Judges 14:12
And Samson said to them: I will propose to you a riddle, which if you declare unto me within the seven days of the feast, I will give you thirty shirts, and as many coats:
Open Judges 14:12 in the Motif Searcher, word by word across all five texts →Show on the spiral →The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- Quibus locutus est Samson : Proponam vobis problema : quod si solveritis mihi intra septem dies convivii, dabo vobis triginta sindones, et totidem tunicas :
- Septuagint (Swete)
- καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Σαμψών Πρόβλημα ὑμῖν προβάλλομαι· ἐὰν ἀπαγγέλλοντες ἀπαγγείλητε αὐτὸ ἐν ταῖς ἑπτὰ ἡμέραις τοῦ πότου καὶ εὕρητε, δώσω ὑμῖν τριάκοντα σινδόνας καὶ τριάκοντα στολὰς ἱματίων·
- Hebrew (WLC)
- וַיֹּ֤אמֶר לָהֶם֙ שִׁמְשׁ֔וֹן אָחֽוּדָה נָּ֥א לָכֶ֖ם חִידָ֑ה אִם הַגֵּ֣ד תַּגִּידוּ֩ אוֹתָ֨הּ לִ֜י שִׁבְעַ֨ת יְמֵ֤י הַמִּשְׁתֶּה֙ וּמְצָאתֶ֔ם וְנָתַתִּ֤י לָכֶם֙ שְׁלֹשִׁ֣ים סְדִינִ֔ים וּשְׁלֹשִׁ֖ים חֲלִפֹ֥ת בְּגָדִֽים
Haydock's commentary
Riddle. Such obscure and ingenious questions were much liked in the East, 3 Kings x. 1. The Egyptians concealed the mysteries of their religion, and Pythagoras his choicest maxims under them. (St. Clement of Alexandria, strom. 5.) The Greeks proposed the griphous at feasts, determining some reward or punishment to those who succeeded or failed to explain them. Athenæus (x. 22,) relates that Simonides proposed this to his companions, after he had seen a blacksmith asleep, with a skin of wine and a craw-fish beside him. "The father of the kid, which eateth all sorts of herbs, and the miserable fish knocked their heads against each other, and he who has received upon his eye-lids the son of the night, would not feed the minister, who kills the oxen of king Bacchus." He could not get his ax mended. The ancients kept their wine in skins of kids, &c., whence he alludes to the bottle of wine, near the miserable craw-fish or lobster.
Shirts. Hebrew sedinim, "sindons," the garment which was worn next the skin, Mark xiv. 51. It was used also by women, (Isaias iii. 23,) and is probably the same which is called a tunic. (Calmet)
Coats. Hebrew, "change of garments." Some understand new and splendid garments. But Samson complied with his promise, by giving such as he found upon the 30 men, whom he slew, ver. 19. (Haydock)
The custom of making presents of garments has long prevailed in the East. The Turkish emperor still receives and makes such presents to ambassadors. (Calmet)
Their long robes may easily be made to fit any person. (Haydock)
From Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary, 1859, in the transcription made by Todd Easton and kept online by John Paul Wohlschied at johnblood.gitlab.io/haydock.
The Fathers on this verse
St Irenaeus Fragments from the Lost Writings of, XL
“And he found the jaw-bone of an ass.” It is to be observed that, after [Samson had committed] fornication, the holy Scripture no longer speaks of the things happily accomplished by him in connection with the formula, “The Spirit of the Lord came upon him.” For thus, according to the holy apostle, the sin of fornication is perpetrated against the body, as involving also sin against the temple of God.