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Judges Chapter
Thirteen
Judges 13
Outlines
New King James Version (NKJV)
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, Judges 13:1 upon
whose entreaty the angel appeared again, and related the same to them both, Judges 13:8 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, Judges 13:15 and
the chapter is closed with an account of the birth of Samson, and of his being
early endowed with the Spirit of God, Judges 13:24.
Judges 13:1 Again
the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord delivered them
into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.
YLT
1And the sons of Israel add
to do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, and Jehovah giveth them into the
hand of the Philistines forty years.
And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord,.... Committed
idolatry, which was the evil they were prone unto, and were frequently guilty
of:
and the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines
forty years: which according to JosephusF6Ibid. (Antiqu. l. 5.) c.
8. sect. 1. are to be reckoned from the death of the last judge, and the time
of Samson's birth; or rather from some time after the death of Jephthah,
particularly taking in the two last years of Ibzan, when the Ephraimites having
been weakened through the slaughter of them by Jephthah, might encourage the
Philistines to break in upon them; from which time to the birth of Samson were
twenty years, and twenty more may be allowed before he could begin to deliver
Israel out of their hands; so that the oppression lasted forty years. According
to others, it began at the same time as the oppression of the Ammonites did,
though it lasted longer, Judges 10:7.
Judges 13:2 2 Now there was a certain
man from Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and
his wife was barren and had no children.
YLT
2And there is a certain man
of Zorah, of the family of the Danite, and his name [is] Manoah, his wife [is]
barren, and hath not borne;
And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites,.... Of the
tribe of Dan, in which tribe Zorah was, and seems to have lain both on the
borders of Judah and Dan, Joshua 15:33; See
Gill on Joshua 15:33; see
Gill on Joshua 19:41, and
this man was not a mean man, but of rank and figure, a principal man in the
country, according to JosephusF7Antique. l. 5. c. 8. sect. 2. ;
though the TalmudistsF8T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 61. 1. say he was a
plebeian:
whose name was Manoah; which signifies
"rest", and has much the same signification as Noah; and by this name
he was well known in those times, and among his people:
and his wife was barren, and bare not; had no child,
as the Targum; and it is observed by many, that several eminent persons were
born of women that had been barren, as Isaac, Jacob, Samuel, and John the
Baptist; and it is remarkable, that the strongest man that ever was born of
such a woman, as the following account relates. The name of this woman, the mother
of Samson, is saidF9T. Bab. Bava Bathra, fol. 91. 1. Juchasin, fol.
10. 8. to be Zalalponith; see 1 Chronicles 4:3.
Judges 13:3 3 And the Angel of the Lord appeared to
the woman and said to her, “Indeed now, you are barren and have borne no
children, but you shall conceive and bear a son.
YLT
3and a messenger of Jehovah
appeareth unto the woman, and saith unto her, `Lo, I pray thee, thou [art] barren,
and hast not borne; when thou hast conceived, then thou hast borne a son.
And the angel of the Lord appeared unto the woman,.... According
to JosephusF11Antiqu. l. 5. c. 8. sect. 2. , it was in a plain
without the city; and that he appeared in the form of a man is certain from Judges 13:6 but was
not a mere man, a prophet of the Lord, nor a created angel, but the uncreated
one, the Angel of the covenant, the Son and Word of God, who often appeared in
an human form; since his name is said to be "Wonderful", and he to do
wonderful things, and is called "Jehovah", Judges 13:18,
and said unto her, behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not; barren at
that time, and so she had been ever since she was married to that time; and
this is observed, that it might appear the more wonderful that she should after
this have a child:
but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; which to do,
must be ascribed to divine power, that one in her circumstances should bear a
son; as the prediction of it was owing to divine omniscience, and a proof of
it.
Judges 13:4 4 Now therefore, please be
careful not to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything
unclean.
YLT
4And, now, take heed, I pray
thee, and do not drink wine, and strong drink, and do not eat any unclean
thing,
Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong
drink,.... Any liquor inebriating and intoxicating, neither new wine
nor old wine, as the Targum, and so Jarchi; the reason of this appears in the
next verse, because the child she should conceive and bear was to be a
Nazarite, and to be one from his mother's womb; and from all such liquors,
Nazarites, according to the law, were to abstain, Numbers 6:3.
and eat not any unclean thing; meaning not so much such
sort of food as was forbidden by the law to be eaten, which every Israelite was
to abstain from, but such as were particularly forbidden to Nazarites, as moist
and dried grapes, or anything made of the vine tree, from the kernel to the
husk, Numbers 6:3. The
reason of this is, because the child in the womb is nourished with the same the
mother is; and as this child was to be a Nazarite from the womb, and even in
it, his mother was to abstain both from eatables and drinkables forbidden a
Nazarite by the law.
