Judges 13:3 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, "Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son.

NIV: The angel of the Lord appeared to her and said, "You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son.

NASB: Then the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, 'Behold now, you are infertile and have not given birth; but you will conceive and give birth to a son.

CSB: The angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, "It is true that you are unable to conceive and have no children, but you will conceive and give birth to a son.

NLT: The angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah’s wife and said, 'Even though you have been unable to have children, you will soon become pregnant and give birth to a son.

KJV: 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.

NKJV: And the Angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Indeed now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son.

Once more in Judges, "the angel of the LORD" appears, as He did to the people of Israel (Judges 2:1–3) and to Gideon (Judges 6:11–23). The angel of the Lord—or "the angel of Yahweh"—is so closely associated with God Himself that He is often identified both ways when He appears, sometimes called "the Lord" and other times called "the angel of the Lord." This strongly suggests a theophany: God in visible, temporary human form.

Here, "the angel of the LORD" appears to Manoah's wife when her husband is not present. Though she is never named, she is the primary focus of God's attention. The Angel does not begin with any greeting other than "behold," which implies, "listen!" Instead, He gets straight to His revelation: you are barren, but you will give birth to a son.

This was likely the best news Manoah's wife could have hoped to hear. In addition to any natural longing to be a mother, barren women in this era were deeply stigmatized. Her personal loss was a double blow that brought decreased social value. Now, she learns that not only will she conceive, but the baby will be a boy, elevating her status in the family and in society.

Judges 13:1–7 begins as Israel, once again, descends into sin and evil, resulting in hardship. This passage describes an interaction between a childless women and a messenger from God, possibly Yahweh Himself in human form. He tells her she will give birth to a son who is to be dedicated as a Nazirite from the womb. This child's purpose will be to begin rescuing Israel from oppression under the Philistines. The woman tells her husband, Manoah, who is from the tribe of Dan.

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).