Judges, Ruth: Revised Edition (The NIV Application Commentary)

by K. Lawson Younger

This is even clearer in the next episode (14:8–9). Some time later Samson returns to marry the Timnite. On the way, he deliberately turns aside to see the lion’s carcass, in flagrant violation of his Nazirite status. What he finds is truly unusual. Bees do not normally inhabit corpses; flies and maggots do. But in this decay and decomposition, Samson discovers a “swarm” or community (‘edah) of bees, not only existing but producing sweetness. Apparently God has provided this as a further means of “stirring” Samson. As an ordinary Israelite, Samson should have left the honey in the corpse alone (Lev 11:24–40, esp. 27); as a Nazirite, even more so. Instead, he scoops out some honey that the bees have made, eating it and giving some to his parents to eat. Of course, he does not tell them about the corpse for the same reason as before. Not only does he not care about his own ritually unclean status, but he cares little for that of others, including his parents, who are now ritually unclean because of his action. The only thing that matters to Samson is the satisfaction of his own appetites and cravings. Furthermore, his action shows that he knows what he is doing is in contrast to his Nazirite status. Webb aptly states: in 13:4–5: “Now take care that you don’t drink wine or strong drink, nor eat anything unclean, for . . . the boy will be a Nazirite of God.” It will become clear in 16:17 that Samson has known all along that he is a Nazirite, and his concealment of the source of...