Behold

A Behold picture book

The Riddle Bet

Sam made a bet at his own wedding. He lost. Thirty strangers paid.

  1. Sam was very strong. When the Spirit of the Voice came on him, he could do amazing things. One day, a young lion roared at him. Sam tore it apart with his bare hands.

  2. Later, Sam walked past the lion again. Bees had made honey inside it! He scooped some out and ate it. He didn't tell anyone.

  3. Sam was getting married. At the wedding party, there were 30 young men. Sam made a bet. "I have a riddle. If you solve it in seven days, I'll give you 30 nice shirts and 30 suits. If you can't, you give me 30 shirts and 30 suits."

  4. "Out of the eater came something to eat. Out of the strong came something sweet." Nobody could solve it.

  5. So the young men went to Sam's new wife. "Find out the answer," they said, "or we'll burn you and your dad's house." She cried and cried, all week, until Sam told her. Then she told them.

  6. "What is sweeter than honey? What is stronger than a lion?" the young men said. Sam knew how they found out. He was angry.

  7. Then the Spirit of the Voice came on Sam. He went to another town. He killed 30 men there and took their clothes. He gave the clothes to the young men who solved the riddle.

  8. Then Sam went home to his parents, still angry. And his new wife was married to his best man instead.

The End.

The source, revealed

The Fine Print

Judges 14; Hebrews 11:32

Read it yourself

Where it's from

Judges 14. Samson is one of the Bible's most famous heroes. The New Testament lists him with the heroes of faith (Hebrews 11:32).

Who's who

In our story In the Bible
Sam Samson
The 30 young men Thirty Philistine companions
Another town Ashkelon, a Philistine city
30 shirts and 30 suits Thirty sheets and thirty changes of garments
The Voice God (the LORD)

What the text says

  • Plain words: The Spirit of the Lord came on Samson. He went to Ashkelon, killed 30 men, and took their clothes to pay the bet.

  • KJV (Judges 14:19): "And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave change of garments unto them which expounded the riddle."

  • Plain words: His parents didn't know this was God's plan to start a fight with the Philistines.

  • KJV (Judges 14:4): "But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines"

  • Plain words: The New Testament names Samson among people who acted by faith.

  • KJV (Hebrews 11:32): "for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae"

What we kept

  • The Spirit of the LORD comes on Samson and he tears a lion apart with his bare hands.
  • Bees and honey in the lion's body; he eats some and doesn't tell.
  • At his wedding feast, 30 companions; the bet of 30 garments; the riddle, word for word in meaning.
  • The companions threaten to burn his wife and her father's house. She weeps for seven days until he tells her.
  • "What is sweeter than honey? and what is stronger than a lion?"
  • The Spirit of the LORD comes upon him; he kills 30 men in Ashkelon and gives their clothes as payment.
  • He goes home angry; his wife is given to his companion.

What we changed

  • Names, and today's world.
  • Samson's famous line "If ye had not plowed with my heifer" (14:18) is left out. We said, "Sam knew how they found out."
  • The seven braids are from Judges 16:13, a later chapter.

Look closely

The 30 men in Ashkelon had nothing to do with the bet or the wedding. And the Bible says the Spirit of the Lord came on Samson right before he killed them.

How it's usually taught

Many teachers say God was using Samson, flaws and all, to fight the Philistines, who ruled over Israel at the time (Judges 14:4). Many also say Samson is an example of a gifted person who wasted his gifts through pride and anger, and that his story shows God can work even through very imperfect people.

What the story doesn't say

It never says the 30 men in Ashkelon did anything wrong. It never says killing them was wrong. It says the Spirit of the Lord came upon him first.

Talk about it

  1. Was it fair of the young men to threaten Sam's wife?
  2. Sam lost a bet. Who should pay for it?
  3. What had the 30 men in the other town done?
  4. The story says the Voice's Spirit came on Sam right before. What does that make you think?
  5. Do you believe this is good advice?

One last question

If a man today paid off a bet like Sam did, would anyone call him a hero?

Read Judges 14; Hebrews 11:32 yourself