The Period Of The Judges

 Chapter 67
Slaying of the Lion [Judges 14.5-14.9]

Scripture (KJV) Judges 14.5-9

5 Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against him.
6 And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done. 7 And he went down, and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well.
8 And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcass of the lion.
9 And he took thereof in his hands, and went on eating, and came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they did eat: but he told not them that he had taken the honey out of the carcass of the lion.

Introduction

In these five verses we have the documentation of one of the earliest exploits carried out by this hero of faith. We are told that a lion in his youthful prime attacks Samson. The wild mountain passes of Judah were the lairs of savage beasts; and most or all the "lions" mentioned in Scripture are in that wild country. His tearing apart and killing the shaggy monster, without any weapon in his hand, were accomplished by that superhuman courage and strength which the occasional influences of the Spirit enabled him to put forth, and when he, as he did on this occasion, and in such a place that was hidden from the eyes of others was gradually trained to have confidence in his strength and his God, and was prepared for the more public work to which he was destined.

This event has been dated to the beginning of Philistine expansion inland, i.e., after 1080 B.C.

Commentary

5 Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against him.—Judges 14.5 (KJV)
5 Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnah, and came to the vineyards of Timnah: and, behold, a young lion roared against him. —Judges 14.5 (ASV)

Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath…
They were persuaded to go with him, either because they thought he was in love and was determined to have her for his wife; or, they thought it would be wise for them to agree to it and thereby prevent him being embarrassed and doing something that would become a bad consequence to him; or perhaps he let them know that this marriage was God’s will, and what God wanted him to do to bring it about.

and came to the vineyards of Timnath;…the land of Canaan was a land of vineyards, and particularly that part of it which was inhabited by the Philistines and Phoenicians; and though we don’t read anywhere about the wine of Timnath, there is frequent mention made of the wine of Ashkelon, Gaza, and Sarepta; three cities inhabited by the above people. These vineyards seem to have lain somewhat out of Samson's way; but for some reason he left his parents in order to go there, perhaps to eat some grapes.

Now that we know that Samson was dedicated to God with a lifelong vow of the Nazirite, we may become nervous when we see that he entered the vineyards of Timnah; a Nazirite was to have nothing to do with grape products in any form [1](Numbers 6:3-4).

and, behold, a young lion roared against him;…not a cub; that is expressed by another word. This lion was mature and felt it was strong enough to kill and eat the man that entered his vineyard. Afterwards, he is simply called a lion. He was lurking in the vineyards, and when he saw Samson, he came out to meet him, and roared at him in a hideous manner, and ready to tear him to pieces. Although these creatures are now rare in those parts, they were at this time more common, and later, several writers make mention of lions in Mesopotamia and Syria; and Strabo; see [2](1 Samuel 17:34), [3](1 Kings 13:24), [4](1 Kings 20:36). Pliny speaks of a city in Phoenicia near Sidon, called the city of lions; perhaps because it had been infested with them; and for a similar reason, it may be that some cities in the tribes of Judah and Simeon were called Lebaoth (lionesses), [5](Joshua 15:32), and Bethlebao (house of lionesses), [6](Joshua 19:6).

By enabling him, in one journey to Timnath, to kill a lion, God would teach Samson an important lesson. Many decline doing the service they might do because they don’t know their own strength. God let Samson know what he could do in the strength of the Spirit of the Lord, so that he might never be afraid to look the greatest difficulties in the face. David, who was to complete the destruction of the Philistines, must first try his hand upon a lion and a bear, and after killing these mighty creatures, he might surmise, as we may assume Samson did, that the uncircumcised Philistine should be as easily conquered as one of them.

Samson's encounter with the lion was hazardous, or was it? He was   probably unaware that he was under the protection of the Almighty, and he was yet to test the strength of the Spirit of the Lord. God would not allow His champion to be killed before he completed his service. It was a young lion, one of the fiercest sorts that set upon him, roaring for his prey, and setting his eye upon him. He was all alone in the vineyards, where he had wandered off from his father and mother (who kept to the main road), probably to eat grapes. Children don’t consider how they expose themselves to the roaring lion that seeks to devour, when out of a foolish desire for more freedom, they wander from under the eye and wing of their wise dutiful parents. Young people never consider what lions lurk in the vineyards; the vineyards of red wines, sex, drugs, and alcohol, which are as dangerous as snakes under the green grass. Had Samson met with this lion on the road he traveled, he might have had more reason to expect help both from God and man than here in the solitary vineyards, and away from his road. But there was a special providence in it, and the more hazardous the encounter was, the sweeter victory would be.

