John Gill's Bible Commentary Ver. 6. Then the Philistines said, who hath done this ? etc.] They asked and inquired one of another, who they thought could be the author of such mischief: and they answered, Samson, the son in law of the Timnite ; this they said either by conjecture, which might be the case of some; and others more confidently asserted it, having heard what he said, ( Judges 15:3) and they assign a very good reason for it, because he had already taken away his wife, and given her to his companion , which had provoked him to do such an action as this; and perhaps the very same persons that were very well pleased before that Samson was so served, yet now were full of wrath and indignation at the Timnite, having suffered so much in their property on his account: and the Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire ; Josephus says, her and her relations; they set fire to her father’s house, where she was, and burnt them both in it, whereby that evil came upon her she thought to avoid by getting the secret of the riddle out of Samson, and telling it to his companion, ( Judges 14:15) and suffered the proper punishment for her adultery; the people that did this were those that lived in the towns adjacent, from whence they came up to Timnath, whose fields, vineyards, and oliveyards, had been destroyed by the foxes with their firebrands.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-8 - When there are differences between relations, let those be reckoned the wisest and best, who are most forward to forgive or forget, and mos willing to stoop and yield for the sake of peace. In the means whic Samson employed, we must look at the power of God supplying them, an making them successful, to mortify the pride and punish the wickednes of the Philistines. The Philistines threatened Samson's wife that the would burn her and her father's house. She, to save herself and oblig her countrymen, betrayed her husband; and the very thing that sh feared, and by sin sought to avoid, came upon her! She, and he father's house, were burnt with fire, and by her countrymen, whom sh thought to oblige by the wrong she did to her husband. The mischief we seek to escape by any unlawful practices, we often pull down upon ou own heads.
Original Hebrew ויאמרו559 פלשׁתים6430 מי4310 עשׂה6213 זאת2063 ויאמרו559 שׁמשׁון8123 חתן2860 התמני8554 כי3588 לקח3947 את853 אשׁתו802 ויתנה5414 למרעהו4828 ויעלו5927 פלשׁתים6430 וישׂרפו8313 אותה853 ואת853 אביה1 באשׁ׃784
