Judges 13:7

7 but he told me, 'You're pregnant. You're going to give birth to a son. Don't drink any wine or beer and eat nothing ritually unclean. The boy will be God's Nazirite from the moment of birth to the day of his death.'"

Judges 13:7 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 13:7

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 13:7 In-Context

5 You are, in fact, pregnant right now, carrying a son. No razor will touch his head - the boy will be God's Nazirite from the moment of his birth. He will launch the deliverance from Philistine oppression."
6 The woman went to her husband and said, "A man of God came to me. He looked like the angel of God - terror laced with glory! I didn't ask him where he was from and he didn't tell me his name,
7 but he told me, 'You're pregnant. You're going to give birth to a son. Don't drink any wine or beer and eat nothing ritually unclean. The boy will be God's Nazirite from the moment of birth to the day of his death.'"
8 Manoah prayed to God: "Master, let the man of God you sent come to us again and teach us how to raise this boy who is to be born."
9 God listened to Manoah. God's angel came again to the woman. She was sitting in the field; her husband Manoah wasn't there with her.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.