‘ And it happened that when they saw him, they brought thirty companions to be with him.'
The Philistines were seemingly quite content for one of their daughters to marry a wealthy Israelite, demonstrating the reasonable relations that existed between the two nations, even though one was tributary and to some extent cowed. Indeed the Philistines may have seen this powerful young man as somebody who could be useful to them and therefore as someone to be encouraged. He was after all, almost becoming one of them. And they brought a full complement (thirty - that is, three intensified indicating completeness) of young men to share his pre-marriage feast. This suggests that he had gained recognition and respectability among the Philistines. They would be his daily companions while the wedding was in final preparation, for the feasting for the wedding that followed would also last seven days. In view of what follows (they were clearly no friends of the girl's family) it may be that they were professional ‘companions', hired for such an occasion. There is no mention of any others present at this feast. This in itself is remarkable. It emphasises that Samson is trying to find an occasion against the Philistines in which he does not want Israelites involved.