___________verse 5 notes____________

[1](Numbers 6:3-4; KJV) 3 He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried. 4 All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk.
[2](1 Samuel 17:34; KJV) 34 And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock:
[3](1 Kings 13:24; KJV) 24 And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcass was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcass.
[4](1 Kings 20:36; ASV) 36 Then said he unto him, Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of Jehovah, behold, as soon as thou art departed from me, a lion shall slay thee. And as soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him, and slew him.
[5](Joshua 15:32; NLT) 32 Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon—twenty-nine towns with their surrounding villages. Lebaoth is the Hebrew word for “lionesses.”
[6](Joshua 19:6; NLT) 6 Beth-lebaoth, and Sharuhen—thirteen towns with their surrounding villages. Beth-lebaoth—The house or city of lionesses. Probably so called from the numbers of those animals which bred there.—Adam Clarke's Commentary

6 And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done.—Judges 14.6 (KJV)
6 And the Spirit of Jehovah came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid; and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done.”—Judges 14.6 (ASV)

And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him…In all probability there were a number of trips down to Timnah, and on one of these Samson's father and mother were making the journey with him, and while walking along the road, they may have been making plans for Samson’s forthcoming marriage. Samson had probably traveled much faster than his parents, which gave him the time for making excursions away from the road to Timnah, and then to return to their company. It was on one of these excursions that he came face-to-face with the lion, which prompted the Spirit of the Lord to come upon him. Now, it is not implied that he did this by his own natural strength, but by the Spirit of the Lord coming mightily upon him: so that his strength does not appear to be his own, and he cannot control when it happens; his might was, by the will of God giving him bodily strength and boldness. I would like to point out that nowhere in scripture does it say that Samson was a big and physically strong man; for that reason we must speculate, and I for one believe he was a very average man. His strength and courage were from God.

The Bible records that there were other Old Testament worthies who were blessed to have the Holy Spirit come upon them.
• The Spirit of the LORD was upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the LORD gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand. And his hand prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim. (Judges 3:10; ESV)
• Then the Spirit of the LORD was upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh and passed on to Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he passed on to the Ammonites. (Judges 11:29; ESV)
• And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol. (Judges 13:24-25; ESV)
• And the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and his anger was greatly kindled. (1 Sam 11:6; ESV)

and he rent him as he would rend a kid;…he seized the beast and strangled him. Josephus says he caught him by the throat, and tore it out; for it does not seem that the carcass was torn to pieces, by what we read below. But we should not think that there is a contradiction here, since he probably strangled it and then ripped out its throat. Now it is not intimated that he did this by his own natural strength; but by the supernatural strength conveyed by the Spirit of the Lord coming mightily upon him. What awesome strength is commanded by the Spirit that he did it with such ease; and he rent him as he would rend a kid. See what happens when the Holy Spirit empowers the people of God:
• So he attacked the Philistines with great fury and killed many of them. Then he went to live in a cave in the rock of Etam…Then he found the jawbone of a recently killed donkey. He picked it up and killed 1,000 Philistines with it. (Judges 15:8, 15; NLT)
• And Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” Then he bowed with all his strength, and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life. (Judges 16:30; ESV)
• And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.
•  David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee… This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. (1 Samuel 17:34-37, 46; KJV)
Friend, the Holy Spirit of God wants to come upon us and give us power; but its power is for something far more important than ripping apart lions. The Holy Spirit comes upon us for the empowering to live for God as we should, and for the power to effectively tell others about Jesus.
and he had nothing in his hand;…He didn’t have a staff to keep it off of him, or a spear, sword, or knife to stab it with: in this respect Samson was a type of Christ, who has destroyed our adversary the devil, who is compared to a roaring lion, [7](1 Peter 5:8); to a lion for his strength, cruelty, and voraciousness; to a roaring lion, making a hideous noise and uproar when the Gospel was conveyed to the Gentiles. When they were about to be called and joined to Christ, the Devil was among them before he was cast out by no other weapon than the application of the Gospel, accompanied with the power of Christ, and His Spirit. Christ engaged the roaring lion, and conquered him in the beginning of his public work [8](Matthew 4:1-11), and afterwards brought down principalities and powers, triumphing over them, not with the aid of any instrument, but by His own power and His Spirit.

