19 So Manoah H4495 took H3947 a kid H1423 H5795 with a meat offering, H4503 and offered H5927 it upon a rock H6697 unto the LORD: H3068 and the angel did H6213 wondrously; H6381 and Manoah H4495 and his wife H802 looked on. H7200
And Gideon H1439 went in, H935 and made ready H6213 a kid, H5795 H1423 and unleavened cakes H4682 of an ephah H374 of flour: H7058 the flesh H1320 he put H7760 in a basket, H5536 and he put H7760 the broth H4839 in a pot, H6517 and brought it out H3318 unto him under the oak, H424 and presented H5066 it. And the angel H4397 of God H430 said H559 unto him, Take H3947 the flesh H1320 and the unleavened cakes, H4682 and lay H3240 them upon this H1975 rock, H5553 and pour out H8210 the broth. H4839 And he did H6213 so. Then the angel H4397 of the LORD H3068 put forth H7971 the end H7097 of the staff H4938 that was in his hand, H3027 and touched H5060 the flesh H1320 and the unleavened cakes; H4682 and there rose up H5927 fire H784 out of the rock, H6697 and consumed H398 the flesh H1320 and the unleavened cakes. H4682 Then the angel H4397 of the LORD H3068 departed H1980 out of his sight. H5869
And Elijah H452 said H559 unto all the people, H5971 Come near H5066 unto me. And all the people H5971 came near H5066 unto him. And he repaired H7495 the altar H4196 of the LORD H3068 that was broken down. H2040 And Elijah H452 took H3947 twelve H8147 H6240 stones, H68 according to the number H4557 of the tribes H7626 of the sons H1121 of Jacob, H3290 unto whom the word H1697 of the LORD H3068 came, saying, H559 Israel H3478 shall be thy name: H8034 And with the stones H68 he built H1129 an altar H4196 in the name H8034 of the LORD: H3068 and he made H6213 a trench H8585 about H5439 the altar, H4196 as great as would contain H1004 two measures H5429 of seed. H2233 And he put H6186 the wood H6086 in order, H6186 and cut H5408 the bullock H6499 in pieces, and laid H7760 him on the wood, H6086 and said, H559 Fill H4390 four H702 barrels H3537 with water, H4325 and pour H3332 it on the burnt sacrifice, H5930 and on the wood. H6086 And he said, H559 Do it the second time. H8138 And they did it the second time. H8138 And he said, H559 Do it the third time. H8027 And they did it the third time. H8027 And the water H4325 ran H3212 round about H5439 the altar; H4196 and he filled H4390 the trench H8585 also with water. H4325 And it came to pass at the time of the offering H5927 of the evening sacrifice, H4503 that Elijah H452 the prophet H5030 came near, H5066 and said, H559 LORD H3068 God H430 of Abraham, H85 Isaac, H3327 and of Israel, H3478 let it be known H3045 this day H3117 that thou art God H430 in Israel, H3478 and that I am thy servant, H5650 and that I have done H6213 all these things at thy word. H1697 Hear H6030 me, O LORD, H3068 hear H6030 me, that this people H5971 may know H3045 that thou art the LORD H3068 God, H430 and that thou hast turned H5437 their heart H3820 back H5437 again. H322 Then the fire H784 of the LORD H3068 fell, H5307 and consumed H398 the burnt sacrifice, H5930 and the wood, H6086 and the stones, H68 and the dust, H6083 and licked up H3897 the water H4325 that was in the trench. H8585
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Judges 13
Commentary on Judges 13 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 13
Jud 13:1. Israel Serves the Philistines Forty Years.
1. the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years—The Israelites were represented (Jud 10:6, 7) as having fallen universally into a state of gross and confirmed idolatry, and in chastisement of this great apostasy, the Lord raised up enemies that harassed them in various quarters, especially the Ammonites and Philistines. The invasions and defeat of the former were narrated in the two chapters immediately preceding this; and now the sacred historian proceeds to describe the inroads of the latter people. The period of Philistine ascendency comprised forty years, reckoning from the time of Elon till the death of Samson.
Jud 13:2-10. An Angel Appears to Manoah's Wife.
2. Zorah—a Danite town (Jos 15:33) lying on the common boundary of Judah and Dan, so that it was near the Philistine border.
3. the angel of the Lord—The messenger of the covenant, the divine personage who made so many remarkable appearances of a similar kind already described.
5. thou shalt conceive, and bear a son—This predicted child was to be a Nazarite. The mother was, therefore, for the sake of her promised offspring, required to practice the rigid abstinence of the Nazarite law (see on Nu 6:2).
he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines—a prophecy encouraging to a patriotic man; the terms of it, however, indicated that the period of deliverance was still to be distant.
6-8. then Manoah entreated the Lord—On being informed by his wife of the welcome intimation, the husband made it the subject of earnest prayer to God. This is a remarkable instance, indicative of the connection which God has established between prayer and the fulfilment of His promises.
Jud 13:11-14. The Angel Appears to Manoah.
11. Art thou the man that spakest unto the woman?—Manoah's intense desire for the repetition of the angel's visit was prompted not by doubts or anxieties of any kind, but was the fruit of lively faith, and of his great anxiety to follow out the instructions given. Blessed was he who had not seen, yet had believed.
Jud 13:15-23. Manoah's Sacrifice.
15. Manoah said unto the angel …, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid—The stranger declined the intended hospitality and intimated that if the meat were to be an offering, it must be presented to the Lord [Jud 13:6]. Manoah needed this instruction, for his purpose was to offer the prepared viands to him, not as the Lord, but as what he imagined him to be, not even an angel (Jud 13:16), but a prophet or merely human messenger. It was on this account, and not as rejecting divine honors, that he spoke in this manner to Manoah. The angel's language was exactly similar to that of our Lord (Mt 19:17).
17-20. Manoah said unto the angel …, What is thy name?—Manoah's request elicited the most unequivocal proofs of the divinity of his supernatural visitor—in his name "secret" (in the Margin, "wonderful"), and in the miraculous flame that betokened the acceptance of the sacrifice.
Jud 13:24, 25. Samson Born.
24. the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson—The birth of this child of promise, and the report of the important national services he was to render, must, from the first, have made him an object of peculiar interest and careful instruction.
25. the Spirit of the Lord began to move him at times—not, probably, as it moved the prophets, who were charged with an inspired message, but kindling in his youthful bosom a spirit of high and devoted patriotism.
Eshtaol—the free city. It, as well as Zorah, stood on the border between Judah and Dan.