When the bride’s parents saw him, they selected thirty young men from the town to be his companions.
Parallel translations
- WEB When they saw him, they brought thirty companions to be with him.
- KJV And it came to pass, when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him.
- BSB And when the Philistines saw him, they selected thirty men to accompany him.
- NKJV And it happened, when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him.
- NASB When they saw him, they brought thirty companions to be with him.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The Philistines bring thirty companions to be with Samson at the feast. These men set the stage for the riddle's wager.
Overview
The thirty companions, likely as much guards as guests, surround the strong Israelite. Their presence creates the audience for Samson's riddle and the contest that follows. The detail advances the plot toward the conflict God intends to use against the Philistines.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- John 3:29He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. This, my joy, therefore is made full.
- 1 Sam 16:6When they had come, he looked at Eliab, and said, “Surely Yahweh’s anointed is before him.”
- Matt 9:15Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.
- 1 Sam 10:23They ran and got him there. When he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Israel's cycle of sin and rescue through flawed deliverers cries out for a Savior who never fails — the true and final Judge and Deliverer who saves his people not for a season but forever.
How Judges 14:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.