me his name this fhe added to prevent Her hifband’s énto abftain, Numb. vi. 3. and eat not any unclean thing, meaning not fo much fuch fort of food as was forbidden, by the law ‘to\be eaten, which every J quiting about his name and place of abode; and perhaps as fhe came along, - raelite was.to abftain from, but fuch’ as were peculiarly forbidden to Nazarites; as moift and dried grapes, or any thing made of the ‘vine-tree from the kernel to the hufk,» Namd..vi. -3, 4.) The reafon of this is,» becaufe the child in the womb is nourifhed with the fame the mother jis;- and as this child.was.to be a. Nazariie from the womb, } and even in. it, his, mother was to abftain-both from eatables and drinkables forbidden a Nazarite by the law..
¥. 5. For: lo, thou foalt. conceive and-bear’ a fon, &c.]. Which is not only repeated for the confirmation of it, but that fhe, might take notice that he was to be a. Nazarite, and therefore mutt conform to every thing agreeable to the law of the Nezarites, and take care that it was obferved in him: aud no razor fhall come on bis head; to cut of the hair of it, not from the time of: his birth to his death 5 for he was to be a perpetual Nazarite: other Nazari/es during the time of their Nazarite- Soip were not to fuffer|a razor to come upon them, but afterwards might 5. but for fuch an‘one as Samfon, it was not lawful. ever to fuffer his: hair to be cut off 3 fee Numb. vi. 5. for the child fball be a Nazariteunto God fromthé womb; in-which he was a type of Chrif,- who was fanctified by the Lord, feparated from finners, and called a Nazarene; was man, and this. birth foretold by an angel as this: and he all begin to deliver Ifrael out of the. hand of the Philiftines 5 for the falvation he wrought for J rae/
“was not.compleat and) perfect;.it was only begun by him,.and carried on:ia the times of Eli, Samuel, and Seul, and perfected by David. _ In this his antitype.exceeds him, who is the author of the compleat\falvation of his people, out of the hands of all their.enemies, fin, fatan, and the world; tho’ in this there is.a great refemblance between Sam on and our- Lord Fe/us, in, that what he did: he did himfelf alone; not atthe head of an,army, and with forces under him,.as other judges); fo Chrif with his. own arm, and.of bimielf,, and without the reflected on herfelf, that’ fhe did not afk: thofe queftions;_ which might be owing to the furprize fhe was in,: partly at’ the awful and venerable appearance of the perfon,'and partly. at the joyful’ news he brought her; ‘though it feems as if fhe did afk his namie, but he did not tell sher what it was. Cus tail W. 7. But be faid unto me, bebold, thou fhalt conceive and bear afon, &c.]} She fays nothing of her barrennefs, which the angel took notice of ‘to “her, that having been to her reproach: and now drink no wine nor firong drink’; neither new wine nor old wine; fo the Zurgumas before: neither eat any unclean thing; which was fo ina cerémonial fenf; otherwife every creature of God is good, and nét to be called commion’or unclean; it hete refpects what was forbidden Nazarites'to eat; fee v. 4. for the child foall-bea Nazarite to God from the womb it is here added what is not before expréffed, unto bis death, for he was to be a pefpetual Nazarite; fome were only Nazarites for a time, for fo many days or months, according té their vow; but this fon was to be a Noezarite all ‘his days, by the appointment of God’; nor is it any objection to what is here faid, ‘that his hair was cut off ‘before: his-death, which caufed his Nazaritebip to ceafe 5 fince thefe words are not a*pro= phecy, but a precept; and befides, that affair hap~ quickly afterwards, * We08. Then Manoah intreated the Lord, &c.} Fo- Jepbus' makes the woman to intreat the Lord; but the text is clear forit that it was Manoah that’ prayed: and faid, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didft fend unto us; he believed that the man that came to his ‘wife was a man of God, and that he was of hisfending; nor was he incredulous of the meflage» he brouglit, as ‘appears by what follows: and teach us what we foail do unto the child that (hall be born; he believed there would be a childborn, and he knew what was to be done to a WNazarite in common, accofding to the law of God: refpecting fuch, and the angel had mention? ed fomewhat to the woman; yet this being an éxtraordinary traordinary cafe, a Nazamité from his birth to death, he was defirous of knowing what was further to be done; or if there was any thing more fpecial and particular to be obferved concerning him; which fhewed his readinefs and chearfulnefs to obey the will of God in all things. y¥. 9. And God bearkened unto the voice of Manoab, &c.| Heard his prayer, and anfwered it: and the angel of God came again unto the woman as foe fat in the field s who very likely returned to the fame place where fle was before, in hope her hufband’s prayers would be heard, and the manjthis return and come to her where he had before met her; as well as fhe might be here retired for meditation and prayer; unlefs it can be fuppofed that fhe had bufinefs here to do, as keeping a flock of fheep, which women, and thofe great perfonages too, were wont to do in thofe times and countries, as Rebekah the fifter of Laban, and the daughters of Fethro, prince of Midian: but Manoah ber byfband was not with her; the angel appeared to the woman again, becaufe fhe would know him to be the fame; whereas had he appeared to Manoah, efpecially alone, he could not have known whether he was the fame or no. This claufe is for the fake of what follows. that fhould do;
