Judges 14:14

*So he said to them, “Out of the eater came something to eat, And out of the strong came something sweet.” But they could not tell the riddle in three days.* (v.14) Early in the Book of Judges, Samson—who lived around the 11th or 12th century BC during Israel’s chaotic period of the Judges—poses this riddle at a Philistine feast. Samson, consecrated as a Nazirite from birth, was set apart by the Lord to deliver Israel from Philistine control. He had already torn apart a lion by God’s power near Timnah on his way to arrange his marriage (Judges 14:5-6). Later, finding honey in the carcass, he fashioned this riddle to confound his Philistine guests. The “eater” was the lion, and the “something sweet” was honey, an ironic twist of how God used Samson’s encounter with a vicious predator to bring forth sustenance.

In posing the riddle, Samson tapped into a deep theme throughout Scripture: something meant for destruction is transformed into a source of provision. The Philistines, who sought to dominate Israel, are often likened to predators threatening God’s people, yet the Lord used Samson’s confrontation with a literal lion to foreshadow how He would provide deliverance for His nation. Samson would go on to do “many mighty things by the Lord’s power,” including famously slaying a thousand Philistine soldiers with a donkey’s jawbone (Judges 14–16) citeturn0file0. Although the riddle mystified the Philistines at first, it signaled that God’s strength could turn a seemingly hopeless situation into victory.

From a broader biblical perspective, we see God ultimately fulfilling this same pattern in Jesus, bringing new life out of death and redemption out of suffering (Luke 24:26). Just as Samson’s lion encounter unexpectedly brought forth something sweet, the crucifixion—a symbol of utter defeat—became for believers the sweetest victory, granting eternal life (Romans 6:23).

Samson’s riddle highlights God’s ability to bring triumph out of defeat.