Judges 13:24
in Judges 13So the woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson. The boy grew, and the LORD blessed him.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and Jehovah blessed him.
KJV
And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the Lord blessed him.
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This verse in Judges 13
Commentary
7 notes on this verseAnd the woman bare a son, and called name Samson,.... After these appearances were over, Manoah and his wife returned to their habitation, and she soon became pregnant, and at the usual course of time brought forth a son, and she gave him the name of Samson; for what reason it is not easy to determine.
This site's exposition
the woman gave birth to a son
on Judges 13:24-25
The name Samson stands close to the Hebrew word for sun, and Beth-shemesh, the house of the sun, sits along the same valley from Zorah. The Spirit of the LORD comes on this man four times, at 13:25, 14:6, 14:19 and 15:14, and once each on Othniel, Gideon and Jephthah. Here the Spirit “began to stir him”, the start of a life, and 16:31 buries him between Zorah and Eshtaol.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Blessed him - That is, endowed him with all those graces and gifts of mind and body which were necessary for the work he was designed for.
They did evil, as they had done, in the sight of the Lord, and then God delivered them, as he had done, into the hands of their enemies. If there had been no sin, there would have needed no Saviour; but sin was suffered to abound, that grace might much more abound.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
And called his name Samson - The original שמשון shimshon, which is from the root שמש shamash, to serve, (whence shemesh, the sun), probably means either a little sun, or a little servant; and this latter is so likely a name to be imposed on an only son, by maternal fondness, that it leaves but little doubt of the propriety of the etymology. And the Lord blessed him - Gave evident proofs that the child was under the peculiar protection of the Most High; causing him to increase daily in stature and extraordinary strength.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson--The birth of this child of promise, and the report of the important national services he was to render, must, from the first, have made him an object of peculiar interest and careful instruction.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Samson - The etymology is doubtful. Perhaps it comes from a word signifying “to minister,” in allusion to his Nazaritic consecration to the service of God.
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתֵּ֤לֶד | vateled | and she bore | H3205 → | 496 times |
| הָֽאִשָּׁה֙ | haishah | the woman | H802 → | 781 times |
| בֵּ֔ן | ben | a son | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| וַתִּקְרָ֥א | vatikra' | and she called | H7121 → | 733 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שְׁמ֖וֹ | shemo | name his | H8034 → | 864 times |
| שִׁמְשׁ֑וֹן | shimshon | Samson | H8123 → | 38 times |
| וַיִּגְדַּ֣ל | vaiyigdal | and he grew up | H1431 → | |
| הַנַּ֔עַר | hanaar | the lad | H5288 → | 239 times |
| וַֽיְבָרְכֵ֖הוּ | vayvarekhehu | and he blessed him | H1288 → | 330 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
וַתֵּ֤לֶדand she bore
vateledH3205 →496 times
הָֽאִשָּׁה֙the woman
haishahH802 →781 times
בֵּ֔ןa son
benH1121 →4930 times
וַתִּקְרָ֥אand she called
vatikra'H7121 →733 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
שְׁמ֖וֹname his
shemoH8034 →864 times
שִׁמְשׁ֑וֹןSamson
shimshonH8123 →38 times
וַיִּגְדַּ֣לand he grew up
vaiyigdalH1431 →
הַנַּ֔עַרthe lad
hanaarH5288 →239 times
וַֽיְבָרְכֵ֖הוּand he blessed him
vayvarekhehuH1288 →330 times
יְהוָֽה׃Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 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
Luke 2:52And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.
it leads to
- Luke 2:40
And the Child grew and became strong. He was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon Him.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 3:3–4
Never let loving devotion or faithfulness leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.
- 1 Samuel 2:26
And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the LORD and with man.
- Romans 14:18
For whoever serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.
- Luke 1:80
And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until the time of his public appearance to Israel.
- Luke 2:40
Through
1 Samuel 3:19And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and He let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground.
it leads to
- Luke 2:52
And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 39:2
And the LORD was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, serving in the household of his Egyptian master.
- 1 Samuel 9:6
“Look,” said the servant, “in this city there is a man of God who is highly respected; everything he says surely comes to pass. Let us go there now. Perhaps he will tell us…
- Luke 2:52
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Judges
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.