Teks -- Judges 13:1-10 (NET)

Samson’s Birth

13:1 The Israelites again did evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord handed them over to the Philistines for forty years. 13:2 There was a man named Manoah from Zorah, from the Danite tribe. His wife was infertile and childless. 13:3 The Lord’s angelic messenger appeared to the woman and said to her, “You are infertile and childless, but you will conceive and have a son. 13:4 Now be careful! Do not drink wine or beer, and do not eat any food that will make you ritually unclean. 13:5 Look, you will conceive and have a son. You must never cut his hair, for the child will be dedicated to God from birth. He will begin to deliver Israel from the power of the Philistines.” 13:6 The woman went and said to her husband, “A man sent from God came to me! He looked like God’s angelic messenger– he was very awesome. I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name. 13:7 He said to me, ‘Look, you will conceive and have a son. So now, do not drink wine or beer and do not eat any food that will make you ritually unclean. For the child will be dedicated to God from birth till the day he dies.’” 13:8 Manoah prayed to the Lord, “Please, Lord, allow the man sent from God to visit us again, so he can teach us how we should raise the child who will be born.” 13:9 God answered Manoah’s prayer. God’s angelic messenger visited the woman again while she was sitting in the field. But her husband Manoah was not with her. 13:10 The woman ran at once and told her husband, “Come quickly, the man who visited me the other day has appeared to me!”

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Kata/Frasa (per frasa)

Wesley: Jdg 13:1 - Did evil

That is, fell into idolatry, not after the death of Abdon the last judge, but in the days of the former judges.

Wesley: Jdg 13:1 - Forty years

To be computed, not from Abdon's death, but before that time. And it is probable that great slaughter of the Ephraimites made by Jephthah, greatly encouraged the Philistines to rise against Israel, when one of their chief bulwarks was so much weakened; and therefore began to domineer over them not long after Jephthah's death. These were a very inconsiderable people. They had but five cities of any note. And yet when God used them as the staff in his hand, they were very oppressive and vexatious.

Wesley: Jdg 13:2 - Of the family

That is, of the tribe or people.

Wesley: Jdg 13:2 - Bare not

An emphatical repetition of the same thing in other words, which is an usual elegancy both in scripture and other authors.

Wesley: Jdg 13:3 - The angel

The Son of God, yet distinguished from the Lord, because he appeared here in the form of a servant, as a messenger sent from God. The great Redeemer did in a particular manner concern himself about this typical redeemer.

Wesley: Jdg 13:4 - Beware

Because the child was to be a Nazarite from the womb, Jdg 13:5, and from the conception; and because the mother's pollution extends to the child, she is enjoined from this time to observe the following rules belonging to the Nazarites.

Wesley: Jdg 13:4 - Strong drink

Under which are comprehended the other particulars mentioned, Num 6:2-4.

Wesley: Jdg 13:4 - Nor eat

Any of those meats forbidden, Lev. 11:1-47, which were forbidden to all, but especially to the Nazarites.

Wesley: Jdg 13:5 - A Nazarite

A person consecrated to God's service.

Wesley: Jdg 13:5 - Begin to deliver

And the deliverance shall be carried on and perfected by others, as it was by Eli, Samuel, and Saul; but especially by David. God chuses to carry on his work gradually and by several hands. One lays the foundation of a good work, another builds, and perhaps a third brings forth the top stone.

Wesley: Jdg 13:6 - Man of God

A prophet, or sacred person, sent with a message from God.

Wesley: Jdg 13:6 - Terrible

Or, venerable, awful, full of Majesty.

JFB: Jdg 13:1 - the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years

The Israelites were represented (Jdg 10:6-7) as having fallen universally into a state of gross and confirmed idolatry, and in chastisement of this great apostasy, the Lord raised up enemies that harassed them in various quarters, especially the Ammonites and Philistines. The invasions and defeat of the former were narrated in the two chapters immediately preceding this; and now the sacred historian proceeds to describe the inroads of the latter people. The period of Philistine ascendency comprised forty years, reckoning from the time of Elon till the death of Samson.

JFB: Jdg 13:2 - Zorah

A Danite town (Jos 15:33) lying on the common boundary of Judah and Dan, so that it was near the Philistine border.

JFB: Jdg 13:3 - the angel of the Lord

The messenger of the covenant, the divine personage who made so many remarkable appearances of a similar kind already described.

