Samson and Delilah

Samson's Riddle

Samson began his  journey to Timnah, a Philistine town. Along the way, he encountered a young Philistine woman named Shara, and he desired her as his wife. When he returned home, he asked his parents to arrange the marriage.

As they journeyed to Timnah for the wedding, a young lion suddenly attacked Samson. However, the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he tore the lion apart with his bare hands, as if it were a young goat. Samson did not tell his parents what he had done.

Continuing on their journey, Samson returned to Timnah for the wedding festivities. On the way, he passed by the carcass of the lion he had slain earlier. Inside its carcass, he found a swarm of bees and honey. Samson scooped out some of the honey with his hands and ate it as he walked, sharing it with his parents but not telling them where he had found it. Not realizing he had broken one of his Nazirite vows.

At the wedding feast, Samson posed a riddle to the Philistine guests: "Out of the eater came something to eat, and out of the strong came something sweet." He offered a wager of thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes to anyone who could solve the riddle within seven days.

The Philistines, unable to solve the riddle, pressured Samson's wife, Shara, to obtain the answer from him. After days of pleading, Shara finally persuaded him to reveal the answer, fearing for her life and that of her family. She told the Philistine men the solution to the riddle, and they triumphantly presented it to Samson on the seventh day.

Filled with anger and frustration, Samson realized he had been betrayed. In response, he went to Ashkelon and killed thirty Philistine men, taking their garments to pay off his wager. Consumed by his actions and the betrayal, Samson left Shara, returning to his father's home in anger. So his wife was given in marriage to the man who had been Samson’s best man at the wedding. And so, the tale of Samson's strength and his encounters with the Philistines continued to unfold.