The Meaning of Judges 14:17 Explained

Judges 14:17

KJV: And she wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted: and it came to pass on the seventh day, that he told her, because she lay sore upon him: and she told the riddle to the children of her people.

YLT: And she weepeth for it the seven days in which their banquet hath been, and it cometh to pass on the seventh day that he declareth it to her, for she hath distressed him; and she declareth the riddle to the sons of her people.

Darby: She wept before him the seven days that their feast lasted; and on the seventh day he told her, because she pressed him hard. Then she told the riddle to her countrymen.

ASV: And she wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted: and it came to pass on the seventh day, that he told her, because she pressed him sore; and she told the riddle to the children of her people.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And she wept  before him the seven  days,  while their feast  lasted:  and it came to pass on the seventh  day,  that he told  her, because she lay sore  upon him: and she told  the riddle  to the children  of her people. 

What does Judges 14:17 Mean?

Context Summary

Judges 14:15-20 - In Bad Company
What strong confirmation is afforded, by Samson's experience, of the misery of a mixed marriage! This Philistine wife had no real love for him, and was more readily influenced by her own people than by her husband. How could she enter into his desire to emancipate Israel? To carry out his life-purpose of freeing Israel, He must break with her. Notice how this poor wife was visited with the very chastisement from which she hoped, by treachery, to save herself. Compare Judges 14:17 and Judges 15:6.
Samson's riddle is constantly being verified. We all have to encounter lions. Happy are we if we rend them in the power of the Holy Spirit! And have we not often discovered that the very sorrow, trial, or temptation which we dreaded most and which threatened to destroy us, has yielded the strength and sweetness, the meat and honey, which have enriched us for all after-time? Samson shared these with his mother and father. Let us never keep to ourselves those glorious lessons and results which we may have won in conflicts and sorrows that only the eye of God has witnessed. Let others share their benefit. [source]

Chapter Summary: Judges 14

1  Samson desires a wife of the Philistines
6  In his journey he kills a lion
8  In a second journey he finds honey in the carcass
10  Samson's marriage feast
12  His riddle by his wife is made known
19  He strikes down thirty Philistines
20  His wife is married to another

What do the individual words in Judges 14:17 mean?

And she had wept on him seven the days while lasted Their feast and it came to pass on the day seventh that he told her because she pressed him so much and she explained the riddle to the sons of her people
וַתֵּ֤בְךְּ עָלָיו֙ שִׁבְעַ֣ת הַיָּמִ֔ים אֲשֶׁר־ הָיָ֥ה לָהֶ֖ם הַמִּשְׁתֶּ֑ה וַיְהִ֣י ׀ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֗י וַיַּגֶּד־ לָהּ֙ כִּ֣י הֱצִיקַ֔תְהוּ וַתַּגֵּ֥ד הַחִידָ֖ה לִבְנֵ֥י עַמָּֽהּ

וַתֵּ֤בְךְּ  And  she  had  wept 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: בָּכָה  
Sense: to weep, bewail, cry, shed tears.
עָלָיו֙  on  him 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
שִׁבְעַ֣ת  seven 
Parse: Number, masculine singular construct
Root: שֶׁבַע  
Sense: seven (cardinal number).
הַיָּמִ֔ים  the  days 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
אֲשֶׁר־  while 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
הָיָ֥ה  lasted 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
הַמִּשְׁתֶּ֑ה  feast 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מִשְׁתֶּה  
Sense: feast, drink, banquet.
וַיְהִ֣י ׀  and  it  came  to  pass 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
בַּיּ֣וֹם  on  the  day 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
הַשְּׁבִיעִ֗י  seventh 
Parse: Article, Number, ordinal masculine singular
Root: שְׁבִיעִי  
Sense: seventh.
וַיַּגֶּד־  that  he  told 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: נָגַד  
Sense: to be conspicuous, tell, make known.
לָהּ֙  her 
Parse: Preposition, third person feminine singular
כִּ֣י  because 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
הֱצִיקַ֔תְהוּ  she  pressed  him  so  much 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, third person feminine singular, third person masculine singular
Root: צוּק  
Sense: (Hiphil) to constrain, press, bring into straits, straiten, oppress.
וַתַּגֵּ֥ד  and  she  explained 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: נָגַד  
Sense: to be conspicuous, tell, make known.
הַחִידָ֖ה  the  riddle 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: חִידָה  
Sense: riddle, difficult question, parable, enigmatic saying or question, perplexing saying or question.
לִבְנֵ֥י  to  the  sons 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
עַמָּֽהּ  of  her  people 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person feminine singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.