Samson's Mother

SAMSON'S MOTHER - A WOMAN OF CONFIDENCE

Imagine this woman.  Married yet childless.  She is an Israelite living in the days of the judges - about one thousand years before the Angel Gabriel would appear to young Mary the mother of Jesus.  And roughly half way between that event and the announcement of the impending birth of Isaac in his parents' old age.  Only a few centuries have gone by since the Children of Israel have been freed from four hundred years of slavery in Egypt.  We are given no name for her other than that she is the wife of Manoah of the tribe of Dan.

One day the angel of YHWH comes to her.  She is told, "Although you are barren, having borne no children, you shall conceive and bear a son."  The angel instructs her to "be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, or to eat anything unclean."  Then come instructions about how to raise her son.  "No razor is to come on his head, for the boy shall be a nazarite to God from birth.  It is he who shall begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines."

What an amazing moment for this woman!  Was she afraid?  Did she speak?  All we know is what she later tells her husband.  That a man of God came to her looking like an angel of God and very awesome.  She reports,  "I did not ask him where he came from and he did not tell me his name."

In contrast to God's similar announcement to Abraham and Sarah, Manoah was not there - not even within ear shot.  This wonderful news was delivered to his wife alone.  Part of what I admire about this woman though, is that she did not harbor this encounter to herself.  She goes to Manoah and repeats the information.  There is a sense of companionship and mutual respect among these two.  A sense which continues throughout the story - even when Samson is grown and they are concerned about his selection of a wife from among the Philistines.  Unable to dissuade him, they go together to meet this girl.  And later travel again to attend the wedding.

Going back to the announcement, however, it strikes me that Manoah believes his wife's strange tale.  He doesn't doubt her or wonder if she is imagining things.  His response is to entreat YHWH to "let the man of God whom you sent come to us again and teach us what we are to do concerning the boy who will be born."

The Bible tells us that "God listened to Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her."  Clearly the mother of this special child is sought out to be the first line of contact about this important event.  This time, however, the woman hurries to get her husband and coming to the angel, Manoah gets to ask his burning questions.  After verifying that this indeed is the one who had spoken to his wife, he inquires,  "Now when your words come true, what is to be the boy's rule of life; what is he to do?"

According to the account we have in Judges 13,  Manoah is the only one who speaks to the angel,  yet his wife is the only one entrusted with instructions on raising the child and details about his destiny.  Twice she is sought out for a visit.  Twice Manoah asks about how to bring up the child.  All he is told is to follow the instructions given to his wife.  They are not repeated for him, although the angel does repeat for him the food and drink his wife must avoid. 

After this conversation, Manoah invites the man of God to stay so they can prepare a kid to eat.  The angel will not eat, but suggests they make a burnt offering to YHWH instead.  Manoah then asks for the name of their visitor, who replies,  "Why do you ask my name?  It is too wonderful."  We read that in all of this exchange, Manoah did not know this was the angel of YHWH. 

Finally, Manoah makes a sacrifice of a young goat and a grain offering.  As the flames rise toward heaven from the altar, their visitor ascends in them and disappears - while the man and his wife fall to their faces on the ground. 

At this point Manoah realizes to whom he had been speaking.  That this was the angel of YHWH.  "We shall surely die, for we have seen God," he says.  But his wife calmly answers,  "If the LORD had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering at our hands, or shown us all these things, or now announced to us such things as these." 

Here we see the deeper understanding of this Israelite mother, her quiet confidence and the respectful camaraderie of this couple.  Later, when this woman bears her son, she will name him Samson.  He will be a powerful mix of service to God and pain to his parents.

Some have noticed that Samson's mother does not seem to have told Manoah what their child will grow up to do. I wonder why this piece of information entrusted to her seems to have been kept from him at first.  I wonder if she was sparing him some worry, as mothers to this day are wont to do. 

Did you ever study this articulate woman as a child?  Have you heard her story preached?  Her life, so honored and sought out by God, celebrated?  Would that I, in this era where I am free to speak and think for myself, can model some of her attributes.  As a parent, as a partner, and as a woman following the Christ.

-JoMae Spoelhof

Written 2/14/04 and published in the 3/15/04 issue of Christian Courier