Today we begin Judges Chapter 15.
For the Complete Jewish Bible, click HERE.
For the King James Version, click HERE.
“But after a while, during the wheat-harvest season, Shimshon went to see his wife. He brought a young goat for her and said to her father, “I want to go to my wife in her room.” But he wouldn’t let him.”-Judges 15:1
Samson has returned home after killing 30 men at Ashkelon to settle the score he lost because of his riddle.
Although we don’t know exactly how much time passed, we do know it was during the wheat season.
So it would’ve been around late May or early June.
This is right about when the Biblical feast of Shavuot takes place.
Apparently the boiling rage that caused Samson to go on a murderous rampage had simmered down.
So now while in a state of calm he decided to go back to see his “wife”.
The Hebrew word for “wife” being used here is ISHSHEH and again it can mean either “woman” or “wife” depending on the context.
It’s hard to know how Samson viewed this girl.
Because he started the marriage process with her but never finished it.
Nevertheless, he must have felt like he had some claim to her.
Otherwise he never would’ve returned to Timnah with the expectation of being able to visit her in her own room.
We’re told Samson brought a young goat with him and said to the girl’s father “I want to go to my wife in her room”.
Keep in mind this was happening after Samson had suddenly left the wedding banquet leaving the girl and her family shocked and confused.
Most likely several months or more had passed by now…
And suddenly out of the blue, Samson shows up again.
Of course, the family, after recovering from their shock at Samson’s behavior had moved on.
The father tells Samson since he never thought he’d return, he’d given his daughter to another man.
However, it’s obvious that Samson thought differently because he showed up with a young goat by his side.
What exactly was the deal with the goat Samson brought with him?
The usual teaching on the matter is that this goat was some sort of reconciliatory gift Samson brought for rudely leaving the wedding halfway through.
However, such a common and cheap gift like this would in no way make up for Samson’s incredibly insulting behavior.
There’s actually another possibility and it’s connected to an ancient Middle Eastern custom probably 99% of you who are reading this right now know absolutely nothing about.
This custom is still practiced today in some parts of the Middle East.
It’s called SADIKA.
It’s a practice usually followed by men who for whatever reason don’t keep a permanent home.
In this case, the wife stays with her parents for an undefined period of time…
Yet, in spite of this unorthodox arrangement, it’s still considered a legit marriage…
Most likely this type of relationship evolved from the practice of men also keeping concubines in addition to their normal wives.
A concubine was still considered to be a type of wife but without certain benefits.
She wasn’t given an official certificate of marriage (a Ketubah) nor was there a wedding ceremony or banquet held.
Yet she still retained many of the same rights that a normal wife would have.
There’s also a term used to describe the role of the often absent husband in this arrangement.
He was called a JOZ MUSARRIB.
It literally translates to “visiting husband”.
Now here’s the thing and this explains why Samson was carrying a goat with him.
According to this SADIKA custom, it was the husband’s obligation to bring his wife a gift of some sort every time he visited her.
It didn’t have to be a huge lavish present…
But on the other hand, it couldn’t be something so cheap and insignificant it would be considered an insult.
It turns out the goat Samson brought with him carried just the right degree of appropriateness for the occasion.
Another thing you should know is that in those days, it was absolutely forbidden for a man to enter a single woman’s private quarters…
And a married woman wasn’t allowed to receive any male visitor other than her husband or father.
So when Samson says in verse 1 “I want to go to my wife in her room”, he obviously thought he possessed some kind of marital relationship with the girl…
Probably along the lines of a SADIKA relationship I just described.
However, there was just one problem.
The girl’s father thought otherwise.
However, the father knew he had to tread delicately with this Israelite hulk who had a propensity for rash and impulsive violence.
He knew he was dealing with the equivalent of a bull in a china shop.
So as a way to console Samson, he offers his other daughter to him saying “Look, she’s more beautiful. Why don’t you take her instead?”.
Now I know those of you who are Westerners view this type of transaction with surprise and shock…
But as shocking as it may seem, this kind of thing was normal back in those days.
And don’t forget, we’re dealing with an oriental culture here folks.
Remember, the Bible ain’t no western book.
The father was really making a sincere attempt to make amends with Samson as best he could.
And we can see how marriages in the ancient Middle East were for the most part transactional and controlled by men.
Unfortunately for the father, Samson was not to be consoled and his impulsive rage emerged once again.
We’ll continue on the next time we meet…
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