Bible Study Judges 13
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Judges 13 · WEB

Samson's Birth Announced

Listen — WEB narration 0:00 / 0:00 Narration: World English Bible (David Williams), public domain — AudioTreasure.

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The children of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh; and Yahweh delivered them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.
2There was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and childless.
3The angel of Yahweh appeared to the woman and said to her, "Behold now, you are barren and childless; but you shall conceive and bear a son.
4Now therefore please beware and drink no wine or strong drink, and don't eat any unclean thing;
5for behold, you shall conceive and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head; for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to save Israel out of the hand of the Philistines."
6Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, "A man of God came to me, and his face was like the face of the angel of God, very awesome; and I didn't ask him where he was from, neither did he tell me his name.
7But he said to me, 'Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son; and now drink no wine or strong drink and eat no unclean thing; for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.'"
8Then Manoah entreated Yahweh and said, "Oh, Lord, please let the man of God whom you sent come again to us and teach us what we shall do for the child who shall be born."
9God 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, wasn't with her.
10The woman made haste and ran and told her husband and said to him, "Behold, the man has appeared to me who came to me the other day."
11Manoah arose and went after his wife, and came to the man and said to him, "Are you the man who spoke to the woman?" He said, "I am."
12Manoah said, "Now let your words happen. What shall be the child's way of life and his work?"
13The angel of Yahweh said to Manoah, "The woman shall abstain from all that I said to her.
14She shall not eat anything that comes from the grapevine. She shall not drink wine or strong drink. She shall not eat any unclean thing. All that I commanded her she shall observe."
15Manoah said to the angel of Yahweh, "Please stay, and we will prepare a young goat for you."
16The angel of Yahweh said to Manoah, "Though you detain me, I won't eat your food; but if you offer a burnt offering, offer it to Yahweh." For Manoah didn't know that he was the angel of Yahweh.
17Manoah said to the angel of Yahweh, "What is your name, that when your words happen, we may honor you?"
18The angel of Yahweh said to him, "Why do you ask my name, since it is wonderful?"
19So Manoah took the young goat with the meal offering and offered it on the rock to Yahweh; and the angel did wondrously; and Manoah and his wife looked on.
20For when the flame went up toward the sky from the altar, the angel of Yahweh ascended in the flame of the altar; and Manoah and his wife looked on; and they fell on their faces to the ground.
21But the angel of Yahweh didn't appear to Manoah or to his wife any more. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of Yahweh.
22Manoah said to his wife, "We shall surely die, because we have seen God."
23But his wife said to him, "If Yahweh were pleased to kill us, he wouldn't have received a burnt offering and a meal offering at our hand. He wouldn't have shown us all these things, nor would he have told us such things as these at this time."
24The woman bore a son and called his name Samson; and the child grew, and Yahweh blessed him.
25The Spirit of Yahweh began to move him in Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
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Summary

After forty years of Philistine oppression — the longest in the book — the angel of Yahweh appears to the barren wife of Manoah with the promise of a son who will be a Nazirite from birth and "begin to save Israel." Manoah prays for a second visitation and receives it, but neither he nor his wife yet recognizes the visitor as divine. When the angel ascends in the altar flame, they realize who he was. Manoah panics, but his unnamed wife reasons calmly and correctly about God's intentions. Samson is born and the Spirit begins to stir him.

Themes

  • Divine visitation and the announcement of a miraculous birth
  • The Nazirite vow and consecration to God
  • Manoah's wife as the calmer and wiser of the two parents
  • "Wonderful" as a divine name pointing to God's transcendence
  • The Spirit of Yahweh as the source of Samson's extraordinary powers

Key verses

  • Judg 13:18 — “The angel of Yahweh said to him, 'Why do you ask my name, since it is wonderful?'”
  • Judg 13:25 — “The Spirit of Yahweh began to move him in Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.”
  • Judg 13:5 — “For the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to save Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.”

Context & background

The events of Judges take place throughout Canaan — modern Israel, West Bank, and parts of Jordan and Lebanon. Zorah was in the Sorek Valley, in the foothills (Shephelah) between the Judean highlands and the coastal plain of modern Israel, near modern Tzor'a. The Philistines occupied the coastal plain of modern southwestern Israel/Gaza — their five major cities (Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, Gath) were all within 30 miles of Samson's birthplace. Mahaneh Dan ("camp of Dan") between Zorah and Eshtaol (both in modern Israel) is near where Samson's parents lived. The Sorek Valley (modern Nahal Sorek) runs east-west from the Jerusalem hills to the Mediterranean coast near modern Tel Aviv — it will be central to Samson's story.

Cross-references

  • Gen 18:1-15 — The announcement of Isaac's birth to barren Sarah by divine visitors, a pattern repeated here
  • Isa 9:6 — "Wonderful Counselor" — the same Hebrew root for "wonderful" as in Judg 13:18
  • John 3:8 — The Spirit moves where he wishes — the same sovereign movement of the Spirit seen in Samson
  • Luke 1:11-20 — The angel's announcement of John the Baptist's birth to Zechariah, another barren-womb annunciation
  • Num 6:1-21 — The Nazirite vow regulations that govern Samson's life from birth

Check your reading

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  1. Observe

    What three specific restrictions were part of Samson's Nazirite consecration from birth?

  2. Observe

    How did Manoah's wife respond when he feared they would die for seeing God?

  3. Interpret

    The angel says Samson will "begin to save" Israel. What does this limited scope suggest about his role?

  4. Interpret

    Why does the text repeatedly emphasize that the angel appeared first (and primarily) to Samson's wife rather than to Manoah?

  5. Apply

    Manoah's wife is never named, yet she displays greater theological clarity. How should this shape our view of whose voice carries wisdom?

  6. Apply

    The Nazirite vow called Samson to be visibly set apart for God. Where might God be calling you to a similar concrete consecration?

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