His response is another miniature poem. It both denounces their cheating and insults his Philistine bride. For, calling your wife a “heifer” is as insulting in Hebrew as it is in English. But, since one does not plow with a heifer, what Samson is saying here is, “You cheated. You used my bride to get the solution out of her. You have come between us. If you had not gotten my wife on your side, you would have never solved my riddle.”
18 And the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down, “What is sweeter than honey? What is stronger than a lion?”And he said to them, “If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have found out my riddle.”