y. 11. And Manoah arofe and went after bis wife, &c.] As foon as fhe had delivered the above, fhe made all the hafte fhe could to the man again, left he fhould think her too long, and depart it was proper enough fhe fhould go firft, to direét her hufband where the man was; Zarchi interprets it, after her counfel and advice: and came to the man, and faid unto him, art thou the man that Jpakeft unto thé woman? meaning his wife then and be faid, Iam the very fame-perfon; for tho’ he was not a man, yet appearing in an human form was taken for one; and therefore makes an- {wer according to the fuppofition of him, and was the felf-fame perfon, and in the fame formshe:had ‘his 'tefpect to him, of what more was to be done to him than to another: the words may be rendered, — as in the margin of our bibles, what fhall be the judgment of the child, and bis work, and feems to relate not to what fhould be done to it, but what that fhould do; for being an extraordinary Nazarite, he fuppofed that fome extraordinary work would be done by him, and he was curious to know it; and fo Avarbinel interprets it of his requeft to know things future and wonderful, that fhould be done after the child was grown up; but the angel chofe not to inform him of, fince it might have been prejudicial to them, fhould the Philiftines get knowledge that this child would be a judge, and faviour of J/rae/, and do fuch and fuch things to them as he did, they would have fought to have flain his wife whilft fhe bare him, or the child when born; and it may be obferved, that though the angel. told the woman at firft, that he fhould begin to deliver Ifrael out of the band of the Pbiliftines, ¥. 5. yet fhe faid nothing of itto her hufband, nor did the angel repeat it.
y. 13. And the angel of the Lord faid unto Manoab, &c.] Giving him no direét anfwer to his queftion, obfervedjeither what fhould be done to the child, or what only reminds of and repeats what he had faid to his wife, which fhe fhould be careful obferve and would, and that was enough for fetched |him to know: of all that I faid to the woman, let ber deware; take care to abftain from every thing in eating and drinking, during the time of her going with child, he had enjoined, which are particularly repeated in the next verfe.
y. 10. And the woman made hafte and ran, &c.} Ic is not improbable what Fofephus fays™, that,to fhe intreated the angel to ftay a little till the her hufband, which he affented to, and then made all the hafte fhe could to him, partly through eagernefs to acquaint him with it, and partly that fhe might not make the prophet fhe took him to be wait too long: and fhewed ber hufband; that his prayer was heard: and aid unto him, bebold the man bath appeared unto me that came unto me the other day; or, as the Targum, this day; fo Kimchi and Ben Melech; for the word other is not in the text. It is very probable it was the fame day he came again he had appeared toher 3 perhaps it was in the former part of the day he firft came to her, when fhe went home to her hufband, and acquainted him with it, who prayed to the Lord that he might be fent again; and then fhe returned to her place in the field, and in the latter part of the day the angel appeared again.
y.14. She may not eat of any thing that cometh of the vine, &cc.| Grapes moift or dried, kernels, or hufks, or any thing made of them: weither det her drink wine, or ftrong drink; as the was to be careful to abftain from fuch liquors, fo her hufband alfo is enjoined not to fuffer her to drink any: mor eat any unclean thing; which was fo by the law of Mo/es, and particularly by the law of the Nazarites: all that I commanded her, let ber obferve; both with refpect to herfelf and the child. 15. Aud Manoah faid unto the angel of the Zord, &c.] Being fatisfied with what he had faid, and perceiving that he chofe to fay no more, atid was about to depart: J pray thee let me detain thee, antil we fhall have made ready a kid for thee to eat a meal with them, in token of gratitude for the andjtrouble he had been at in bringing thefe meflages to them, taking him to be a man, a prophet of the Lord, for whom they were wont to make entere tainments; and Abarbinel thinks Manoab propofed this, on purpofe to detain him, in hope that while prefent: jthey were eating together, he would reveal fome fecrets unto him.
