Juízes 13

ARC · Chapter 13/21

¹E os filhos d'Israel tornaram a fazer o que parecia mal aos olhos do Senhor, e o Senhor os entregou na mão dos philisteos por quarenta annos.

²E havia um homem de Zora, da tribu de Dan, cujo nome era Manué: e sua mulher era esteril, e não paria.

³E o anjo do Senhor appareceu a esta mulher, e disse-lhe: Eis que agora és esteril, e nunca tens parido; porém conceberás, e parirás um filho.

⁴Agora, pois, guarda-te de que bebas vinho, ou bebida forte, ou comas coisa immunda.

⁵Porque eis que tu conceberás e parirás um filho sobre cuja cabeça não subirá navalha: porquanto o menino será nazireo de Deus desde o ventre: e elle começará a livrar a Israel da mão dos philisteos.

⁶Então a mulher entrou, e fallou a seu marido, dizendo: Um homem de Deus veiu a mim, cuja vista era similhante á vista d'um anjo de Deus, terribilissima: e não lhe perguntei d'onde era, nem elle me disse o seu nome;

⁷Porém disse-me: Eis que tu conceberás e parirás um filho: agora pois não bebas vinho, nem bebida forte, e não comas coisa immunda; porque o menino será nazireo de Deus, desde o ventre até ao dia da sua morte.

⁸Então Manué orou instantemente ao Senhor, e disse: Ah! Senhor meu, rogo-te que o homem de Deus, que enviaste, ainda venha para nós outra vez e nos ensine o que devemos fazer ao menino que ha de nascer.

⁹E Deus ouviu a voz de Manué: e o anjo de Deus veiu outra vez á mulher, e ella estava no campo, porém não estava com ella seu marido Manué.

¹⁰Apressou-se pois a mulher, e correu, e noticiou-o a seu marido, e disse-lhe: Eis que aquelle homem que veiu a mim o outro dia me appareceu.

¹¹Então Manué levantou-se, e seguiu a sua mulher, e veiu áquelle homem, e disse-lhe: És tu aquelle homem que fallaste a esta mulher? E disse: Eu sou

¹²Então disse Manué: Cumpram-se as tuas palavras: mas qual será o modo de viver e serviço do menino?

¹³E disse o anjo do Senhor a Manué: De tudo quanto eu disse á mulher se guardará ella.

¹⁴De tudo quanto procede da vide de vinho não comerá, nem vinho nem bebida forte beberá, nem coisa immunda comerá: tudo quanto lhe tenho ordenado guardará.

¹⁵Então Manué disse ao anjo do Senhor: Ora deixa que te detenhamos, e te preparemos um cabrito.

¹⁶Porém o anjo do Senhor disse a Manué: Ainda que me detenhas, não comerei de teu pão; e se fizeres holocausto o offerecerás ao Senhor. Porque não sabia Manué que fosse o anjo do Senhor

¹⁷E disse Manué ao anjo do Senhor: Qual é o teu nome? para que, quando se cumprir a tua palavra, te honremos.

¹⁸E o anjo do Senhor lhe disse: Porque perguntas assim pelo meu nome, visto que é maravilhoso?

¹⁹Então Manué tomou um cabrito e uma offerta de manjares, e os offereceu sobre uma penha ao Senhor: e obrou o anjo maravilhosamente, vendo-o Manué e sua mulher.

²⁰E succedeu que, subindo a chamma do altar para o céu, o anjo do Senhor subiu na chamma do altar: o que vendo Manué e sua mulher, cairam em terra sobre seus rostos.

²¹E nunca mais appareceu o anjo do Senhor a Manué, nem a sua mulher: então conheceu Manué que era o anjo do Senhor.

²²E disse Manué a sua mulher: Certamente morreremos, porquanto temos visto a Deus.

²³Porém sua mulher lhe disse: Se o Senhor nos quizera matar, não acceitaria da nossa mão o holocausto e a offerta de manjares, nem nos mostraria tudo isto, nem nos deixaria ouvir taes coisas n'este tempo.

²⁴Depois pariu esta mulher um filho, e chamou o seu nome Sansão: e o menino cresceu, e o Senhor o abençoou.

²⁵E o espirito do Senhor o começou a impellir de quando em quando para o campo de Dan, entre Zora e Estaol.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

An angel of the LORD announces to Manoah and his barren wife the birth of Samson, who would be a Nazirite from the womb and would begin to deliver Israel from the Philistines.

