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Now Samson went down to Timnah, and saw a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines.
Judges 14:1 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Samson went down to Timnah, and saw a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines.
  • KJV And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.
  • BSB One day Samson went down to Timnah, where he saw a young Philistine woman.
  • NASB Then Samson went down to Timnah, and he saw a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines.
  • NLT One day when Samson was in Timnah, one of the Philistine women caught his eye.

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

Samson goes to Timnah and sees a Philistine woman. His attraction to a pagan woman begins his troubled story.

Overview

Samson's visit to Philistine territory and his interest in one of their women immediately raises concern, since Israel was not to intermarry with such peoples. His drive by sight foreshadows the impulsive, fleshly pattern that will mark his life. Even so, God will sovereignly work through these flawed choices for His purposes.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 9

  • Josh 15:10and the border turned about from Baalah westward to Mount Seir, and passed along to the side of Mount Jearim (also called Chesalon) on the north, and went down to Beth Shemesh, and passed along by Timnah;
  • Josh 19:43Elon, Timnah, Ekron,
  • 1 Jn 2:16For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, isn’t the Father’s, but is the world’s.
  • Ps 119:37Turn my eyes away from looking at worthless things. Revive me in your ways.
  • Job 31:1“I made a covenant with my eyes, how then should I look lustfully at a young woman?
  • Gen 6:2God’s sons saw that men’s daughters were beautiful, and they took any that they wanted for themselves as wives.
  • 2 Sam 11:2At evening, David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. From the roof, he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to look at.
  • Gen 34:1–2Dinah, the daughter of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.
  • Gen 38:12–13After many days, Shua’s daughter, the wife of Judah, died. Judah was comforted, and went up to his sheep shearers to Timnah, he and his friend Hirah, the Adullamite.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Judges videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Judges 14:1YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JudgesMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 14:1 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.