y.416. And the angel of the Lord faid unto Manoah, &c.] In anfwer to his requeft: though thou detain me, Iwill not eat of thy bread; that is, fhould he be prevailed upon to ftay awhile with him, un- _ appeared before. til an entertainment fhould be got ready, he would
¥.12. And Mancah faid, now let thy words come to pafs, &c.] Which was notonly a with that they might, buta prayer of faith that they would come to pafs: how foall we order the child, and how fhall tve do unto bim; he believed a child would be born, and as he was tobe a Nazarite, he knew what were the rules and orders to be obferved concerning one incommon 3; but as he was to be an extraordinary one, he was defirous of knowing what particular laws and rules were to be obferved with not eat of any of ‘his provifions; for dread is put for all eatables, or whatfoever he might provide for the éntertainment: and if, or but if" thou wilt of fer a burnt-offering, thou muft offer it unto the Lord; if he meant to provide not a-feftival entertainment, but a facrifice, then he fhould take care that he did ‘not offer it to ftrange gods, as was now very much the cuftom with //rae/ in this their time of apoftacy, ¥. 1. but to the true Febovab, and not toa fervant of his, a,.prophet or an angel, butto himfelf:, for Manoab knew not thathe wes an angel down from heaven, or {pring of the Lerds he. took. him to be aman, a prophet which confumed’ the facrifice, fent of God,: and not anangel; and much lefs the Lord’s acceptance of it increated one, to whom as fuch only the facrifice y¥.17. Aad Manoah faid unto the angel of the
Lord, what is thy name; 8cc.} | Who art thou, and by what name art thou called? for fince he could not prevail upon him to ftay and eat a meal with him, he defired to know his name; and where he lived, that when he heard his name mentioned he might fpeak well of him, or fend to him upon occafion; or if any meffage was fent from him, as Farchi faggetts, that he might fhew: a refpect to him, and obferve it: and particularly, shat when thy fayings come to pafs, we may do thee bonour? fay that fuch a prophet, whofe nameis fuch, and lives in fuch.a place, foretold thefe things;. or that they might fend him a prefent, ingratitude for, and as a reward of his fervice and trouble; fo the
Gb S. 325 g, up ont of the rock, and fhewed the Lore, and alfo the angel’s afcending in it as follows.: ¥.20. For it came to pafs when the flame went up towards beaven from off the altar, &c.| That is, from. the rock, which ferved inftead of an. altar, and from whence perhaps the fire fprung which confumed both the burnt-offering and the meatoffering, the fame of which went up to heaven 5 this rock or altar having no covering, but was fue did, open to the heavens: that the angel of the Lord afcended in the flame of the altar; making ule of the {moke, as Fo/epbus* fays, as a vehicle in which he openly went up to heaven: and Manoah and bis wife looked on it; on the fame and fmoke, and the angel in it as he afeended; juft as the difciples of Chrift, looked ftedfaftly on him as he went up to heaven, when a cloud received him out of their fight, 4és i.9, 10. and fell on their faces to the reward of a labourer, and the maintenance of a ground; with aftonifhment and furprize at what gofpel-minifter, is called honour, 1 Tim, v.17. and thus Fofepbus ° underftood it, that they might give him thanks, and fend him a prefent.
y. 18.- And the angel of the Lord faid unto bim, they faw, through fear and reverence of the divine being, of whofe prefence they were now fenfible, and as worfhipping of him, and praying to him. ¥. 21. But the angel of the Lord did no more ap-
&c.] Being fo importunate, and preffing upon him: pear to Manoah and to his wife, &c.] As the flame why afkeft thou thus after myname, feeing it is fecret; and not to be known; as his nature and eflence as a divine perfon, which may:be meant by his name, is what pafle’ knowledge, is infinite and incomprehenfible; fee Prov. xxx. 4. or wonderful®; which is one of the names of Chri, and fitly agrees with him, who is wonderful in his perfon, as God and man; in his incarnation, in his offices and relations, in his love to his people, and in all he is unto them, and has done for them; fee J/ ix. 6. and the note there. ¥. 19. So Manoah took a kid with a meat-offering, &c.] The kid which he propofed to make an entertainment with, for the man of God, he took him to be, he fetched and brought for a burnt-offering. at the hint which the angel had given him, and joined to it a meat-offering, as was ufual whenever burnt-offerings- were made; fee Numb. xv. 3, 4. and offered it upon a rock unto the Lord; for tho’ Manoah was nota prieft, nor was this a proper place for facrifice; high places were now forbidden, and only at the tabernacle in Shiloh were offerings to be brought; yet all this was difpenfed with, and Manoab was juftified in what he did by the warrant of the angel, y.16. The rock was probably near the place where this meeting of Manoah and his wife with the angel was, and where the difcourfe between them paffed; and which ferved inftead of an altar, andon which Manoab facrificed, not to idols, but to the true Febovab, as the angel directed: and the angel did wonderoufly, agreeable to his name, which was wonderful, y. 18. or be, Febovah, did wonderoufly, for this angel was no other than Yebovab the on. The in- {tance in which he did wonderoufly was, as Kimchi oblerves, by bringing fire out of the rock, which confumed the flefh of the kid, and the meat-offering; and fo Yo/epbus*fays, that he touched the flefh with a rod he had, and fire fparkled out, and