Judges 13:2

2 And 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;

Judges 13:2 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 13:2

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 ) ( 19:41 ) ; (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 Josephus {g}; though the Talmudists ^F8 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 said ^F9 to be Zalalponith; see ( 1 Chronicles 4:3 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F7 Antique. l. 5. c. 8. sect. 2.
F8 T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 61. 1.
F9 T. Bab. Bava Bathra, fol. 91. 1. Juchasin, fol. 10. 8.

Judges 13:2 In-Context

1 And 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.

2 And 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;

3 and 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.

4 And, now, take heed, I pray thee, and do not drink wine, and strong drink, and do not eat any unclean thing,

5 for, 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.'