Bible Strands
Judges 14:12
“Let me tell you a riddle,” Samson said to them. “If you can solve it for me within the seven days of the feast, I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Samson addresses the thirty Philistine men selected to accompany him during the seven-day feast. He proposes a wager centered on a riddle he will pose to them.
The words — The Hebrew אָחֻדָּה (aḥudāh) literally means "let me ask a riddle," used alongside חִידָה (ḥidāh), which translates directly to "a riddle" or "enigma." Samson employs these terms to formally initiate the challenge.
The thread — The practice of testing through riddles appears in Ezekiel 17:2, where a parable is commanded for Israel, and in 1 Kings 10:1, where the queen of Sheba tests Solomon with hard questions. The exchange of garments also echoes Genesis 45:22, where Joseph provides clothing to his brothers.
Why it lands — The text establishes conditional stakes before any resolution occurs, requiring the Philistines to accept or reject the terms. It asks the reader to track the mechanics of a wager without assuming its outcome.
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 said unto them, I will now put forth a riddle unto you: if ye can certainly declare it me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty sheets and thirty change of garments:
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 10:1 Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with difficult questions.
- Genesis 45:22 He gave new garments to each of them, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels of silver and five sets of clothes.
- Ezekiel 17:2 “Son of man, pose a riddle; speak a parable to the house of Israel
- 2 Kings 5:5 “Go now,” said the king of Aram, “and I will send you with a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman departed, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten sets of clothing.
- 2 Kings 5:22 “Everything is all right,” Gehazi replied. “My master has sent me to say, ‘Look, two young men from the sons of the prophets have just now come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two sets of clothing.’”
- Proverbs 1:6 by understanding the proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise.
- Ezekiel 20:49 Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD, they are saying of me, ‘Is he not just telling parables?’”
- Matthew 6:19 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
- Matthew 13:34 Jesus spoke all these things to the crowds in parables. He did not tell them anything without using a parable.
- John 16:29 His disciples said, “See, now You are speaking plainly and without figures of speech.