The Meaning of Judges 14:3 Explained

Judges 14:3

KJV: Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.

YLT: And his father saith to him -- also his mother, 'Is there not among the daughters of thy brethren, and among all my people, a woman, that thou art going to take a woman from the uncircumcised Philistines?' and Samson saith unto his father, 'Take her for me, for she is right in mine eyes.'

Darby: But his father and mother said to him, "Is there not a woman among the daughters of your kinsmen, or among all our people, that you must go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?" But Samson said to his father, "Get her for me; for she pleases me well."

ASV: Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Then his father  and his mother  said  unto him, [Is there] never  a woman  among the daughters  of thy brethren,  or among all my people,  that thou goest  to take  a wife  of the uncircumcised  Philistines?  And Samson  said  unto his father,  Get  her for me; for she pleaseth me well. 

What does Judges 14:3 Mean?

Context Summary

Judges 14:1-14 - A Self-Willed Youth
Timnath lay just across the frontier, in the Philistine country. It was a bad match and the beginning of life-trouble. Young people cannot be too careful as to their first love-match. Pray over it before you let your heart go. Take the advice of parents and friends. Whatever you do, marry only "in the Lord." For a Christian to marry one who is destitute of the divine life, is not only to set Christ's law at defiance, but to incur the misery of perpetual discord. It is impossible to have perfect fellowship with one who is not agreed with you in your deepest nature, 1 Corinthians 7:39.
This young lion, on the path between the vineyards, seems to have been the means of awakening Samson to claim that divine strength which had awaited his appeal but until that moment had been undiscovered. May it not be that lions have been allowed to roar at you, that you might be driven back upon God, and compelled to avail yourself of those infinite resources which reside in the ever-living Savior? [source]

Chapter Summary: Judges 14

1  Samson desires a wife of the Philistines
6  In his journey he kills a lion
8  In a second journey he finds honey in the carcass
10  Samson's marriage feast
12  His riddle by his wife is made known
19  He strikes down thirty Philistines
20  His wife is married to another

What do the individual words in Judges 14:3 mean?

And said to him his father and mother [is there] no among the daughters of your brothers or among all my people woman that you must go and get a wife from Philistines the uncircumcised Samson to his father her Get for me for she pleases well me
וַיֹּ֨אמֶר ל֜וֹ אָבִ֣יו וְאִמּ֗וֹ הַאֵין֩ בִּבְנ֨וֹת אַחֶ֤יךָ וּבְכָל־ עַמִּי֙ אִשָּׁ֔ה כִּֽי־ אַתָּ֤ה הוֹלֵךְ֙ לָקַ֣חַת אִשָּׁ֔ה מִפְּלִשְׁתִּ֖ים הָעֲרֵלִ֑ים שִׁמְשׁ֤וֹן אֶל־ אָבִיו֙ אוֹתָ֣הּ קַֽח־ לִ֔י כִּֽי־ הִ֖יא יָשְׁרָ֥ה בְעֵינָֽי

וַיֹּ֨אמֶר  And  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
ל֜וֹ  to  him 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
אָבִ֣יו  his  father 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אָב  
Sense: father of an individual.
וְאִמּ֗וֹ  and  mother 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אֵם  
Sense: mother.
הַאֵין֩  [is  there]  no 
Parse: Adverb
Root: אַיִן 
Sense: nothing, not, nought n.
בִּבְנ֨וֹת  among  the  daughters 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine plural construct
Root: בַּת  
Sense: daughter.
אַחֶ֤יךָ  of  your  brothers 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, second person masculine singular
Root: אָח  
Sense: brother.
וּבְכָל־  or  among  all 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
עַמִּי֙  my  people 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
אִשָּׁ֔ה  woman 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: אִשָּׁה  
Sense: woman, wife, female.
כִּֽי־  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
הוֹלֵךְ֙  must  go 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
לָקַ֣חַת  and  get 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: יָקַח 
Sense: to take, get, fetch, lay hold of, seize, receive, acquire, buy, bring, marry, take a wife, snatch, take away.
אִשָּׁ֔ה  a  wife 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: אִשָּׁה  
Sense: woman, wife, female.
מִפְּלִשְׁתִּ֖ים  from  Philistines 
Parse: Preposition-m, Proper Noun, masculine plural
Root: פְּלִשְׁתִּי  
Sense: an inhabitant of Philistia; descendants of Mizraim who immigrated from Caphtor (Crete?) to the western seacoast of Canaan.
הָעֲרֵלִ֑ים  the  uncircumcised 
Parse: Article, Adjective, masculine plural
Root: עָרֵל  
Sense: uncircumcised, having foreskin.
שִׁמְשׁ֤וֹן  Samson 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: שִׁמְשֹׁון  
Sense: a Danite, son of Manoah, a Nazarite for life, and a judge of Israel for 20 years.
אָבִיו֙  his  father 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אָב  
Sense: father of an individual.
אוֹתָ֣הּ  her 
Parse: Direct object marker, third person feminine singular
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
קַֽח־  Get 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: יָקַח 
Sense: to take, get, fetch, lay hold of, seize, receive, acquire, buy, bring, marry, take a wife, snatch, take away.
לִ֔י  for  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
הִ֖יא  she 
Parse: Pronoun, third person feminine singular
Root: הוּא 
Sense: he, she, it.
יָשְׁרָ֥ה  pleases  well 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: יָשַׁר 
Sense: to be right, be straight, be level, be upright, be just, be lawful, be smooth.
בְעֵינָֽי  me 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, cdc, first person common singular
Root: עֹונָה 
Sense: eye.