JFB: Jdg 13:5 - thou shalt conceive, and bear a son

This predicted child was to be a Nazarite. The mother was, therefore, for the sake of her promised offspring, required to practice the rigid abstinence of the Nazarite law (see on Num 6:2).

JFB: Jdg 13:5 - he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines

A prophecy encouraging to a patriotic man; the terms of it, however, indicated that the period of deliverance was still to be distant.

JFB: Jdg 13:6-8 - then Manoah entreated the Lord

On being informed by his wife of the welcome intimation, the husband made it the subject of earnest prayer to God. This is a remarkable instance, indicative of the connection which God has established between prayer and the fulfilment of His promises.

Clarke: Jdg 13:1 - Delivered them into the hand of the Philistines

Delivered them into the hand of the Philistines - It does not appear that after Shamgar, to the present time, the Philistines were in a condition to oppress Israel, or God had not permitted them to do it; but now they have a commission, the Israelites having departed from the Lord. Nor is it evident that the Philistines had entirely subjected the Israelites, as there still appears to have been a sort of commerce between the two people. They had often vexed and made inroads upon them, but they had them not in entire subjection; see Jdg 15:11.

Clarke: Jdg 13:2 - A certain man of Zorah

A certain man of Zorah - A town in the tribe of Judah, but afterwards given to Dan.

Clarke: Jdg 13:3 - The angel of the Lord

The angel of the Lord - Generally supposed to have been the same that appeared to Moses, Joshua, Gideon, etc., and no other than the second person of the ever-blessed Trinity.

Clarke: Jdg 13:4 - Beware - drink not wine

Beware - drink not wine - As Samson was designed to be a Nazarite from the womb, it was necessary that, while his mother carried and nursed him, she should live the life of a Nazarite, neither drinking wine nor any inebriating liquor, nor eating any kind of forbidden meat. See the account of the Nazarite and his vow in the notes on Num 6:2 (note), etc.

Clarke: Jdg 13:5 - He shall begin to deliver Israel

He shall begin to deliver Israel - Samson only began this deliverance, for it was not till the days of David that the Israelites were completely redeemed from the power of the Philistines.

Clarke: Jdg 13:6 - But I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name

But I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name - This clause is rendered very differently by the Vulgate, the negative Not being omitted: Quem cum interrogassem quis esset, et unde venisset, et quo nomine vocaretur, noluit mihi dicere; sed hoc respondit . "Who, when I asked who he was and whence he came, and by what name he was called, would not tell me; but this he said,"etc. The negative is also wanting in the Septuagint, as it stands in the Complutensian Polyglot: Και ηρωτων αυτον ποθεν εστιν, και το ονομα αυτου ουκ απηγγειλε μοι ; "And I asked him whence he was, and his name, but he did not tell me."This is also the reading of the Codex Alexandrinus; but the Septuagint, in the London Polyglot, together with the Chaldee, Syriac, and Arabic, read the negative particle with the Hebrew text, I asked Not his name, etc.

Clarke: Jdg 13:9 - The angel of God came again

The angel of God came again - This second appearance of the angel was probably essential to the peace of Manoah, who might have been jealous of his wife had he not had this proof that the thing was of the Lord.

TSK: Jdg 13:1 - did // in the sight // delivered // into the

did : Heb. added to commit, etc. Jdg 2:11, Jdg 3:7, Jdg 4:1, Jdg 6:1, Jdg 10:6; Rom 2:6

in the sight : Jer 13:23

delivered : ""This seems a partial captivity."

into the : 1Sa 12:9

TSK: Jdg 13:2 - Zorah // barren

Zorah : Jos 15:33, Jos 19:41

barren : Gen 16:1, Gen 25:21; 1Sa 1:2-6; Luk 1:7

TSK: Jdg 13:3 - the angel // but thou

the angel : Jdg 2:1, Jdg 6:11, Jdg 6:12; Gen 16:7-13; Luk 1:11, Luk 1:28-38

but thou : Gen 17:16, Gen 18:10; 1Sa 1:20; 2Ki 4:16; Luk 1:13, Luk 1:31

TSK: Jdg 13:4 - drink not // eat not

drink not : Jdg 13:14; Num 6:2, Num 6:3; Luk 1:15

eat not : Lev 11:27, Lev 11:47; Act 10:14

TSK: Jdg 13:5 - no razor // begin

no razor : Num 6:2, Num 6:3, Num 6:5; 1Sa 1:11

begin : 1Sa 7:13; 2Sa 8:1; 1Ch 18:1

TSK: Jdg 13:6 - A man // countenance was // terrible // but I asked // his name

A man : Deu 33:1; Jos 14:6; 1Sa 2:27, 1Sa 9:6; 1Ki 17:18, 1Ki 17:24; 2Ki 4:9, 2Ki 4:16; 1Ti 6:11

