Manoah

1The people of Israel did evil things again. So God let the Philistines rule over them for forty years.

And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.

NoteThe Philistines were a strong people who lived by the sea. They lived close to Israel and often fought them.

2A man named Manoah lived in a town called Zorah. He was from the family group of Dan. His wife could not have children, and none had been born to them.

And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not.

NoteIsrael was made of twelve big family groups called tribes. Dan was one of them. Zorah was a small town in the hills.

3The angel of the LORD came to the woman. He said, "You have had no children. But now you will have a son."

And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son.

NoteAn angel is a messenger God sends to bring people his words. Long ago, a family with no children felt very sad. People also hoped for children to care for them when they got old.

4"So be careful. Do not drink wine or any strong drink. Do not eat anything God has called unclean."

Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing:

Note"Strong drink" was a drink made from grain or fruit. It made people drunk, like wine did. "Unclean" food was food God told Israel not to eat. It was not about being dirty. It was about following God's rules.

5"You will have a son. No one may ever cut his hair. He will be a Nazarite, set apart for God, from before he is born. He will start to save Israel from the Philistines."

For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.

NoteA Nazarite made special promises to God. He never cut his hair. He never drank wine. He stayed away from dead bodies. His long hair showed everyone that he belonged to God.

6The woman went and told her husband. She said, "A man of God came to me. He looked like an angel of God. I was full of wonder and fear. I did not ask where he came from. He did not tell me his name."

Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name:

NoteA "man of God" meant a prophet. A prophet told people what God said. The King James Bible says the man was "very terrible." Back then that meant awesome, or full of wonder. It did not mean bad.

7"He told me, 'You will have a son. Do not drink wine or strong drink. Do not eat anything unclean. The boy will be a Nazarite, set apart for God, all his life.'"

But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death.

8Then Manoah prayed to the LORD. He said, "Please send that man of God to us again. Let him teach us how to raise the boy."

Then Manoah intreated the LORD, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.

NoteManoah wanted to know how to raise a Nazarite boy. There were special rules to follow.

9God listened to Manoah. The angel of God came to the woman again. She was sitting in a field. Her husband was not with her.

And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah her husband was not with her.

10The woman hurried and ran to her husband. She said, "Look! The man who came to me the other day is here again!"

And the woman made haste, and ran, and shewed her husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that came unto me the other day.

11Manoah got up and followed his wife. He came to the man and asked, "Are you the one who talked to my wife?" The man said, "I am."

And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said unto him, Art thou the man that spakest unto the woman? And he said, I am.

12Manoah said, "When your words come true, how should the boy live? What work will he do?"

And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him?

NoteThe King James Bible asks, "How shall we order the child?" That means, how should we raise him?

13The angel of the LORD said to Manoah, "Your wife must do everything I told her."

And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware.

14"She must not eat anything that grows on a grapevine. She must not drink wine or strong drink. She must not eat anything unclean. She must do all I told her."

She may not eat of any thing that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: all that I commanded her let her observe.

NoteGrapes grow on a vine. Wine is made from grapes. A Nazarite ate no grapes, no raisins, and drank no wine.

15Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, "Please stay a while. We will cook a young goat for you."

And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee.

NoteLong ago, you honored a guest by cooking a meal. A young goat was a very special gift. It cost a lot to give away.

16The angel said, "Even if I stay, I will not eat your food. If you make a burnt offering, give it to the LORD." Manoah still did not know he was the angel of the LORD.

And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the LORD. For Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the LORD.

NoteA burnt offering was a gift to God. An animal was placed on an altar and burned up. The smoke rose to the sky like a present going to God.

17Manoah asked the angel of the LORD, "What is your name? When your words come true, we want to honor you."

And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour?

18The angel of the LORD said, "Why do you ask my name? It is too wonderful for you to understand."

And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret?

NoteKnowing someone's name felt like knowing who they really are. The angel would not share his name.

19So Manoah took a young goat and a gift of grain. He offered them on a rock to the LORD. The LORD did an amazing thing. Manoah and his wife watched.

So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it upon a rock unto the LORD: and the angel did wonderously; and Manoah and his wife looked on.

NoteThe King James Bible says "meat offering." In 1611, "meat" just meant food. This offering was grain, not meat at all.

20The flame rose up from the altar toward the sky. The angel of the LORD went up in the flame. Manoah and his wife saw it. They bowed with their faces to the ground.

For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground.

NoteAn altar was a pile of stones. People burned their gifts to God on it. Here Manoah used a big rock as his altar. Bowing with your face to the ground showed deep respect.

21The angel of the LORD never appeared to them again. Then Manoah knew he was the angel of the LORD.

But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the LORD.

22Manoah said to his wife, "We are going to die! We have seen God!"

And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God.

NotePeople believed that no one could see God and live. Manoah thought they had seen too much.

23But his wife said, "If the LORD wanted to kill us, he would not have taken our gifts. He would not have shown us these things. He would not have told us this news."

But his wife said unto him, If the LORD were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have shewed us all these things, nor would as at this time have told us such things as these.

24The woman had a son. She named him Samson. The boy grew up, and the LORD blessed him.

And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him.

NoteThe name Samson sounds like the Hebrew word for sun.

25The Spirit of the LORD began to stir Samson at times. This happened at the camp of Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Note"Stir" means God's power started working inside Samson. The camp of Dan was a place where his family group stayed. Zorah and Eshtaol were two towns nearby.

30Samson said, "Let me die with the Philistines." He pushed with all his might. The building fell on the leaders and everyone inside. He killed more people when he died than in his whole life.

And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.

31His brothers and his father's family came and carried his body home. They buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol, in the grave of his father Manoah. Samson had led Israel as their judge for twenty years.

Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the buryingplace of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years.

NoteA judge here does not mean someone in a courtroom. It means a leader God chose to help and rescue Israel. Zorah and Eshtaol were small towns where Samson's family lived.