DomarbokenKapitel 13

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Again the Israelites did what was evil in the LORD's sight, and the LORD handed them over to the Philistines for forty years.

There was a man from Zorah, of the clan of Dan, whose name was Manoah. His wife was barren and had borne no children.

The angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, "You are barren and have borne no children, but now you will conceive and give birth to a son.

So be careful: drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean,

for you are going to conceive and give birth to a son. No razor is to touch his head, for the boy will be a Nazirite of God from birth, and he will begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines."

The woman went and told her husband, "A man of God came to me. He looked like an angel of God—awesome to behold. I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name.

But he said to me, 'You are going to conceive and give birth to a son. Now drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for the boy will be a Nazirite of God from birth until the day he dies.'"

Then Manoah pleaded with the LORD: "Please, Lord, let the man of God you sent come to us again and teach us what we are to do for the boy who will be born."

God listened to Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman while she was sitting in the field. Her husband Manoah was not with her.

The woman hurried and ran to tell her husband, "Look, the man who came to me the other day has appeared to me again!"

Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he asked him, "Are you the man who spoke to my wife?" "I am," he said.

Then Manoah said, "When your words come true, how are we to raise the boy? What is he to do?"

The angel of the LORD answered Manoah, "Your wife must be careful to do everything I told her.

She is to eat nothing that comes from the grapevine, and she must drink no wine or strong drink and eat nothing unclean. She must observe everything I commanded her."

Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, "Please stay while we prepare a young goat for you."

The angel of the LORD replied, "Even if I stay, I will not eat your food. But if you want to prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the LORD." Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the LORD.

Then Manoah asked the angel of the LORD, "What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes true?"

The angel of the LORD said to him, "Why do you ask my name? It is too wonderful for you to know."

So Manoah took the young goat and the grain offering and offered them on the rock to the LORD. And the LORD did a wondrous thing while Manoah and his wife looked on.

As the flame rose from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. When Manoah and his wife saw it, they fell facedown to the ground.

The angel of the LORD did not appear again to Manoah and his wife. Then Manoah realized that it had been the angel of the LORD.

"We are surely going to die," he said to his wife, "for we have seen God!"

But his wife answered, "If the LORD had wanted to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering from our hands, nor would he have shown us all this or told us such things now."

The woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson. The boy grew, and the LORD blessed him.

And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir in him at Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Uppslag

Sammanfattning2

Kapitel 13

Main Theme: God prepares a deliverer for Israel through the miraculous birth of Samson as a Nazirite.

Content: Once again, Israel did what was evil, and the Lord gave them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years. The angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah's barren wife and promised her a son who would be a Nazirite from birth and begin to deliver Israel from the Philistines. After the angel disappeared in the flames of the offering, Manoah realized they had met the angel of the Lord. Samson was born, the Lord blessed him, and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir within him.

Key Words/Images:

Nazirite: A person consecrated to God with special vows – here referring to Samson from conception, marked by the rule that no razor shall touch his head.
Angel of the Lord: A divine messenger who brings the promise of Samson's birth and disappears supernaturally in the altar fire.
Barrenness and Promise: Manoah's wife was barren, but God intervened with the promise of a son – a pattern known from other biblical stories.
Spirit of the Lord: God's power that begins to work in Samson even at a young age, preparing him for his calling.

Historisk kontext

Historical and Cultural Context for Judges 13

People

Manoah (מָנוֹחַ) means "rest" or "calm" in Hebrew. He is presented as a man from the tribe of Dan, living in Zorah. Manoah appears as a devout Israelite who prays to the Lord and seeks guidance on how the child should be raised. His reaction to the theophany—the fear that he would die after seeing God (v. 22)—reflects a widespread Old Testament belief that humans could not survive an encounter with the divine (cf. Exod 33:20).

Manoah's wife remains unnamed throughout the entire story, even though she is the central recipient of the angel's message. This is remarkable because she demonstrates greater spiritual insight than her husband, both in recognizing the divine nature of the messenger and in her theological reasoning that God would not have accepted their offering if He intended to kill them (v. 23). Her barrenness and miraculous conception place her among the biblical matriarchs such as Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachel.

Places

Zorah (צָרְעָה) was a city in the Shephelah region, the low hill range between the coastal plain and the Judean mountains. The city was strategically located near the border of Philistine territory, about 25 kilometers west of Jerusalem. Archaeological investigations identify the site with Tell Ṣar'a (modern Sar'a). Its location in the border area between Israelite and Philistine control explains why this region became the arena for the conflict that Samson would later initiate.

Mahaneh-Dan ("Dan's camp") is mentioned in verse 25 as the place between Zorah and Eshtaol where the Spirit of the Lord began to stir Samson. Eshtaol (אֶשְׁתָּאֹל) was a nearby city, also located in the border area between Judah and Dan.

Events and Customs

The Nazirite Law is central to this chapter. According to Num 6:1-21, the Nazirite vow involved three main obligations: abstaining from wine and anything derived from the grapevine, a prohibition against cutting one's hair, and avoiding contact with dead bodies. What makes Samson's Naziriteship unique is that it was imposed from birth and for life—most Nazirite vows were voluntary and temporary. The mother is also given restrictions during her pregnancy, showing that the consecration begins before birth.

The custom of hospitality is expressed when Manoah wishes to keep the angel and prepare a young goat for him (v. 15). Offering a meal to a guest was a fundamental duty in Old Testament culture. The angel's refusal of the meal and redirection toward a burnt offering to the Lord (v. 16) gradually reveals his true nature.

Key Terms

"The Angel of the Lord" (מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה) in this chapter appears as more than an ordinary messenger. When he says that his name is "פֶלִאי" (wonderful/secret, v. 18), the same Hebrew root used to describe God's wonderful works is employed. The angel's ascent in the flame of the offering and Manoah's exclamation "we have seen God" (v. 22) suggest that this was a theophany—a manifestation of God Himself.

"To begin to deliver" (יָחֵל לְהוֹשִׁיעַ, v. 5) is an unusual expression indicating that Samson's task would only be the beginning of liberation from the Philistines. The phrase suggests that his service would initiate a longer process of deliverance from Philistine domination mentioned in verse 1.

Chapter-Specific Findings

The forty years of Philistine domination (v. 1) form the historical framework for Samson's birth and calling. The chapter presents a clear structure: Israel's sin and God's judgment (v. 1), the promise of a deliverer (vv. 2-5), and confirmation of the promise through repeated theophany (vv. 6-23). The conclusion (vv. 24-25) serves as a transition to Samson's active service, where the Spirit of the Lord begins to "stir him" (לְפַעֲמוֹ)—an expression that literally means "to set in motion" or "to push."

Personer3

Samson1 The Angel of the Lord1 Manoah (Samson's father)10

Alla personer →

Nyckelord8

Samson — A biblical judge and national hero in Israel, known for his supernatural strength and long hair.
Manoah — Samson's father, a faithful man who belonged to the tribe of Dan.
Tribe of Dan — One of the twelve tribes of Israel, originally led by Dan, Jacob's son.
Angel — A spiritual being and God's messenger, who conveys God's will and protects people.
Nazarite vow — A vow of dedication to God that includes special rules such as abstaining from alcohol, avoiding contact with dead bodies, and not cutting one's hair.
Philistines — A people who lived in Canaan, often in conflict with the Israelites. Samson fought against them.
Offering — A gift or act given to God as an expression of gratitude, reverence, or atonement for sins.
Burnt offering — A type of offering where something, usually an animal, is burned on an altar as a holy act to God.