Judges 13:5 5 For behold, you shall
conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child
shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel
out of the hand of the Philistines.”
YLT
5for, lo, thou art
conceiving and bearing a son, and a razor doth not go up on his head, for a
Nazarite to God is the youth from the womb, and he doth begin to save Israel
out of the hand of the Philistines.'
For, lo, thou shalt conceive and bear a son,.... Which is
not only repeated for the confirmation of it, but that she might take notice
that he was to be a Nazarite, and therefore must conform to everything
agreeable to the law of the Nazarites, and take care that it was observed in
him:
and no razor shall come on his head; to cut off the hair of
it, not from the time of his birth to his death; for he was to be a perpetual
Nazarite: other Nazarites during the time of their Nazariteship were not to
suffer a razor to come upon them, but afterwards might; but for such an one as
Samson, it was not lawful ever to suffer his hair to be cut off; see Numbers 6:5.
for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb; in which he
was a type of Christ, who was sanctified by the Lord, separated from sinners,
and called a "Nazarene": was born of a virgin, as Samson was of a
barren woman, and his birth foretold by an angel as this:
and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the
Philistines; for the salvation he wrought for Israel was not complete and
perfect; it was only begun by him, and carried on in the times of Eli, Samuel,
and Saul, and perfected by David. In this his antitype exceeds him, who is the
author of the complete salvation of his people out of the hands of all their
enemies, sin, Satan, and the world; though in this there is a great resemblance
between Samson and our Lord Jesus, in that what he did he did himself alone;
not at the head of an army, and with forces under him, as other judges; so
Christ with his own arm, and of himself, and without others, wrought salvation
for his people; see Isaiah 63:5.
Judges 13:6 6 So the woman came and told
her husband, saying, “A Man of God came to me, and His countenance was
like the countenance of the Angel of God, very awesome; but I did not ask Him
where He was from, and He did not tell me His name.
YLT
6And the woman cometh and
speaketh to her husband, saying, `A man of God hath come unto me, and his
appearance [is] as the appearance of a messenger of God, very fearful, and I have
not asked him whence he [is], and his name he hath not declared to me;
Then the woman came and told her husband,.... To whom
it would be joyful news, as it was to her:
saying, a man of God came unto me; he appeared in an human
form, and therefore she calls him a man; and by his mien and deportment, and
the message he brought, she concluded he was a man of God, that is, a prophet;
by which name such persons went in those days; and so the Targum calls him a
prophet of the Lord: but it is a mere conceit of Ben Gersom that it was
Phinehas, who in all probability was not living; besides what is after related
shows that this was a divine Person, and no other than the Son of God:
and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God,
very terrible; for though she might never have seen an angel, yet it being a
common notion that angels were very illustrious, of a beautiful form and of a
shining countenance, and very majestic, she compares the man she saw to one;
for by being "very terrible", is not meant that he was frightful, and
struck her with horror, but venerable and majestic, which filled her with
admiration:
but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his
name; this she added to prevent her husband's inquiring about his name
and place of abode; and perhaps, as she came along, she reflected on herself
that she did not ask those questions; which might be owing to the surprise she
was in, partly at the awful and venerable appearance of the person, and partly
at the joyful news he brought her; though it seems as if she did ask his name,
but he did not tell her what it was.
Judges 13:7 7 And He said to me,
‘Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. Now drink no wine or similar
drink, nor eat anything unclean, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from
the womb to the day of his death.’”
YLT
7and he saith to me, Lo,
thou art pregnant, and bearing a son, and now do not drink wine and strong
drink, and do not eat any unclean thing, for a Nazarite to God is the youth
from the womb till the day of his death.'
