Juízes 13

BLIVRE · Chapter 13/21

¹E os filhos de Israel voltaram a fazer o mal aos olhos do SENHOR; e o SENHOR os entregou por mão dos filisteus, por quarenta anos.

²E havia um homem de Zorá, da tribo de Dã, o qual se chamava Manoá; e sua mulher era estéril, que nunca havia dado à luz.

³A esta mulher apareceu o anjo do SENHOR, e disse-lhe: Eis que tu és estéril, e não pariste: mas conceberás e darás à luz um filho.

⁴Agora, pois, olha que agora não bebas vinho, nem bebida forte, nem comas coisa imunda.

⁵Porque tu te farás grávida, e darás à luz um filho: e não subirá navalha sobre sua cabeça, porque aquele menino será nazireu a Deus desde o ventre, e ele começará a salvar a Israel da mão dos filisteus.

⁶E a mulher veio e contou-o a seu marido, dizendo: Um homem de Deus veio a mim, cujo aspecto era como o aspecto de um anjo de Deus, terrível em grande maneira; e não lhe perguntei de onde nem quem era, nem tampouco ele me disse seu nome.

⁷E disse-me: Eis que tu conceberás, e darás à luz um filho: portanto, agora não bebas vinho, nem bebida forte, nem comas coisa imunda; porque este menino desde o ventre será nazireu a Deus até o dia de sua morte.

⁸Então orou Manoá ao SENHOR, e disse: Ah, Senhor meu, eu te rogo que aquele homem de Deus que enviaste, torne agora a vir a nós, e nos ensine o que havemos de fazer com o menino que há de nascer.

⁹E Deus ouviu a voz de Manoá: e o anjo de Deus voltou outra vez à mulher, estando ela no campo; mas seu marido Manoá não estava com ela.

¹⁰E a mulher correu prontamente, e noticiou-o a seu marido, dizendo-lhe: Olha que se me apareceu aquele homem que veio a mim o outro dia.

¹¹E levantou-se Manoá, e seguiu a sua mulher; e assim que chegou ao homem, disse-lhe: És tu aquele homem que falaste à mulher? E ele disse: Eu sou.

¹²Então Manoá disse: Cumpra-se pois tua palavra. Que ordem se terá com o menino, e que deve?

¹³E o anjo do SENHOR respondeu a Manoá: A mulher se guardará de todas as coisas que eu lhe disse:

¹⁴Ela não comerá coisa que proceda da vide que dá vinho; não beberá vinho nem bebida forte, e não comerá coisa imunda: há de guardar tudo o que lhe mandei.

¹⁵Então Manoá disse ao anjo do SENHOR: Rogo-te permitas que te detenhamos, e preparemos um cabrito que pôr diante de ti.

¹⁶E o anjo do SENHOR respondeu a Manoá: Ainda que me detenhas não comerei de teu pão: mas se quiseres fazer holocausto, sacrifica-o ao SENHOR. E não sabia Manoá que aquele fosse anjo do SENHOR.

¹⁷Então disse Manoá ao anjo do SENHOR: Como é teu nome, para que quando se cumprir tua palavra te honremos?

¹⁸E o anjo do SENHOR respondeu: Por que perguntas por meu nome, que é oculto?

¹⁹E Manoá tomou um cabrito das cabras e uma oferta de alimentos, e o sacrificou sobre uma rocha ao SENHOR; e o anjo fez algo sobrenatural à vista de Manoá e de sua mulher.

²⁰Porque aconteceu que, quando a chama subia do altar até o céu, o anjo do SENHOR subiu na chama do altar à vista de Manoá e de sua mulher, os quais se prostraram em terra sobre seus rostos.

²¹E o anjo do SENHOR não voltou a aparecer a Manoá nem à sua mulher. Então conheceu Manoá que era o anjo do SENHOR.

²²E disse Manoá à sua mulher: Certamente morreremos, porque vimos a Deus.

²³E sua mulher lhe respondeu: Se o SENHOR nos quisesse matar, não tomaria de nossas mãos o holocausto e a oferta de alimentos, nem nos teria mostrado todas estas coisas, nem em tal tempo nos haveria anunciado isto.

²⁴E a mulher deu à luz um filho, e chamou-lhe por nome Sansão. E o menino creceu, e o SENHOR o abençoou.

²⁵E o espírito do SENHOR começou a manifestar-se nele nos acampamentos de Dã, entre Zorá 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.