Judges 13:23 - Printer Friendly

ESV: But his wife said to him, "If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering at our hands, or shown us all these things, or now announced to us such things as these."

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

NASB: But his wife said to him, 'If the Lord had desired 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 these things, nor would He have let us hear things like this at this time.'

CSB: But his wife said to him, "If the Lord had intended to kill us, he wouldn’t have accepted the burnt offering and the grain offering from us, and he would not have shown us all these things or spoken to us like this."

NLT: But his wife said, 'If the Lord were going to kill us, he wouldn’t have accepted our burnt offering and grain offering. He wouldn’t have appeared to us and told us this wonderful thing and done these miracles.'

KJV: But his wife said unto him, If the Lord were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have shewed us all these things, nor would as at this time have told us such things as these.

NKJV: But his wife said to him, “If the Lord had desired 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 these things, nor would He have told us such things as these at this time.”

In the shock of seeing their visitor disappear into flames (Judges 13:15–21), Manoah and his wife have come to realize the visitor was actually "the angel of the LORD," meaning that they have seen Yahweh, the One True God. It was common knowledge among Jewish people that nobody could see the Lord and live. After all, the Lord had shown Moses only His back while giving that exact warning (Exodus 33:20). In that case, however, God was showing Himself to Moses in His glory and not in the human, concealed form of the "angel of the LORD." This leads Manoah to a moment of panic and fear of death.

Manoah's wife might have been just as terrified, at first. Here, however, she comes to a very reasonable conclusion. She quickly explains why she is confident that God has no plans to kill them. In fact, she gives three reasons.

First, she points out that the Lord accepted their offering. He was the one who suggested they make the offering in the first place. Then He ascended to heaven in the flame of their offering. Those are signs of full acceptance.

Second, the Lord would not have allowed them to see Him in that form or to see Him ascend into heaven if He meant to kill them. He chose to show Himself to them in this way for a reason. He wanted them to see Him.

Third, why would the Lord tell them of the son they would have and how he must be raised (Judges 13:2–14) if He meant to kill them? God would be contradicting His own promise by destroying them after promising them a future.

Manoah's wife looked past fear to discern what she could of the Lord's purpose. She trusted the character of God to act with intention and reason. No response is recorded, but one would expect her wise words to have quickly eased Manoah's fears. And, as the end of this chapter shows, her trust was well-placed (Judges 13:24–25).

Judges 13:8–25 explains how Manoah learned of his wife's interaction with a messenger from God. He prays for more understanding, so he can properly fulfill his obligations. The angel of the Lord appears, again, and repeats his instructions. The child is to be consecrated as a Nazirite for his entire life. Manoah prepares a sacrifice, and the angel disappears into the flames. This further confirms the truth of the message. Manoah and his wife name their child Samson, who shows signs of blessing and the influence of God's Spirit from an early age.

The Lord appoints another deliverer for Israel, this time in response to oppression under the Philistines. An impressive stranger appears to Manoah and his wife, announcing they will have a son. This child is to be set apart as a Nazarite from before birth until death. His mother must not drink wine or strong drink or eat any unclean thing. This visitor then disappears into the flames of a burnt offering. The couple realizes they have seen a manifestation of Yahweh, Himself. Samson is born and soon shows signs of God's influence.

After Jephthah's rescue (Judges 11—12) this passage begins with another generation sinning against God. As is the pattern of the book of Judges, this leads to oppression. Israel is subject to forty years of misery under the Philistines. God appears to the wife of Manoah in the territory of Dan. She is commanded to consecrate her unborn son as a Nazarite, and that this child will begin to save Israel from the Philistines. Samson is born and is blessed by God. This is as pure as Samson's life will be—the rest of his story is an awkward, scandalous example of the Lord using flawed people to accomplish His great purposes.

The Book of Judges describes Israel's history from the death of Joshua to shortly before Israel's first king, Saul. Israel fails to complete God's command to purge the wicked Canaanites from the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4). This results in a centuries-long cycle where Israel falls into sin and is oppressed by local enemies. After each oppression, God sends a civil-military leader, labeled using a Hebrew word loosely translated into English as "judge." These appointed rescuers would free Israel from enemy control and govern for a certain time. After each judge's death, the cycle of sin and oppression begins again. This continues until the people of Israel choose a king, during the ministry of the prophet-and-judge Samuel (1 Samuel 1—7).