But he said unto me, behold, thou shalt conceive and bear a son,.... She says
nothing of her barrenness, which the angel took notice of to her, that having
been to her reproach:
and now drink no wine nor strong drink; neither new
wine nor old wine; so the Targum as before:
neither eat any unclean thing; which was so in a
ceremonial sense; otherwise every creature of God is good, and not to be called
common or unclean; it here respects what was forbidden Nazarites to eat; see Judges 13:4.
for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb; it is here
added, what is not before expressed:
unto his death; for he was to be a perpetual Nazarite; some
were only Nazarites for a time, for so many days or months, according to their
vow; but this son was to be a Nazarite all his days, by the appointment of God;
nor is it any objection to what is here said, that his hair was cut off before
his death, which caused his Nazariteship to cease; since these words are not a
prophecy, but a precept; and besides, that affair happened but a little before
his death, he died quickly afterwards.
Judges 13:8 8 Then Manoah prayed to the Lord, and said, “O
my Lord, please let the Man of God whom You sent come to us again and teach us
what we shall do for the child who will be born.”
YLT
8And Manoah maketh entreaty
unto Jehovah, and saith, `O, my Lord, the man of God whom Thou didst send, let
him come in, I pray thee, again unto us, and direct us what we do to the youth
who is born.'
Then Manoah entreated the Lord,.... JosephusF12Ut
supra, (Antiqu. l. 5. c. 8.) sect. 3. makes the woman to entreat the Lord; but
the text is clear for it that it was Manoah that prayed:
and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send unto
us; he believed that the man that came to his wife was a man of God,
and that he was of his sending; nor was he incredulous of the message he
brought, as appears by what follows:
and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born; he believed
there would be a child born, and he knew what was to be done to a Nazarite in
common, according to the law of God respecting such, and the angel had
mentioned somewhat to the woman; yet this being an extraordinary case, a
Nazarite from his birth to his death, he was desirous of knowing what was
further to be done; or if there was any thing more special and particular to be
observed concerning him; which showed his readiness and cheerfulness to obey
the will of God in all things.
Judges 13:9 9 And God listened to the
voice of Manoah, and the Angel of God came to the woman again as she was
sitting in the field; but Manoah her husband was not with her.
YLT
9And God hearkeneth to the
voice of Manoah, and the messenger of God cometh again unto the woman, and she
[is] sitting in a field, and Manoah her husband is not with her,
And God hearkened unto the voice of Manoah,.... Heard his
prayer and answered it:
and the angel of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the
field; who very likely returned to the same place where she was before,
in hope her husband's prayers would be heard, and the man return and come to
her where he had before met her; as well as she might be here retired for
meditation and prayer; unless it can be supposed that she had business here to
do, as keeping a flock of sheep, which women, and those great personages too,
were wont to do in those times and countries, as Rebekah the sister of Laban,
and the daughters of Jethro, prince of Midian:
but Manoah her husband was not with her; the angel
appeared to the woman again, because she would know him to be the same; whereas
had he appeared to Manoah, especially alone, he could not have known whether he
was the same or not. This clause is observed for the sake of what follows.
Judges 13:10 10 Then the woman ran in
haste and told her husband, and said to him, “Look, the Man who came to me the other
day has just now appeared to me!”
YLT
10and the woman hasteth, and
runneth, and declareth to her husband, and saith unto him, `Lo, he hath
appeared unto me -- the man who came on [that] day unto me.'
And the woman made haste, and ran,.... It is not improbable
what Josephus saysF13Antiqu. l. 5. c. 8. sect. 3. , that she entreated
the angel to stay a little till she fetched her husband, which he assented to,
and then made all the haste she could to him, partly through eagerness to
acquaint him with it, and partly that she might not make the prophet she took
him to be wait too long:
and showed her husband; that his prayer was
heard:
and said unto him, behold, the man hath appeared unto me that came
unto me the other day; or, as the Targum, "this day"; so
Kimchi and Ben Melech; for the word "other" is not in the text. It is
very probable it was the same day he came again he had appeared to her; perhaps
it was in the former part of the day he first came to her, when she went home
to her husband, and acquainted him with it, who prayed to the Lord that he
might be sent again; and then she returned to her place in the field, and in
the latter part of the day the angel appeared again.
Judges 13:11 11 So Manoah arose and
followed his wife. When he came to the Man, he said to Him, “Are You the Man
who spoke to this woman?” And He said, “I am.”
YLT
11And Manoah riseth, and
goeth after his wife, and cometh unto the man, and saith to him, `Art thou the
man who spake unto the woman?' and he saith, `I [am].'
