Out of the eater came something to eat,
This phrase refers to the lion that Samson killed earlier in the chapter. The lion, a symbol of strength and ferocity, is the "eater." The honey found in the carcass represents something unexpected and nourishing coming from a source of danger. This riddle is a metaphor for God's ability to bring good out of evil situations, a theme seen throughout the Bible, such as in Joseph's story (Genesis 50:20).

and out of the strong came something sweet.
The "strong" again refers to the lion, and the "sweet" is the honey. This imagery can be seen as a type of Christ, who is both the Lion of Judah (Revelation 5:5) and the source of spiritual sweetness and sustenance. The paradox of strength producing sweetness can also be seen in the life of Christ, who through His suffering and death brought salvation and grace.

For three days they were unable to explain the riddle.
The three days the Philistines struggled with the riddle can be seen as symbolic, as the number three often represents completeness or divine intervention in the Bible. This period of confusion foreshadows the resurrection of Christ, who rose on the third day, bringing clarity and victory over sin and death. The inability of the Philistines to solve the riddle without external help highlights human limitations and the need for divine revelation.

Samson speaks at his wedding feast (Judges 14:12). The young Philistine men are eager for entertainment, so Samson presents a riddle meant to showcase his wit and, if unsolved, enrich him with thirty linen garments and thirty sets of clothes.

• This moment highlights Samson’s calling as Israel’s judge—he stands in the enemy’s territory yet remains set apart, echoing passages like Numbers 23:9 where God’s people are portrayed as dwelling alone.

• Like Jesus’ use of parables (Matthew 13:13), Samson’s riddle hides truth from those with hardened hearts while inviting insight for the discerning.

Samson’s private experience with the lion (Judges 14:5-9) lies behind this line.

• The “eater”—a roaring lion (cf. 1 Peter 5:8)—symbolizes deadly threat. Yet inside its carcass Samson found honey, a surprise provision.

• God often brings nourishment from what seems destructive. Joseph declared, “You meant evil against me, but God intended it for good” (Genesis 50:20).

• In wilderness wanderings the Lord provided manna where there was no food (Exodus 16:31). The principle: the Lord can feed His people from the very jaws of danger.

The lion, strongest of beasts (Proverbs 30:30), becomes a source of sweetness.

• This pictures how God transforms strength into blessing. Paul wrote, “When I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10); divine power flips expected outcomes.

• Honey itself is linked with God’s goodness—“How sweet are Your words to my taste” (Psalm 119:103); “Taste and see that the LORD is good” (Psalm 34:8).

• Ultimately, the riddle foreshadows Christ, the Lion of Judah (Revelation 5:5), whose death (apparent defeat) produced the sweetness of salvation (Hebrews 2:14-15).

The guests’ failure underscores human inability to grasp God’s hidden wisdom without revelation (1 Corinthians 2:14).

• “Three days” often marks God’s turning points—Jonah in the fish (Jonah 1:17) and Jesus in the tomb (Luke 24:46). Here it sets up a dramatic moment when frustration drives the men to threaten Samson’s bride (Judges 14:15), revealing the darkness of Philistine culture.

• Their blindness contrasts with Samson’s inside knowledge, reminding us that spiritual insight depends on relationship with the Lord (Psalm 25:14).

Judges 14:14 illustrates God’s surprising ability to bring good out of peril. Samson’s riddle, rooted in his literal encounter with a lion and honey, teaches that:

• Threats can become sources of provision when God intervenes.

• Strength apart from God offers no lasting sweetness, while what He transforms brings delight.

• Human wisdom cannot decode divine mysteries without revelation.

The verse anticipates the gospel itself—where death is swallowed up in victory and sweetness flows from the strong love of Christ.

" 'Tis seldom when the bee doth leave her comb

In the dead carrion."

Shakespeare: Henry V., ii. 4.

Cassel quotes a curious parallel from the legends of North Germany. The judges offer a woman her husband's life if she can make a riddle which they cannot guess. On her way to the court she had found the carcase of a horse in which a bird had built its nest and hatched six young ones, which she took away. Her riddle was (I venture rudely to translate the rude old lines):--

"As hitherwards on my way I sped,

I took the living out of the dead,

Six were thus of the seventh made quit:--

To rede my riddle, my lords, 'tis fit."

The judges failed, and the husband was spared (Mullen-hof, Sagen, p. 506).

In three days.--It is hard to see why this is mentioned if it was only on the seventh day (Judges 14:15) that they tried the unfair means of inducing Samson's wife to reveal the secret. Bishop Hervey conjectures, with much probability, that we should read shesheth "six," for shelsheth, "four." The LXX. and Syriac read "on the fourth day," and (7) may easily have been confused with (4). . . .

Parallel Commentaries ...