King James Version
Judges 13
25 verses with commentary
The Birth of Samson
And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years. did evil: Heb. added to commit, etc
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's birth and Nazirite calling. Samson represents both the heights of God-empowered strength and the depths of human weakness through moral compromise. His Nazirite vow (Numbers 6...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(1) **Did evil again.**—Judges 3:7; Judges 4:1; Judges 6:1-11; Judges 10:6.
**Of the Philistines.**—Hitherto the nation has only been cursorily mentioned (Judges 3:31; Judges 10:7-11); from this time to the reign of David they play an important part. They were not Canaanites, but foreign conquerors. The district which they held, and from which the name of “Palestine” has been derived, was original...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
The Philistines, Samson announced.(1-7)
The angel appears to Manoah.(8-14)
Manoah's sacrifice.(15-23)
Birth of Samson.(24-25)
**Verses 1-7**
Israel did evil: then God delivered them again into the hands of the Philistines. When Israel was in this distress, Samson was born. His parents had been long childless. Many eminent persons were born of su...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's birth and Nazirite calling. Samson represents both the heights of God-empowered strength and the depths of human weakness through moral compromise. His Nazirite vow (Numbers 6:1-21) set h...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **There was a certain man. . . .—**The narrative of the birth of Samuel (1Samuel 1:1) is similarly introduced.
**Zoran.**—The name means “place of hornets.” In Joshua 15:33 it is mentioned with Eshtaol among the towns north-east of the Shephelah, and it belonged to Dan (Joshua 19:41). Robinson identifies it with *Surah, *fourteen miles from Jerusalem, seven miles south of Yalo, west of Kirjath...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
The Philistines, Samson announced.(1-7)
The angel appears to Manoah.(8-14)
Manoah's sacrifice.(15-23)
Birth of Samson.(24-25)
**Verses 1-7**
Israel did evil: then God delivered them again into the hands of the Philistines. When Israel was in this distress, Samson was born. His parents had been long childless. Many eminent persons were born of su...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's birth and Nazirite calling. Samson represents both the heights of God-empowered strength and the depths of human weakness through moral compromise. His Nazirite...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **The angel of the Lord.**—On this expression see Judges 2:1. Rabbi Levi Ben Gershom says that this “messenger of the Lord” was Phinehas; but nothing can be clearer than that, as in Judges 6:11, Genesis 18:10, Luke 1:11-28, a supernatural being is meant.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
The Philistines, Samson announced.(1-7)
The angel appears to Manoah.(8-14)
Manoah's sacrifice.(15-23)
Birth of Samson.(24-25)
**Verses 1-7**
Israel did evil: then God delivered them again into the hands of the Philistines. When Israel was in this distress, Samson was born. His parents had been long childless. Many eminent persons were born of su...
Read full commentary →Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing:
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing:</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's birth and Nazirite calling. Samson represents both the heights of God-empowered strength and the depths of human weakness through moral compromise. His Nazirite vow (Numbers 6:1-21) set him apart as holy to God, ye...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **Drink not wine.**—The mother is to share for a time in part of the Nazarite vow.
**Strong drink.**—*Sheekar *(LXX., *Sikera*) means *intoxicating liquor not made from grapes *(Luke 1:15).
**Eat not any unclean thing.**—Leviticus 11. The law applied to all Israelites, but is to be specially observed by the wife of Manoah, to impress on her and on the nation the separated character of her son.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Jud 6:7-10. A Prophet Rebukes Them.
**8. the Lord sent a prophet unto the children of Israel--**The curse of the national calamity is authoritatively traced to their infidelity as the cause.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
The Philistines, Samson announced.(1-7)
The angel appears to Manoah.(8-14)
Manoah's sacrifice.(15-23)
Birth of Samson.(24-25)
**Verses 1-7**
Israel did evil: then God delivered them again into the hands of the Philistines. When Israel was in this distress, Samson was born. His parents had been long childless. Many eminent persons were born of su...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's birth and Nazirite calling. Samson represents both the heights of God-empowered strength and the depths...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **No razor shall come on his head.**—The law of the Nazarite is laid down in Numbers 6, and when that chapter is read as the *Parashah *(or first lesson) in the synagogue-worship, this account of the birth of Samson, the first recorded Nazarite, is read as the *Haphtarah *(or second lesson).
