The Birth of Samson

A man of Zorah named Manoah, from the tribe of the Danites, had a wife who was barren and had borne no children (Judges 13:2). An angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and announced that she would conceive and bear a son. The angel instructed her to drink no wine or strong drink and to eat nothing unclean, for the child was to be a Nazirite to God from the womb. The text does not say how the angel was dressed, but the woman described his appearance as very awesome, like the appearance of an angel of God (Judges 13:6).

Manoah prayed for the man of God to return to teach them how to raise the child. The angel appeared again to the woman while she was in the field, and she ran to inform Manoah. When Manoah asked if he was the same man who spoke to the woman, the angel confirmed that he was (Judges 13:11). The angel repeated the instructions regarding the woman’s diet and the requirement that no razor should touch the child's head, stating that the boy would begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.

Manoah offered to prepare a young goat for the visitor, but the angel instructed him to offer it as a burnt offering to the Lord instead. When Manoah asked for the visitor's name, the angel replied that his name was wonderful, or secret (Judges 13:18). As the flame from the altar went up toward heaven, the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame. Upon seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell on their faces to the ground. Manoah believed they would die because they had seen God, but his wife reasoned that the Lord would not have accepted their offering or shown them these things if He intended to kill them.