but he told not his father or his mother what he had done;…when he overtook them, which he quickly did, he did not say a word to them about him meeting a lion and killing it. His silence showed his modesty and intelligence, because, by not bragging about his heroic actions, in which he was a type of Christ, he concealed his great strength from the Philistines. He didn’t want them to know about it too soon, because the Philistines would then be upon their guard against him, or seek to kill him in some secrete way. No doubt, he had pondered this in his own mind, and considered it as an omen and foreshadow of the advantage he should have over the Philistines, his enemies, whom he should as easily overcome as he had that lion, and he would do it without any instrument of war.

It is amazing to me that he didn’t even tell his mother and father about the lion, when most men would brag about their exploits and would want everyone to know about it. It has been said that modesty and humility make up the brightest crown of great performances.

___________verse 6 notes____________
[7](1 Peter 5:8; ESV) Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
[8](Matthew 4:1-11; ESV) 1  Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” 5  Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “ ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ”
7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” 8  Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’ ” 11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

7 And he went down, and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well.—Judges 14.7 (KJV)
7 And he went down, and talked with the woman, and she pleased Samson well.—Judges 14.7 (ASV)

Apparently Samson failed to prevail upon his parents to get him a foreign wife and so he proceeded to take matters into his own hands.

And he went down, and talked with the woman… Prior to [9]Judges 14:1, Samson had only seen the woman, and, apparently, this reference is to the first time that he had an opportunity to talk with her. The social interaction between the youth of different sexes is extremely rare and limited in the East, and generally it remains so after they are betrothed. It is not revealed if the young couple was chaperoned, but I imagine they were, because tradition and decorum demanded it.

As Samson talked with her, he might have formed an opinion of her other qualifications, besides that of outward form and beauty; such as whether she would be a suitable yoke fellow (wife) for him.  He talked with her about marriage, and then proposed to her, or talked to her father and relatives about her. It may have happened, as Abarbinel observes; that Samson went to his father, who at his son’s request, went down and talked with the woman and with her relatives concerning his son's marriage with her, and made the preliminary wedding plans.

and she pleased Samson well;…he liked her personality and discovered that she was interesting to talk to, and the more he conversed with her, the more enjoyable she was to him, and the more he desired to marry her. Though some observe, as Abarbinel did, that she did not please Samson’s father, but Samson continued to be very pleased with his choice.

It is possible to fall in love with someone who is actually very wrong for us. This is why Proverbs 4:23 says Keep (literally, guard or protect) your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. If we don't guard our hearts, we can end up in trouble. What if we have already fallen in love with someone wrong for us in the sight of God? The only thing to do is to give them up, because it is right in God’s eyes. Jesus told us that following Him would require that we give up the things we love most [10](Mark 10:29-30).

____________verse 7 notes______________
[9](Judges 14:1; ESV) Samson went down to Timnah, and at Timnah he saw one of the daughters of the Philistines.
[10](Mark 10:29-30; NLT) “Yes,” Jesus replied, “and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News, will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property—along with persecution. And in the world to come that person will have eternal life.

8 And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcass of the lion.—Judges 14.8 (KJV)
8 And after a while he returned to take her; and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey.—Judges 14.8 (ASV)

And after a time he returned to take her… At this time, there were three stages to the traditional marriage:
1. After matters were agreed on, and settled on both sides, the formal dowry and gifts were given by Samson's father, and then the betrothal (vow or promise to marry) was made. They are considered married, although they can’t have contact with each other until after the wedding feast. Samson and his parents returned home to wait for the time agreed upon for the wedding ceremony.
2.  There was an interval of separation, varying according to the Oriental custom, from a few days to a full year. Samson probably waited for about a year considering the condition of the lion’s carcass; the flesh of the lion was wholly consumed, and nothing was left but the bones. During that time, the bride lived at home or with her friends. In the Hebrew text, after a time is replaced with "after days", which sometimes signifies a year, see [11](Genesis 4:3) [12](Exodus 13:10).
3. Then came the essential part of the marriage observance, namely, the marriage ceremony, followed by the removal of the bride from her father's house in Timnah to that of the bridegroom or his father. Ben Gersom interprets it this way, a year after this woman became Samson's wife (i.e. betrothed to him; the engagement) he returned to take her to himself to wife; and it seems, he adds, that twelve months were given her to prepare herself (the engagement period); and some considerable time must have elapsed, as appears from what had happened to the carcass of the lion, which is related next.

