Joshua chapter 14

After reading chapter 14:

*Samson is now grownup up. He went to Timnah and saw a Philistine woman that he wanted to marry. His parents would have preferred he marry an Israelite woman, not a woman from those "uncircumcised Philistines." But Samson insisted that she was the one he wanted. Plus, Yahweh was secretly causing this infatuation just so there would be a confrontation with the Philistines.

*The family travelled to Timnah, presumably to acquire the bride for Samson. When they came to the outskirts of the town, Samson was attacked by a lion. Samson got a rush of the Spirit of the Lord (sounds more like adrenaline to me) and tore the lion apart with his bare hands, but he didn't tell his parents about it. I don't know how they could have missed seeing it. Then he went on to the town, talked with the woman, and decided he liked her.

*Later, Samson  and his parents went back to Timnah so he could marry the Philistine woman. On the way, he decided to take a look at the dead lion's carcass and found that some bees had made a honeycomb in it. He scooped out honey with his hands and ate it as he went along. He also gave some to his parents but didn't tell them where he had gotten it from.

*There was a wedding feast which typically lasts seven days. Samson was given 30 companions, presumably similar to groomsmen. He told these companions that he was going to tell them a riddle. If they could guess the answer by the end of the feast, they would be awarded thirty complete sets of clothes. If they could not guess they would have to give him thirty complete sets of clothes. Sounds fair. Not. They foolishly agreed. The riddle was "Out of the eater, something to eat; out of the strong, something sweet." This obviously refers to the lion and the honey. Of course no one but Samson would know that. The game was rigged.

*After three days of trying to guess the answer to the riddle, the men went to Samson's wife and threatened to burn her and her father's house if she didn't get the answer to the riddle for them. In order to get the answer, his wife played the "you don't love me if you won't tell me" card. Samson refused to tell her so she cried for the rest of the feast. On the seventh day, he got tired of her persistence and told her. She told the riddle to the men of her town. They told Samson the answer just as the feast was coming to an end. Of course he knew where they got the answer from.

*Again, Samson recieved a rush of power from the Spirit of the Lord. He went to Ashkelon, another Philistine town, killed thirty men, stole their clothes, and gave them to the men who had given the answer to the riddle. He left the wedding and went back home. His wife was given to the equivalent of the best man.

*In previous stories the Spirit of the Lord helped people to prophesy, make laws, and win wars. This time it seems to have just been used to make Samson a killing machine. It sounds to me more like Samson had anger and entitlement issues. The cheater hates to be cheated.