Free group study handout
Judges 14: Group Study Handout
How to use: read Judges 14 aloud together, then take the questions in order. One page is enough for an evening.
Overview
Samson went down to Timnah and saw a woman there. He told his parents to get her for him as a wife (vv. 1-2).
Key verse
“Yahweh’s Spirit came mightily on him, and he tore him as he would have torn a young goat; and he had nothing in his hand, but he didn’t tell his father or his mother what he had done.”
Judges 14:6 (WEB)
Outline
- Judges 14:1–2 Samson Seeks a Philistine Wife
- Judges 14:3–4 Parental Concern and Divine Plan
- Judges 14:5–6 Samson's Strength Manifested
- Judges 14:7–9 Honey in the Lion's Carcass
- Judges 14:10–13 The Wedding Feast and Riddle
- Judges 14:14–18 Riddle Solved Through Deception
- Judges 14:19–20 Samson's Anger and Consequences
Discussion questions
- In v2, what does Samson say to his father and mother about the woman he saw?
- In v19, what action does Samson take against the thirty men of Ashkelon?
- Samson's riddle in vv. 14-15: what does he mean by 'Out of the eater came out food'?
- In v20, why is Samson's wife given to his companion instead of him?
- When have you pursued something that others warned you against, like Samson's choice of a Philistine wife?
Go deeper
Passages that echo Judges 14: Judges 15, Judges 16, Judges 3.
Before next time: read Judges 15.