1. Judges 14:17 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

Was Samson’s wife weeping the full seven days of the feast?

Judges 14:17 (ESV)

17 She wept before him the seven days that their feast lasted, and on the seventh day he told her, because she pressed him hard. Then she told the riddle to her people.

The text suggests that indeed, Samson’s wife wept before him for the seven days of the feast. In context, though, the seven days must refer to the remaining days of the feast. She weeps whenever she is in his presence. Those tears were real, since her life depended on her getting her way.