Judges 13:5

For behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son. And no razor shall touch his head, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hand of the Philistines.”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — An angelic messenger addresses Manoah’s wife before conception, delivering a divine announcement immediately after specifying dietary restrictions. The speaker identifies the unborn child’s role and the mother’s required consecration.

The words — מוֹרָה (mo.Rah) literally means razor, paired with יַעֲלֶה (ya.'a.Leh) meaning go up, forming the literal prohibition against the blade touching the head. הָרָה (ha.Rah) denotes the state of being pregnant, marking the precise moment of divine intervention.

The thread — The razor prohibition directly echoes Numbers 6:5, which codifies the Nazirite vow’s physical boundary. The promise of a divinely appointed deliverer parallels the maternal vows in 1 Samuel 1:11 and the Nazirite regulations in Numbers 6:2.

Why it lands — The text demands recognition that deliverance originates from God’s sovereign choice, not human strategy. It requires accepting that consecration precedes action and that the appointed agent operates outside normal social and religious patterns.

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

For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.

Cross-references

Numbers 6:5 For the entire period of his vow of separation, no razor shall touch his head. He must be holy until the time of his separation to the LORD is complete; he must let the hair of his head grow long.
1 Samuel 1:11 And she made a vow, saying, “O LORD of Hosts, if only You will look upon the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, not forgetting Your maidservant but giving her a son, then I will dedicate him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall ever touch his head.”
Numbers 6:2 “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,
1 Chronicles 18:1 Some time later, David defeated the Philistines, subdued them, and took Gath and its villages from the hand of the Philistines.
1 Samuel 7:13 So the Philistines were subdued, and they stopped invading the territory of Israel. And the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.
2 Samuel 8:1 Some time later, David defeated the Philistines, subdued them, and took Metheg-ammah from the hand of the Philistines.