1 And the sons of Israel add to do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, and Jehovah giveth them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.
2 And there is a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danite, and his name [is] Manoah, his wife [is] barren, and hath not borne ;
3 and a messenger of Jehovah appeareth unto the woman, and saith unto her, 'Lo, I pray thee, thou [art] barren, and hast not borne ; when thou hast conceived, then thou hast borne a son.
4 And, now, take heed, I pray thee, and do not drink wine, and strong drink, and do not eat any unclean thing,
5 for, lo, thou art conceiving and bearing a son, and a razor doth not go up on his head, for a Nazarite to God is the youth from the womb, and he doth begin to save Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.'
6 And the woman cometh and speaketh to her husband, saying, 'A man of God hath come unto me, and his appearance [is] as the appearance of a messenger of God, very fearful, and I have not asked him whence he [is], and his name he hath not declared to me ;
7 and he saith to me, Lo, thou art pregnant, and bearing a son, and now do not drink wine and strong drink, and do not eat any unclean thing, for a Nazarite to God is the youth from the womb till the day of his death.'
Note · Juges 13.1–7
La promesse concerne une histoire sans devenir une garantie pour chaque famille
La femme jusque-là sans enfant reçoit l’annonce de la naissance et les consignes de consécration. Le récit ne présente pas sa situation comme une faute, ni sa grossesse comme la récompense d’une supériorité. Une naissance biblique annoncée ne permet pas de promettre un enfant à toute personne qui prie ou de juger celles qui n’en ont pas.
8 And Manoah maketh entreaty unto Jehovah, and saith, 'O, my Lord, the man of God whom Thou didst send, let him come in, I pray thee, again unto us, and direct us what we do to the youth who is born.'
9 And God hearkeneth to the voice of Manoah, and the messenger of God cometh again unto the woman, and she [is] sitting in a field, and Manoah her husband is not with her,
10 and the woman hasteth, and runneth, and declareth to her husband, and saith unto him, 'Lo, he hath appeared unto me — the man who came on [that] day unto me.'
11 And Manoah riseth, and goeth after his wife, and cometh unto the man, and saith to him, 'Art thou the man who spake unto the woman ?' and he saith, 'I [am].'
12 And Manoah saith, 'Now let thy words come to pass ; what is the custom of the youth — and his work ?'
13 And the messenger of Jehovah saith unto Manoah, 'Of all that I said unto the woman let her take heed ;
14 of anything which cometh out from the wine-vine she doth not eat, and wine and strong drink she doth not drink, and any unclean thing she doth not eat ; all that I have commanded her she doth observe.'
Note · Juges 13.8–14
La réponse à Manoah confirme la parole confiée à sa femme
Manoah demande des indications pour l’enfant, et l’envoyé revient vers la femme. Les consignes déjà reçues sont confirmées plutôt que remplacées. La médiation de cette femme sans nom est essentielle au récit ; le fait de ne pas connaître son nom ne diminue ni sa capacité d’écoute ni sa place dans la transmission.
15 And Manoah saith unto the messenger of Jehovah, 'Let us detain thee, we pray thee, and prepare before thee a kid of the goats.'
16 And the messenger of Jehovah saith unto Manoah, 'If thou detain me — I do not eat of thy bread ; and if thou prepare a burnt-offering — to Jehovah thou dost offer it ;' for Manoah hath not known that He [is] a messenger of Jehovah.
17 And Manoah saith unto the messenger of Jehovah, 'What [is] thy name ? when thy words come to pass, then we have honoured thee.'
18 And the messenger of Jehovah saith to him, 'Why [is] this — thou dost ask for My name ? — and it [is] Wonderful.'
19 And Manoah taketh the kid of the goats, and the present, and offereth on the rock to Jehovah, and He is doing wonderfully, and Manoah and his wife are looking on,
20 and it cometh to pass, in the going up of the flame from off the altar toward the heavens, that the messenger of Jehovah goeth up in the flame of the altar, and Manoah and his wife are looking on, and they fall on their faces to the earth,
21 and the messenger of Jehovah hath not added again to appear unto Manoah, and unto his wife, then hath Manoah known that He [is] a messenger of Jehovah.
22 And Manoah saith unto his wife, 'We certainly die, for we have seen God.'
23 And his wife saith to him, 'If Jehovah were desirous to put us to death, He had not received from our hands burnt-offering and present, nor shewed us all these things, nor as [at this] time caused us to hear [anything] like this.'
Note · Juges 13.15–23
L’offrande conduit à une reconnaissance, puis à une interprétation
L’envoyé oriente le sacrifice vers Dieu et échappe à la maîtrise d’un nom disponible. Manoah craint de mourir, mais sa femme rappelle que la promesse et l’accueil de l’offrande ne vont pas dans ce sens. Certains chrétiens proposent une lecture christologique de l’envoyé ; le passage ne l’identifie pas explicitement au Christ.
24 And the woman beareth a son, and calleth his name Samson, and the youth groweth, and Jehovah doth bless him,
25 and the Spirit of Jehovah beginneth to move him in the camp of Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
Note · Juges 13.24–25
Le commencement d’une vocation ne raconte pas encore sa fidélité
La naissance, la croissance et la bénédiction sont suivies de l’action de l’Esprit. Samson entre dans l’histoire comme bénéficiaire d’un don avant d’être connu pour ses exploits. Cette initiative ne constitue pas une approbation anticipée de tous ses désirs ni une dispense de responsabilité : la suite demandera de lire ses actes un à un.