And Manoah arose and went after his wife,.... As soon
as she had delivered the above, she made all the haste she could to the man
again, lest he should think her too long, and depart; and it was proper enough
she should go first, to direct her husband where the man was; Jarchi interprets
it, after her counsel and advice:
and came to the man, and said unto him, art thou the man that
spakest unto the woman? meaning his wife then present:
and he said, I am; the very same person; for though he was not
a man, yet appearing in an human form was taken for one; and therefore makes
answer according to the supposition of him, and was the selfsame person, and in
the same form he had appeared before.
Judges 13:12 12 Manoah said, “Now let Your
words come to pass! What will be the boy’s rule of life, and his work?”
YLT
12And Manoah saith, `Now let
thy words come to pass; what is the custom of the youth -- and his work?'
And Manoah said, now let thy words come to pass,.... Which was
not only a wish that they might, but a prayer of faith that they would come
pass:
how shall we order the child? and how shall we do unto him? he believed a
child would be born, and as he was to be a Nazarite, he knew what were the
rules and orders to be observed concerning one in common; but as he was to be
an extraordinary one, he was desirous of knowing what particular laws and rules
were to be observed with respect to him, or what more was to be done to him
than to another: the words may be rendered, as in the margin of our Bibles,
"what shall be the judgment of the child, and his work?" and seems to
relate not to what should be done to it, but what that should do; for being an
extraordinary Nazarite, he supposed that some extraordinary work would be done
by him, and he was curious to know it; and so Abarbinel interprets it of his
request to know things future and wonderful, that should be done after the
child was grown up; but this the angel chose not to inform him of, since it
might have been prejudicial to them, should the Philistines get knowledge that
this child would be a judge and saviour of Israel, and do such and such things
to them as he did, they would have sought to have slain his wife while she bare
him, or the child when born; and it may be observed, that though the angel told
the woman at first, that he should "begin to deliver Israel out of the hand
of the Philistines", Judges 13:5, yet
she said nothing of it to her husband, nor did the angel repeat it.
Judges 13:13 13 So the Angel of the Lord said to
Manoah, “Of all that I said to the woman let her be careful.
YLT
13And the messenger of
Jehovah saith unto Manoah, `Of all that I said unto the woman let her take
heed;
And the angel of the Lord said unto Manoah,.... Giving
him no direct answer to his question, either what should be done to the child,
or what that should do; only reminds of and repeats what he had said to his
wife, which she should be careful to observe and would, and that was enough for
him to know:
of all that I said to the woman, let her beware; take to
abstain from everything in eating and drinking during the time of her going
with child, he had joined, which are particularly repeated in the next verse.
Judges 13:14 14 She may not eat anything
that comes from the vine, nor may she drink wine or similar drink, nor
eat anything unclean. All that I commanded her let her observe.”
YLT
14of anything which cometh
out from the wine-vine she doth not eat, and wine and strong drink she doth not
drink, and any unclean thing she doth not eat; all that I have commanded her
she doth observe.'
She may not eat of anything that cometh from the vine,.... Grapes
moist or dried, kernels, or husks, or anything made of them:
neither let her drink wine, or strong drink; as she was to
be careful to abstain from such liquors, so her husband also is enjoined not to
suffer her to drink any:
nor eat any unclean thing; which was so by the law
of Moses, and particularly by the law of the Nazarites:
all that I commanded her, let her observe; both with
respect to herself and the child.
Judges 13:15 15 Then Manoah said to the
Angel of the Lord,
“Please let us detain You, and we will prepare a young goat for You.”
YLT
15And Manoah saith unto the
messenger of Jehovah, `Let us detain thee, we pray thee, and prepare before
thee a kid of the goats.'
And Manoah said unto the angel of the Lord,.... Being
satisfied with what he had said, and perceiving that he chose to say no more,
and was about to depart:
I pray thee let me detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid
for thee; to eat a meal with them, in token of gratitude for the trouble
he had been at in bringing these messages to them, taking him to be a man, a
prophet of the Lord, for whom they were wont to make entertainments; and
Abarbinel thinks Manoah proposed this, on purpose to detain him, in hope that
while they were eating together he would reveal some secrets unto him.
Judges 13:16 16 And the Angel of the Lord said to
Manoah, “Though you detain Me, I will not eat your food. But if you offer a
burnt offering, you must offer it to the Lord.” (For Manoah did not
know He was the Angel of the Lord.)
YLT
16And the messenger of
Jehovah saith unto Manoah, `If thou detain me -- I do not eat of thy bread; and
if thou prepare a burnt-offering -- to Jehovah thou dost offer it;' for Manoah
hath not known that He [is] a messenger of Jehovah.
And the angel of the Lord said unto Manoah,.... In answer
to his request:
though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread; that is,
should he be prevailed upon to stay awhile with him, until an entertainment
should be got ready, he would not eat of any of his provisions; for
"bread" is put for all eatables, or whatsoever he might provide for
the entertainment:
and if, or "but if"F14ואם
"si autem", V. L. "quod si", Tigurine version; "sin
autem", Junius & Tremellius; "si vero", Piscator. .
thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the Lord; if he meant
to provide not a festival entertainment, but a sacrifice, then he should take
care that he did not offer it to strange gods, as was now very much the custom
with Israel in this their time of apostasy, Judges 13:1 but to
the true Jehovah, and not to a servant of his, a prophet or an angel, but to
himself:
for Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the Lord; he took him
to be a man, a prophet sent of God, and not an angel; and much less the
uncreated one, to whom as such only the sacrifice could be offered.
Judges 13:17 17 Then Manoah said to the
Angel of the Lord,
“What is Your name, that when Your words come to pass we may
honor You?”
YLT
17And Manoah saith unto the
messenger of Jehovah, `What [is] thy name? when thy words come to pass, then we
have honoured thee.'
And Manoah said unto the angel of the Lord, what is thy name,.... Who art
thou, and by what name art thou called? for since he could not prevail upon him
to stay and eat a meal with him, he desired to know his name, and where he
lived, that when he heard his name mentioned he might speak well of him, or
send to him upon occasion; or if any message was sent from him, as Jarchi
suggests, that he might show a respect to him, and observe it: and
particularly:
that when thy sayings come to pass, we may do thee honour? say that such
a prophet, whose name is such, and lives in such a place, foretold these
things; or that they might send him a present, in gratitude for, and as a
reward of his service and trouble; so the reward of a labourer, and the
maintenance of a Gospel minister, is called "honour", 1 Timothy 5:17 and
thus JosephusF15Antiqu. l. 5. c. 8. sect. 3. understood it, that
they might give him thanks, and send him a present.
Judges 13:18 18 And the Angel of the Lord said to him,
“Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?”
YLT
18And the messenger of
Jehovah saith to him, `Why [is] this -- thou dost ask for My name? -- and it
[is] Wonderful.'
And the angel of the Lord said unto him,.... Being so
importunate, and pressing upon him:
why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret? and not to be
known; as his nature and essence as a divine Person, which may be meant by his
name, is what passes knowledge, is infinite and incomprehensible; see Proverbs 30:4 or
"wonderful"F16פלאי θαυμαστον, Sept.
"mirabile", V. L. Montanus; "mirificus", Junius &
Tremellius. ; which is one of the names of Christ, and fitly agrees with him,
who is wonderful in his person, as God and man; in his incarnation, in his
offices and relations, in his love to his people, and in all he is unto them,
and has done for them; See Gill on Isaiah 9:6.
Judges 13:19 19 So Manoah took the young
goat with the grain offering, and offered it upon the rock to the Lord. And He did a
wondrous thing while Manoah and his wife looked on—
YLT
19And Manoah taketh the kid
of the goats, and the present, and offereth on the rock to Jehovah, and He is
doing wonderfully, and Manoah and his wife are looking on,
So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering,.... The kid
which he proposed to make an entertainment with, for the man of God, he took
him to be, he fetched and brought for a burnt offering, at the hint which the
angel had given him, and joined to it a meat offering, as was usual whenever
burnt offerings were made; see Numbers 15:3,
and offered it upon a rock unto the Lord; for though
Manoah was not a priest, nor was this a proper place for sacrifice; high places
were now forbidden, and only at the tabernacle in Shiloh were offerings to be
brought; yet all this was dispensed with, and Manoah was justified in what he
did by the warrant of the angel, Judges 13:16. The
rock was probably near the place where this meeting of Manoah and his wife with
the angel was, and where the discourse between them passed; and which served
instead of an altar, and on which Manoah sacrificed, not to idols, but to the
true Jehovah, as the angel directed:
and the angel did wondrously; agreeably to his name,
which was "Wonderful", Judges 13:18 or
"he, Jehovah, did wondrously" for this angel was no other than
Jehovah the Son. The instance in which he did wondrously was, as Kimchi
observes, by bringing fire out of the rock, which consumed the flesh of the
kid, and the meat offering; and so JosephusF17Ut supra. (Antiqu. l.
5. c. 8. sect. 3.) says, that he touched the flesh with a rod he had, and fire
sparkled out, and consumed it with the bread, or meat offering; just in the
same manner as the angel did with the kid and cakes that Gideon brought, Judges 6:21.
and Manoah and his wife looked on; to see either fire come
down from heaven, or spring up out of the rock, which consumed the sacrifice,
and showed the Lord's acceptance of it, and also the angel's ascending in it,
as follows.
Judges 13:20 20 it happened as the flame
went up toward heaven from the altar—the Angel of the Lord ascended in
the flame of the altar! When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell on
their faces to the ground.
YLT
20and it cometh to pass, in
the going up of the flame from off the altar toward the heavens, that the
messenger of Jehovah goeth up in the flame of the altar, and Manoah and his
wife are looking on, and they fall on their faces to the earth,
For it came to pass, when the flame went up towards heaven from
off the altar,.... That is, from the rock, which served instead of an altar,
and from whence perhaps the fire sprung which consumed both the burnt offering
and the meat offering, the flame of which went up to heaven; this rock or altar
having no covering, but was "sub dio", open to the heavens:
that the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar; making use of
the smoke, as JosephusF18Ibid. (Antiqu. l. 5. c. 8. sect. 3.) says,
as a vehicle in which he openly went up to heaven:
and Manoah and his wife looked on it; on the flame
and smoke, and the angel in it as he ascended; just as the disciples of Christ
looked steadfastly on him as he went up to heaven, when a cloud received him
out of their sight, Acts 1:9.
and fell on their faces to the ground; with
astonishment and surprise at what they saw, through fear and reverence of the
divine Being, of whose presence they were now sensible, and as worshipping of
him, and praying to him.
Judges 13:21 21 When the Angel of the Lord appeared no
more to Manoah and his wife, then Manoah knew that He was the Angel of
the Lord.
YLT
21and the messenger of
Jehovah hath not added again to appear unto Manoah, and unto his wife, then
hath Manoah known that He [is] a messenger of Jehovah.
But the angel of the Lord did no more appear to Manoah and to his
wife,.... As the flame and smoke ascended, he disappeared therewith,
and was seen no more:
then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the Lord; by the
wondrous things he did, causing fire to come down from heaven, or out of the
rock, ascending in the midst of the flame, without being hurt by it, and going
up to heaven in it.
Judges 13:22 22 And Manoah said to his
wife, “We shall surely die, because we have seen God!”
YLT
22And Manoah saith unto his
wife, `We certainly die, for we have seen God.'
And Manoah said unto his wife,.... Being risen from the
ground, where they fell on their faces:
we shall surely die, because we have seen God; by which it
appears that he not only believed him to be an angel, and not a man, but a
divine Person; for though angels are sometimes called "Elohim", the
word here used, yet good men were not wont to fear death, or conclude they
should die on sight of an angel; but their notion was, that an appearance of
God to them was death, and were surprised when it did not follow, Genesis 32:30.
Judges 13:23 23 But his wife said to him,
“If the Lord
had desired to kill us, He would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain
offering from our hands, nor would He have shown us all these things,
nor would He have told us such things as these at this time.”
YLT
23And his wife saith to him,
`If Jehovah were desirous to put us to death, He had not received from our
hands burnt-offering and present, nor shewed us all these things, nor as [at
this] time caused us to hear [anything] like this.'
But his wife said unto him,.... Who was less
fearful, and the strongest believer of the two, seeing her husband so very much
intimidated, endeavoured to comfort and strengthen him by the three following
arguments:
if the Lord was pleased to kill us, he would not have received a
burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands; for it was at the
direction of this illustrious Person that they offered these offerings, and who
testified the divine acceptance of them, by causing fire in an extraordinary
manner to consume them, which was always reckoned a token of God's acceptance
of them; and besides, the angel went up in the flame, as being well pleased
with them, and, as it were, carrying up the sacrifice to heaven with him, as a
sweetsmelling savour to God. Here the angel is called Jehovah by the woman, and
shows this was the uncreated angel:
neither would he have showed us all these things; which they
saw as the appearance of a divine Person to them in an human form, the
consuming of the sacrifice by fire in so strange a manner, and the ascent of
the angel heavenwards in the flame of it:
nor would, as at this time, have told us such things as
these; as that they should have a son; how the woman was to manage
herself, while with child of him; and how when born he was to be brought up,
and what things God would do by him, and begin to deliver Israel out of the
hand of the Philistines. Now all this would not have been told at such a time
of distress, as the nation was now in, but to comfort them, or he would never
have told them of a son to be born of them, if they were to be destroyed
immediately. So an enlightened soul may reason from the sight and sense he has
had of his sinful, lost, and undone state by nature; from the revelation of
Christ to him as the only way of salvation; from the views he has had of the
glories of his person, and the riches of his grace; and from that communion
with God he has sometimes enjoyed; from all this he may reason, that if God had
a design to damn him for his sins, he would never have made such discoveries of
love, grace, and mercy to him; as well as from the sacrifice of Christ, God has
provided and accepted of, on the foot of which justice is engaged to save; and
besides, grace and glory are inseparable.
Judges 13:24 24 So the woman bore a son
and called his name Samson; and the child grew, and the Lord blessed him.
YLT
24And the woman beareth a
son, and calleth his name Samson, and the youth groweth, and Jehovah doth bless
him,
And the woman bare a son, and called name Samson,.... After
these appearances were over, Manoah and his wife returned to their habitation,
and she soon became pregnant, and at the usual course of time brought forth a
son, and she gave him the name of Samson; for what reason it is not easy to
determine. Josephus saysF19Ut supra, (Antiqu. l. 5. c. 8.) sect. 4.
the word signifies "strong"; perhaps he was born a strong robust
child, which is not unlikely, or the woman might have some prophetic hint of
his future strength, and so gave him this name; but the word has not the
signification of strength in it; it rather signifies the sun, which is indeed a
strong body, and is compared to a strong man running his race, and so a strong
man may be compared to that; but rather, with respect to the sun, this name
might be given him, because of the splendour of his countenance with which he
might be born, or in memory of the shining countenance of the angel which
brought the tidings of his birth, or because he was to be the instrument of
dispelling the darkness of calamity and distress Israel were now in: but the
word more properly signifies a minister or servant, from whence the sun has its
name; for Samson was to be, and was, a minister and servant of God, and of his
people Israel. There is an agreement between the type and the antitype in this
name in either sense. Christ is the mighty God, and mighty Saviour, the sun of
righteousness, the light of the world, and the deliverer of his people from
darkness of calamity and distress; and who came not to be ministered unto, but
to minister and perform the great service of redemption and salvation:
and the child grew in bodily strength and stature, and grew up
to man's estate, Luke 2:40.
and the Lord blessed him; not only with
extraordinary strength of body, but with great endowments of mind, with the
Spirit and graces of the Spirit; with grace, and blessings of it, and with his
gracious presence; with this compare Psalm 21:3.
Judges 13:25 25 And the Spirit of the Lord began to move
upon him at Mahaneh Dan[a] between
Zorah and Eshtaol.
YLT
25and the Spirit of Jehovah
beginneth to move him in the camp of Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
And the Spirit of the Lord began to move him at times in the camp
of Dan,.... To go out into it, in order to be trained up in and inured
to military exercises; or it began to "strike" his mind, inject
thoughts into it, and impress it with them concerning doing great things for
the people of God in time to come; and for the present put him upon doing
strange and wonderful exploits, which were omens of what was to be done by him
hereafter; and these were done by him now and then, not always, but as the
Spirit of God came upon him, under the impulse of which he did them, and by the
strength he gave him; so the Targum,"and the Spirit of strength from the
Lord began to strengthen him.'This camp of Dan was either a camp formed in that
tribe, to prevent the incursions of the Philistines; or rather, since it does
not seem that Israel had strength enough to resist them, they having got the
power over them, this was the name of a place called Mahanehdan near Kirjathjearim,
from the Danites encamping in it, when they went to besiege Laish, Judges 18:11 for
the fact was done before this time, though related afterwards:
between Zorah and Eshtaol; which were two cities in
the tribe of Dan, and upon the borders of the tribe of Judah; of which see Joshua 15:33. It
may be observed, that as the tribe of Dan lay near to the Philistines, and so
liable to their ravages, and might be most oppressed by them, so a deliverer of
Israel was raised up in this tribe.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)