countenance was : Mat 28:3; Luk 9:29; Act 6:15

terrible : Jdg 13:22; Gen 28:16, Gen 28:17; Exo 3:2, Exo 3:6; Dan 8:17, Dan 10:5, Dan 10:11; Mat 28:4; Rev 1:17

but I asked : etc. The Vulgate renders this cause very differently, the negative Not being omitted: Quem cum interrogassim quis esset , et unde venisset , et quo nomine vocaretur , noluit mihi dicere ; sed hoc respondit , etc; ""Whom when I asked who he was, and whence he came, and by what name he was called, would not tell me, but this he said,""etc.

The negative is also wanting in the Septuagint, as it is in the Complutensian Polyglott; Και ηρωτον αυτον ποθεν εστιν , και το ονομα αυτον , ουκ απηγγειλεν μοι . ""And I asked him whence he was, and his name, but he did not tell me.""This is also the reading of the Codex Alexandrinus; but the Septuagint in the London Polyglott, the Chaldee, Syriac, and Arabic, read the negative particle with the Hebrew Text: I asked Not his name, etc.

his name : Jdg 13:17, Jdg 13:18; Gen 32:29; Luk 1:19

TSK: Jdg 13:8 - teach us

teach us : Job 34:32; Pro 3:5, Pro 3:6; Act 9:6

TSK: Jdg 13:9 - hearkened

hearkened : Psa 65:2; Mat 7:7-11

TSK: Jdg 13:10 - Behold // the other day

Behold : Joh 1:41, Joh 1:42, Joh 4:28, Joh 4:29

the other day : Byyom , rather, ""in this day,""or ""to-day,""for the word other is not in the original, and it is probably that the angel appeared in the morning and evening of the same day.

Tafsiran/Catatan -- Catatan Kata/Frasa (per Ayat)

Poole: Jdg 13:1 - Did evil // Forty years

Did evil i.e. fell into idolatry, &c., not now after the death of Abdon the last judge, but in the days of the former judges.

Forty years to be computed not from Abdon’ s death, but before that time, as is evident both from Jud 13:5 , where it is declared that Israel was under the power of the Philistines; and from Jud 15:20 , where only twenty of these years are said to have been in Samson’ s days. And it is probably conceived, that that great slaughter of the Ephraimites made by Jephthah did greatly encourage the Philistines to rise against Israel, when one of their chief bulwarks was so much weakened; and therefore that the Philistines began to domineer over them not long after Jephthah’ s death.

Poole: Jdg 13:2 - Zorah // Of the family // Barren, and bare not

Zorah a city, of which see Jos 15:33 19:41 .

Of the family i.e. of the tribe or people, as family sometimes signifies, Jos 7:17 Jer 8:3 10:25 Amo 3:1 Mic 2:3 Zec 14:18 .

Barren, and bare not an emphatical repetition of the same thing in divers words, which is a usual elegancy, both in Scripture and other authors.

Poole: Jdg 13:3 - The angel of the Lord

The angel of the Lord the Son of God, oft so called in the Old Testament, as may be gathered from Jud 13:18 , yet distinguished from the Lord, because he appeared here as it were in the form of a servant, as a messenger sent from God, and was really a distinct person from God the Father.

Poole: Jdg 13:4 - Beware, I pray thee // And drink not wine, nor strong drink // Any unclean thing

Beware, I pray thee because the child was to be a Nazarite from the womb, Jud 13:5 , and from the conception; and because the mother’ s pollution extends to the child, she is enjoined from this time to observe the following rules belonging to the Nazarites.

And drink not wine, nor strong drink under which by a synecdoche are comprehended the other particulars mentioned Num 6:2-4 , as is implied Jud 13:14 .

Any unclean thing any of those meats forbidden Le 11 , which were forbidden to all, but especially to the Nazarites.

