Judges 13:12
in Judges 13Then Manoah asked, “When your words come to pass, what will be the boy’s rule of life and mission?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass: what shall be the ordering of the child, and how shall we do unto him?
KJV
And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him?
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This verse in Judges 13
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Translate, “What shall be the manner (or ordering) of the child, and what shall be his work (or exploits).” The original message of the Angel had given information on these two points: (1) how the child was to be brought up, namely, as a Nazarite; (2) what he should do, namely, begin to deliver Israel. Manoah desires to have the information repeated (compare 1Sa 17:26-27, 1Sa 17:30). Accordingly, in Jdg 13:13 the Angel refers to, and enlarges upon, his former injunctions.
This site's exposition
And Manoah arose, and went
on Judges 13:11-14
Manoah's question at verse 12 asks two things, how the child is to be ordered and what is to be done to him, and the angel answers by pointing him back to his wife. Everything said to Manoah repeats what was said to her, and the charge stays on her, let her beware, all that I commanded her let her observe. Any thing that cometh of the vine is the wording of Numbers 6:4, which reaches to kernels and husk as well as to wine. Nothing further is laid on the boy beyond the razor of verse 5, so the discipline this chapter describes is the mother's to keep.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
And Manoah said, now let thy words come to pass,....
It was a vulgar opinion generally received among the ancient Jews that it was present death to see God or an angel; and this notion quite overcome his faith for the present, as it did Gideon's, ch. vi. In his wife's reflection upon it there is great faith,
But here it is secret, or it is wonderful, too wonderful for us. One of Christ's names is Wonderful, Isa. ix. His name was long a secret, but by the gospel it is brought to light: Jesus a Saviour.
Let not one devolve it on the other, but both do their best. Observe from Manoah's enquiry, [1.] In general, that, when God is pleased to bestow any mercy upon us, our great care must be how to use it well, and as we ought, because it is then only a mercy indeed when it is rightly managed.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
What regulations must we follow with the boy? How shall we treat him? What should appropriately be done with the boy, what must we do with him? 3 Targum Yonasan. The question was not what must the boy do, but what must we do with him.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 7 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| מָנ֔וֹחַ | manoach | Manoah | H4495 → | 18 times |
| עַתָּ֖ה | ʾatah | now | H6258 → | 433 times |
| יָבֹ֣א | yavo' | it will come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| דְבָרֶ֑יךָ | devareikha | words your | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| מַה־ | mah- | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| יִּֽהְיֶ֥ה | yihyeh | will it be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| מִשְׁפַּט־ | mishpat- | [the] manner of | H4941 → | 422 times |
| הַנַּ֖עַר | hanaar | the lad | H5288 → | 239 times |
| וּמַעֲשֵֽׂהוּ׃ | umaasehu | and work his | H4639 → | 236 times |
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
מָנ֔וֹחַManoah
manoachH4495 →18 times
עַתָּ֖הnow
ʾatahH6258 →433 times
יָבֹ֣אit will come
yavo'H935 →2568 times
דְבָרֶ֑יךָwords your
devareikhaH1697 →1440 times
מַה־what?
mah-H4100 →752 times
יִּֽהְיֶ֥הwill it be
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
מִשְׁפַּט־[the] manner of
mishpat-H4941 →422 times
הַנַּ֖עַרthe lad
hanaarH5288 →239 times
וּמַעֲשֵֽׂהוּ׃and work his
umaasehuH4639 →236 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 22:6Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.
it leads to
- Ephesians 6:4
Fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath; instead, bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 6:7
And you shall teach them diligently to your children and speak of them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Timothy 3:15
From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 18:19
For I have chosen him, so that he will command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, in order that…
- Deuteronomy 4:9
Only be on your guard and diligently watch yourselves, so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen, and so that they do not slip from your heart as long as…
- Ephesians 6:4
Through
Ephesians 6:4Fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath; instead, bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
it leads to
- Colossians 3:21
Fathers, do not provoke your children, so they will not become discouraged.
- Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.
- Colossians 3:21
Through
Proverbs 4:4he taught me and said, “Let your heart lay hold of my words; keep my commands and you will live.
it leads to
- Proverbs 3:1
My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments;
- Proverbs 3:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Judges
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.