Judges 13:12

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?"

Judges 13:12 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 13:12

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 13:12 In-Context

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."