Poole: Jdg 13:5 - A Nazarite // He shall begin to deliver Israel

A Nazarite a person separated from others, and consecrated to God’ s service.

He shall begin to deliver Israel and the deliverance shall be carried on and perfected by others, as it was in part by Eli, and Samuel, and Saul; but especially by David.

Poole: Jdg 13:6 - A man of God // Very terrible

A man of God a prophet, or sacred person, sent with a message from God.

Very terrible , or, venerable , or awful , full of majesty.

Haydock: Jdg 13:1 - Dress

Dress. Hebrew and Septuagint, "let us make." Vulgate faciamus, is used either for a common feast or for a sacrifice, Exodus xxix. 36. Virgil, (eclog. iii.) Cras faciam vitula. Manue did not yet know who the angel was. He only designed to give him something to eat. A kid was then esteemed the most delicious food, and physicians esteem it very wholesome. The taste of people has since altered. (Bochart, Anim. p. i. b. ii. 52.) (Calmet)

Haydock: Jdg 13:1 - Years

Years. It is not clear whence this sixth and longest servitude is to be dated. If it terminated at the death of Samson, when the Philistines lost their chief nobility, &c., we must allow that the Israelites began to be obliged to pay tribute in the 6th year of Abesan. (In the year before Christ 1193, Salien) Chap. xii. 8. (Haydock) ---

Marsham dates from the third month after the death of Jair, to the third year of Samuel, during which period Heli governed in one part, and Jephte, Abesan, Ahialon, and Abdon in other provinces of Palestine. It is not very material which of these systems be adopted, as they do not contradict the text. All Israel was not reduced under the power of the Philistines; but the neighbouring tribes were infested with their incursions, and were obliged to pay tribute. Juda complains at their invading his territory, and they allege that it was because Samson had been the aggressor, which shews that the Israelites retained some little liberty, chap. xv. 9. (Calmet) ---

The servitude had scarcely commenced, when God provided Samson a deliverer for his people. (Salien, in the year of the world 2860.) (Haydock)

Haydock: Jdg 13:2 - Saraa // Manue

Saraa, in the confines of Juda and of Dan, ten miles north of Eleutheropolis. (Eusebius) ---

Manue seems to have resided in the country, near this town, ver. 25. (Menochius)

Haydock: Jdg 13:3 - Angel

Angel, in human form. Some Protestants pretend that he was "the Son of God," and yet (ver. 16) they say, "he sought not his own honour, but God's, whose messenger he was," (Bible, 1603) in which they plainly contradict themselves, or else teach Arianism, as if the Son were not true God, and equal to his Father. (Worthington) ---

The title of God, (Jehova) which is given to this angel, (ver. 15, 21) is no proof that he was the Supreme Being, chap. vi. 11.

Haydock: Jdg 13:4 - Thing // Begin

Thing. Exhortations to observe the law are not unnecessary. (St. Augustine, q. 50.) Besides the things which common people might take, such as wine, grapes, &c., were unclean for the Nazarites. The mother of Samson was required to abstain from every species of uncleanness as much as possible, at least while she bore and nursed her child. (Calmet) ---

Abulensis says, she was unquestionably under peculiar restrictions till her delivery. (Menochius) ---

This was a preparation for the child who should abstain from all unclean things, not only for a time, (Numbers vi.) but during his whole life, that he might be a more perfect figure of Christ. (Worthington) ---

His dignity was not of choice, nor could he forfeit it by touching any thing unclean, nor by the violent cutting off his hair. As the deliverer of the people, he must often have been obliged to touch dead bodies. (Calmet) ---

Begin. The power of the Philistines was greatly broken by Samson, chap xvi. 13. (Menochius) ---

But Samuel, Saul, and David had still to contend with them, 1 Kings vii. 13. (Haydock)

Haydock: Jdg 13:6 - And when

And when, &c. Hebrew, Chaldean, Syriac, Arabic, and the Vatican Septuagint read a negation, "And I did not ask him whence he came; neither did he tell me his name." The other copies of the Septuagint, St. Augustine (q. 51.), &c., agree with the Vulgate though St. Augustine suspected that the negation was wanting. (Calmet)

Haydock: Jdg 13:8 - Born

Born. Josephus ([Antiquities?] v. 10.) insinuates that Manue was touched with a sort of jealousy, as his wife had mentioned the comeliness of the stranger. (Haydock) ---

But St. Ambrose (ep. 70) has undertaken his defence; and surely God would not have wrought a miracle to gratify his request, if it had not proceeded from a virtuous motive, desiring to enjoy the same happiness as his wife, and to know precisely how they were to educate their son. (Calmet) ---

Procopius thinks that the wife of Manue was of more eminent virtue than her husband, and was therefore honoured with the first vision. She had been more afflicted at her sterility, and had prayed more earnestly for the people's safety. (Menochius)

Gill: Jdg 13:1 - And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord // and the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines forty years

And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord,.... 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 ^f 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, Jdg 10:7.

