Bible Commentaries
Judges 13

Verses 1-25

Judges 13:5 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.

Judges 13:5 Word Study on “Nazarite” Strong says the Hebrew word “Nazarite” ( נָזִר ) (H5139) means, “to separate, i.e. consecrated,” saying the noun comes from the Hebrew verb ( נָזַר ) (H5144), which means, “To hold aloof, to set apart, to devote.”

Judges 13:5 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.

Judges 13:2-5 Comments - The Birth of Samson Foretold In Judges 13:4-5 the angel foretells of Samson’s birth. God also foreordains and calls us from the womb (Psalms 22:10, Colossians 1:26-27).

Psalms 22:10, “I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's belly .”

Colossians 1:26-27, “Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles ; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:”

Judges 13:17-18 Comments Manoah Asks the Angel for His Name In Judges 13:17-18 Manoah asks the angel to tell him his name, a request that the angel denied. Compare a similar question by Jacob and a similar statement by an angel in Genesis 32:29.

Genesis 32:29, “And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.”

Judges 13:19 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.

Judges 13:20 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.

Judges 13:19-20 Comments The Angel Accepts the Sacrifice - The angel accepted the sacrifice of Manoah, the father of Samson by consuming it with fire.

Judges 13:19, “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. 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.”

This fire also came down and consumed the sacrifice of Moses at the dedication of the Tabernacle in the wilderness (Leviticus 9:24).

Leviticus 9:24, “And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.”

A fire from heaven consumed the sacrifice of King David at the threshing floor of Ornan.

1 Chronicles 21:26, “And David built there an altar unto the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called upon the LORD; and he answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of burnt offering.”

A fire also came from heaven and consumed the sacrifice of King Solomon at the dedication of the temple.

2 Chronicles 7:1, “Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the house.”

Fire also consumed the sacrifice of Elijah on Mount Carmel.

1 Kings 18:38, “Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.”

In addition, during the time of Moses, God consumed the children of Israel with fire as a form of judgment (Numbers 11:1-2; Numbers 16:35).