Judges 13:24 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Judges 13:24-25

Here is, 1. Samson's birth. The woman that had been long barren bore a son, according to the promise; for no word of God shall fall to the ground. Hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? 2. His name, Samson, has been derived by some, from Shemesh, the sun, turned into a diminutive, sol exiguus?the sun in miniature, perhaps because, being born like Moses to be a deliverer, he was like him exceedingly fair, his face shone like a little sun; or his parents so named him in remembrance of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Judges 13:24

And 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. Josephus says F19 Ut supra, (Antiqu. l. 5. c. 8.) sect. 4. the word signifies "strong"; perhaps he was born a strong robust child, which is not unlikely, or the woman might have some... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Judges 13:24

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;... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Judges 13:24

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. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Judges 13:24-25

Judges 13:24-25. The Lord 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. The Spirit of the Lord began to move him To excite him to heroical designs and extraordinary actions, above the power of mere unassisted human abilities; to incline his heart to great attempts for the help and deliverance of God’s people; to give some essay of it to his brethren, and to seek all opportunities for it. At times ... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Judges 13:1-25

A man to fight the Philistines (13:1-25)The Philistines were by far the strongest enemy that Israel had yet met. Their forty years of rule lasted until the time of Samuel, and they continued to give trouble during the reigns of Saul and David (13:1).Samson was the man God chose to begin the job of breaking the Philistines’ rule. Before he was born, his mother was told by a messenger from God that she was to dedicate the child to God as a Nazirite for life. This meant that Samson was not to... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Judges 13:24

called his name = called him. Figure of speech Pleonasm. App-6 . grew. Israel waited twenty years for deliverance. Compare Judges 15:20 ; Judges 16:31 . read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Judges 13:24

Judges 13:24. Called his name Samson— It is not easy to determine the derivation of this word. That of those who derive it from שׁמשׁ Shemesh, the Sun, seems the most probable; Samson's birth being, as some say, the elevation of the Hebrews; so David is called a light of Israel. It cannot escape the notice of any reader, how remarkable a type Samson was of the Messiah; some particulars of which we shall mention at the close of his history. read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Judges 13:24

24. 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. read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Judges 13:1-25

F. The sixth apostasy chs. 13-16"From chapters 13 to 18, the author concentrates on the tribe of Dan, which had been one of the largest and most prominent tribes during the wilderness march (Numbers 2:25-31). In the period of the judges, however, Dan seemed helpless against the Amorites (Judges 1:34) and moved northward to find new territory (chs. 17-18). Contrasted with these failures are the exploits of Samson, whose personal achievements are detailed in four chapters. Yet his own life was a... read more