Gill: Jdg 13:2 - And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites // whose name was Manoah // and his wife was barren, and bare not

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, Jos 15:33; See Gill on Jos 15:33; see Gill on Jos 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 ^h 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 ⁱ to be Zalalponith; see 1Ch 4:3.

Gill: Jdg 13:3 - And the angel of the Lord appeared unto the woman // and said unto her, behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not // but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son

And the angel of the Lord appeared unto the woman,.... According to Josephus ^k, it was in a plain without the city; and that he appeared in the form of a man is certain from Jdg 13:6 but was not a mere man, a prophet of the Lord, nor a created angel, but the uncreated one, the Angel of the covenant, the Son and Word of God, who often appeared in an human form; since his name is said to be "Wonderful", and he to do wonderful things, and is called "Jehovah", Jdg 13:18,

and said unto her, behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not; barren at that time, and so she had been ever since she was married to that time; and this is observed, that it might appear the more wonderful that she should after this have a child:

but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; which to do, must be ascribed to divine power, that one in her circumstances should bear a son; as the prediction of it was owing to divine omniscience, and a proof of it.

Gill: Jdg 13:4 - Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink // and eat not any unclean thing

Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink,.... Any liquor inebriating and intoxicating, neither new wine nor old wine, as the Targum, and so Jarchi; the reason of this appears in the next verse, because the child she should conceive and bear was to be a Nazarite, and to be one from his mother's womb; and from all such liquors, Nazarites, according to the law, were to abstain, Num 6:3.

and eat not any unclean thing; meaning not so much such sort of food as was forbidden by the law to be eaten, which every Israelite was to abstain from, but such as were particularly forbidden to Nazarites, as moist and dried grapes, or anything made of the vine tree, from the kernel to the husk, Num 6:3. The reason of this is, because the child in the womb is nourished with the same the mother is; and as this child was to be a Nazarite from the womb, and even in it, his mother was to abstain both from eatables and drinkables forbidden a Nazarite by the law.

Gill: Jdg 13:5 - For, lo, thou shalt conceive and bear a son // and no razor shall come on his head // for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb // and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines

For, lo, thou shalt conceive and bear a son,.... Which is not only repeated for the confirmation of it, but that she might take notice that he was to be a Nazarite, and therefore must conform to everything agreeable to the law of the Nazarites, and take care that it was observed in him:

and no razor shall come on his head; to cut off the hair of it, not from the time of his birth to his death; for he was to be a perpetual Nazarite: other Nazarites during the time of their Nazariteship were not to suffer a razor to come upon them, but afterwards might; but for such an one as Samson, it was not lawful ever to suffer his hair to be cut off; see Num 6:5.

for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb; in which he was a type of Christ, who was sanctified by the Lord, separated from sinners, and called a "Nazarene": was born of a virgin, as Samson was of a barren woman, and his birth foretold by an angel as this:

and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines; for the salvation he wrought for Israel was not complete and perfect; it was only begun by him, and carried on in the times of Eli, Samuel, and Saul, and perfected by David. In this his antitype exceeds him, who is the author of the complete salvation of his people out of the hands of all their enemies, sin, Satan, and the world; though in this there is a great resemblance between Samson and our Lord Jesus, in that what he did he did himself alone; not at the head of an army, and with forces under him, as other judges; so Christ with his own arm, and of himself, and without others, wrought salvation for his people; see Isa 63:5.

