Judges 13:6-16

6 The woman ran and told her husband, “A man of God appeared to me! He looked like one of God’s angels, terrifying to see. I didn’t ask where he was from, and he didn’t tell me his name.

7 But he told me, ‘You will become pregnant and give birth to a son. You must not drink wine or any other alcoholic drink nor eat any forbidden food. For your son will be dedicated to God as a Nazirite from the moment of his birth until the day of his death.’”

8 Then Manoah prayed to the LORD, saying, “Lord, please let the man of God come back to us again and give us more instructions about this son who is to be born.”

9 God answered Manoah’s prayer, and the angel of God appeared once again to his wife as she was sitting in the field. But her husband, Manoah, was not with her.

10 So she quickly ran and told her husband, “The man who appeared to me the other day is here again!”

11 Manoah ran back with his wife and asked, “Are you the man who spoke to my wife the other day?” “Yes,” he replied, “I am.”

12 So Manoah asked him, “When your words come true, what kind of rules should govern the boy’s life and work?”

13 The angel of the LORD replied, “Be sure your wife follows the instructions I gave her.

14 She must not eat grapes or raisins, drink wine or any other alcoholic drink, or eat any forbidden food.”

15 Then Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “Please stay here until we can prepare a young goat for you to eat.”

16 “I will stay,” the angel of the LORD replied, “but I will not eat anything. However, you may prepare a burnt offering as a sacrifice to the LORD .” (Manoah didn’t realize it was the angel of the LORD .)

Judges 13:6-16 Meaning and Commentary

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, Jud 13:1-7 upon whose entreaty the angel appeared again, and related the same to them both, Jud 13:8-14 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, Jud 13:15-23 and the chapter is closed with an account of the birth of Samson, and of his being early endowed with the Spirit of God, Jud 13:24,25.