Bible Strands
Judges 14:4
(Now his father and mother did not know this was from the LORD, who was seeking an occasion to move against the Philistines; for at that time the Philistines were ruling over Israel.)
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator interjects this explanation after Samson insists on his Philistine bride and before he departs for Timnah with his parents. It marks the moment when human choice operates under unperceived divine direction.
The words — The Hebrew לֹא יָדְעוּ (lo' ya'de'u) literally means "they did not know," directly stating the parents' lack of awareness. The phrase מֵ/יְהוָה הִיא (me-Yahweh hi') translates to "it was from Yahweh," identifying the event's origin.
The thread — This pattern of concealed divine action runs through Judges 13:1, where God uses Israel's rebellion to initiate judgment, and Joshua 11:20, where God hardens enemy hearts to execute destruction. It aligns with the declaration in Psalms 115:3 that God acts according to His own will.
Why it lands — The text states that human decisions can fulfill a sovereign purpose while remaining completely opaque to the actors involved. It requires readers to acknowledge divine agency behind observable events without demanding prior understanding or emotional reassurance.
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
But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the Lord, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.
Cross-references
- Joshua 11:20 For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts to engage Israel in battle, so that they would be set apart for destruction and would receive no mercy, being annihilated as the LORD had commanded Moses.
- Psalms 115:3 Our God is in heaven; He does as He pleases.
- Judges 13:1 Again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD, so He delivered them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.
- 1 Kings 12:15 So the king did not listen to the people, and indeed this turn of events was from the LORD, to fulfill the word He had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite.
- 2 Kings 6:33 While Elisha was still speaking with them, the messenger came down to him. And the king said, “This calamity is from the LORD. Why should I wait for the LORD any longer?”
- 2 Chronicles 10:15 So the king did not listen to the people, and indeed this turn of events was from God, in order that the LORD might fulfill the word that He had spoken through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat.
- 2 Chronicles 22:7 Ahaziah’s downfall came from God when he went to visit Joram. When Ahaziah arrived, he went out with Joram to meet Jehu son of Nimshi, whom the LORD had anointed to destroy the house of Ahab.
- Deuteronomy 28:48 you will serve your enemies the LORD will send against you in famine, thirst, nakedness, and destitution. He will place an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you.
- Judges 15:11 In response, three thousand men of Judah went to the cave at the rock of Etam, and they asked Samson, “Do you not realize that the Philistines rule over us? What have you done to us?” “I have done to them what they did to me,” he replied.
- 2 Chronicles 25:20 But Amaziah would not listen, for this had come from God in order to deliver them into the hand of Jehoash, because they had sought the gods of Edom.