B J 13:1-. Delivered to oppressors.
K 13:-1.Time of servitude (40 years).
J 13:2–16:31-. Delivered by Samson.
K 16:-31. Time of government (20 years).Judges 13)
1: And the sons of Israel did evil again (Heb. added to commit) in the sight of the Lord;
and the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.
1120 to 1100 B.C.
J L 13:2-21. Promise. A deliverer.
M 13:22,23. Parents. Fear, and Cheer.
M 13:24,25. Child. Growth, and Power.
L 14:1–16:31-. Promise fulfilled. Deliverer.
L m¹ 2-7. First appearance of Angel. m² 8-14. Second appearance of Angel. m³ 15-21. Detention of Angel.
m¹ n 2-. Manoah, alone.
o -2. His wife, alone.
o 3-5. His wife, and Angel.
n 6,7. Manoah, and wife.2: And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah (= rest);
and his wife was barren, and bare not.
3: And the Angel of the Lord 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 not wine nor strong drink (cp. Num.6:2,3), and eat not any unclean thing:
5: For, lo, you shall conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God (= one separate to Elohim) from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.”
6: Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, “A Man of God (this was according to her apprehension) came to me, and His appearance was like the appearance of an Angel of God, very awe-inspiring: but I asked Him not from which place 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, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death.”
m² p 8-. Reappearance entreated.
q -8. Direction sought.
p 9-11. Reappearance vouchsafed (bestow).
q 12-14. Direction given.8: Then Manoah untreated the Lord, and said,
“O Lord, let the Man of God Which You did send come again to us, and teach us what we shall do to the child that shall be born.”
9: And God listened to the voice of Manoah; and the Angel of God appeared 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 showed 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, “Are You the Man that spoke to the woman?” And He said, “I am.” (Heb. ’eyah. See Ex. 3:14)
12: And Manoah said, “Now let Your words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do to him?” (Heb. "What shall be the rule of concerning the boy, and what shall be his work?")
13: And the Angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Of all that I said to the woman let her beware.
14: She may not eat of any thing that comes of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: all that I forbade her let her observe.”
m³ r 15,16-. Invitation of Manoah.
s t -16. Manoah's ignorance.
u 17,18. Angel's name. "Wonderful".
r 19-. Offering of Manoah.
s u -19-21-. Angel's action. "Wonderful".
t -21. Manoah's knowledge.
15: And Manoah said to the Angel of the Lord, “I pray You, let us detain you, until we shall have made ready a kid of the goats for You.”
16: And the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Though you detain Me, I will not eat of your bread (put for food of all kinds): and if you will prepare a burnt offering, you must offer it to the Lord.”
For Manoah knew not that He was an Angel of the Lord.
17: And Manoah said to the Angel of the Lord, “What is Your name, that when Your sayings come to pass we may do You honor?”
18: And the Angel of the Lord said to him, “Why ask you thus after My name, seeing it is secret?” (Heb. wonderful. Same as Isa. 9:6)
19: So Manoah took a kid of the goats with a meal offering, and caused it to ascend upon a rock to the the Lord:
and the Angel did a wonderful thing; and Manoah and his wife looked on.
20: For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven (see Gen.4:4)
from off the altar (the rock is deemed 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.
21: 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.
22: And Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, because we have seen God.”
23: But his wife said to him, “If the Lord were pleased to kill us, He would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands (it is the acceptance of our Substitute by Which God saves, not or acceptance of Him. This is sound reasoning), neither would He have showed us all these things, nor would as at this time have told us such things as these.”
24: And the woman bare a son, and called him Samson (like the sun): and the child grew (Israel waited 20 years for deliverance), and the Lord blessed him.
25: And the Spirit of the Lord began (they had yet to wait. Cp. 15:20) to stir him with trouble (see Gen.41:8) to and fro in the camp of Dan (where Israel lay in a fortified place. Cp. 18:12) between Zorah and Eshtaol (on the border of Judah).