**Shall begin to deliver.**—The weaknesses of Samson’s own character rendered him unfit to achieve that...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
The Philistines, Samson announced.(1-7)
The angel appears to Manoah.(8-14)
Manoah's sacrifice.(15-23)
Birth of Samson.(24-25)
**Verses 1-7**
Israel did evil: then God delivered them again into the hands of the Philistines. When Israel was in this distress, Samson was born. His parents had been long childless. Many eminent persons were born of su...
Read full commentary →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:
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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:</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's birth and Nazirite calling. Samson represents both the heights of God-empowered strength and the...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **A man of God.**—Angels always appeared in human form, and Manoah’s wife, though awe-struck by the majesty of the angel’s appearance, did not know him to be other than a prophet. Josephus, writing to please the coarse tastes of Gentile readers, describes the messenger as a tall and beautiful youth, who excited the jealousy of Manoah (*Antt. v.* 8, § 2).
**Very terrible.**—Comp. Matthew 28:3-4...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
The Philistines, Samson announced.(1-7)
The angel appears to Manoah.(8-14)
Manoah's sacrifice.(15-23)
Birth of Samson.(24-25)
**Verses 1-7**
Israel did evil: then God delivered them again into the hands of the Philistines. When Israel was in this distress, Samson was born. His parents had been long childless. Many eminent persons were born of su...
Read full commentary →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 to the day of his death.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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 to the day of his death.</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's birth and Nazirite calling. Samson represents both the heights of God-empowered strength and the dep...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **The child shall be a Nazarite.**—Comp. Luke 1:15. Since Samuel was also a Nazarite, we see that the distress of the people had led mothers to meditate on the old law of life-dedication to God. In Samson’s case this vow was imposed on him from his birth, perhaps to teach the Israelites a moral lesson. Other Nazarites were John the Baptist and James, the Lord’s brother. It is not impossible th...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Jud 6:11-16. An Angel Sends Gideon to Deliver Them.
**11. there came an angel of the Lord--**He appeared in the character and equipments of a traveller (Jud 6:21), who sat down in the shade to enjoy a little refreshment and repose. Entering into conversation on the engrossing topic of the times, the grievous oppression of the Midianites, he began urging Gideon to exert his well-known prowess on b...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
The Philistines, Samson announced.(1-7)
The angel appears to Manoah.(8-14)
Manoah's sacrifice.(15-23)
Birth of Samson.(24-25)
**Verses 1-7**
Israel did evil: then God delivered them again into the hands of the Philistines. When Israel was in this distress, Samson was born. His parents had been long childless. Many eminent persons were born of su...
Read full commentary →Then Manoah intreated the LORD, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Then Manoah intreated the LORD, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's birth and Nazirite calling. Samson represents both the heights of God-empowered strength and the depths of human weakness through moral co...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **And teach us.**—Manoah, yearning for the deliverance of his race, desired further guidance as to the training of the child, which he receives in Judges 13:13-14.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-14**
Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet, as Manoah, have believed. Good men are more careful and desirous to know the duty to be done by them, than to know the events concerning them: duty is ours, events are God's. God will guide those by his counsel, who desire to know their duty, and apply to him to teach them. Pious parents, especially, will beg Divine assistance. The ...
Read full commentary →And God hearkened to 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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And God hearkened to 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.</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's birth and Nazirite calling. Samson represents both the heights of God-empowered strength and the depths of human weakness through moral compromise. His Nazirite v...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**13. if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us?--**Gideon's language betrays want of reflection, for the very chastisements God had brought on His people showed His presence with, and His interest in, them.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-14**
Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet, as Manoah, have believed. Good men are more careful and desirous to know the duty to be done by them, than to know the events concerning them: duty is ours, events are God's. God will guide those by his counsel, who desire to know their duty, and apply to him to teach them. Pious parents, especially, will beg Divine assistance. The ...
Read full commentary →And the woman made haste, and ran, and shewed her husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that came unto me the other day.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the woman made haste, and ran, and shewed her husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that came unto me the other day.</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's birth and Nazirite calling. Samson represents both the heights of God-empowered strength and the depths of human weakness through moral compromise. His Nazirite vow (N...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**14-16. the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might ... have not I sent thee?--**The command and the promise made Gideon aware of the real character of his visitor; and yet like Moses, from a sense of humility, or a shrinking at the magnitude of the undertaking, he excused himself from entering on the enterprise. And even though assured that, with the divine aid, he would overcome th...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-14**
Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet, as Manoah, have believed. Good men are more careful and desirous to know the duty to be done by them, than to know the events concerning them: duty is ours, events are God's. God will guide those by his counsel, who desire to know their duty, and apply to him to teach them. Pious parents, especially, will beg Divine assistance. The ...
Read full commentary →And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said unto him, Art thou the man that spakest unto the woman? And he said, I am.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said unto him, Art thou the man that spakest unto the woman? And he said, I am.</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's birth and Nazirite calling. Samson represents both the heights of God-empowered strength and the depths of human weakness through moral compromise. His Nazirite vow (Num...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**14-16. the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might ... have not I sent thee?--**The command and the promise made Gideon aware of the real character of his visitor; and yet like Moses, from a sense of humility, or a shrinking at the magnitude of the undertaking, he excused himself from entering on the enterprise. And even though assured that, with the divine aid, he would overcome th...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-14**
Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet, as Manoah, have believed. Good men are more careful and desirous to know the duty to be done by them, than to know the events concerning them: duty is ours, events are God's. God will guide those by his counsel, who desire to know their duty, and apply to him to teach them. Pious parents, especially, will beg Divine assistance. The ...
Read full commentary →And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him? How shall we order: Heb. What shall be the manner of the, etc how shall we do: or, what shall he do?: Heb. what shall be his work?
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him?</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's birth and Nazirite calling. Samson represents both the heights of God-empowered strength and the depths of human weakness through moral compromise. His Nazirite vow (Numbers 6:1-21) set him apart as holy to G...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **How shall we order the child . . .?**—The literal rendering is given in the margin, *What shall be the ordering *(*mishpat; *LXX., *krima*)* of the child, and his work?*
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**14-16. the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might ... have not I sent thee?--**The command and the promise made Gideon aware of the real character of his visitor; and yet like Moses, from a sense of humility, or a shrinking at the magnitude of the undertaking, he excused himself from entering on the enterprise. And even though assured that, with the divine aid, he would overcome th...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-14**
Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet, as Manoah, have believed. Good men are more careful and desirous to know the duty to be done by them, than to know the events concerning them: duty is ours, events are God's. God will guide those by his counsel, who desire to know their duty, and apply to him to teach them. Pious parents, especially, will beg Divine assistance. The ...
Read full commentary →And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware.
View commentary (2 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware.</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's birth and Nazirite calling. Samson represents both the heights of God-empowered strength and the depths of human weakness through moral compromise. His Nazirite vow (Numbers 6:1-21) set him apart as holy to God, yet his per...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-14**
Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet, as Manoah, have believed. Good men are more careful and desirous to know the duty to be done by them, than to know the events concerning them: duty is ours, events are God's. God will guide those by his counsel, who desire to know their duty, and apply to him to teach them. Pious parents, especially, will beg Divine assistance. The ...
Read full commentary →She may not eat of any thing that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: all that I commanded her let her observe.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>She may not eat of any thing that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: all that I commanded her let her observe.</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's birth and Nazirite calling. Samson represents both the heights of God-empowered strength and the depths of human weakness through moral compromise. Hi...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) The object of this message only seems to have been to give certainty to Manoah.
**Any thing that cometh of the vine.**—In Numbers 6:3-5 it is emphatically added, “He shall separate himself from wine . . . and shall drink no vinegar of wine . . . neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes or dried. All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the v...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Jud 6:17-32. Gideon's Present Consumed by Fire.
**18. Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I ... bring forth my present--**Hebrew, my mincha, or "meat offering"; and his idea probably was to prove, by his visitor's partaking of the entertainment, whether or not he was more than man.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-14**
Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet, as Manoah, have believed. Good men are more careful and desirous to know the duty to be done by them, than to know the events concerning them: duty is ours, events are God's. God will guide those by his counsel, who desire to know their duty, and apply to him to teach them. Pious parents, especially, will beg Divine assistance. The ...
Read full commentary →And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee. for thee: Heb. before thee
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee.</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's birth and Nazirite calling. Samson represents both the heights of God-empowered strength and the depths of human weakness through moral compromise. His Nazirite vow (Numbers 6:1-21) set him apa...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **A kid for thee.**—Literally, *before thy face. *The narrative is closely analogous to that of the appearance of the angel to Gideon, and there is the same uncertainty in the terms used, so that we cannot certainly decide whether Manoah’s object was to offer a sacrifice or to offer hospitality. The verb *gnasoth, *like the Greek *rezein *(LXX., *poisin*) and the Latin *facere, *means either ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**19-23. Gideon went in, and made ready a kid; ... the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot--**(See on Ge 18:7). The flesh seems to have been roasted, which is done by cutting it into kobab, that is, into small pieces, fixed on a skewer, and put before the fire. The broth was for immediate use; the other, brought in a hand-basket was intended to be a future supply to the travell...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
The Philistines, Samson announced.(1-7)
The angel appears to Manoah.(8-14)
Manoah's sacrifice.(15-23)
Birth of Samson.(24-25)
**Verses 1-7**
Israel did evil: then God delivered them again into the hands of the Philistines. When Israel was in this distress, Samson was born. His parents had been long childless. Many eminent persons were born of su...
Read full commentary →And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the LORD. For Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the LORD.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the LORD. For Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the LORD.</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's birth and Nazirite calling. Samson represents both the heights of God-empowered strength and...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **Thou must offer it unto the Lord.**—Rather, *a burnt offering unto the Lord thou mayest offer it. *(Comp. Judges 6:20.) Angels invariably discourage and reprove that “worship of angels” (Colossians 2:18), which was the tendency of early Gnostic sects (*Daniel 10*; Revelation 19:10; Revelation 22:8). The angel might have partaken of earthly food, as we see from Genesis 18:8; Genesis 19:3. He...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**19-23. Gideon went in, and made ready a kid; ... the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot--**(See on Ge 18:7). The flesh seems to have been roasted, which is done by cutting it into kobab, that is, into small pieces, fixed on a skewer, and put before the fire. The broth was for immediate use; the other, brought in a hand-basket was intended to be a future supply to the travell...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
The Philistines, Samson announced.(1-7)
The angel appears to Manoah.(8-14)
Manoah's sacrifice.(15-23)
Birth of Samson.(24-25)
**Verses 1-7**
Israel did evil: then God delivered them again into the hands of the Philistines. When Israel was in this distress, Samson was born. His parents had been long childless. Many eminent persons were born of su...
Read full commentary →And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour?
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour?</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's birth and Nazirite calling. Samson represents both the heights of God-empowered strength and the depths of human weakness through moral compromise. His Nazirite vow (Numbers 6:1-21) set him apart a...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **What is thy name?**—Comp. Genesis 32:29; Exodus 3:13; Proverbs 30:4.
**We may do thee honour.**—Especially by a gift, which is the commonest Eastern notion of the word (Numbers 22:17; Jos. *Antt. v.* 8, § 3).
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**19-23. Gideon went in, and made ready a kid; ... the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot--**(See on Ge 18:7). The flesh seems to have been roasted, which is done by cutting it into kobab, that is, into small pieces, fixed on a skewer, and put before the fire. The broth was for immediate use; the other, brought in a hand-basket was intended to be a future supply to the travell...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
The Philistines, Samson announced.(1-7)
The angel appears to Manoah.(8-14)
Manoah's sacrifice.(15-23)
Birth of Samson.(24-25)
**Verses 1-7**
Israel did evil: then God delivered them again into the hands of the Philistines. When Israel was in this distress, Samson was born. His parents had been long childless. Many eminent persons were born of su...
Read full commentary →And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret ? secret: or, wonderful
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret?</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's birth and Nazirite calling. Samson represents both the heights of God-empowered strength and the depths of human weakness through moral compromise. His Nazirite vow (Numbers 6:1-21) set him apart as holy to God, yet his...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) **Seeing it is secret.**—The word *is peli, *which in Isaiah 9:5 is rendered “wonderful.” The word is an adjective, not the actual name of the angel. The only angel who names himself in Scripture is Gabriel.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**19-23. Gideon went in, and made ready a kid; ... the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot--**(See on Ge 18:7). The flesh seems to have been roasted, which is done by cutting it into kobab, that is, into small pieces, fixed on a skewer, and put before the fire. The broth was for immediate use; the other, brought in a hand-basket was intended to be a future supply to the travell...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
The Philistines, Samson announced.(1-7)
The angel appears to Manoah.(8-14)
Manoah's sacrifice.(15-23)
Birth of Samson.(24-25)
**Verses 1-7**
Israel did evil: then God delivered them again into the hands of the Philistines. When Israel was in this distress, Samson was born. His parents had been long childless. Many eminent persons were born of su...
Read full commentary →So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it upon a rock unto the LORD: and the angel did wondrously; and Manoah and his wife looked on.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it upon a rock unto the LORD: and the angel did wondrously; and Manoah and his wife looked on.</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's birth and Nazirite calling. Samson represents both the heights of God-empowered strength and the depths of human weakness through moral compromise. His Nazirite vow (N...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **Did wonderously.**—With a reference to the *word pelî *in the previous verse. (Comp. Judges 6:20-26.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**19-23. Gideon went in, and made ready a kid; ... the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot--**(See on Ge 18:7). The flesh seems to have been roasted, which is done by cutting it into kobab, that is, into small pieces, fixed on a skewer, and put before the fire. The broth was for immediate use; the other, brought in a hand-basket was intended to be a future supply to the travell...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
The Philistines, Samson announced.(1-7)
The angel appears to Manoah.(8-14)
Manoah's sacrifice.(15-23)
Birth of Samson.(24-25)
**Verses 1-7**
Israel did evil: then God delivered them again into the hands of the Philistines. When Israel was in this distress, Samson was born. His parents had been long childless. Many eminent persons were born of su...
Read full commentary →For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground.</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's birth and Nazirite calling. Samson represents both the heights of God-empowered strength and the de...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(20) **From off the altar.**—The rock (*tsor*) of Judges 13:19 is now hallowed into an altar (*mizbeach*)*.*
**Fell on their faces.**—Comp. Leviticus 9:24; Numbers 14:5; Ezekiel 1:28.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**24-32. it came to pass the same night, that the Lord said unto him--**The transaction in which Gideon is here described as engaged was not entered on till the night after the vision.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
The Philistines, Samson announced.(1-7)
The angel appears to Manoah.(8-14)
Manoah's sacrifice.(15-23)
Birth of Samson.(24-25)
**Verses 1-7**
Israel did evil: then God delivered them again into the hands of the Philistines. When Israel was in this distress, Samson was born. His parents had been long childless. Many eminent persons were born of su...
Read full commentary →But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the LORD.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the LORD.</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's birth and Nazirite calling. Samson represents both the heights of God-empowered strength and the depths of human weakness through moral compromise. His Nazirite vow (Numbers 6:1-21) set him apar...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**24-32. it came to pass the same night, that the Lord said unto him--**The transaction in which Gideon is here described as engaged was not entered on till the night after the vision.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
The Philistines, Samson announced.(1-7)
The angel appears to Manoah.(8-14)
Manoah's sacrifice.(15-23)
Birth of Samson.(24-25)
**Verses 1-7**
Israel did evil: then God delivered them again into the hands of the Philistines. When Israel was in this distress, Samson was born. His parents had been long childless. Many eminent persons were born of su...
Read full commentary →And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God.</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's birth and Nazirite calling. Samson represents both the heights of God-empowered strength and the depths of human weakness through moral compromise. His Nazirite vow (Numbers 6:1-21) set him apart as holy to God, yet his persistent violatio...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(22) **We shall surely die.**—See on Judges 6:22.
**We have seen God.**—*As seeing Him who is invisible; *by seeing a manifestation of Him in human form, “Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me and live” (Exodus 33:20). (Comp. Genesis 32:30; Deuteronomy 5:24.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**24-32. it came to pass the same night, that the Lord said unto him--**The transaction in which Gideon is here described as engaged was not entered on till the night after the vision.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
The Philistines, Samson announced.(1-7)
The angel appears to Manoah.(8-14)
Manoah's sacrifice.(15-23)
Birth of Samson.(24-25)
**Verses 1-7**
Israel did evil: then God delivered them again into the hands of the Philistines. When Israel was in this distress, Samson was born. His parents had been long childless. Many eminent persons were born of su...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's birth and Nazirite calling. Samson represents both the heights ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**24-32. it came to pass the same night, that the Lord said unto him--**The transaction in which Gideon is here described as engaged was not entered on till the night after the vision.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
The Philistines, Samson announced.(1-7)
The angel appears to Manoah.(8-14)
Manoah's sacrifice.(15-23)
Birth of Samson.(24-25)
**Verses 1-7**
Israel did evil: then God delivered them again into the hands of the Philistines. When Israel was in this distress, Samson was born. His parents had been long childless. Many eminent persons were born of su...
Read full commentary →And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him.</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's birth and Nazirite calling. Samson represents both the heights of God-empowered strength and the depths of human weakness through moral compromise. His Nazirite vow (Numbers 6:1-21) set him apart as holy to God, yet h...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(24) **Samson.**—Josephus renders the word “strong” (ἰσχυρός)*, *deriving it from a root (*shameem*)*, *and perhaps not unwilling to suggest an analogy between Samson and the Greek Hercules. St. Jerome, rendering it “strength of the sun,” derives it from *shemesh, “*sun,” and *on, “*strength.” It is more probable that it means “sunny.” In Ezra 4:8 we have the name Shimshai, perhaps from the same r...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**24-32. it came to pass the same night, that the Lord said unto him--**The transaction in which Gideon is here described as engaged was not entered on till the night after the vision.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
The Philistines, Samson announced.(1-7)
The angel appears to Manoah.(8-14)
Manoah's sacrifice.(15-23)
Birth of Samson.(24-25)
**Verses 1-7**
Israel did evil: then God delivered them again into the hands of the Philistines. When Israel was in this distress, Samson was born. His parents had been long childless. Many eminent persons were born of su...
Read full commentary →And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol. the camp: Heb. Mahanehdan
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.</strong><br><br>This verse belongs to the Samson cycle addressing Samson's birth and Nazirite calling. Samson represents both the heights of God-empowered strength and the depths of human weakness through moral compromise. His Nazirite vow (Numbers 6:1-21) set him apart as holy to God, yet h...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(25) **The Spirit of the Lord.**—Judges 3:10. The Targum of Jonathan paraphrases it rightly, “The spirit of courage from Jehovah.” Amos (Amos 2:11) ranks Nazarites with prophets. “Different as may be their mode of action, they agree in a belief, which strings up every power to its highest tension, that they are Jehovah’s very own, consecrated to Him by a wholly special calling” (Ewald).
**Began to...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**24-32. it came to pass the same night, that the Lord said unto him--**The transaction in which Gideon is here described as engaged was not entered on till the night after the vision.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
The Philistines, Samson announced.(1-7)
The angel appears to Manoah.(8-14)
Manoah's sacrifice.(15-23)
Birth of Samson.(24-25)
**Verses 1-7**
Israel did evil: then God delivered them again into the hands of the Philistines. When Israel was in this distress, Samson was born. His parents had been long childless. Many eminent persons were born of su...
Read full commentary →