Judges 13:24–25, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Judges 13:24–25
Samson grows under blessing and stirring
The child is born, named, and blessed
The woman bears a son and calls him Samson. The child grows, and the LORD blesses him. The birth notice is brief because the promise has come true, not because childhood is a throwaway prelude to feats.
The Spirit begins to stir him in Dan's camp
The Spirit of the LORD begins to move him at times in the camp of Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol. Stirring is real empowerment at the edge of Philistine country. It is not a certificate that every later impulse is holy, mature, or safe to copy.
Blessing and stirring can sit in the same life with later desire, secrecy, and blood. The narrator will not let readers deny the gift in order to condemn the man, or deny the later harm in order to protect the gift.
How this should shape us
Separate vocation from character review. Early promise in a leader is a reason for care and accountability, not a reason to exempt power from examination.
Teach it back
Explain Judges 13:24–25 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: The etymology and place traditions are uncertain, while the blessing and Spirit language are explicit. Readers should not resolve the tension by denying either calling or later failure.
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 13:24–25, 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, 13:24–25
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, textual, poetic, geographical, social, and uncertainty notes.
NET Bible Judges PDF, printed pp. 475-476, translation and notes on 13:24–25
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
Supports: Antiheroic masculinity, women under threat, secrecy, coercion, power, and the distinction between divine use and approval in the Samson cycle.
Mohale, 'A dangerous and powerful woman?' complete open-access article, pp. 1-7, especially pp. 3-6 on Judges 14
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 13:24–25, 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, 13:24–25
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 13:24–25
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 ↗peer reviewed open access article
A dangerous and powerful woman? A feminist reading of an old story with new cultural eyes
Makhosazana K. Mohale
Verbum et Ecclesia 43.1, a2558, 2022
Supports: Antiheroic masculinity, women under threat, secrecy, coercion, power, and the distinction between divine use and approval in the Samson cycle.
Exact location: Mohale, 'A dangerous and powerful woman?' complete open-access article, pp. 1-7, especially pp. 3-6 on Judges 14
Open source ↗