Judges 13:1-25

Samson of Dan Judges 13:1 to Judges 16:31

The Birth of Samson Judges 13:1-25

And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.
2 And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not.
3 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son.
4 Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing:
5 For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.
6 Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name:
7 But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death.
8 Then Manoah entreated the Lord, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.
9 And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah her husband was not with her.
10 And the woman made haste, and ran, and showed her husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that came unto me the other day.
11 And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said unto him, Art thou the man that spakest unto the woman? And he said, I am.
12 And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him?
13 And the angel of the Lord said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware.
14 She may not eat of any thing that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: all that I commanded her let her observe.
15 And Manoah said unto the angel of the Lord, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee.
16 And the angel of the Lord said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the Lord. For Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the Lord.
17 And Manoah said unto the angel of the Lord, What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honor?
18 And the angel of the Lord said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret?
19 So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it upon a rock unto the Lord: and the angel did wondrously; and Manoah and his wife looked on.
20 For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground.
21 But the angel of the Lord did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the Lord.
22 And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God.
23 But his wife said unto him, If the Lord were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have showed us all these things, nor would as at this time have told us such things as these.
24 And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the Lord blessed him.
25 And the Spirit of the Lord began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.

1.

Where was Zorah? Judges 13:2

Zorah was a city on the border of Dan. It lay between Eshtaol and Ir-shemesh (Joshua 19:41). It is best known as the birthplace of Samson. He was buried near here also (Judges 16:31). From this point some Danites went to look for additional land as is recorded in one of the appendices of the book of Judges (Judges 18:2; Judges 18:11). Zorah was allotted to the tribe of Judah when Joshua parceled out the land to the twelve tribes (Joshua 15:33). After the captivity, it was occupied again by the children of Judah (Nehemiah 11:29). Rehoboam fortified this city (2 Chronicles 11:10), and the modern Sur-'a near the summit of a lofty hill on the north side of the Wady es-surar has been identified as the location of ancient Zorah. A striking stone altar nearby is pointed out as the altar from which the angel ascended.

2.

Who was the Angel of the Lord? Judges 13:3

The Angel of the Lord was the special messenger by whom God chose to reveal Himself at many different times in the days of the patriarchs and the other leaders of Israel of Old Testament times. He does not identify himself by name as did Gabriel, the angel who announced the birth of John the Baptist (Luke 1:19). Other angels are also known by name, but this special representative of the Lord refused to give his name (Judges 13:17-18). Manoah's wife told him she had failed to ask him about his name (Judges 13:6); but when he was asked at a later time, the angel refused to give further identification of himself.

3.

Why was Samson's mother to drink no wine? Judges 13:4

Samson was to be a Nazarite from the time of his birth. A Nazarite was not allowed to drink wine (Numbers 6), and even Samson's mother was to live a similarly devoted life in preparation for the birth of this champion of God. Her model of abstinence is profitably followed by many conscientious mothers of modern times who refuse to weaken their constitutions by the use of alcoholic beverages. The abstinence of Samson's mother, however, was more than just a personal preference on her part. She was to drink no wine because she was given this commandment by the angel who appeared to her.

4.

Why was Samson to be a Nazarite? Judges 13:5

Samson was to be set aside for the service of God in a special way. The vows taken by a Nazarite are some of the most exacting and specific on record in the Old Testament. A Nazarite could not drink any vinegar of wine or vinegar of strong drink. He was not allowed to drink any juice of grapes nor to eat fresh grapes or dried (Numbers 6:3). In addition, he was to allow no razor to come upon his head, but he was to let the locks of the hair of his head grow long. Furthermore he was not to come near a dead body, not even making himself unclean at the time of the death of his father, his mother, his brother, or sister (Numbers 6:5-6). Some Nazarites took these vows for a specific length of time, but Samson was to live this kind of life throughout all his days, even from the time of his birth.

5.

