Bible Strands
Judges 14:16
Then Samson’s wife came to him, weeping, and said, “You hate me! You do not really love me! You have posed to my people a riddle, but have not explained it to me.” “Look,” he said, “I have not even explained it to my father or mother, so why should I explain it to you?”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Samson’s wife confronts him while weeping, accusing him of hatred and demanding the riddle’s solution. He responds by noting he has withheld the answer even from his parents, questioning why he should give it to her.
The words — The Hebrew שְׂנֵאתַנִי (se.ne.Ta.ni) literally means "you hate me," framing her emotional plea as a claim of relational rejection. Her repeated weeping (וַתֵּבְךְּ, va.te.veK) underscores the coercive pressure applied during the feast.
The thread — This dynamic of marital tension and withheld intimacy echoes in Judges 16:15, where the same pattern repeats, and contrasts with Genesis 2:24’s ideal of a man leaving his parents to cleave to his wife.
Why it lands — It demands recognition of how manipulation and conditional affection can distort covenant relationships, requiring the reader to examine where they demand transparency without offering mutual trust.
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’s wife wept before him, and said, Thou dost but hate me, and lovest me not: thou hast put forth a riddle unto the children of my people, and hast not told it me. And he said unto her, Behold, I have not told it my father nor my mother, and shall I tell it thee?
Cross-references
- Judges 16:15 “How can you say, ‘I love you,’” she asked, “when your heart is not with me? This is the third time you have mocked me and failed to reveal to me the source of your great strength!”
- Genesis 2:24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.