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.

JUDGES 13:7KJV
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Judges 13:7 (KJV)

What does Judges 13:7 mean?

Judges 13:7 describes a mother’s report that her promised son would be set apart for God for his entire life. The instructions about what she should avoid while pregnant are connected to the child’s special status, which begins before his birth.

The speaker is Samson’s mother, who is telling her husband, Manoah, what a visitor said to her. She calls the visitor a “man of God” in the previous verse. Her report helps Manoah understand both the promise of a son and the unusual terms attached to his life.

The Hebrew behind Judges 13:7

  • “Nazarite” — נָזִיר (nazir): This word refers to someone set apart. In this verse, the child is set apart to God, rather than merely described by his family or birthplace.
  • “unclean” — טָמֵא (tame): This word describes something considered unfit under Israel’s religious laws. Here it refers to food the mother is instructed not to eat.

Why Judges 13:7 matters

  • The mother’s report emphasizes the length of the child’s special status. Her words “from the womb to the day of his death” make it a lifelong condition, rather than a period with a stated end.
  • The restrictions in this sentence are addressed to the mother. The commands “drink no wine nor strong drink” and “neither eat any unclean thing” tell her what to avoid as she awaits the child.
  • A detail elsewhere in the passage adds to the picture of the child’s status. In verse 5, the visitor says that no razor is to touch the boy’s head.

Where else these words appear

“conceive” Hebrew H2030 · used in 16 verses

  • Genesis 16:11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
  • 1 Samuel 4:19 And his daughter in law, Phinehas' wife, was with child, near to be delivered: and when she heard the tidings that the ark of God was taken, and that her father in law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and travailed; for her pains came upon her.
  • Isaiah 26:17 Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O LORD.

“Nazarite” Hebrew H5139 · used in 16 verses

  • Genesis 49:26 The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.
  • Numbers 6:18 And the Nazarite shall shave the head of his separation at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall take the hair of the head of his separation, and put it in the fire which is under the sacrifice of the peace offerings.
  • Judges 13:5 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.

“drink” Hebrew H7941 · used in 20 verses

  • Leviticus 10:9 Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations:
  • Judges 13:14 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.
  • Isaiah 5:11 Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!

“unclean” Hebrew H2932 · used in 31 verses

  • Leviticus 5:3 Or if he touch the uncleanness of man, whatsoever uncleanness it be that a man shall be defiled withal, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty.
  • Leviticus 16:19 And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.
  • Ezra 9:11 Which thou hast commanded by thy servants the prophets, saying, The land, unto which ye go to possess it, is an unclean land with the filthiness of the people of the lands, with their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their uncleanness.