The Birth of Samson
(Numbers 6:1–21)

1And the sons of Israel again did evil in the eyes of YHWH. And YHWH delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.

2And there was a certain man from Zorah of the family of the Danite, and his name was Manoah. And his wife was barren and she had not given birth. 3And the angel† of YHWH appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold please, you are barren, and you have not borne children. You shall conceive and bear a son. 4And now be careful, please, and do not drink wine or strong drink, and do not eat anything unclean. 5For behold, you will conceive and bear a son. And a razor shall not come upon his head, for a Nazirite† to God shall be the child from the womb, and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.”

6And the woman came and spoke to her husband, saying, “A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God, exceedingly awesome. I did not ask Him where He was from, and his name he did not tell to me. 7And he said to me, ‘Behold, you will conceive and bear a son, and now, do not drink wine or strong drink, and do not eat anything unclean, for a Nazirite to God shall be the child from the womb until the day of his death.’”

8And Manoah prayed to YHWH and said, “O my Lord, the man of God whom You sent, please let him come again to us and teach us what we shall do for the child who will be born.”

9And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman, and she was sitting in the field, and Manoah her husband was not with her. 10And the woman hurried and ran and declared to her husband and said to him, “Behold, the man has appeared to me who came to me the other day.”

11And Manoah arose and followed after his wife, and he came to the man, and he said to him, “Are you the man who spoke to the woman?”

And He said, “I am.”

12And Manoah said, “Now let your words come, what will be the custom of the boy and his work?”

13And the angel of YHWH said to Manoah, “Of all that I said to the woman, let her take heed. 14Of anything that comes from the wine vine she may not eat, and wine or strong drink she may not drink, and anything unclean she may not eat. All that I have commanded her she shall keep.”

15And Manoah said to the angel of YHWH, “Let us detain, please, you, and we will prepare for you a kid of the goats.”

16And the angel of YHWH said to Manoah, “Even if you detain me, I will not eat of your food, but if you prepare a burnt offering, to YHWH you shall offer it.” For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of YHWH.

17And Manoah said to the angel of YHWH, “What is your name, that when your word comes, we may honor you?”

18And the angel of YHWH said to him, “Why is this—you do ask My name, and it is incomprehensible?”

19And Manoah took the kid of the goats, and a grain offering, and he offered it upon the rock to YHWH, and doing wonderously in doing it; and Manoah and his wife were watching. 20And it came to pass, in the going up of the flame from the altar toward the heavens, that the angel of YHWH ascended in the flame of the altar.

And Manoah and his wife saw it, and they fell on their faces to the ground. 21And the angel of YHWH added not again to appear to Manoah and his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of YHWH.

22And Manoah said to his wife, “We will surely die, because we have seen God.”

23And his wife said to him, “If YHWH had delighted to kill us, He would not have accepted from our hands a burnt offering and a grain offering, and He would not have shown us all these things, nor at this time would He have told us as this.”

24And the woman bore a son, and she called his name Samson. And the child grew, and YHWH blessed him. 25And the Spirit of YHWH began to move upon him at Mahaneh-dan,† between Zorah and between Eshtaol.