Bible Strands
Judges 13:3
The angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, “It is true that you are barren and have no children; but you will conceive and give birth to a son.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The angel of the LORD appears to Manoah’s barren wife and announces she will conceive and bear a son. This declaration follows immediately after Judges 13:2 establishes her childlessness and precedes the dietary restrictions in Judges 13:4.
The words — The Hebrew הִנֵּה־ (hi.neh-) translates literally to "here!" or "behold," serving as a definitive marker of divine announcement. The verb וַ/יֵּרָ֥א (va/i.ye.Ra') means "and he appeared," noting the initial manifestation of the angel of Yahweh to the woman.
The thread — This announcement to a barren woman parallels the angel’s appearance to Zechariah in Luke 1:11 and his message in Luke 1:13, as well as Yahweh’s promise to Sarah in Genesis 18:10. Each passage uses the declaration of an impossible conception to mark a divinely orchestrated intervention.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to accept the stated fact of conception as a divine act before processing the subsequent instructions in Judges 13:4. It demands recognition that the announced birth originates from divine initiative rather than natural possibility.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And the angel of the Lord appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son.
Cross-references
- Luke 1:13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.
- Luke 1:11 Just then an angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.
- Genesis 18:10 Then the LORD said, “I will surely return to you at this time next year, and your wife Sarah will have a son!” Now Sarah was behind him, listening at the entrance to the tent.
- Judges 6:11 Then the angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to hide it from the Midianites.
- Judges 2:1 Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim and said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land that I had promised to your fathers, and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you,
- Judges 13:8 Then Manoah prayed to the LORD, “Please, O Lord, let the man of God You sent us come to us again to teach us how to raise the boy who is to be born.”
- 2 Kings 4:16 And Elisha declared, “At this time next year, you will hold a son in your arms.” “No, my lord,” she said. “Do not lie to your maidservant, O man of God.”
- Genesis 17:16 And I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will descend from her.”
- 1 Samuel 1:20 So in the course of time, Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked for him from the LORD.”
- Judges 13:10 The woman ran quickly to tell her husband, “Behold, the man who came to me the other day has reappeared!”