The Skeptics Annotated Bible (241 page)

6 Then the woman came and told her husband, saying,
A man of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name:

(13.6)
“A man of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name.”

7 But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now
drink no wine nor strong drink
, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death.

8 Then Manoah intreated the LORD, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.

9 And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and
the angel of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah her husband was not with her.

(13.9)
“The angel of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah her husband was not with her.”

10 And
the woman
made haste, and ran, and shewed her husband, and
said
unto him, Behold,
the man
hath appeared unto me, that
came unto me the other day.

(13.10)
“The woman … said … the man… came unto me the other day.”

11 And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said unto him, Art thou the man that spakest unto the woman? And he said, I am.

12 And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him?

13 And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware.

14 She may not eat of any thing that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: all that I commanded her let her observe.

15 And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee.

16 And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the LORD. For Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the LORD.

17 And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour?

18 And the angel of the LORD said unto him,
Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret?

(13.18)
“Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret?”
The impregnating angel had a secret name. (Clarence?, 007?, agent 99?)

19 So
Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it upon a rock unto the LORD
: and the angel did wondrously; and Manoah and his wife looked on.

(13.19)
“Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it upon a rock unto the LORD.”

20 For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that
the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife
looked on it, and
fell on their faces
to the ground.

(13.20)
“The angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife … fell on their faces.”

21 But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the LORD.

22 And Manoah said unto his wife,
We shall surely die, because we have seen God.

(13.22)
“We shall surely die, because we have seen God.”
49 Can God be seen?

23 But his wife said unto him, If the LORD were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have shewed us all these things, nor would as at this time have told us such things as these.

(13.24-25) Samson was one of the vilest of all the vile Bible heroes; yet he was especially blessed by God.

24
And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson
: and the child grew,
and the LORD blessed him.

(13.24)
“And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson … the LORD blessed him.”

25 And
the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times
in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.

(13.25)
“The Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times.”

(14.1-3) The first thing the Bible tells us about Samson is this:

14
And
Samson
went down to Timnath, and
saw a woman
in Timnath
of the daughters of the Philistines.

(14.1)
“Samson … saw a woman … of the daughters of the Philistines.”

2 And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife.

3 Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines?
And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.

(14.3)
“And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.”

4
But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines
: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.

(14.4a) Now Samson’s parents were a bit troubled by this, since they knew how crazy God gets when an Israelite even thinks about marrying a non-Israelite. But they didn’t know that Samson’s lust for the Philistine woman was “of the Lord.” It was all a part of God’s plan for killing Philistines.