Shofetim 13:1

1 3 And the Bnei Yisroel did harah again in the sight of Hashem; and Hashem delivered them into the yad Pelishtim arba’im shanah.

Shofetim 13:1 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 13:1

And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord,
&c.] Committed idolatry, which was the evil they were prone unto, and were frequently guilty of:

and the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines forty
years:
which according to Josephus ^F6 are to be reckoned from the death of the last judge, and the time of Samson's birth; or rather from some time after the death of Jephthah, particularly taking in the two last years of Ibzan, when the Ephraimites having been weakened through the slaughter of them by Jephthah, might encourage the Philistines to break in upon them; from which time to the birth of Samson were twenty years, and twenty more may be allowed before he could begin to deliver Israel out of their hands; so that the oppression lasted forty years. According to others, it began at the same time as the oppression of the Ammonites did, though it lasted longer, ( Judges 10:7 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F6 Ibid. (Antiqu. l. 5.) c. 8. sect. 1.

Shofetim 13:1 In-Context

1 3 And the Bnei Yisroel did harah again in the sight of Hashem; and Hashem delivered them into the yad Pelishtim arba’im shanah.

2 And there was a certain ish from Tzorah, of the mishpakhat HaDanai, whose shem was Manoach; and his isha was barren and bore not.

3 And the Malach Hashem appeared unto the isha, and said unto her, Hinei now, thou art barren, and bearest not; but thou shalt conceive, and bear ben.

4 Now therefore be shomer and drink not yayin nor shekhar (strong drink), and eat not kol tameh;

5 For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear ben; and no morah (razor) shall come on his rosh; for the na’ar shall be a Nazir Elohim from the beten (womb); and he shall begin to save Yisroel from the yad Pelishtim.