Judges 13

Judges 13:1 But the sons of Israel again did what was evil in Yahveh’s eyes, so Yahveh gave them over to the Philistines’ hands forty years.

Judges 13:2 There was one man from Zorah, from the family of Dan, whose name was Manoah; his wife was unable to conceive and had no children.

Judges 13:3 The agent of Yahveh appeared to the woman and said to her, “I noticed that you are unable to conceive and have no children, but you will conceive and give birth to a son.

Judges 13:4 Now be really careful not to drink wine or beer, or to eat anything unclean;

Judges 13:5 because notice, you will conceive and give birth to a son. You must never cut his hair because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from birth, and he will begin to rescue Israel from the power of the Philistines.”

Judges 13:6 Then the woman went and told her husband, “A man of God came to me. He looked like the awe-inspiring agent of God. I didn’t ask him where he came from, and he didn’t tell me his name.

Judges 13:7 He said to me, ‘You will conceive and give birth to a son. Therefore, do not drink wine or beer, and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from birth until the day of his death.'”

Judges 13:8 Manoah prayed to Yahveh and said, “Excuse me, Lord, let the man of God you sent come again to us and teach us what we should do for the boy who will be born.”

Judges 13:9 God listened to Manoah, and the agent of God came again to the woman. She was sitting in the field, and her husband, Manoah, was not with her.

Judges 13:10 The woman dashed to her husband and told him, “The man who came to me the other day has just come back!”

Judges 13:11 So Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he asked, “Are you the man who spoke to my wife?” “I am,” he said.

Judges 13:12 Then Manoah asked, “When your words come true, what will be the boy’s judgment and work?”

Judges 13:13 The agent of Yahveh answered Manoah, “Your wife needs to do everything I told her.

Judges 13:14 She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine or drink wine or beer. And she must not eat anything unclean. Your wife must do everything I have commanded her.”

Judges 13:15 “Please stay here,” Manoah told the agent, “and we will prepare a young goat for you.”

Judges 13:16 The agent of Yahveh said to him, “If I stay, I won’t eat your food. But if you want to prepare a burnt offering, offer it to Yahveh.” (Manoah did not know he was the agent of Yahveh.)

Judges 13:17 Then Manoah said to him, “What is your name, so that we may honor you when your words come true?”

Judges 13:18 “Why do you ask my name,” the agent of Yahveh asked him, “since he is miraculous.”

Judges 13:19 Manoah took a young goat and a grain offering and offered them on a rock to Yahveh, who did some miracle while Manoah and his wife were watching.

Judges 13:20 When the flame went up from the altar to the sky, the agent of Yahveh went up in its flame. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell face-down on the ground.

Judges 13:21 The agent of Yahveh did not appear again to Manoah and his wife. Then Manoah realized that it was the agent of Yahveh.

Judges 13:22 “We’re absolutely going to die,” he said to his wife, “because we have seen God!”

Judges 13:23 But his wife said to him, “If Yahveh had intended to kill us, he wouldn’t have accepted the burnt offering and the grain offering from us, and he would not have shown us all these things or spoken to us like this.”

Judges 13:24 So the woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson. The boy grew, and Yahveh empowered him.

Judges 13:25 Then the Breath of Yahveh began to stir him in the Camp of Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Judges 13 quotes:

“The Nazirite status of Samson, which emphasizes a God-sent charisma, aligns him with other judges of the tradition. He is not an unusual judge if one realizes that “to judge” in Judges is not to sit soberly at court. Judges make decisions based upon divine inspiration. They command respect as leaders because of the perception that the spirit of God is within them, and their battle prowess sometimes places them on the outer borders of sanity. Samson takes his place among the book’s other “primitive rebels” and “social bandits” who break the laws of the establishment to help the oppressed.”

Niditch Susan. Judges: A Commentary. 1st ed. Westminster John Knox Press 2008. p. 143.