Judges 14:9

14:9 He scooped it up with his hands and ate it as he walked along. When he returned ¹  to his father and mother, he offered them some and they ate it. But he did not tell them he had scooped the honey out of the lion’s carcass. ² 

Judges 16:18

16:18 When Delilah saw that he had told her his secret, ³  she sent for ⁴  the rulers of the Philistines, saying, “Come up here again, for he has told me ⁵  his secret.” ⁶  So the rulers of the Philistines went up to visit her, bringing the silver in their hands.

Judges 19:27

19:27 When her master ⁷  got up in the morning, opened the doors of the house, and went outside to start on his journey, there was the woman, his concubine, sprawled out on the doorstep of the house with her hands on the threshold.

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¹ tn Heb “went.” Samson apparently went home to his parents before going to Timnah for the marriage. Seeing and tasting the honey appears to encourage Manoah to go with his son to Timnah. Perhaps both Samson and his father viewed the honey as a good omen of future blessing. Possibly Samson considered it a symbol of sexual pleasure or an aphrodisiac. Note the use of honey imagery in Song 4:11 and 5:1.

² sn Touching the carcass of a dead animal undoubtedly violated Samson’s Nazirite status. See Num 6:6.

³ tn Heb “all his heart.”

⁴ tn Heb “she sent and summoned.”

⁵ tc The translation follows the Qere, לִי (li, “to me”) rather than the Kethib, לָהּ (lah, “to her”).

⁶ tn Heb “all his heart.”

⁷ tn The Hebrew term here translated “master,” is plural. The plural indicates degree here and emphasizes the Levite’s absolute sovereignty over the woman.