Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Judges 13:13
And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware.
Whilst the child is in her womb, and after the child is born, let him observe the same orders.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And the angel of the Lord said unto Manoah,…. Giving him no direct answer to his question, either what should be done to the child, or what that should do; only reminds of and repeats what he had said to his wife, which she should be careful to observe and would, and that was enough for him to know:
of all that I said to the woman, let her beware; take to abstain from everything in eating and drinking during the time of her going with child, he had joined, which are particularly repeated in the next verse.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The angel of the Lord then repeated the instructions which he had already given to the woman in Jdg 13:4, simply adding to the prohibition of wine and strong drink the caution not to eat of anything that came from the vine, in accordance with Num 6:3.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
‘ And the angel of Yahweh said to Manoah, “Of all that I said to the woman, let her beware. She may not eat of anything that comes from the vine, nor let her drink wine, or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing. All that I commanded her, let her observe. ” ’
The Angel of Yahweh renewed His instructions. She was to be under a vow and to abstain from wine and strong drink and unclean foods. This latter stress may be an indication that many Israelites had now begun to ignore the dietary requirements of the Law for it is additional to ‘anything that comes from the vine’. Ungodly practises produced ungodly eating.
There is unquestionably an indication here that the total separation to Yahweh of her baby required that she avoid all ‘uncleanness’ that could affect the baby. And yet the same prohibition against wine and strong drink was not specifically enjoined on Samson. It may well, however, have been assumed on the basis of Nazirite requirements. It was part of what was involved in being a Nazirite. It is one of the astonishing aspects of the life of Samson that while he did not fully fulfil the vow under which he was born, he yet experienced the power of God in his judgeship. It is probable, however, that we are to recognise that in his failure he constantly returned for forgiveness. And in the end he had sexual drives and cravings that he just could not fully overcome. The life of Samuel illustrates what he could have become if only he had been more obedient.
We note here that when dealing with Manoah (and when introduced to the reader in Jdg 13:3) the angel is the angel of Yahweh, whilst when dealing with the woman he was the angel of God (elohim). This probably reflects her lack of recognition of who the angel strictly was, or it may indicate a less sure response to the covenant (women did not get involved in covenant affairs and she sees Him as the angel of Elohim, whilst Manoah immediately recognises that Yahweh is involved – Jdg 13:8), or even her womanhood.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jdg 13:13 And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware.
Ver. 13. Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware, ] sc., For her child’s sake. And generally, that mother that would have a holy child, must herself be holy and temperate: for Partus sequitur ventrem, the birth usually followeth the belly, the child taketh after the mother.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jdg 13:13-14. Of all that I said, let her beware While the child is in the womb, and after the child is born, let her observe the same orders. We may observe that the angel gives no answer to Manoahs question, how the child should be educated, &c., as willing that they should not be solicitous about that at the present, but leave it to the care of Providence, which, in proper time, would so direct matters in regard to the child, as that he should be fitted for the great purpose he was intended for. He therefore only repeats his injunctions to the woman how she should act during her pregnancy.