confumed it with the bread, or meat-offering; juft in the fame manner as the angel did with the kid and cakes that Gideon brought, ch. vi. 21. end Manoab and bis wife looked on, to fee either fire come and {moke afcended, he difappeared therewith, and was feenno more: then Manoah knew that be was an angel of the Lord; by the. wondrous: things he did; caufing fire to come down from heaven, or out of the rock, afcending in. the midft of the flame, without being hurt by it, and going up to heaven in it. 22. And Manoab faid unto bis wife, &c.] Being rifen from the ground, where they fell on their faces: we fhall furely die, becaufe we have feen Ged; by. which it appears that he not only believed him to be anangel, and not a man, but a divine perfon; for though angels are fometimes called Elohim, the word here ufed, yet'good men were not wont to fear death, or conclude they fhould die on fight of an angel; but their notion was, that an appearance of God to them was ‘death, and were furprized when it did not follow, Gen. xxxii. 301 Fudg. vi. 22,23. fee Exod, xxxiii. 20., ° ¥. 23. But bis wife faid unto him, &c.|. Who was lefs fearful, and the ‘ftrongeft believer of the two, feeing her hufband fo very much intimidated, endeavoured to comfort and ftrengthen him by the three following arguments: if the Lord was pleafed to kill us, be would not have received a burnt-offering, and a meat-offering at our bands; for it was at the direction of this illuftrious perfon, that they offered thefe offerings, and who teftified the divine acceptance of them, by caufing fire in an: extraordinary manner to confume them, which was always reckoned a token of God’s acceptance of them; and befides, the angel went up in the flame, as being well pleafed with them, and, as it were, carrying up the facrifice to heaven with him, as a fweet-{welling favour to God. Here the angel is called Jehovah by the woman, and thews this was the increated angel: neither would be have fhewed us all thefe things; which they faw, as the appearance of a divine perfon to them, in an human form, the confuming of the facrifice by fire in fo {trange a manner, and the afcent of the angel heavenwards in the flame of it: mor would as at this time, have told us fuch things as thefe, as that they of God, and of his people J/rae’..There is an agreement between the type and the antitype in this name in either fenfe. Chrift is the mighty God, and mighty Saviour, the fun of righteoufnels, the light of the world, and the deliverer of his people from darknefs of calamity and diftreis; and who came not to be miniftred unto, but to minifter and perform the great fervice of redemption and falvation: and the child grew, in bodily ftrength and ftature, and grew up to man’s eftate, Luke ii. 40, 52. and the Lord bleffed bin, not only with extraordinary ftrength of body, but with grear endowments of mind, with the Spirit and graces of the Spirit; with grace, and bleffings of it, and with his gracious prefence; with this compare P/, xxi! 9, 6. pb. ing::
¥.25. And the Spirit of the Lord began to move him at times in the camp of Dan, &c.| To go out into it, in order to be trained up in and inured to military exercifes; or it began to irike his mind, injeét thoughts into it, and imprefs it with them concerning doing great things for the people of God in time to come; and for the prefent put him upon doing ftrange and wonderful exploits, which were omens of what was to be done by him hereafter; and thefe were done by him now and then, not always, but as the Spirit of God came upon him, under the impulfe of which he did them, and by the ftrength he gave him; fo the Targum, ‘* and the {pirit of ftrength from the Lord began to ftrengthen him.’’ ‘This camp of Dan was either a camp formed in that tribe, to prevent the incurfions of the! Péili/tines, or rather, fince it does not feem that J/rae/ had | ftrength enough to refift them, they having got the power: over them, this was the name of a place called Mahaneb-dan near Kirjath-jearim, from the Danites. encamping in it, when they went to befiege Lash, ch. xviii. 11, 12. for the faét was done before this time, though related afterwards: detween Zorab and Efbtaol; which were two cities in the tribe of Dan, and upon'the borders of the tribe of Fudab, of which fee o/h. xv. 33. and xix. 41. It may be obferved, that as the tribe of Dan Jay near to the Philiftines, and fo liable to their ravages, and might be moft opprefled by them, {fo a deliverer of J raef was raifed up in this tribe.
they fhould have a fon; how the wontin was to manage herfelf, whilft with child of him; and how when born he was to be brought up, and what things God would do by him, and begin to deliver I/rzel out of the hand of the Philiftines. Now all this would not have been told at fuch a time of diftrefs, as the nation was now in, but to comfort them, or he would never have told them of a fon to be born of them, if they were to be deftroyed immediately. So an enlightened foul may reafon from the fight and fenfe he has had of his finful, loft, and undone ftate by nature; from the revelation of Chrift to him, as the only way of falvation; from the views he has had of the glories of his perfon, and the riches of his grace; and from that communion with God he has fometimes enjoyed; from all this he may reafon, that if God had a defign to damn him for his fins, he would never have made fuch difcoveries of love, grace and mercy to him; as: well'as from the facrifice of Chrift, God has provided and accepted of, on the foot of which juftice is engaged to fave;. and befides, grace and glory are infeparable.