Gill: Jdg 13:6 - Then the woman came and told her husband // saying, a man of God came unto me // and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible // but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name

Then the woman came and told her husband,.... To whom it would be joyful news, as it was to her:

saying, a man of God came unto me; he appeared in an human form, and therefore she calls him a man; and by his mien and deportment, and the message he brought, she concluded he was a man of God, that is, a prophet; by which name such persons went in those days; and so the Targum calls him a prophet of the Lord: but it is a mere conceit of Ben Gersom that it was Phinehas, who in all probability was not living; besides what is after related shows that this was a divine Person, and no other than the Son of God:

and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible; for though she might never have seen an angel, yet it being a common notion that angels were very illustrious, of a beautiful form and of a shining countenance, and very majestic, she compares the man she saw to one; for by being "very terrible", is not meant that he was frightful, and struck her with horror, but venerable and majestic, which filled her with admiration:

but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name; this she added to prevent her husband's inquiring about his name and place of abode; and perhaps, as she came along, she reflected on herself that she did not ask those questions; which might be owing to the surprise she was in, partly at the awful and venerable appearance of the person, and partly at the joyful news he brought her; though it seems as if she did ask his name, but he did not tell her what it was.

Gill: Jdg 13:7 - But he said unto me, behold, thou shalt conceive and bear a son // and now drink no wine nor strong drink // neither eat any unclean thing // for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb // unto his death

But he said unto me, behold, thou shalt conceive and bear a son,.... She says nothing of her barrenness, which the angel took notice of to her, that having been to her reproach:

and now drink no wine nor strong drink; neither new wine nor old wine; so the Targum as before:

neither eat any unclean thing; which was so in a ceremonial sense; otherwise every creature of God is good, and not to be called common or unclean; it here respects what was forbidden Nazarites to eat; see Jdg 13:4.

for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb; it is here added, what is not before expressed:

unto his death; for he was to be a perpetual Nazarite; some were only Nazarites for a time, for so many days or months, according to their vow; but this son was to be a Nazarite all his days, by the appointment of God; nor is it any objection to what is here said, that his hair was cut off before his death, which caused his Nazariteship to cease; since these words are not a prophecy, but a precept; and besides, that affair happened but a little before his death, he died quickly afterwards.

Gill: Jdg 13:8 - Then Manoah entreated the Lord // and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send unto us // and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born

Then Manoah entreated the Lord,.... Josephus ^l makes the woman to entreat the Lord; but the text is clear for it that it was Manoah that prayed:

and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send unto us; he believed that the man that came to his wife was a man of God, and that he was of his sending; nor was he incredulous of the message he brought, as appears by what follows:

and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born; he believed there would be a child born, and he knew what was to be done to a Nazarite in common, according to the law of God respecting such, and the angel had mentioned somewhat to the woman; yet this being an extraordinary case, a Nazarite from his birth to his death, he was desirous of knowing what was further to be done; or if there was any thing more special and particular to be observed concerning him; which showed his readiness and cheerfulness to obey the will of God in all things.

Gill: Jdg 13:9 - And God hearkened unto the voice of Manoah // and the angel of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field // but Manoah her husband was not with her

And God hearkened unto the voice of Manoah,.... Heard his prayer and answered it:

and the angel of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field; who very likely returned to the same place where she was before, in hope her husband's prayers would be heard, and the man return and come to her where he had before met her; as well as she might be here retired for meditation and prayer; unless it can be supposed that she had business here to do, as keeping a flock of sheep, which women, and those great personages too, were wont to do in those times and countries, as Rebekah the sister of Laban, and the daughters of Jethro, prince of Midian:

but Manoah her husband was not with her; the angel appeared to the woman again, because she would know him to be the same; whereas had he appeared to Manoah, especially alone, he could not have known whether he was the same or not. This clause is observed for the sake of what follows.

Gill: Jdg 13:10 - And the woman made haste, and ran // and showed her husband // and said unto him, behold, the man hath appeared unto me that came unto me the other day

And the woman made haste, and ran,.... It is not improbable what Josephus says ^m, that she entreated the angel to stay a little till she fetched her husband, which he assented to, and then made all the haste she could to him, partly through eagerness to acquaint him with it, and partly that she might not make the prophet she took him to be wait too long:

and showed her husband; that his prayer was heard:

and said unto him, behold, the man hath appeared unto me that came unto me the other day; or, as the Targum, "this day"; so Kimchi and Ben Melech; for the word "other" is not in the text. It is very probable it was the same day he came again he had appeared to her; perhaps it was in the former part of the day he first came to her, when she went home to her husband, and acquainted him with it, who prayed to the Lord that he might be sent again; and then she returned to her place in the field, and in the latter part of the day the angel appeared again.