Judges 13.1-25 begins to tell the story of one of the most important judges Israel ever had, a man named Samson (Hebrew “Shimshon” meaning “sunshine”). His story will cover from Judges 13.1 to Judges 16.31. He will be a picture of Yeshua in many ways. This chapter deals with the oppression of the Philistines on the west side of the Jordan; the last few chapters dealt with oppression on the east side of the Jordan; Samson’s birth was foretold by an angel to his mother; the angel appears to his mother and father; the birth of Samson.
v 1…Now the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord (idolatry), so that the Lord gave them into the hands of the Philistines (wallowers) forty (testing) years (the same, sad cycle starts again).
v 2…And there was a certain man of Zorah (she was fruitful with zara’at or “leprosy” alluding to Israel in sin), of the family of the Danites (judge), whose name was Manoah (Manoach meaning rest, and similar to Noach), and his wife was barren and borne no children.
v 3…Then the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and give birth to a son (alludes to the “woman” of Gen 3.15).
v 4…Now therefore, be careful not to drink wine or strong drink nor eat any unclean (out of place) thing (so that Samson could be consecrated as a Nazarite even in the womb-Num 6.13-20).
v 5…For behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and no razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines (but that deliverance will not be complete till David; this is another clear case of God’s election and predestination).”
v 6…Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, “A man of God (a term used for a prophet or one with an intimate relationship with God and appearing in human form) came to me and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God, very awesome (inspiring awe and admiration). And I did not ask him where he came from, nor did he tell me his name.
v 7…But he said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and now you shall not drink wine or strong drink nor eat any unclean thing (out of place), for the boy shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death (he was to be a lifetime Nazarite; some were Nazarites for a days, months or according to their vow like Paul in Acts 18.18, 21.24, 24.17).’ “
v 8…Then Manoah entreated the Lord and said, “O Lord, please let the man of God whom you have sent come to us again that he may teach us what to do for the boy when he is to be born.”
v 9…And God listened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again to the woman as she was sitting in the field (probably the same place she was before), but Manoah her husband was not with her (this alludes to Israel sitting “in the world” awaiting the coming of the promised child, the Messiah).
v 10..So the woman ran quickly and told her husband, “Behold, the man who came the other day appeared to me.”
v 11…Then Manoah arose and followed his wife (who had run ahead), and when he came to the man he said to him, “Are you the man who spoke to the woman?” And he said, “I am.”
v 12…And Manoah said, “Now when your words come to pass, what shall be the boy’s mode of life and his vocation (he wanted to raise the boy in a manner that would be in accordance to God’s plan for him, knowing the rules of a Nazarite lifestyle and the calling God must have on his life if he is a lifetime Nazarite).
v 13… So the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Let the woman pay attention (beware) to all I have said.
v 14…She should not eat anything that comes from the vine nor drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean (out of place) thing; let her observe all that I commanded.”
v 15…Then Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “Please let us detain you so that we may prepare a kid for you (thinking he was man or a prophet).”
v 16…And the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Though you detain me, I will not eat your food (bread), but if you prepare a burnt offering, then offer it to the Lord.” For Manoah did not know know that he was an angel of the Lord (unbelieving Israel can have no communion with God until Yeshua is accepted, and Israel is also ignorant of who Yeshua really is like Manoah).
v 17…And Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “What is your name so that when your words come to pass, we may honor you (Manoah wanted to worship him like Jacob-Gen 32.29).
v 18…But the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful (hidden and not to be known; it is incomprehensible; this alludes to Exo 6.3; Rev 19.12; Isa 30.27; Isa 9.6; Prov 21.20; Psa 119. 18, 129).”
v 19…So Manoah took the kid with the grain offering and offered it on the rock (serving as an altar; though Manoah was not a priest, and such offerings were forbidden and only to be done at the Mishkan since the bamot were forbidden, yet all this was bypassed through the words of the angel; the “rock” is a term for the Messiah and alludes to the deliverance Israel will have through the Messiah) to the Lord, and he performed wonders (alluding to his name in v 18) while Manoah and his wife looked on (fire came down from heaven or from the rock).
v 20…For it came about when the flame went up from the altar toward heaven, that the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame (and the smoke) of the altar. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell on their faces to the ground (their offering was accepted, and this alludes to the ascension of Yeshua to heaven in a cloud in Acts 1.9).
v 21…Now the angel of the Lord appeared no more to Manoah or his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the Lord (and not a mere man or prophet).
v 22…So Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, for we have seen God.”
v 23…But his wife said to him (being less fearful), “If the Lord desired to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering (Korban Olah) and a grain offering (Korban Minchah) 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 (the promises made; spiritually this tells us that if God wanted to harm us after showing us our sins, we would have never been shown mercy and grace. Yeshua is our Korban Olah and Korban Minchah and he has been accepted by God. Justice has been served and we await the fulfillment of all his promises).
v 24…Then the woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson (Shimshon Ben Manoach) and the child grew up and the Lord blessed him (Shimshon means “sunshine” and alludes to the shining countenance of the angel, and his job will be to lead Israel out of darkness into the light. This alludes to the Messiah in Psa 19.4-5; Mal 4.2; Gen 32.31; Isa 30.26; Judges 5.31; Psa 84.11; Hab 3.4; Isa 59.19; Luke 1.78; Matt 17.1-2).
v 25…And the Spirit (ruach) of the Lord (Yehovah) began to stir in him in Mahaneh-dan (camp of Dan/judge) between Zorah (leprous) and Eshtaol (to be entreated, petition; this alludes to the fact that Yehovah will be sought out, or entreated and petitioned, by those who judge themselves and repent of our “Zorah” or Zara’at/leprosy/sin-Isa 1.18).
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