Bible Strands
Judges 14:1
One day Samson went down to Timnah, where he saw a young Philistine woman.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Samson travels to Timnah and notices a woman from the local Philistine population. This observation precedes his subsequent request to his parents to secure her as his wife.
The words — The verb וַ/יֵּ֥רֶד (va/i.Ye.red) literally means "and he went down," marking Samson’s physical descent to the region. The phrase מִ/בְּנ֥וֹת פְּלִשְׁתִּֽים (mi./be.Not pe.lish.Tim) identifies her specifically as "one of the daughters of the Philistines."
The thread — Timnah appears again as a territorial marker in Joshua 15:10 and Joshua 19:43. The narrative of pursuing foreign women later echoes the warning in 1 John 2:16 regarding the desires of the eyes and the pride of life.
Why it lands — The text records Samson’s initial sight of a foreign woman without moral commentary, leaving the reader to observe how personal desire initiates a sequence of covenant compromises. It demands attention to the unvarnished account of human decision-making before its consequences unfold.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.
Cross-references
- Joshua 15:10 The border curled westward from Baalah to Mount Seir, ran along the northern slope of Mount Jearim (that is, Chesalon), went down to Beth-shemesh, and crossed to Timnah.
- Joshua 19:43 Elon, Timnah, Ekron,
- 1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world.
- Psalms 119:37 Turn my eyes away from worthless things; revive me with Your word.
- Genesis 6:2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they took as wives whomever they chose.
- Genesis 34:1 Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the daughters of the land.
- Genesis 38:12 After a long time Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died. When Judah had finished mourning, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went up to his sheepshearers at Timnah.
- 2 Samuel 11:2 One evening David got up from his bed and strolled around on the roof of the palace. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing—a very beautiful woman.
- Job 31:1 “I have made a covenant with my eyes. How then could I gaze with desire at a virgin?