v.24. And the woman bare a fon, and called bis name Samfon, &c.| After thefe appearances were over, Manoab and his wife returned to their habitation, and fhe foon became pregnant, and at the ufual courfe of time brought forth a fon, and fhe gave him the name of Sam/on 5 for what reafon it is not eafy to determine. ‘Fo/ephus fays*, the word fignifies frong 5 perhaps he was born a ftrong, robuft child, which is not unlikely, or the woman might have fome prophetic hint of his future {trength, and fo gave him this name;_ but the word has not the fignification of ftrength in it; it rather fignifies the fun, which is indeed a ftrong body, and is compared to a ftrong man running his race, and fo a ftrong man may be compared to that; but rather with refpeét to the fun, this name might be given him, becaufe of the fplendor of his countenance with which he might be born, or in memory of the fhining countenance of the angel which brought the tidings of his birth, or becaufe he was to be the inftrument of difpelling the darknefs of calamity and diftrefs Jae! were now in: but the word more properly fignifies a minifter or fervant, from whence the fun has its name; for Samfon was to be, and was, a minifter and fervant i & HIS chapter treats of Sam/on’s courtfhip, and marriage of a Philiftine woman, ¥. 1—5. of his meeting with a young lion as he went a courting, and of his flaying it, and afterwards finding honey in it, ¥.6—g. of a riddle which he framed out of this incident, and put to his companions at his marriage to unriddle, giving them feven days to do it in, with a promife of a reward, y¥. 10-—14, and of their wnriddling it by means of his wife, who got the fecret from him, ¥. 15—18. which led him to flay 30 Philiftines, to make his promife of 30 fheets and changes of raiment, and to leave his new married wife, who was given to his companion, ¥. 19, 20.
was afterwards given to the tribe of Dan, and now in the hands of the Philiffines, Fob. xv. 57. and xix. 43. ‘Judah is faid to go up to it, becaule the place where he lived lay below it, Ges. xxxviii. 13. but Sam/on is faid to go down to it, becaufe he lived above it.. The ews.‘ differ about the reconciliation of thefe two places; fome fay there were | two of this name, the one is a defcent, and the other is an afcent; others fay there was but one, fo fituated, that they that came to it on one fide good nae and they that came to it on the other fide defcended. Bochart » approves of the former. According to Bunting “, this was 12 miles from E/btaol, where Samfon lived: and faw a woman in
Timnath, of the daughters of the Philipines, who y.1. And Samfon went down to Timnath, &c.] A city which by lot fell to the tribe of Fudab, but at this time dwelt there; he faw no doubt many other women befides her, but he took fpecial no-
_ tice of her, and entertained a particular affection tor her; or, in other words, on fight of her fell in
¥.2. And bz came up and told bis father and bis mother, &c.)| Of his paflion of love, being defirous of having their approbation and confent, in which he acted a dutiful part, and what became him; and may be an example to children to advife with their parents, and have their opinion and confent before they engage in fuch an enterprize, even before courtthip: and faid, I have feen a women in Timnath of the daughters of the Philiftines y whom he had a good liking of, and a ftrong affection for; he is very open and ingenuous in his account, does not go about to hide any thing trom his parents, or colour things over, or conceal her defcent, but frankly tells them fle was a Philiftine woman, which he knew would at once furnifh out an objection againft her: now therefore get her for me to wife; for it feems it was the cuftom then, when a young man had pitched upon a woman he liked, that it was left to his parents to treat with the woman and her friends about the marriage of her to him.
¥. 3. Then his father and bis mother faid unto him, &c.| What he might expect, and doubtlefs did expect: is there xever a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goeft to take a wife of the uncircumeifed Pbili- Jtines? none in their own family, nor in the tribe of Daz, nor among the whole nation of J/rae/, but muft go among the uncircumcifed Philifines; for though they were not of the feven nations of the Canaanites, with whom marriage was forbidden, yet they not only dwelt where they did, and where the Tfraelites fhould, but were idolaters and impure perfons, and therefore affinity fhould not be contracted with them, as being of a dangerous confequence, which might entice to idolatry. Ben Gerfom obferves, that their Rabbins fay he made her a profélyte firft, though he did not acquaint his parents with it, and fo Abarbinel, but this feems not likely, for had this been the cafe, he would have had an eafy and ready reply to this objection of theirs: and Samfon faid unto his father, get ber for me, for foe pleafeth me well, or is right in mine eyes*; not only his eyes were taken with her beauty or external form, but it was right in his fight, in his judgment, to marry her; he having an impulfe upon his mind from the Spirit of God unto it, though he did not let his parents know of it, but left them to conclude it fprung from a violent affection to her perfon. Abardinel obferves, that he only addreffed his father, and not his mother, fhe being moft vehemently againtt the match, and expreffing more uneafinefs at it than his father did; but it is moft likely that he addreffed his father particularly, becaufe he was the proper perfon to negotiate this affair for him.
y. 4. And his father and mother knew not that it was of the Lord, &c.} That he fhould marry this uncircumcifed Philiftine 5 Samfon knew it was, and that his defire ot having her in marriage did not arife from carnal affection to her merely, being captivated with her beauty and external form, for fhe was not fo very fair, her younger fifter was fairer than fhe, ch. xv. 2. but he perceived it was the mind and will of God that he fhould take fuch and urgihg him to it, fuggefting the énd and defign of it, and the opportunity it would give him of quarrelling with the Pbilifines, 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 fought an occafion againft the Pbiliines; in this way; by this means; they might know he fonght to get an opportunity to be avenged on them for their oppreffion, and to attempt.the deliverance of J/rael; but they knew not that it was the will of God, that a way fhould be opened for it by this means. Sam/on might be directed by the Lord to reafon thus in his mind, that if he propofed to the Pézlifines to marry one of their daughters, and they fhould reject his propofal, this would give him a handle to fall out with them; and fall upon them; and if they fliould agree to fuch a match, he might expect they would be kind to him, and to his people for his fake, being in alliance with them, or he fhould refent it, and take occafion from hence to core to a rupture with them: for at that time the Philiftines had dominion over Ifrael, had invaded their country, and dwelr in their cities, and thade them tributary to them, and ufed them ill; which Sam/on obferving, was provoked to feek an opportunity of avenging the injuries done them, and of delivering them, and he was direéted to it this way.
