The Birth of Samson

13:1 The Israelites again did evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord handed them over to the Philistines for forty years. 13:2 There was a man named Manoah from Zorah, from the Danite tribe. His wife was infertile and childless. 13:3 The Lord’s angelic messenger appeared to the woman and said to her, “You are infertile and childless, but you will conceive and have a son. 13:4 Now be careful! Do not drink wine or beer, and do not eat any food that will make you ritually unclean. 13:5 Look, you will conceive and have a son. You must never cut his hair, for the child will be dedicated to God from birth. He will begin to deliver Israel from the power of the Philistines.” 13:6 The woman went and said to her husband, “A man sent from God came to me! He looked like God’s angelic messenger – he was very awesome. I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name. 13:7 He said to me, ‘Look, you will conceive and have a son. So now, do not drink wine or beer and do not eat any food that will make you ritually unclean. For the child will be dedicated to God from birth till the day he dies.’” 13:8 Manoah prayed to the Lord, “Please, Lord, allow the man sent from God to visit us again, so he can teach us how we should raise the child who will be born.” 13:9 God answered Manoah’s prayer. God’s angelic messenger visited the woman again while she was sitting in the field. But her husband Manoah was not with her. 13:10 The woman ran at once and told her husband, “Come quickly, the man who visited me the other day has appeared to me!” 13:11 So Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he met the man, he said to him, “Are you the man who spoke to my wife?” He said, “Yes.” 13:12 Manoah said, “Now, when your announcement comes true, how should the child be raised and what should he do?” 13:13 The Lord’s messenger told Manoah, “Your wife should pay attention to everything I told her. 13:14 She should not drink anything that the grapevine produces. She must not drink wine or beer, and she must not eat any food that will make her ritually unclean. She should obey everything I commanded her to do.” 13:15 Manoah said to the Lord’s messenger, “Please stay here awhile, so we can prepare a young goat for you to eat.” 13:16 The Lord’s messenger said to Manoah, “If I stay, I will not eat your food. But if you want to make a burnt sacrifice to the Lord, you should offer it.” (He said this because Manoah did not know that he was the Lord’s messenger.) 13:17 Manoah said to the Lord’s messenger, “Tell us your name, so we can honor you when your announcement comes true.” 13:18 The Lord’s messenger said to him, “You should not ask me my name, because you cannot comprehend it.” 13:19 Manoah took a young goat and a grain offering and offered them on a rock to the Lord. The Lord’s messenger did an amazing thing as Manoah and his wife watched. 13:20 As the flame went up from the altar toward the sky, the Lord’s messenger went up in it while Manoah and his wife watched. They fell facedown to the ground. 13:21 The Lord’s messenger did not appear again to Manoah and his wife. After all this happened Manoah realized that the visitor had been the Lord’s messenger. 13:22 Manoah said to his wife, “We will certainly die, because we have seen a supernatural being!” 13:23 But his wife said to him, “If the Lord wanted to kill us, he would not have accepted the burnt offering and the grain offering from us. He would not have shown us all these things, or have spoken to us like this just now.” 13:24 Manoah’s wife gave birth to a son and named him Samson. The child grew and the Lord empowered him. 13:25 The Lord’s spirit began to control him in Mahaneh Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol. Samson’s Unconsummated Marriage

Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible®, copyright ©1996, 2019 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

Israel again did evil, and the LORD gave them into Philistine rule for forty years. In that dark time, the LORD’s angelic messenger announced that Manoah’s barren wife would have a son. That child was to be set apart for God from birth. He would begin to rescue Israel from the Philistines. The LORD confirmed the message to Manoah and his wife through the messenger and through the offering on the altar. Samson was then born, and the LORD empowered him as the Spirit began to move him.

This passage begins with judgment. Israel had again done evil, so the LORD handed them over to the Philistines. But even in judgment, God showed mercy. Through his angelic messenger, he promised a son to Manoah’s wife, who had been unable to have children.

The child was to be holy to God from birth. His mother was told to avoid wine, beer, and anything unclean. His hair was never to be cut. These signs showed that he belonged to the LORD in a special way. The messenger said Samson would begin to deliver Israel. That means his work would start a rescue, but it would not finish it.

Manoah asked for more instruction, and the LORD answered him. The messenger repeated the command and would not be controlled or explained on human terms. When Manoah offered a sacrifice, the messenger went up in the flame, and they realized they had seen God’s messenger. Manoah feared death, but his wife reasoned better. Since the LORD had accepted the offering and spoken to them, they need not think he had come to destroy them.

The passage ends with Samson’s birth and growth. The LORD empowered him, and the Spirit of the LORD began to move him. The main point is not Samson’s own strength, but God’s power and God’s purpose to begin Israel’s rescue.

• Israel’s sin led to Philistine oppression for forty years.
• The LORD took the first step in rescue by promising a child through his messenger.
• The child was to be set apart for God from birth.
• Samson would begin Israel’s deliverance, not complete it.
• The LORD answered Manoah’s prayer for instruction.
• The angelic messenger showed that God’s presence is holy and cannot be managed by people.
• Samson’s strength would come from the LORD’s Spirit, not from himself.

• Warning: Israel’s evil led to judgment and oppression.
• Promise: the barren wife would bear a son.
• Command: the mother was not to drink wine or beer or eat unclean food.
• Command: the child was not to have his hair cut.
• Promise: the son would begin to rescue Israel from the Philistines.

God preserved Israel even while disciplining them. He raised up a child from a barren woman and set him apart for a task of deliverance. This showed that rescue would come by the LORD’s grace and Spirit, not by human power. Samson’s story also leaves the need for a greater and more faithful deliverer still before the reader.

Do not ignore God’s warnings. Sin brings discipline. Also, do not trust human strength or family effort to do God’s work. Ask the Lord for wisdom in raising children and obey what he says. The passage also reminds us that God can begin his work in weak and impossible situations. He is able to act when people cannot.

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