Juges 14

¹ Samson went down to Timnah and saw a young Philistine woman there.

² He went back and told his father and his mother: “I have seen a young Philistine woman in Timnah. Now get her for me as a wife.”

³ But his father and mother said to him, “Can’t you find a young woman among your relatives or among any of our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines for a wife?”But Samson told his father, “Get her for me. She’s the right one for me.”

⁴ Now his father and mother did not know this was from the Lord, who wanted the Philistines to provide an opportunity for a confrontation. At that time, the Philistines were ruling Israel.

Note · Juges 14.1–4

Le désir de Samson n’est pas la seule voix du récit

Les parents contestent son choix ; Samson insiste ; le narrateur ajoute une perspective sur l’affrontement avec les Philistins. Il faut distinguer ces trois niveaux. Dire que Dieu agit dans une histoire ne suffit pas à faire des préférences du personnage une règle de choix conjugal ni à légitimer toute action qu’il entreprendra ensuite.

⁵ Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother and came to the vineyards of Timnah. Suddenly a young lion came roaring at him,

⁶ the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully on him, and he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat. But he did not tell his father or mother what he had done.

⁷ Then he went and spoke to the woman, because she seemed right to Samson.

⁸ After some time, when he returned to marry her, he left the road to see the lion’s carcass, and there was a swarm of bees with honey in the carcass.

⁹ He scooped some honey into his hands and ate it as he went along. When he came to his father and mother, he gave some to them and they ate it. But he did not tell them that he had scooped the honey from the lion’s carcass.

Note · Juges 14.5–9

Le secret du lion prépare l’énigme et pose la question de la consécration

La force reçue de l’Esprit sauve Samson devant le lion, puis le miel trouvé dans son corps est partagé sans en dire l’origine. La proximité d’une carcasse fait entendre les questions de pureté des lois bibliques, notamment Lévitique 11. Le récit ne décrit toutefois pas un jugement divin explicite à cet endroit : il faut éviter d’en inventer un.

¹⁰ His father went to visit the woman, and Samson prepared a feast there, as young men were accustomed to do.

¹¹ When the Philistines saw him, they brought thirty men to accompany him.

¹² “Let me tell you a riddle,” Samson said to them. “If you can explain it to me during the seven days of the feast and figure it out, I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes.

¹³ But if you can’t explain it to me, you must give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes.”
“Tell us your riddle,” they replied. “Let’s hear it.”

¹⁴ So he said to them:
Out of the eater came something to eat,
and out of the strong came something sweet.After three days, they were unable to explain the riddle.

¹⁵ On the fourth day they said to Samson’s wife, “Persuade your husband to explain the riddle to us, or we will burn you and your father’s family to death. Did you invite us here to rob us?”

¹⁶ So Samson’s wife came to him, weeping, and said, “You hate me and don’t love me! You told my people the riddle, but haven’t explained it to me.”
“Look,” he said, “I haven’t even explained it to my father or mother, so why should I explain it to you?”

¹⁷ She wept the whole seven days of the feast, and at last, on the seventh day, he explained it to her, because she had nagged him so much. Then she explained it to her people.

¹⁸ On the seventh day, before sunset, the men of the city said to him:
What is sweeter than honey?
What is stronger than a lion?
So he said to them:
If you hadn’t plowed with my young cow,
you wouldn’t know my riddle now!

Note · Juges 14.10–18

La femme agit sous une menace que le lecteur connaît

Les compagnons promettent de la brûler avec la maison de son père s’ils ne trouvent pas la solution. Ses demandes pressantes ne doivent donc pas être résumées comme une ruse féminine sans contexte. L’énigme lie l’honneur et les biens à une information inaccessible, puis fait payer à cette femme le conflit entre les hommes.

¹⁹ The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully on him, and he went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty of their men. He stripped them and gave their clothes to those who had explained the riddle. In a rage, Samson returned to his father’s house,

²⁰ and his wife was given to one of the men who had accompanied him.

Note · Juges 14.19–20

La force reçue n’efface pas les morts employés pour payer le pari

Le narrateur mentionne à nouveau l’Esprit, mais raconte aussi la colère de Samson, la mort des trente hommes et la rupture de la noce. Aucun tort personnel de ces hommes n’est détaillé pour justifier leur utilisation comme source de vêtements. La femme est ensuite donnée à un autre sans que sa propre décision soit racontée.