Bible Strands
Judges 14:9
So he scooped some honey into his hands and ate it as he went along. And when he returned to his father and mother, he gave some to them and they ate it. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey from the lion’s carcass.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Samson acts alone after discovering honey in a lion’s carcass, later sharing it secretly with his parents before his wedding feast. The narrative records his private physical action rather than a spoken address to another character.
The words — וַ/יִּרְדֵּ֣הוּ (wa-yir-dēhû) translates literally as “and he scraped it out,” describing the manual extraction of honey. הָלוֹךְ (halōkh) paired with וַ/יֵּ֤לֶךְ (wa-yē-lekh) conveys continuous motion, “going along continuously” while eating.
The thread — The motif of hidden sustenance appears in 1 Samuel 14:25, where exhausted soldiers discover unstrained honey in the forest. Both accounts note the consumption of wild honey without initial disclosure of its source.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition of deliberate concealment regarding ritual purity and divine provision. Readers must note how Samson’s secrecy prioritizes personal discretion over transparency with his family.
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 he took thereof in his hands, and went on eating, and came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they did eat: but he told not them that he had taken the honey out of the carcase of the lion.
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 14:25 Then all the troops entered the forest, and there was honey on the ground.
- Proverbs 25:15 Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone.