Manoah’s Wife: A 3-Act Story

(2) There was a certain man from Zorah, of the stock of Dan, whose name was Manoah. His wife was infertile and had borne no children.(3) An angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, “You are infertile and have borne no children; but you shall conceive and bear a son.(4) Now be careful not to drink wine or other intoxicant, or to eat anything unclean.(5) For you are going to conceive and bear a son; let no razor touch his head, for the boy is to be a nazirite to God from the womb on. He shall be the first to deliver Israel from the Philistines.”(6) The woman went and told her husband, “A man of God came to me; he looked like an angel of God, very frightening. I did not ask him where he was from, nor did he tell me his name.(7) He said to me, ‘You are going to conceive and bear a son. Drink no wine or other intoxicant, and eat nothing unclean, for the boy is to be a nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death!’”

(8) Manoah pleaded with the LORD. “Oh, my Lord!” he said, “please let the man of God that You sent come to us again, and let him instruct us how to act with the child that is to be born.”(9) God heeded Manoah’s plea, and the angel of God came to the woman again. She was sitting in the field and her husband Manoah was not with her.(10) The woman ran in haste to tell her husband. She said to him, “The man who came to me before has just appeared to me.”(11) Manoah promptly followed his wife. He came to the man and asked him: “Are you the man who spoke to my wife?” “Yes,” he answered.(12) Then Manoah said, “May your words soon come true! What rules shall be observed for the boy?”(13) The angel of the LORD said to Manoah, “The woman must abstain from all the things against which I warned her.(14) She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, or drink wine or other intoxicant, or eat anything unclean. She must observe all that I commanded her.”

(15) Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “Let us detain you and prepare a kid for you.”(16) But the angel of the LORD said to Manoah, “If you detain me, I shall not eat your food; and if you present a burnt offering, offer it to the LORD.”—For Manoah did not know that he was an angel of the LORD.(17) So Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “What is your name? We should like to honor you when your words come true.”(18) The angel said to him, “You must not ask for my name; it is unknowable!”(19) Manoah took the kid and the meal offering and offered them up on the rock to the LORD; and a marvelous thing happened^-b while Manoah and his wife looked on.(20) As the flames leaped up from the altar toward the sky, the angel of the LORD ascended in the flames of the altar, while Manoah and his wife looked on; and they flung themselves on their faces to the ground.—(21) The angel of the LORD never appeared again to Manoah and his wife.—Manoah then realized that it had been an angel of the LORD.(22) And Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, for we have seen a divine being.”(23) But his wife said to him, “Had the LORD meant to take our lives, God would not have accepted a burnt offering and meal offering from us, nor let us see all these things; and God would not have made such an announcement to us.”(24) The woman bore a son, and she named him Samson. The boy grew up, and the LORD blessed him.

(1) Once Samson went down to Timnah; and while in Timnah, he noticed a certain young Philistine woman. (2) On his return, he told his father and mother, “I noticed one of the Philistine women in Timnah; please get her for me as a wife.” (3) His father and mother said to him, “Is there no one among the daughters of your own kindred and among all our people, that you must go and take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” But Samson answered his father, “Get me that one, for she is the one that pleases me.” (4) His father and mother did not realize that his request was from GOD, who was seeking a pretext against the Philistines, for the Philistines were ruling over Israel at that time. (5) So Samson and his father and mother went down to Timnah.
When he came to the vineyards of Timnah [for the first time], a full-grown lion came roaring at him. (6) The spirit of GOD gripped him, and he tore him asunder with his bare hands as one might tear a kid asunder; but he did not tell his father and mother what he had done. (7) Then he went down and spoke to the woman, and she pleased Samson.(8) Returning the following year to marry her, he turned aside to look at the remains of the lion; and in the lion’s skeleton he found a swarm of bees, and honey. (9) He scooped it into his palms and ate it as he went along. When he rejoined his father and mother, he gave them some and they ate it; but he did not tell them that he had scooped the honey out of a lion’s skeleton.(10) So his father came down to the woman, and Samson made a feast there, as young men used to do. (11) When the people of Timnah saw him, they designated thirty companions to be with him. (12) Then Samson said to them, “Let me propound a riddle to you. If you can give me the right answer during the seven days of the feast, I shall give you thirty linen tunics and thirty sets of clothing; (13) but if you are not able to tell it to me, you must give me thirty linen tunics and thirty sets of clothing.” And they said to him, “Ask your riddle and we will listen.” (14) So he said to them:
“Out of the eater came something to eat,Out of the strong came something sweet.”
For three days they could not answer the riddle.(15) On the seventh day, they said to Samson’s wife, “Coax your husband to provide us with the answer to the riddle; else we shall put you and your father’s household to the fire; have you invited us here in order to impoverish us?” (16) Then Samson’s wife harassed him with tears, and she said, “You really hate me, you don’t love me. You asked my people a riddle, and you didn’t tell me the answer.” He replied, “I haven’t even told my father and mother; shall I tell you?” (17) During the rest of the seven days of the feast she continued to harass him with her tears, and on the seventh day he told her, because she nagged him so. And she explained the riddle to her people. (18) On the seventh day, before the sunset, the townspeople said to him:
“What is sweeter than honey,And what is stronger than a lion?”
He responded:
“Had you not plowed with my heifer,You would not have guessed my riddle!”(19) The spirit of GOD gripped him. He went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty of its men. He stripped them and gave the sets of clothing to those who had answered the riddle. And he left in a rage for his father’s house.(20) Samson’s wife then got married to one of those who had been his wedding companions.

(2) There was a certain man from Zorah, of the stock of Dan, whose name was Manoah. His wife was infertile and had borne no children. (3) An angel of GOD appeared to the woman and said to her, “You are infertile and have borne no children; but you shall conceive and bear a son. (4) Now be careful not to drink wine or other intoxicant, or to eat anything impure. (5) For you are going to conceive and bear a son; let no razor touch his head, for the boy is to be a nazirite to God from the womb on. He shall be the first to deliver Israel from the Philistines.”(6) The woman went and told her husband, “An agent of God came to me; he looked like an angel of God, very frightening. I did not ask him where he was from, nor did he tell me his name. (7) He said to me, ‘You are going to conceive and bear a son. Drink no wine or other intoxicant, and eat nothing impure, for the boy is to be a nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death!’”(8) Manoah pleaded with GOD. “Oh, my Sovereign!” he said, “please let the agent of God that You sent come to us again, and let him instruct us how to act with the child that is to be born.” (9) God heeded Manoah’s plea, and the angel of God came to the woman again. She was sitting in the field and her husband Manoah was not with her. (10) The woman ran in haste to tell her husband. She said to him, “The man who came to me before has just appeared to me.” (11) Manoah promptly followed his wife. He came to that figure and asked him: “Are you the one who spoke to my wife?” “Yes,” he answered. (12) Then Manoah said, “May your words soon come true! What rules shall be observed for the boy?” (13) The angel of GOD said to Manoah, “The woman must abstain from all the things against which I warned her. (14) She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, or drink wine or other intoxicant, or eat anything impure. She must observe all that I commanded her.”(15) Manoah said to the angel of GOD, “Let us detain you and prepare a kid for you.” (16) But the angel of GOD said to Manoah, “If you detain me, I shall not eat your food; and if you present a burnt offering, offer it to GOD.”—For Manoah did not know that he was an angel of GOD. (17) So Manoah said to the angel of GOD, “What is your name? We should like to honor you when your words come true.” (18) The angel said to him, “You must not ask for my name; it is unknowable!”(19) Manoah took the kid and the grain offering and offered them up on the rock to GOD; and a marvelous thing happened while Manoah and his wife looked on. (20) As the flames leaped up from the altar toward the sky, the angel of GOD ascended in the flames of the altar, while Manoah and his wife looked on; and they flung themselves on their faces to the ground.— (21) The angel of GOD never appeared again to Manoah and his wife.—Manoah then realized that it had been an angel of GOD. (22) And Manoah said to his wife, “We will surely die, for we have seen a divine being.” (23) But his wife said to him, “Had GOD meant to take our lives, our burnt offering and grain offering would not have been accepted, nor would we have been shown all these things—and [God] would not have made such an announcement to us.”(24) The woman bore a son, and she named him Samson. The boy grew up, and GOD blessed him.