Judges 13

The Birth of Samson

1 Again the children of Israel a did evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD delivered them b into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.

2 Now there was a certain man from c Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had no children. 3 And the d 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. 4 "Now therefore, please be careful e not to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything unclean. 5 "For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no f razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be g a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall h begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines." 6 So the woman came and told her husband, saying, i "A Man of God came to me, and His j countenance 1 was like the countenance of the Angel of God, very awesome; but I k did not ask Him where He was from, and He did not tell me His name. 7 "And He said to me, 'Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. Now drink no wine or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.' "

8 Then Manoah prayed to the LORD, and said, "O my Lord, please let the Man of God whom You sent come to us again and teach us what we shall do for the child who will be born." 9 And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the Angel of God came to the woman again as she was sitting in the field; but Manoah her husband was not with her. 10 Then the woman ran in haste and told her husband, and said to him, "Look, the Man who came to me the other day has just now appeared to me!" 11 So Manoah arose and followed his wife. When he came to the Man, he said to Him, "Are You the Man who spoke to this woman?" And He said, "I am." 12 Manoah said, "Now let Your words come to pass! What will be the boy's rule of life, and his work?" 13 So the Angel of the LORD said to Manoah, "Of all that I said to the woman let her be careful. 14 "She may not eat anything that comes from the vine, l nor may she drink wine or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean. All that I commanded her let her observe."

15 Then Manoah said to the Angel of the LORD, "Please m let us detain You, and we will prepare a young goat for You." 16 And the Angel of the LORD said to Manoah, "Though you detain Me, I will not eat your food. But if you offer a burnt offering, you must offer it to the LORD." (For Manoah did not know He was the Angel of the LORD.) 17 Then Manoah said to the Angel of the LORD, "What is Your name, that when Your words come to pass we may honor You?" 18 And the Angel of the LORD said to him, n "Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?" 19 So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, o and offered it upon the rock to the LORD. And He did a wondrous thing while Manoah and his wife looked on - 20 it happened as the flame went up toward heaven from the altar - the Angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar! When Manoah and his wife saw this, they p fell on their faces to the ground.

21 When the Angel of the LORD appeared no more to Manoah and his wife, q then Manoah knew that He was the Angel of the LORD. 22 And Manoah said to his wife, r "We shall surely die, because we have seen God!" 23 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." 24 So the woman bore a son and called his name s Samson; and t the child grew, and the LORD blessed him. 25 u And the Spirit of the LORD began to move upon him at 2 Mahaneh Dan 3 v between Zorah and w Eshtaol.

  1. Cross References
    Judges 2:11
    Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served the Baals.
  2. Cross References
    Judges 10:7
    So the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel; and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and into the hands of the people of Ammon.
    1 Samuel 12:9
    And when they forgot the LORD their God, He sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab; and they fought against them.
  3. Cross References
    Joshua 19:41
    And the territory of their inheritance was Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir Shemesh.
    Judges 16:31
    And his brothers and all his father's household came down and took him, and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah. He had judged Israel twenty years.
  4. Cross References
    Judges 6:12
    And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, "The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!
  5. Cross References
    Numbers 6:2
    Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'When either a man or woman consecrates an offering to take the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the LORD.
    Numbers 6:3
    He shall separate himself from wine and similar drink; he shall drink neither vinegar made from wine nor vinegar made from similar drink; neither shall he drink any grape juice, nor eat fresh grapes or raisins.
    Numbers 6:20
    'and the priest shall wave them as a wave offering before the LORD; they are holy for the priest, together with the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the heave offering. After that the Nazirite may drink wine.'
    Judges 13:4
    Now therefore, please be careful not to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything unclean.
    Luke 1:15
    For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.
  6. Cross References
    Numbers 6:5
    All the days of the vow of his separation no razor shall come upon his head; until the days are fulfilled for which he separated himself to the LORD, he shall be holy. Then he shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.
    1 Samuel 1:11
    Then she made a vow and said, "O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.
  7. Cross References
    Numbers 6:2
    Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'When either a man or woman consecrates an offering to take the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the LORD.
  8. Cross References
    1 Samuel 7:13
    So the Philistines were subdued, and they did not come anymore into the territory of Israel. And the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.
    2 Samuel 8:1
    After this it came to pass that David attacked the Philistines and subdued them. And David took Metheg Ammah from the hand of the Philistines.
    1 Chronicles 18:1
    After this it came to pass that David attacked the Philistines, subdued them, and took Gath and its towns from the hand of the Philistines.
  9. Cross References
    Genesis 32:24 - 30
    Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day.
  10. Cross References
    Matthew 28:3
    His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.
    Luke 9:29
    As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening.
    Acts 6:15
    And all who sat in the council, looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face of an angel.
  11. Cross References
    Judges 13:17
    Then Manoah said to the Angel of the LORD, "What is Your name, that when Your words come to pass we may honor You?
    Judges 13:18
    And the Angel of the LORD said to him, "Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?
  12. Cross References
    Numbers 6:3
    He shall separate himself from wine and similar drink; he shall drink neither vinegar made from wine nor vinegar made from similar drink; neither shall he drink any grape juice, nor eat fresh grapes or raisins.
    Numbers 6:4
    All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, from seed to skin.
    Judges 13:4
    Now therefore, please be careful not to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything unclean.
  13. Cross References
    Genesis 18:5
    "And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, inasmuch as you have come to your servant." They said, "Do as you have said."
    Judges 6:18
    "Do not depart from here, I pray, until I come to You and bring out my offering and set it before You." And He said, "I will wait until you come back."
  14. Cross References
    Genesis 32:29
    Then Jacob asked, saying, "Tell me Your name, I pray." And He said, "Why is it that you ask about My name?" And He blessed him there.
  15. Cross References
    Judges 6:19 - 21
    So Gideon went in and prepared a young goat, and unleavened bread from an ephah of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot; and he brought them out to Him under the terebinth tree and presented them.
  16. Cross References
    Leviticus 9:24
    And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.
    1 Chronicles 21:16
    Then David lifted his eyes and saw the angel of the LORD standing between earth and heaven, having in his hand a drawn sword stretched out over Jerusalem. So David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces.
    Ezekiel 1:28
    Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. So when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking.
    Matthew 17:6
    And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid.
  17. Cross References
    Judges 6:22
    Now Gideon perceived that He was the Angel of the LORD. So Gideon said, "Alas, O Lord GOD! For I have seen the Angel of the LORD face to face.
  18. Cross References
    Genesis 32:30
    So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: "For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.
    Exodus 33:20
    But He said, "You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.
    Deuteronomy 5:26
    For who is there of all flesh who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?
    Judges 6:22
    Now Gideon perceived that He was the Angel of the LORD. So Gideon said, "Alas, O Lord GOD! For I have seen the Angel of the LORD face to face.
    Judges 6:23
    Then the LORD said to him, "Peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die.
  19. Cross References
    Hebrews 11:32
    And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets:
  20. Cross References
    1 Samuel 3:19
    So Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.
    Luke 1:80
    So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.
  21. Cross References
    Judges 3:10
    The Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the LORD delivered CushanRishatha'im king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed over CushanRishatha'im.
    1 Samuel 11:6
    Then the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard this news, and his anger was greatly aroused.
    Matthew 4:1
    Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
  22. Cross References
    Joshua 15:33
    In the lowland: Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah.
    Judges 18:11
    And six hundred men of the family of the Danites went from there, from Zorah and Eshtaol, armed with weapons of war.
  23. Cross References
    Judges 16:31
    And his brothers and all his father's household came down and took him, and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah. He had judged Israel twenty years.
New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
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