Judges 13:2
in Judges 13Now there was a man from Zorah named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, whose wife was barren and had no children.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Judges 13
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Zorah - See the marginal reference. His wife was barren - To mark more distinctly the high providential destiny of the child that was eventually born. Compare the similar circumstances of the birth of Isaac, Jacob, Samuel, and John the Baptist.
This site's exposition
delivered them into the hand
on Judges 13:1-2
This is the seventh and last time the book says Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, after 2:11, 3:7, 3:12, 4:1, 6:1 and 10:6. Forty years is the longest servitude in Judges, against the eighteen years of Moab at 3:14 and the twenty of Jabin at 4:3, and no verse in this cycle says Israel cried unto the Lord. That beat falls six times earlier, at 3:9, 3:15, 4:3, 6:6, 6:7 and 10:10, so God moves toward a deliverer here while nobody has asked. Zorah stands in Judah's lowland list at Joshua 15:33 and in Dan's at Joshua 19:41, and Dan is the tribe that Judges 18:1 shows still looking for ground to live on.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
After the spirit of the Hebrews had been so subdued by the pressure of a long subjection that no one dared with a manly spirit to rouse them to liberty, Samson, fore-ordained by the Divine oracle, was raised up to them. A great man he was, not one of the multitude, but first among the few, and beyond controversy far excelling all in bodily strength.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Thus Jacob, the patriarch Joseph, Samson, [who was] the bravest of the chieftains, and Samuel, [who was] the most distinguished of the prophets, [all] had as their progenitors [mothers who were] for a long time barren in body but always fruitful in virtues. In this …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Dan signifies a judge or judgment, Gen. xxx. And probably it was with an eye to Samson that dying Jacob foretold, Dan shall judge his people, that is, "he shall produce a judge for his people, though one of the sons of the handmaids, as one, as well as any one, of the tribes of Israel," Gen. xlix.
And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A certain man of Zorah - A town in the tribe of Judah, but afterwards given to Dan.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִי֩ | vayhi | and he was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| אִ֨ישׁ | ʾish | a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֶחָ֧ד | ʾechad | one | H259 → | 971 times |
| מִצָּרְעָ֛ה | mitzareah | from Zorah | H6881 → | 10 times |
| מִמִּשְׁפַּ֥חַת | mimishpachat | from [the] clan of | H4940 → | 303 times |
| הַדָּנִ֖י | hadani | the Danite[s] | H1839 → | 5 times |
| וּשְׁמ֣וֹ | ushemo | and name his | H8034 → | 864 times |
| מָנ֑וֹחַ | manoach | [was] Manoah | H4495 → | 18 times |
| וְאִשְׁתּ֥וֹ | veishto | and wife his | H802 → | 781 times |
| עֲקָרָ֖ה | ʾakarah | [was] barren | H6135 → | |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָלָֽדָה׃ | yaladah | she had borne children | H3205 → | 496 times |
וַיְהִי֩and he was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
אִ֨ישׁa man
ʾishH376 →1663 times
אֶחָ֧דone
ʾechadH259 →971 times
מִצָּרְעָ֛הfrom Zorah
mitzareahH6881 →10 times
מִמִּשְׁפַּ֥חַתfrom [the] clan of
mimishpachatH4940 →303 times
הַדָּנִ֖יthe Danite[s]
hadaniH1839 →5 times
וּשְׁמ֣וֹand name his
ushemoH8034 →864 times
מָנ֑וֹחַ[was] Manoah
manoachH4495 →18 times
וְאִשְׁתּ֥וֹand wife his
veishtoH802 →781 times
עֲקָרָ֖ה[was] barren
ʾakarahH6135 →
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יָלָֽדָה׃she had borne children
yaladahH3205 →496 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
Genesis 25:21Later, Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. And the LORD heard his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived.
it leads to
- Ezra 8:23
So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and He granted our request.
- 2 Chronicles 33:13
And when he prayed to Him, the LORD received his plea and heard his petition; so He brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD is God.
- Isaiah 58:9
Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry out, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you remove the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger and…
- Luke 1:13
But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.
- Romans 9:10–12
Not only that, but Rebecca’s children were conceived by one man, our father Isaac.
- Ezra 8:23
Through
Genesis 16:1Now Abram’s wife Sarai had borne him no children, but she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar.
it leads to
- Galatians 4:24
These things serve as illustrations, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children into slavery: This is Hagar.
- Galatians 4:24
Through
Joshua 15:33These were in the foothills:
it leads to
- Judges 16:31
Then Samson’s brothers and his father’s family came down, carried him back, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah. And he had judged Israel twenty years.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Judges 13:25
And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him at Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Judges 16:31
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Judges
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Ambrose of Milan, Letter 19.10-11; Bede, Homilies on the Gospels 2.19; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.