and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion:…just before he arrived at Timnath for the purpose of observing the wedding ceremony and taking his wife home, he thought of the lion he had slain, a year or some months before. Although he was traveling with his parents, he gave into his natural curiosity and went a little out of the way and left the road to reach the vineyard where he had killed the lion to see what had become of it. Josephus says, when he slew it he threw it into a wooded place, perhaps among some bushes, a little off of the road; It must have been well hidden, since there were no reports of it being seen or removed, as far as we know.

Perhaps the sight of the place, brought back memories of what transpired there, and it affected him; because it reminded him of the mercy in that great deliverance. There in the garden he solemnly gives thanks to God for his victory. It is good for us to remind ourselves that we also have benefitted from God's former favors to us.

and, behold, [there was] a swarm of bees and honey in the carcass of the lion;…and though naturalists tell us that bees are averse to flesh, and will not build the honeycomb in decaying matter; yet during the time that the carcass of this lion had lain hidden in the vineyard, it was exposed to the influences of the solar rays, flesh-eating bacteria, myriads of insects, ravages of birds of prey and carrion-eating animals. Its flesh might have been eaten off by natures disposal agents, or it became dry and was quite literally dried away and consumed, so that it was nothing but a mere skeleton; a bony carcass, which is the Syriac version. Josephus says, the swarm was in the breast of the lion; and it is no more unlikely that a swarm of bees should settle in it, and continue and build combs, and lay up their honey there, than that the same thing should be done in the skull of Onesilus king of Cyprus, when hung up and dried, as Herodotus relates. Besides, according to Virgil, this was a method made use of to produce a new breed of bees, even from the corrupt gore and putrid bowels of slain beasts; and Pythagoras observes, they are produced by this method. This may be an emblem of those sweet blessings of grace, which come to the people of Christ through his having destroyed Satan the roaring lion, and all his works; particularly which came to the poor Gentiles, when the devil was cast out from them, and his empire there demolished.

The picture that emerges here requires us to understand that a considerable time-frame is necessary to encompass all that is recorded here. The swarm of bees in the thorax of the lion and the amount of time needed for them to produce what appears to be quite a bit of honey means that weeks or even months or a year might have elapsed before the wedding feast.

Considering the length of time required for the flesh to be entirely consumed off the bones, and a swarm of bees to form their combs within the region of the thorax, we are led to believe that months had passed, perhaps a year had passed since the lion was killed by Samson. This was not an inappropriate place or an infrequent place for bees to build a hive. We may credit ancient writers for the knowledge that the carcasses of slain beasts often become a receptacle for wild bees. The beautiful episode in the 4th Georgic of Virgil, beginning at ver. 317, proves that the ancients believed that bees might take up residence in the body of a dead ox: they have also been found in a man's skull, or in a sepulcher.

During my investigations for this verse, I have found one other theory for the condition of the carcass. This theory is supported by several writers. Essentially, it states that the carcass of the lion had been thoroughly dried up by the heat of the sun, without passing into a state of putrefaction. "In the desert of Arabia the heat of a sultry season will often dry up all the moisture of men or camels that have fallen dead, within twenty-four hours of their decease, without their passing into a state of decomposition and putrefaction, so that they remain for a long time like mummies, without change and without stench" (Rosenmller, Bibl. Althk. iv. 2, p. 424). In a carcass dried up in this way, a swarm of bees might form their hive, just as well as in the hollow trunks of trees, or clefts in the rock, or where wild bees are accustomed to form them, notwithstanding the fact that bees avoid both dead bodies and carrion (see Bochart, Hieroz, ed. Ros. iii. p. 355).

By the way, honey, which was one of the staple commodities of Canaan, is abundantly available there, and so the land is said to flow with milk and honey.

_______verse 8 notes_________
[11](Genesis 4:3; KJV) 3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
[12](Exodus 13:10; KJV) 10 Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in his season from year to year.