¥. 54 Then went Samfon down, and his father and-his mother, to Timnath, &c.] They were prevailed upon to go with him, either becaufe they perceived his affections were fo ftrongly fet upon a wife, that they thought it advifedble to agree to it, left it fhould be of bad confequence to him, or be= caufe he let them know that the thing was of God; and what was his defign in it: and came to thé vineyards of Timnath; the land of Candan was a land of vineyards, and particularly that part of it which was inhabited by the Philiftines and Phenicians; and though we no where read of the wine of Zimnath, yet frequent mention is made in authors of the wine of Acalon, Gaza; and Sarepta, inhabited by the above people; thefe vineyards feem to have lain fomewhat out of Sam/fon’s way; but hither he turned on fome account or another from his parents, perhaps to eat fome grapes: and behold, a young lion reared againft him; not a whelp, that is expreffed by another word, but one more grown, and is afterwards called a lion fimply; and by the Zargum, a lion, the fon of lions or lioneffes; which feeing him in the vineyards, where he was lurking, came out to meet him, and roared at him in a hideous manner, and made up to him to deftroy him: thefe creatures, though now more rare in thofe parts, were at this time frequent, and in after-times; fee 1 Sam. xvii. 34. 1 Kings xiii. 24. and xx. 36. and feveral writers make mention of lions in Mefopotania and Syria; and Strabo *, and Pliny * {peak of a city in Phenicia near Sidon, called the city of lions, becaufe perhaps it had been much infefted with them; and for a like reafon it may be fome cities in the tribes of Fudah and Simeon were called Lebaoth and Bethlebaoth, Fofo. xv. 32. and xix, 6, y. 6. And the Jpirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, &c.] The Spirit of might from the Lord, as the Targum, in{piring him with courage and intrepidity of mind, and increafing his bodily a petfon to wife, by the impulfe of the Spirit of God upon him, pointing it untd him, inclining'as ftrength: and be rent bin as he would rend a kid; he came up to him to feize him, he laid hold on him and ‘ftrangled him, as ofepbus », fays; caught him by the throat, and tore it out; does not feem. that the carcafs was torn to pieces, or limb from limb, by what follows; and this he did with as much eale, as if he had had only Main fome time again ago, and he went a Site for itjout of the way to fee what was become of it, or had happened to it. “Fa/ephus fays ¢, when he flew it he threw it into a woody place, perhaps among alfome bufhes, a litle out of the road; for which kid to.deal with: and be had nothing in his bana, not a ftaff to keep it off, nor a fpear, fword or knife to ftab it with: in this Sem/on was a type ot Chrift, who has deftroyed our adverfary the devil, compared to a roaring lion, 1 Pet. v. 8. to a lion for. his ftrength, cruelty and voracioulnefs;, to a roaring lion, making a hideous noife and ftir when the, gofpel was carried unto the Gentiles, and they were about to be called and efpoufed to Chrift; from. among whom he was caft out, and by no other weapon than the miniftration of the gofpel, accompanied with the power. of Chrift, and his Spirit: but he told not bis father or bis smother what be had done; when he overtook them, as he quickly did, he faid not a word to them of his meeting with a lion and flaying it; which as it fhewed his modefty in not blazing abroad his wonderful and heroic ations, in which alfo he was a type of
Chrift, but his great prudence in concealing this, left his great ftrength fhould be known too foon, and the Philiftines be upon their guard againft him, or feek to difpatch him privately; tho’ no doubt he had pondered this in his own mind, and confidered it as an omen and prefage of the advantage he fhould have over the, Pdiliftines his enemies, whom he Should as eafily overcome as he had that lion, and that without any,jpftrument of war. ¥. 7. And be:went down, and talked with. the woman, &c.| Entered into a converfation with her, that he might the better judge of her other qualifications, befides that of outward form and beauty, whether fhe would be a fuitable yokefellow for him.; and he talked with her about.marriage, and propofed it to her, or talked about her to her father and near relations; and, as the Targum expreffes it, afked the woman, not only afked of her her confent, but demanded her of her friends: it may refer, as Abarbinel oblerves, to his father, that he went down and talked with the woman, and with her relations about her, concerning the affair of his fon’s marriage with her: and fhe pleafed Samfon well; he liked her converfation as well as her perfon, and the more he converfed with her, the more agreeable fhe was to him, and the more defirous he was to marry her. Though fome obferve from hence, that fhe did not pleafe the fa. ther of Samfon as himfelf; fo Abarbinel. ¥.8. And after a time be returned to take her, &c.] Matters being agreed on, and fettled on both fides, and the efpoufals made, he and his parents returned, and at the proper ufual time for the confummation of the marriage, he went again to Timnath for that purpofe. It is in the Hebrew