Judges 13:4
in Judges 13Now please be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, and not to eat anything unclean.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink no wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing:
KJV
Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing:
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This verse in Judges 13
Commentary
6 notes on this verseBeware - drink not wine - As Samson was designed to be a Nazarite from the womb, it was necessary that, while his mother carried and nursed him, she should live the life of a Nazarite, neither drinking wine nor any inebriating liquor, nor eating any kind of forbidden meat. See the account of the Nazarite and his vow in the notes on Num 6:2 (note), etc.
This site's exposition
The angel of the LORD appeared to the woman
on Judges 13:3-5
The messenger comes to the wife, and at verse 4 she is put under part of the vow herself. Numbers 6:2 makes the Nazirite vow voluntary and for a set term, and here it is laid on a boy “from the womb”, as Hannah vows at 1 Samuel 1:11. The promise is measured, since he “will begin the deliverance of Israel”, and David finishes it.
This site's exposition
please be careful not to drink wine
Adam Clarke holds that the woman had to live as a Nazirite, with no wine or strong drink and nothing unclean, while she carried the boy. John Wesley gives the reason. What made the mother unclean reached the child in the womb.
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 Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink,....
Now herein Samson was a type of Christ, (1.) As a Nazarite to God, a Nazarite from the womb. For, though our Lord Jesus was not a Nazarite himself, yet he was typified by the Nazarites, as being perfectly pure from all sin, not so much as conceived in it, and entirely devoted to his Father's honour.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְעַתָּה֙ | veatah | and therefore | H6258 → | 433 times |
| הִשָּׁ֣מְרִי | hishameri | take care | H8104 → | 468 times |
| נָ֔א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| וְאַל־ | veal- | and may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תִּשְׁתִּ֖י | tishti | you drink | H8354 → | 217 times |
| יַ֣יִן | yayin | wine | H3196 → | 141 times |
| וְשֵׁכָ֑ר | veshekhar | and strong drink | H7941 → | 23 times |
| וְאַל־ | veal- | and may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תֹּאכְלִ֖י | tokhli | you eat | H398 → | 810 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | any | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| טָמֵֽא׃ | tame' | unclean [thing] | H2931 → |
וְעַתָּה֙and therefore
veatahH6258 →433 times
הִשָּׁ֣מְרִיtake care
hishameriH8104 →468 times
נָ֔אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
וְאַל־and may not
veal-H408 →724 times
תִּשְׁתִּ֖יyou drink
tishtiH8354 →217 times
יַ֣יִןwine
yayinH3196 →141 times
וְשֵׁכָ֑רand strong drink
veshekharH7941 →23 times
וְאַל־and may not
veal-H408 →724 times
תֹּאכְלִ֖יyou eat
tokhliH398 →810 times
כָּל־any
kol-H3605 →5413 times
טָמֵֽא׃unclean [thing]
tame'H2931 →
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 1:15for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He shall never take wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 1:5
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
- Ephesians 5:18
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to reckless indiscretion. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
- Numbers 6:2–4
“Speak to the Israelites and tell them that if a man or woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the LORD,
- Luke 7:33
For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!’
- Galatians 1:15
But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by His grace, was pleased
- Jeremiah 1:5
Through
Leviticus 11:47You must distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between animals that may be eaten and those that may not.’”
it leads to
- Leviticus 10:10
You must distinguish between the holy and the common, between the clean and the unclean,
- Ezekiel 44:23
They are to teach My people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to discern between the clean and the unclean.
- Leviticus 10:10
Through
Judges 13:14She must not eat anything that comes from the vine, nor drink any wine or strong drink, nor eat anything unclean. She must do everything I have commanded her.”
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 12:32
See that you do everything I command you; do not add to it or subtract from it.
- Deuteronomy 12:32
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Judges

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Ambrose of Milan, Letter 19.10-11; 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.
