Judges 13 Footnotes

13:2-5 The fact the author mentions Samson’s father’s name (Manoah) eighteen times but does not mention his mother’s name even once is no indication that the Bible considers women to be less important than men (see note on 1:11-15). Lineage in ancient Israel was established through the male side of the family, not the female side. The mention of Samson’s mother in these verses, however, is not a detail incidental to the story but integral to it; her role is as significant as that of her husband. The angel of the Lord appeared to her twice (13:3,9) before encountering her husband for the first time (v. 11), and performed the same number of miracles for both of them (vv. 19-20). The author, moreover, depicts Samson’s mother as demonstrating better reasoning skills than her husband (vv. 22-23). This theme—the barren wife who, through the Lord’s intervention, bears a son who plays a significant role in the history of the people of God—occurs several times in Scripture: Sarah (Gn 17:19), Hannah (1Sm 1:19-20), and Elizabeth (Lk 1:13) are notable.

13:4 Manoah’s wife was told that her son must not use wine or other alcoholic beverages. The Lord is not condemning the drinking of wine altogether (see note on 9:13); the prohibition was part of the Nazirite vow (Nm 6:1-20). This instance of the Nazirite vow is unique in that the Lord established it for a human being before that person was born (Jdg 13:5), and required the mother to participate in certain of the injunctions of that vow while the child was in her womb.

13:24 God blessed the young Samson, though when grown he failed to live a righteous life. God’s blessing of an individual is based on his grace, as suits his purposes, and is not a direct consequence of the individual’s behavior. He can bless anyone at any time, irrespective of a person’s actions. However, God’s blessing of Samson appears to be limited to his earlier years; it is not mentioned as being extended to him later on, when he committed the various sins ascribed to him.