Judges 14:11

Judges 14:11 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And it came to pass, when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him.
• New International Version (NIV)When the people saw him, they chose thirty men to be his companions.
• English Standard Version (ESV)As soon as the people saw him, they brought thirty companions to be with him.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And it happened, when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him.

Context of Judges 14:11

9So he scraped the honey out into his hands and went on, eating as he went. When he came to his father and mother, he gave them some, and they ate it; but he did not tell them he had taken the honey from the body of the lion. 10His father went down to the woman, and Samson prepared a feast there, for that was the customary thing for young men to do. When the people saw him, they brought thirty companions (wedding attendants) to be with him. 12Then Samson said to them, “Let me now ask you a riddle; if you can tell me what it is within the seven days of the feast, and solve it, then I will give you thirty linen tunics (undergarments) and thirty changes of [outer] clothing. 13But if you are unable to tell me [the answer], then you shall give me thirty linen tunics (undergarments) and thirty changes of [outer] clothing.” And they said to him, “Ask your riddle, so that we may hear it.”

Judges 14:11 word by word

וַיְהִ֖י כִּרְאוֹתָ֣ם אוֹת֑וֹ וַיִּקְחוּ֙ שְׁלֹשִׁ֣ים מֵֽרֵעִ֔ים וַיִּהְי֖וּ אִתּֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And it came to pass, when they sawרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• him, that they broughtלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
• thirtyשְׁלֹשִׁיםshelôshîym shelôshîym · thirtyH7970
• companionsמֵרֵעַmêrêa‛ · companionH4828

Cross-references for Judges 14:11

• 1 Samuel 10:23So they ran and took him from there, and when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward.
• 1 Samuel 16:6So it happened, when they had come, he looked at Eliab [the eldest son] and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him.”
• Matthew 9:15And Jesus replied to them, “Can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.
• John 3:29He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands by and listens to him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. So this pleasure and joy of mine is now complete.

Commentaries on Judges 14:11

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 11They brought thirty companions - These are called in Scripture children of the bride-chamber, and friends of the bridegroom. See the whole of this subject particularly illustrated in the observations at the end of John 3:25; (note).Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 11Thirty companions - These were “the children of the bride-chamber” (Matthew 9:15; see Judges 14:20). From the number of them it may be inferred that Samson‘s family was of some wealth and importance.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-20Verses 10-20 Samson's riddle literally meant no more than that he had got honey, for food and for pleasure, from the lion, which in its strength and fury was ready to devour him. But the victory of Christ over Satan, by means of his humiliation, agonies, and death, and the exaltation that followed to him, with the glory thence to the Father, and spiritual advantages to his people, seem directly alluded to. And even death, that devouring monster, being…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 11The reason for thirty companions is unclear (compare 2 Samuel 23:13). Men, a word that usually means “friends,” might add irony here (Judges 14:12–20).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 10-1110-11. his father went down--The father is mentioned as the head and representative of Samson's relatives. Samson made there a feast--The wedding festivity lasted a week. The men and women were probably entertained in separate apartments--the bride, with her female relatives, at her parents' house; Samson, in some place obtained for the occasion, as he was a stranger. A large number of paranymphs, or "friends of the bridegroom," furnished, no doubt, by…Read the comment

Topics related to Judges 14:11

• Bridegroom
• Samson

In the dictionaries

• Change
• Plow
• Put
• Riddle
• Samson
• Swarm
• Timnath
• Dan (1); Dan, Tribe of
• Dark Sayings
• Israel, History of

Commentaries on Judges 14

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• Darby Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings