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Judges 14:1

Old Testament Historical ASV (1901)

What does Judges 14:1 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “And Samson went down to Timnah, and saw a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

And Samson went down to Timnah, and saw a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines.
Judges 14:1 — American Standard Version

Context — Judges 14

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
1And Samson went down to Timnah, and saw a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines.
2And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife.
3Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.
4But his father and his mother knew not that it was of Jehovah; for he sought an occasion against the Philistines. Now at that time the Philistines had rule over Israel.
← Judges 13:25Judges 14:2 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And Samson went down to Timnath, etc.] 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, (<061557>Joshua 15:57 19:43). Judah is said to go up to it, because the place where he lived lay below it, (<013813>Genesis 38:13), but Samson is said to go down to it, because he lived above it. The Jews f275 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 f276 approves of the…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“SAMSON DESIRES A WIFE OF THE PHILISTINES. (Jdg 14:1-5) Timnath--now Tibna, about three miles from Zorah, his birthplace. saw a woman . . . of the Philistines; and told his father and his mother, and said, . . . get her for me to wife--In the East parents did, and do in many cases still, negotiate the marriage alliances for their sons. During their period of ascendency, the Philistine invaders had settled in the towns; and the intercourse between them and the Israelites was often of such a friendly and familiar character as to issue in matrimonial relations. Moreover, the Philistines were not in the number of the seven devoted nations of Canaan [Deu 7:1-3] --with whom the law forbade them to…”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Timnath - See Joshua 15:10 and note. It was below Zorah Judges 13:2, about three miles S. W. of it. return to 'Top of Page'”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“Went - After he was come to mature age. Timnath - A place not far from the sea. Judges 14:2”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“Timnath: Gen 38:12, Gen 38:13; Jos 15:10, Jos 19:43, aw, Gen 6:2, Gen 34:1, Gen 34:2; Sa2 11:2; Job 31:1; Psa 119:37; Jo1 2:16 Judges 14:2”
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Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · 19th-century historical commentary
“Samson's First Transactions with the Philistines. - Jdg 14:1-9. At Tibnath, the present Tibne, an hour's journey to the south-west of Sur'a (see at Jos 15:10), to which Samson had gone down from Zorea or Mahaneh-dan, he saw a daughter of the Philistines who pleased him; and on his return he asked his parents to take her for him as a wife (לקח, to take, as in Exo 21:9). Judges 14:3”
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Related study paths

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Sources and verification