Sometime later Samson goes back to marry the Philistine woman, but on the way another incident occurs concerning the lion he killed. Since there is a change in scene and in time, a new paragraph can begin here. If this formatting is adopted, then it would be good to reintroduce Samson’s name and perhaps add a subtitle, such as “Samson goes to marry the Philistine woman.”
And after a while he returned to take her: After a while is literally “from days.” It indicates that there is a lapse of time between the time Samson talked with this woman and the time he goes to marry her. Good News Translation says “A few days later.” However, often the Hebrew word for “day” is not to be taken literally. In a footnote Contemporary English Version notes that it could have been even a year later. New International Version says “Some time later,” which is a good model. We may also begin this verse with “Some time passed and Samson….” He returned means he went back to where the woman lived or where he saw her the first time (verse 14.1). Returned renders the Hebrew verb shuv, which is prominent in many of the judges’ stories (see verse 2.19). To take her means “to marry her” (Good News Translation). For the Hebrew verb rendered take, see verse 14.2, where it is translated “get.”
And he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion: Samson left the road he was on to go back to the place where he had killed the lion. The Hebrew verb rendered turned aside (sur) means “leave a path” or “depart from a set direction.” However, turned aside may also have a figurative meaning here, since as a Nazirite, Samson should not be going near vineyards or lion carcasses (see comments on verse 4.18). He stubbornly insists on seeing the dead body. Later in this book, the same verb is used in contexts of danger or evil (see, for example, verse 18.3; verse 19.11-12).
And behold, there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey: Once again the Hebrew word hinneh rendered behold introduces something that is surprising. What Samson sees is unexpected: a swarm of bees and honey inside the carcass of the lion. Translators may express Samson’s surprise here by saying “and he was surprised to find…” (Good News Translation) or “and he discovered….” In some languages an exclamation point will help convey Samson’s surprise. A swarm of bees refers to a large group of bees, and most languages will have a special term for this. If not, translators may say “a big group of bees.” The bees had built their nest or hive in the body of the lion.
The Hebrew word for body differs from the one for carcass, but they both mean “dead body” here. Translators may find two separate terms or use one. Revised Standard Version follows the Hebrew order by placing and honey at the end of this clause. Good News Translation places this phrase after a swarm of bees for naturalness in English. Honey is the sweet syrupy liquid made by bees, used as a sweetener and also as a medicine. Honey is produced in the wild and finding it is a real surprise. Almost all languages have a word for honey. We might say “To his great surprise, he found a swarm of bees inside the dead lion’s body and they had made honey [or, and there was honey there too]!”
Translation models for this verse are:
• Sometime later Samson again went to Timnah, this time to marry the woman. On the way he turned off the road to have a look at the lion he had killed. To his great surprise, he found a swarm of bees inside its carcass, and fresh honey as well!
• Later Samson went back to marry the [Philistine] woman. On his way he decided to leave the road to have a look at the lion he had killed. Inside the lion’s remains were a swarm of bees and honey!
Quoted with permission from Zogbo, Lynell and Ogden, Graham S. A Handbook on Judges. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .