Judg 13
1
And the children of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of YHWH; and
YHWH delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.
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.
3
And the angel of YHWH appeared to the woman, and said to her, Behold now, you are
barren, and bear not; but you shall conceive, and bear a son.
4
Now therefore beware, I pray you, and drink no wine nor strong drink, and eat not
any unclean thing:
5
for, behold, you shall conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come upon his
head; for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb: and he shall begin to
save Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.
6
Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came to me, and his
countenance was like the countenance of the angel of God, very terrible; and I asked
him not whence he was, neither told he me his name:
7
but he said to me, Behold, you shall conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine
nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing; for the child shall be a Nazirite
to God from the womb to the day of his death.
8
Then Manoah entreated YHWH, and said, Oh, Lord, I pray you, let the man of God whom
you did send come again to us, and teach us what we shall do to the child that shall
be born.
9
And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again to the woman
as she sat in the field: but Manoah her husband was not with her.
10
And the woman made haste, and ran, and told her husband, and said to him, Behold,
the man has appeared to me, that came to me the [other] day.
11
And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said to him, Art
you the man that spoke to the woman? And he said, I am.
12
And Manoah said, Now let your words come to pass: what shall be the ordering of the
child, and [how] shall we do to him?
13
And the angel of YHWH said to Manoah, Of all that I said to the woman let her beware.
14
She may not eat of anything that comes of the vine, neither let her drink wine or
strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing; all that I commanded her let her observe.
15
And Manoah said to the angel of YHWH, I pray you, let us detain you, that we may make
ready a kid for you.
16
And the angel of YHWH said to Manoah, Though you detain me, I will not eat of your
bread; and if you will make ready a burnt-offering, you must offer it to YHWH. For
Manoah knew not that he was the angel of YHWH.
17
And Manoah said to the angel of YHWH, What is your name, that, when your words come
to pass, we may do you honor?
18
And the angel of YHWH said to him, Wherefore ask you after my name, seeing it is wonderful?
19
So Manoah took the kid with the meal-offering, and offered it upon the rock to YHWH:
and [the angel] did wondrously, and Manoah and his wife looked on.
20
For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that
the angel of YHWH ascended in the flame of the altar: and Manoah and his wife looked
on; and they fell on their faces to the ground.
21
But the angel of YHWH did no more appear to Manoah or to his wife. Then Manoah knew
that he was the angel of YHWH.
22
And Manoah said to his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God.
23
But his wife said to him, If YHWH were pleased to kill us, he would not have received
a burnt-offering and a meal-offering at our hand, neither would he have showed us
all these things, nor would at this time have told such things as these.
24
And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and YHWH
blessed him.
25
And the Spirit of YHWH began to move him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.