9 And he took thereof in his hands, and went on eating, and came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they did eat: but he told not them that he had taken the honey out of the carcass of the lion.—Judges 14.9 (KJV)
9 And he took it into his hands, and went on, eating as he went; and he came to his father and mother, and gave unto them, and they did eat: but he told them not that he had taken the honey out of the body of the lion.—Judges 14.9 (ASV)

And he took thereof in his hands, and went on eating…Josephus says he took three honeycombs (he means three pieces of the honeycomb); which he might do without touching the carcass of the lion and defiling himself, which, as a Nazirite, he was to especially steer clear of. He ate the honey as he walked along the road to Timnath, and it didn’t seem to bother his conscious; because the bones of an unclean animal did not have the ceremonial pollution in them that the bones of a man had. John Baptist, that Nazirite of the New Testament, lived upon wild honey.

Samson, more than any other man, had the right to lay claim to the honey, and he convinced himself of it, so he seized the honey with his hands. This, without a doubt, resulted in an encounter with the bees; but he did not fear a lion's claws so what reason would he have to fear their stings. It was by his victory over the lion that he became bold and no longer feared an encounter with the Philistine-giants, in spite of their strength and fierceness, so by dislodging the bees he was taught not to fear a multitude of the Philistines; though “They surrounded me like bees…in the name of the LORD I cut them off (destroyed them),” [13]Psalms 118:12.
and came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they did eat;…They went down with him for the consummation of the marriage. Earlier, he left them on the road to Timnath and ventured into the vineyard where the carcass of the lion he killed was hidden; and now he overtook them, and gave them some of his honey to eat. They must have traveled quite a distance by now, so they might be grateful to have the honey. One young writer doesn’t mention this, but says he gave the young woman, who was to be his wife, some honey to eat. He did not eat all of it by himself. Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee, and no more, Proverbs 25:16. Note: Children should show their parents they are grateful, with the fruits of their own hard work, and also show piousness at home, [14]1 Timothy 5:4. Let those that by the grace of God have found sweetness in religion themselves communicate their experience to their friends and relations, and invite them to come and share the sweetness.

He did not tell his parents where he got the honey; for fear that they would have second thoughts about eating it. Bishop Hall observes here that those are less wise and more scrupulous than Samson that declines the use of God's gifts because they find them in ill vessels. Honey is sweet even though it is found in a dead lion. Our Lord Jesus conquered Satan, that roaring lion, and from that victory, believers find honey in the carcass, abundant strength and satisfaction, enough for themselves and for all their friends.

Previously, I said that Samson, if he were very careful could have removed the honey without touching the carcass; but that is not likely what happened, since he gathered it in his hands. Bear in mind that when Samson gathers honey from the dead carcass of a lion, he probably touched some small piece of it, and he is expressly violating his Nazirite vow, which stipulated that a Nazirite should never touch a dead body; [15](Numbers 6:6-7). Some may argue, “How could Samson do this after he had this filling of the Holy Spirit?” Friend, an outpouring of the Holy Spirit does not automatically make you godlier. It gives you the resources to be godlier, but it doesn't "do it to you." A person can be wonderfully gifted by the Holy Spirit and yet very spiritually immature. I’ve seen it, and you have too.

but he told not them that he had taken the honey out of the carcass of the lion;…either for fear that they would have misgiving about eating it; or he didn’t want it known that he was doing things forbidden by his vow. There is yet another possibility; that he was beginning to meditate upon a riddle that would involve the carcass and honey, which might more easily have been solved, had this fact been known by anyone. This riddle is important, since the Holy Spirit included it in the information He gives us about Samson.

You and I would brag about how great we are if we did what Samson did, but Samson retains a remarkable humility. One never finds him boasting about himself. He apparently recognized in a vague kind of way that his strength came to him from God.

______verse 9 notes________
[13](Psalms 118:12; ESV) They surrounded me like bees; they went out like a fire among thorns; in the name of the LORD I cut them off! Though as numerous and irritating as bees, by God's help his enemies would be destroyed.—Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
[14](1 Timothy 5:4; NLT) But if she has children or grandchildren, their first responsibility is to show godliness at home and repay their parents by taking care of them. This is something that pleases God.
[15](Numbers 6:6-7; KJV) All the days that he separateth himself unto the LORD he shall come at no dead body. He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die: because the consecration of his God is upon his head.