text, afler days‘, which fometimes fignifies a year. fee Gen. iv. 3. Exod. xiii. 10. and fo Ben, Gerfom interprets it, that a year after this woman became Sam.on’s wife (i. e. betrothed to him) he hie _to take her to himfelf to wife; and it feems, adds he, that twelve months were given her to prepare herfelf;.and fome confiderable time muft have clapled, as appears from what had happened to the carcals of the lion, next related: and he turned Gide to fee the carcafs of the lion; juft before he came to Zimuaib he thought of the lion he had reafon it had not been teen and removed, and was ina more convenient place for what was done.in it: and bebold, there was a jwarm of bees and boney in the carcafs of she lion, and though naturalifts * tell us, that bees are averfe- to flefh, and will not touch any, yet in the ‘courie of time that the carcafs of this lion had Jain, its flefh. might have been clean eaten off by the fowls of the air, or was quite dried away and confumed, fo that it was nothing but a mere fkeleton; a bony carcafs, as the Syriec verfion, “JFofepbus § fays, the fwarm wasjin the breaft of the lion; and it is no more unlikely, that a fwarm of bees fhould fettle in it, and continue and build combs, and lay up their honey there, than that, the like fhould be done if the fkull of Onefilus king of Cyprus, when hung up and dried, as Herodotus ¢\ relates. Befides, according toVirgil*, this was a method made ufe-of to produce a new breed of bees, even from the corrupt gore and putrid bowels of flain beafts; and Pythagoras ' obferves, they are produced from thence. ‘This may be an emblem of thofe fweet bleffings of grace, which come to the people of Chrift through his having deftroyed fatan, the roaring lion, and. all his works; and particularly which came to the poor Gentiles, when the devil was caft out from them, and his empire there demolifhed. 5 Oe ¥.9. And he took thereof in bis bands, and went on eating, &c.] Fofephus* fays, he took three honey-combs, he means three pieces of the honeycomb, and eat the honey as he went along to Timmath,; which he might do without touching the carcafs of the lion, and defiling himfelf thereby, which, as a Nazarite, he was more efpecially to be careful of: and came to bis father and mother, and he gave them, and they did eat; who went down with him to the confummation of the marriage, and from whom he had turned a little afide; and now overtook them, and to whom he gave fome of his honey to eat, which, having travelled fome way, might be grateful to them. ‘The above writer takes no notice of this, but. fays he gave of it to the young woman whom he betrothed, when he came to her; but of that the text makes no mention: dat be
‘told not them that he had taken the honey out of the carcafs of the lion; either left they fhould feruple eating it, being taken out of fuch a carcafs; or that the riddle, which perhaps he meditated as he came along eating the honey, might not be found out, which might more eafily have been done, had this fact been known by any. » copeep eects ¥.10. So his father went down unto the woman, &c.] At Timnath, whom Samfon had efpoufed; the Targum is, ‘* about thé bufinefs of the woman;” about the confummation of the marriage with her; they all three went, the father, the mother, and the fon, as appears from the preceding verte: for Samfon made a feaft, for fo ufed the young men to do; at the time of marriage; this was the nuptial feaft common in all nations; but it feems the cuftom now and here was, for the bridegroom to make it; whereas from other inftances we learn, that the father of the bridegroom ufed to make it, Matt. xxii, 2. fee the note there; and the Vulgate
Ch.xiv.¥.t1—16. FU DGES) 329 Latin verfion here renders it, avd be made a for bis fon Samfon; the Septnagint, Syriac and Ara- _ bie verfions add, feven days, and fo long this was kept, ¥. 12; Now this ‘marriage of Sam/on with a daughter of the Philiftines, was a type of the marriage of Chrift with his people, efpecially with the Gentile church, fuch as were not of commonwealth of J/rae/, but finners of the Gentiles, yery ignorant of divine things, reproached by the ews, and their calling an offence to them s and may. ‘fitly exprefs the love of Chrift.to church, ‘though unworthy of it;
his people of his father tobe his fpoufe, which requeft being obtained, he betrothed them to himfelf in righteoufnefs; and the gofpel-feaft, or mi- ~ niftry of the word is kept and continued on account of it, Pf xxi. 2. Hof ii. 19. Matt. xxiil feafijand was made of linen; meaning either what we tall fhirts, or bed-theets, and by change of rai. featt ment, a fuit-of clothes worn in the day-time. -. yr 13. But. if ye cannot declare: it unto me, 8&c.} #xplain the ‘riddle in the {pace of time allowed - then fhall ye give me 30 focets, and 30 change of thelgarimerits 3 fo many fhirts and fuits of apparel: dnd sbey faid-uato him, put forth ‘thy riddle that ‘we may: bear it; not thereby to’ jadge whether they would agree to his propofals, but hereby fuggefthislino ‘that they -accepted his terms and conditions, which is a love jeither to! give or ‘receive the above premium, if they did or did not hit on the explanation of the riddle:
