Chapter 13
The Birth of Samson
13:1 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, so the LORD gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.
The first half of this verse is a sad commentary on human depravity, as the people did not learn the painful lessons of the past, or they neglected to teach them to their children (reminiscent of what the author George Santayana once wrote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”)[1]. They once again did what was evil in the sight of YHWH so He gave them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years.
13:2 There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. And his wife was barren and had no children.
The city of Zorah was located in Judah’s territory but was shared with the Danites until they settled in their own territory. Zorah was in the region known as the Shephelah east of Ekron a Philistine city. Manoah and his wife did not have any children
13:3 And the angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son.
The angel of YHWH, another Christophany (see Judges 2:1; 6:11), Jesus Himself appears to Manoah’s wife and tells her that she will have a baby boy.
13:4 Therefore be careful and drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, 5 for behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.”
She is then informed that she will have a unique son, one born as a Nazarite. Typically a voluntary vow to God, but here no choice is given as this boy was a Nazarite from birth (both Samuel and John the Baptist were born dedicated to the service to God before birth, but were not considered Nazirites). We are told in Numbers 6:1-21 the qualifications and requirements of someone to become a Nazirite, including the prohibition of: 1) drinking wine or anything alcoholic; 2) drinking or eating any part of a grape; 3) shaving or cutting of hair on the head; and 4) coming near or touching a dead body. She is also told that the child will save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.
13:6 Then the woman came and told her husband, “A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God, very awesome. I did not ask him where he was from, and he did not tell me his name, 7 but he said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. So then drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’ ”
The woman then goes to Manoah and tells him that a man of God had come to her and His appearance was like the angel of God, she describe Him as being “very awesome” (Hebrew nô·rā(‛)’, to respect, to reverence, to fear). She notes that He did not give her His name, but did say that she was going to conceive and bear a son who would be a Nazirite from birth.
13:8 Then Manoah prayed to the LORD and said, “O Lord, please let the man of God whom you sent come again to us and teach us what we are to do with the child who will be born.”
Manoah prayed to God asking for further instructions on how to raise such a child. He requests that the “man of God” return.
13:9 And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field. But Manoah her husband was not with her. 10 So the woman ran quickly and told her husband, “Behold, the man who came to me the other day has appeared to me.” 11 And Manoah arose and went after his wife and came to the man and said to him, “Are you the man who spoke to this woman?” And he said, “I am.” 12 And Manoah said, “Now when your words come true, what is to be the child’s manner of life, and what is his mission?” 13 And the angel of the LORD said to Manoah, “Of all that I said to the woman let her be careful. 14 She may not eat of anything that comes from the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, or eat any unclean thing. All that I commanded her let her observe.”
God responded to Manoah’s request and the angel of God returned to his wife, but Manoah was not with her, so she ran to get her husband. When the two returned Manoah asked if He was the same man that spoke to his wife earlier, He responded with, “I am,” (a unique identifier for Jesus, click here for more information). Manoah asks about the future of his son but instead of answering he is told again about the prohibitions that begin with his wife from that moment to the time of birth. She was not to consume of anything that grows on the vine, drink any alcoholic beverage, nor eat anything unclean.
13:15 Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “Please let us detain you and prepare a young goat for you.” 16 And the angel of the LORD said to Manoah, “If you detain me, I will not eat of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, then offer it to the LORD.” (For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the LORD.) 17 And Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “What is your name, so that, when your words come true, we may honor you?” 18 And the angel of the LORD said to him, “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?” 19 So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it on the rock to the LORD, to the one who works wonders, and Manoah and his wife were watching. 20 And when the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the angel of the LORD went up in the flame of the altar. Now Manoah and his wife were watching, and they fell on their faces to the ground.
When Manoah spoke about preparing a meal he did not know that the man was the angel of YHWH (see verse 16b), so the angel corrected him by refusing the meal and suggested that he prepare a burnt offering and offer it to YHWH. Manoah then asked the angel His name, so that they could honor the person by name after everything comes true. The angel does not answer except to say that “it is wonderful” (Hebrew pě’·li(‘)y, incomprehensible, used only one other location in the Bible, see Psalm 139:6). Manoah proceeds to offer a young goat along with a grain offering on the rock, “to the one who works wonders.” While Manoah and his wife were watching, a flame came up from the altar as the angel of YHWH and the offering went up to heaven.
13:21 The angel of the LORD appeared no more to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the LORD. 22 And Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, for we have seen God.” 23 But his wife said to him, “If the LORD had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering at our hands, or shown us all these things, or now announced to us such things as these.”
Now understanding that they encountered God, Manoah was concerned that they would surely die. His wife explained that would not make sense as the angel came to inform them of the coming child. If God had intention to kill them He would not have accepted the offering nor tell them about their future.
13:24 And the woman bore a son and called his name Samson. And the young man grew, and the LORD blessed him. 25 And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
The wife of Manoah (who remains nameless) had a son and named him Samson. The man grew up and YHWH blessed him and the Holy Spirit began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan (named after an event recorded in Judges 18:11-13) located between Zorah and Eshtaol (less than two miles east of Zorah).
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[1] Santayana, G. (1905). The Life of Reason. Winston Churchill made a similar comment.