Judges 13:3-22

3 And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, "Although you are barren, having borne no children, you shall conceive and bear a son.
4 Now be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, or to eat anything unclean,
5 for you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor is to come on his head, for the boy shall be a nazirite to God from birth. It is he who shall begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines."
6 Then the woman came and told her husband, "A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like that of an angel of God, most awe-inspiring; I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name;
7 but he said to me, "You shall conceive and bear a son. So then drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for the boy shall be a nazirite to God from birth to the day of his death.' "
8 Then Manoah entreated the Lord, and said, "O Lord, I pray, let the man of God whom you sent come to us again and teach us what we are to do concerning the boy who will be born."
9 God listened to Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her.
10 So the woman ran quickly and told her husband, "The man who came to me the other day has appeared to me."
11 Manoah got up and followed 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 Then Manoah said, "Now when your words come true, what is to be the boy's rule of life; what is he to do?"
13 The angel of the Lord said to Manoah, "Let the woman give heed to all that I said to her.
14 She may not eat of anything that comes from the vine. She is not to drink wine or strong drink, or eat any unclean thing. She is to observe everything that I commanded her."
15 Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, "Allow us to detain you, and prepare a kid for you."
16 The angel of the Lord said to Manoah, "If you detain me, I will not eat your food; but if you want to prepare a burnt offering, then offer it to the Lord." (For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the Lord.)
17 Then Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, "What is your name, so that we may honor you when your words come true?"
18 But the angel of the Lord said to him, "Why do you ask my name? It is too wonderful."
19 So Manoah took the kid with the grain offering, and offered it on the rock to the Lord, to him who works wonders.
20 When the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar while Manoah and his wife looked on; and they fell on their faces to the ground.
21 The angel of the Lord did not appear again to Manoah and his wife. Then Manoah realized that it was the angel of the Lord.
22 And Manoah said to his wife, "We shall surely die, for we have seen God."

Judges 13:3-22 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JUDGES 13

This chapter relates the birth of Samson, another of the judges of Israel, which was foretold by an angel to his mother, who told her husband of it, Jud 13:1-7 upon whose entreaty the angel appeared again, and related the same to them both, Jud 13:8-14 and who was very, respectfully treated by the man, and by the wonderful things he did was known by him to be an angel of the Lord, which greatly surprised him, Jud 13:15-23 and the chapter is closed with an account of the birth of Samson, and of his being early endowed with the Spirit of God, Jud 13:24,25.

Footnotes 5

  • [a]. That is [one separated] or [one consecrated]
  • [b]. Or [the angel]
  • [c]. That is [one separated] or [one consecrated]
  • [d]. Gk Vg: Heb [and working]
  • [e]. Heb [wonders, while Manoah and his wife looked on]
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.