of complacency and delight, arifing from his own, good-will and pleafure, and not owing to any fuperior beauty, excellence, worth or worthinefs in them, they being no better than others, children wrath, even as others, fee ch. xv..2. as well as there is.an agreement in the manner of his obtaining and betrothing her, which was by applying to his father to get her for him, and being get and given, he betrothed her;
» x; 14. And he faid unto them, out of the eater of!came forth meat, &e.} Out of a devouring eater, fuch as the lion is, came forth ‘honey, or that was taken out of it, which Sam/or,’ and his father and mother eat of, and which was the common food jof fome perfons, as of Fohn the Baptift: and out fo Chrift afked lof tbe Strong came forth fweetnefs s not only out of that which was {trong in body whilft alive, but of a ftrong and ill feent, as the carcafs of a dead lion is, and out of that came forth honey, than which nothing is fweeter. a/ephus # exprefies it, “© that which. devours all things furnifhes out pleafant
¥. 11. And it came to pafs when they faw bim, &c.] That is, the Hbilifines, the citizens. of Timnath, when*they fawsthat he was come to con- gan {ummate his marriage: that they brought 30 com~) panions to bé with him; to be the bridegroom’s men, or children of the bride chamber, ‘as they are called, Matt. ix. 15.. or friends of the bride+ groom, ‘Fobn iii, 29. to keep him company during the nuptial-feaft: this they did according to cuftom, and in honour and refpect unto him; tho’} fome, think, and fo Fofepbus', that they were brought to be guards upon him, obferving that} he was a man of great might, {trength and courage, fo that they were afraid of him, left he fhould have fome defign upon them; but it is not certain that there was any thing very vifible or terrible in him, more than in another man, that fhewed him - to be of extraordinary courage and ftrength, it was bur at times the fpirit of the Lord came upon him, and as yet he had done nothing to their knowledge which fhewed him to be fuch; had{ they indeed known of his rencounter with the lion, they might have had fuch thoughts of him, but this they knew nothing of.
ene of each. By jheets he means, as Kimchi and Sen Melech interpret it, a covering of the body in the night next tothe flefh, in which a man lies, and they could uot in three days expound the riddle; fo long they laboured to find it out, but then beto defpair of ‘it.;
15. And tt came to pafs on the 7th day, &c.] Not on the 7th day of the feaft, for fome time before that they applied to his wife, and fhe preffed him hard to difclofe it; but on the fabbath-day, as Kimchi, and fo ‘farcbi fays, on the 7th day of the week, not on the 7th day‘of the feaft, for it was the 4th day of the feaft; this is fo clear, that the Septuagint, Syriac and Arabic verfions, inftead of the 7th, read-the 4th day: that they faid unto Samfon’s wife, entice thy bufband, that be may declare unto us the riddle, that is, perfuade him to tell the meaning of it to her, that fhe might declare it to them - left we burn thee and thy father’s houfe with fire; in which fhe now was, not as yet.fince being taken home to her hufband, and her in it; this they faid to terrify her, and make her importunate with Samjon to explain the riddle to her, if he had any value for her, and her life: ave ye called us to take that we have 2 invited them to the wedding-feaft, to {trip them of their clothes, and even take their very fhirts off of their backs, which they muft have been obliged to part with, thelif they could not explain the riddle, or fend for e-lother fuits and fhirts from their own houfes: is it not fo? verily this is the cafe, nor can it be underftood otherwife than a contrived bufinefs between thee and thy hufband, to get our raiment, to!wcollen and linen, from us.
¥. 12. And Samfon faid unto them, &c.] His 30 companions, very likely on the firft day of feat: J will now put forth a riddle to you; a cret, hidden, abftrufe thing, not eafy to be underftood; a dark faying, wrapt up in figurative terms; and this he propofed as an amufement to them, to exercife their wits, which it feems was ufual entertain guefts with, and might be both pleafing and profitable: if you can certainly declare it unto me within the feven days of the feaft, for fo lone the nuptial-feaft was ufually kept, fee Gen. xxix. 27,28. If they could find it out 5 and with clearnef; and certainty explain the riddle to him that period of time, which.was giving them time enough to do itin: shen I will give you 30 foeets, end 30 change of garments; that.
y¥. 16. And Samfon’s wife wept before him, 8c.} When the came to him to get out of him the explanation of the riddle, thinking that her tears would move him to it: and Said, thou doft but hate me, and loveft me net; another artifice fhe ufed, well within knowing he could not bear to have his affeétion called in queition, which was now very ftrong, as is ufual with new-married perfons: thou ba/t is, every man put forth a riddle unto the children of my people; her countrymen, fellow-citizens, and neighbours, and could not but be dear to her, and refpected by her; fo that what affeGéed and aMicted themy