Explanation

The announced birth of Samson follows a recurring biblical pattern of barren mothers who receive promised sons through divine intervention (like Sarah, Rachel, and later Hannah), signaling that this child would play a special role in Israel's history. The restrictions of the Nazirite vow - not drinking wine, not cutting the hair, not touching anything unclean - were a call to total consecration from birth, showing that God was preparing Samson for a specific mission even before he could choose it for himself. Manoah's fearful reaction after realizing he had spoken with a divine messenger ('we shall surely die, because we have seen God') is balanced by his wife's practical wisdom, who reasons that God would not have accepted their offerings if He had wanted to kill them - a simple but effective argument that calms her husband's fear.

Fun facts

The Nazirite vow, described in detail in Numbers 6, was normally temporary and voluntary for adults, but in Samson's case (and later Samuel's) it was imposed as a lifelong condition even before birth.
The name Samson (Shimshon in Hebrew) is related to the word 'shemesh,' meaning sun - a name perhaps ironic given his destiny of shining strength followed by a fall into the darkness of blindness.

Verse-by-verse explanation

Juízes 13:1Israel again does what is evil in the sight of the Lord, and He delivers them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years, the longest oppression in the book so far.
Juízes 13:2A man named Manoah, from the tribe of Dan, lives in Zorah; his wife is barren and has never been able to have children.
Juízes 13:3The angel of the Lord appears to this woman and announces that, despite being barren, she will conceive and have a son.
Juízes 13:4The angel instructs her from now on not to drink wine or strong drink, nor eat anything unclean, since these rules will also apply to the son who is about to be born.
Juízes 13:5Samson is consecrated a Nazirite from the womb, meaning he must never cut his hair, never drink wine or strong drink, and never touch anything unclean. These are three rules he will break, one by one, throughout his own story, leading to his final downfall with Delilah.
Juízes 13:6The woman tells her husband Manoah that a man of frightening appearance, like an angel of God, appeared to her, but she did not ask where he came from nor learn his name.
Juízes 13:7She repeats the instruction she received: she will have a son who will be a Nazirite of God from the womb to the day of his death, so she must not drink wine or eat anything unclean.
Juízes 13:8Manoah prays, asking that the man of God come back to teach them how to care for the boy who is about to be born.
Juízes 13:9God answers the request, and the angel appears again to the woman, but this time she is alone in the field, with her husband nowhere near.
Juízes 13:10The woman runs quickly to tell her husband that the same man from before had appeared again.
Juízes 13:11Manoah gets up, follows his wife to the man, and asks if he is the one who had spoken with her before; the angel confirms that he is.
Juízes 13:12Manoah then asks what the life and mission of the boy who is about to be born should be like, wanting more detailed instructions.
Juízes 13:13The angel answers that the woman must follow everything already told to her before, without adding anything new for Manoah.
Juízes 13:14The angel repeats the rules: nothing that comes from the vine, no wine, no strong drink, no unclean food; everything already commanded must be kept to the letter.
Juízes 13:15Manoah asks the angel to stay a little longer, offering to prepare a young goat for him.
Juízes 13:16The angel refuses to eat, saying that if Manoah wants to offer a burnt offering, he must offer it to the Lord, not to him; the text explains that Manoah still had not realized he was speaking with the angel of the Lord.
Juízes 13:17Manoah asks the visitor's name, so he can honor him when the promise is fulfilled.
Juízes 13:18The angel answers by asking why Manoah wants to know his name, since it is secret, something beyond human understanding.
Juízes 13:19Manoah offers the young goat and a grain offering on a rock to the Lord, and the angel does something wondrous before him and his wife as they watch.
Juízes 13:20When the flame from the altar rises to the sky, the angel goes up in the flame; seeing this, Manoah and his wife fall with their faces to the ground in astonishment.
Juízes 13:21The angel never appears again to Manoah or his wife after this; only then does Manoah become certain that it really was the angel of the Lord.
Juízes 13:22Manoah tells his wife that they will surely die, because they believed that seeing God directly brought that consequence.
Juízes 13:23His wife reassures him with simple logic: if the Lord had wanted to kill them, He would not have accepted the sacrifice or shown them so many wonderful things.
Juízes 13:24The woman gives birth to a son and names him Samson; the boy grows up, and the Lord blesses him.
Juízes 13:25The Spirit of the Lord begins to stir Samson while he is still young, in the area between Zorah and Eshtaol, in the territory of the tribe of Dan.