“And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not.”
My Notes
What Does Judges 13:2 Mean?
This verse introduces the story of Samson with a formula that echoes some of the most important birth narratives in Scripture: a named man, a specific tribal identity, and a barren wife. Manoah is from Zorah, a town on the border between Dan and Judah. His wife — notably unnamed throughout the story — is barren.
Barrenness in the Old Testament is never just a medical detail. It's a theological setup. Sarah was barren before Isaac. Rebekah was barren before Jacob and Esau. Rachel was barren before Joseph. Hannah would be barren before Samuel. Every time Scripture mentions a barren woman, it's signaling that God is about to do something that cannot be attributed to natural processes. The child who comes will be unmistakably God's doing.
The tribe of Dan adds another layer. By this point in Judges, Dan is one of the most troubled tribes — they've failed to fully possess their allotted territory (Judges 1:34) and will eventually migrate north in a story marked by idolatry (Judges 18). God is raising a deliverer from a struggling tribe through an impossible pregnancy. The entire setup announces: this is not a human plan.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Where in your life are you experiencing 'barrenness' — an area that feels empty, unproductive, or closed off?
- 2.Every barren woman in Scripture eventually became the mother of someone significant. How does that pattern change the way you view your own waiting?
- 3.Manoah's wife is unnamed but chosen by God for a critical role. Have you ever felt invisible in the areas that matter most? How does God's choice of her speak to that?
- 4.God consistently starts His biggest stories from zero. Why do you think He works that way? What does it accomplish that starting from strength would not?
Devotional
"And his wife was barren, and bare not." The redundancy is the point — she didn't just have difficulty conceiving. She had no children at all. Zero. In a culture where a woman's identity and security were tied to motherhood, this wasn't just sadness. It was social death. She was invisible in the ways that mattered most.
And yet. This is the woman God chooses to carry the next deliverer of Israel. Not a woman from a powerful family, not a woman with an impressive pedigree, not a woman anyone would have nominated. A barren woman from a struggling tribe in a compromised nation. God's starting point for Samson's story is zero — zero children, zero prospects, zero human explanation for what's about to happen.
If you're in a season of barrenness — not necessarily physical, but any area of your life that feels empty, unproductive, closed off — this verse is speaking to you before the angel even arrives. Barrenness in Scripture is never the end of the story. It's the beginning of a story that can only be God's. The emptiness you're carrying isn't a disqualification. It might be the exact condition God requires to do something that no one can take credit for except Him.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites,.... Of the tribe of Dan, in which tribe Zorah was,…
Zorah - See the marginal reference. His wife was barren - To mark more distinctly the high providential destiny of the…
The first verse gives us a short account, such as we have too often met with already, of the great distress that Israel…
Zorah Jdg 13:13; Jdg 16:31; Jdg 18:2; Jdg 18:8; Jdg 18:11, usually mentioned with Eshtaol; in Jos 19:41 counted as…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture