Judges 13:4

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Judges 13:1-7

The first verse gives us a short account, such as we have too often met with already, of the great distress that Israel was in, which gave occasion for the raising up of a deliverer. 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 enemies God now sold them to were the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Judges 13:4

Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink ,.... Any liquor inebriating and intoxicating, neither new wine nor old wine, as the Targum, and so Jarchi; the reason of this appears in the next verse, because the child she should conceive and bear was to be a Nazarite, and to be one from his mother's womb; and from all such liquors, Nazarites, according to the law, were to abstain, Numbers 6:3 . and eat not any unclean thing ; meaning not so much such sort of... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Judges 13:4

Beware - 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 Numbers 6:2 ; (note), etc. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Judges 13:4

Judges 13:4 . Now therefore beware She was to conform to the manner of life observed by the Nazarites, while she carried her infant in her womb, and perhaps while she nursed him; because, as it follows in the next verse, he was to be a perpetual Nazarite to God, from his conception to his death; which would have bear impossible if she had drunk wine or strong drink, because a child in the womb and its mother subsist by the same nourishment. Drink not wine nor strong drink Under which are... 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 13:4

drink. Compare Numbers 6:2 , Numbers 6:3 . read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Judges 13:4

Judges 13:4. Now, therefore, beware, &c.— As Samson was to be a perfect Nazarite unto God, from the womb to the day of his death, Jdg 13:7 his mother is commanded to live as the Nazarites did, (Numbers 6:0.) while she carried him in her womb, and, most likely, while she nursed him; because a child in the womb, and its mother, live by the same nourishment. 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

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Judges 13:2-7

The announcement of Samson’s birth 13:2-7The Angel of the Lord again appeared (cf. Judges 6:11). This time He announced to a barren Danite woman that she would bear a son (cf. Genesis 16:11; Luke 1:26-38). Samson’s birth by a barren woman indicated God’s supernatural provision of him for a special purpose. The meaning of Samson’s name may derive from shemesh ("sun") and the diminutive ending on, meaning "little sun" or "sunny boy." Samson’s mother may have named him "little sun" in honor of a... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Judges 13:1-25

The Story of SamsonExcept for Judges 15:20 and Judges 16:31, Samson has none of the characteristics of a Judge. His exploits against the Philistines are all solitary, and though they doubtless afforded relief to the Israelites, they left no permanent result. We learn much more of the internal organisation of the Philistines than of any of the other foes of Israel; and it was their continued and formidable opposition which, under the will of Jehovah, really welded Israel into a single nation in... read more

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