Judges 14:11

When they saw him. The reason why this clause is added is somewhat obscure. It probably means “when they saw what a powerful person he was.” Some of the Greek translations read “because they feared him.” The two readings would be very similar in the Hebrew.

Thirty companions. Ostensibly, these companions were to serve as wedding attendants, but probably they were really there for defense, for the Philistines knew of Hebrew hostility toward the oppression. Usually the groom provided himself with attendants, but in this case Samson was in a strange city, marrying under the disapprobation of his own people; so the Philistines provided him with wedding attendants. There were sufficient attendants, they believed, so that if the powerful Hebrew groom should try to make trouble, they could subdue him. On the other hand, the 30 companions may have been provided as a bodyguard for the marriage festival.