Why did Manoah want the angel to come again? Judges 13:8

Manoah was not with his wife when the angel first appeared to her. He wanted confirmation of the instructions which had been given to his wife, and he asked God to allow the angel to appear again. The angel appeared to Manoah's wife the second time, but she ran and fetched Manoah so that he might hear the instructions which were given to them. All his questions were answered, and he was thoroughly convinced of the special nature of Samson's life.

6.

Why did Manoah's wife refer to the angel as a man? Judges 13:10

The Angel of the Lord appeared to be a man. This was the normal way in which he made these appearances, beginning with the times when he appeared to Abraham and Hagar. Joshua thought he might be one of the soldiers and asked him whether he was for Israel or against them. Jacob wrestled with the Angel of the Lord as a man would wrestle with another man. Nonetheless, those who saw the Angel of the Lord knew that they had seen a theophany. God was revealing Himself in this visible manifestation.

7.

What additional demand was made of Samson? Judges 13:14

When the Angel of the Lord first appeared to Manoah's wife, he instructed her not to drink wine or strong drink. She was not to eat any unclean thing. At the time of the second appearance the Angel of the Lord told her not to eat anything which came from the vine. This additional demand was made on her and indicated that she was to live a life very similar to the clean and holy life demanded of a Nazarite. Such a prohibition was given to prevent a person from imbibing in anything which would cause him to lose any of the keenness of his natural senses. Such a person was holy and completely dedicated to God.

8.

Why did Manoah wish to make ready a kid? Judges 13:15

It is not stated that Manoah intended to prepare a kid for sacrifice. The Angel of the Lord did not know whether he was intending to sacrifice or to prepare a meal. Manoah may have been intending to show hospitality such as the hospitality extended by Abraham when the three men appeared to him (Genesis 18). As a result, the angel said that if he were preparing something for them to eat he would not be allowed to stay or to partake. He said also for Manoah to make his sacrifice to the Lord and not to him, a manifestation of one aspect of God's being.

9.

What miraculous feat did the angel perform? Judges 13:19-20

As Manoah and his wife looked on, the angel ascended through the flames of the sacrifice on the altar. God has chosen to reveal Himself on many occasions through such phenomena as fires and flames. It was a burning bush through which Moses came to learn God's will for his life (Exodus 3). It was a fire which came from heaven to burn up the sacrifice on Mount Carmel and convince Israel of her apostasy (1 Kings 18). God's final judgment will be meted out as the heavens and the earth are destroyed with the fervent heat (2 Peter 3). Such an ascension as the one demonstrated by the Angel of the Lord to Manoah and his wife impressed them with the holiness of God, whom they served.

10.

Why did Manoah think they would die? Judges 13:22

Manoah knew it was not possible for a man to see God and live (Exodus 33:17 ff.). When he saw the angel do his wondrous deed, he knew he was standing in the presence of the angel who appeared in God's stead on many occasions throughout the history of the Old Testament. He was like Jacob, who thought he had seen God face to face. As a result, he expected to be smitten and to die.

11.

What was the conclusion of Manoah's wife? Judges 13:23

Manoah's wife reasoned more logically than he did. God had accepted the sacrifice of this humble, God-fearing couple. She said God would not receive their sacrifice if He were intending to destroy them. When her husband became fearful at the appearance of the Angel of the Lord, his wife comforted him with this conviction which she expressed.

12.

Where was Eshtaol? Judges 13:25

Eshtaol was in the hill country leading up from the Mediterranean seacoast to the mountains of Judah. It is named next after Zorah in Joshua 15:33 and again in Joshua 19:41. The camp of Dan lay between these two cities, and here the Spirit of the Lord began to move Samson as we read in this passage. He was buried here also as is recorded in Judges 16:31. Later a contingent from Eshtaol formed part of the force of the Danites who captured Lachish in the northern part of Israel's territory (Judges 18:2; Judges 18:11). Some believe it is represented by the modern Ashu-'a about a mile and a half east of Zorah.