Judges 13:1–7, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Judges 13:1–7
A promised child begins deliverance before he can act
Philistine hands close, and Israel does not cry
Israel again does evil in the LORD's sight and is given into the Philistines' hand forty years. Earlier cycles often record a cry before a deliverer rises. This one does not. Help is not waiting on a public prayer that the narrator never supplies.
The silence matters. Occupation is already the setting of Samson's life. Whatever strength later scenes display, they begin as partial rescue inside a domination that has not been lifted by popular repentance.
The messenger speaks to Manoah's unnamed wife
A woman who has borne no children is addressed directly. The messenger promises a son, binds her to avoid wine, strong drink, and unclean food, and says no razor shall come on the child's head, for he shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb. Then he states the mission: the child shall begin to deliver Israel out of the Philistines' hand.
Infertility here is the condition God answers, not a verdict on her worth. Prenatal restrictions belong to this vowed calling; they are not a standing rule to impose on pregnant people. She reports the awe of the encounter to Manoah without trimming the promise.
"Begin" is already a limit
The first word about Samson is not that he will finish the work. He will begin it. Gift, hair, and prenatal set-apartness do not make him a complete savior, and they do not pre-approve the desires and killings that follow.
How this should shape us
Honor a woman's first-hand report, and do not treat infertility as blame. Measure a calling by the actual mandate. Samson is set apart to begin a deliverance; he is not a superhero whose later violence becomes righteous because the birth was promised.
Teach it back
Explain Judges 13:1–7 in your own words. Include its scene movement, one source-supported detail, one material uncertainty, and one conclusion or imitation the complete context rules out.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do careful interpreters disagree?
Best judgment: Questions remain about the woman's ritual role, the relation to Numbers 6, and the compositional history of the birth account. Her priority as recipient and the limited mission statement are explicit.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact reader-facing Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Judges 13:1–7, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, names, clause relationships, repeated terms, wordplays, and translation control.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Judg.xml, 13:1–7
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, textual, poetic, geographical, social, and uncertainty notes.
NET Bible Judges PDF, printed pp. 475-476, translation and notes on 13:1–7
Supports: Recent whole-book literary organization, differentiated judge portraits, progressive decline, Abimelech, Samson, and the double epilogue within the limits of preview access.
Assis, Before There Were Kings, inspected contents and exposed summaries for the relevant literary section, printed pp. 285-340
Supports: Compositional alternatives, rhetorical relationships among prologue, central narratives, and epilogues, and the material YHWH-kingship alternative for the no-king refrain.
Wong, Compositional Strategy of the Book of Judges, University of Edinburgh repository abstract and chapter descriptions
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: Judges 13:1–7, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Judges
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, names, clause relationships, repeated terms, wordplays, and translation control.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Judg.xml, 13:1–7
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Judges with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, textual, poetic, geographical, social, and uncertainty notes.
Exact location: NET Bible Judges PDF, printed pp. 475-476, translation and notes on 13:1–7
Open source ↗modern scholarly monograph preview
Before There Were Kings: A Literary Analysis of the Book of Judges
Elie Assis
Penn State University Press / Eisenbrauns, 2024
Supports: Recent whole-book literary organization, differentiated judge portraits, progressive decline, Abimelech, Samson, and the double epilogue within the limits of preview access.
Exact location: Assis, Before There Were Kings, inspected contents and exposed summaries for the relevant literary section, printed pp. 285-340
Open source ↗doctoral thesis repository record
Compositional Strategy of the Book of Judges: An Inductive, Rhetorical Study
Gregory T. K. Wong
University of Edinburgh, 2005
Supports: Compositional alternatives, rhetorical relationships among prologue, central narratives, and epilogues, and the material YHWH-kingship alternative for the no-king refrain.
Exact location: Wong, Compositional Strategy of the Book of Judges, University of Edinburgh repository abstract and chapter descriptions
Open source ↗