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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)When the bride’s parents saw him, they selected thirty young men from the town to be his companions.

Context of Judges 14:11

9He scooped out the honey with his hands and ate as he went along. When he rejoined his parents, he gave them some, and they too ate it. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey from the lion’s carcass. 10Now his father went down to see the woman. And there Samson held a feast, as was customary for young men. When the people saw him, they chose thirty men to be his companions. 12“Let me tell you a riddle,” Samson said to them. “If you can give me the answer within the seven days of the feast, I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes. 13If you can’t tell me the answer, you must give me thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes.” “Tell us your riddle,” they said. “Let’s 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 10:23They ran and brought him out, and as he stood among the people he was a head taller than any of the others.
• 1 Samuel 16:6When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.”
• Matthew 9:15Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.
• John 3:29The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it 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