Jdg 13:1 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.
The Philistines have been mentioned as oppressors of Israel in Jdg_3:31; Jdg_10:7, Jdg_10:11; and the Israelite worship of the gods of the Philistines is spoken of in Jdg_10:6. But this is the first time that we have any detailed history in connection with the Philistines. They continned to be the prominent enemies of Israel until the time of David.
Forty years - The end of the forty years of the supremacy of the Philistines is not given in this book, which closes with the death of Samson. It did not terminate till the great victory which the Israelites gained over their enemies under the command of Samuel (1 Sam 7). Twenty years before this victory the Philistines had sent back the ark which they had taken from the Israelites, after keeping it for seven months in their own land (1Sa_7:2, and 1Sa_6:1). It was within these twenty years that most of the acts of Samson occurred. His first affair with the Philistines, however, namely on the occasion of his marriage, took place a year or two before this defeat of the Israelites, in which the sons of Eli were slain, the ark fell into the hands of the Philistines, and the high priest Eli fell from his seat and broke his neck on receiving the terrible news (1Sa_4:18). Consequently Eli died a short time after the first appearance of Samson.
Forty years - The Philistine dominion began before the birth of Samson Jdg_13:5, and was in force during Samson’s twenty years’ judgeship Jdg_14:4; Jdg_15:20. The 40 years are, therefore, about coincident with Samson’s life.
Forty years - To be computed, not from Abdon's death, but before that time. And it is probable that great slaughter of the Ephraimites made by Jephthah, greatly encouraged the Philistines to rise against Israel , when one of their chief bulwarks was so much weakened; and therefore began to domineer over them not long after Jephthah's death. These were a very inconsiderable people. They had but five cities of any note. And yet when God used them as the staff in his hand, they were very oppressive and vexatious.
forty years--The Israelites were represented as having fallen universally into a state of gross and confirmed idolatry, and in chastisement of this great apostasy, the Lord raised up enemies that harassed them in various quarters, especially the Ammonites and Philistines. Jdg_10:6-7 And the sons of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD, and served the Baals and Ashtoreths, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Sidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the sons of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines. And they left the LORD, and did not serve Him. And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and into the hands of the sons of Ammon. The invasions and defeat of the former were narrated in the two chapters immediately preceding this; and now the sacred historian proceeds to describe the inroads of the latter people. The period of Philistine ascendency comprised forty years, reckoning from the time of Elon till the death of Samson.
Delivered them into the hand of the Philistines - It does not appear that after Shamgar, to the present time, the Philistines were in a condition to oppress Israel , or God had not permitted them to do it; but now they have a commission, the Israelites having departed from the Lord. Nor is it evident that the Philistines had entirely subjected the Israelites, as there still appears to have been a sort of commerce between the two people. They had often vexed and made inroads upon them, but they had them not in entire subjection; Jdg_15:11.
And the children of Israel did evil - Committed idolatry, which was the evil they were prone unto, and were frequently guilty of:
Delivered them into the hand of the Philistines - According to Josephus, the 40 years are to be reckoned from the death of the last judge, and the time of Samson's birth; or rather from some time after the death of Jephthah, particularly taking in the two last years of Ibzan, when the Ephraimites having been weakened through the slaughter of them by Jephthah, might encourage the Philistines to break in upon them; from which time to the birth of Samson were twenty years, and twenty more may be allowed before he could begin to deliver Israel out of their hands; so that the oppression lasted forty years. According to others, it began at the same time as the oppression of the Ammonites did, though it lasted longer, Jdg_10:7 And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and into the hands of the sons of Ammon.
Jdg 13:2 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.
His wife was barren - To mark more distinctly the high providential destiny of the child that was eventually born. Compare the similar circumstances of the birth of Isaac, Jacob, Samuel, and John the Baptist. The name of this woman, the mother of Samson, is said to be Zalalponith; 1Ch_4:3.
A certain man of Zorah - A town in the tribe of Judah , but afterwards given to Dan. Of the tribe of Dan, in which tribe Zorah was, and seems to have lain both on the borders of Judah and Dan, Jos_15:33; it was near the Philistine border.
whose name was Manoah - which signifies "rest", and has much the same signification as Noah; and by this name he was well known in those times, and among his people:
Bare not - An emphatical repetition of the same thing in other words, which is an usual elegancy both in scripture and other authors.
Jdg 13:3 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son.
The angel of the Lord - Generally supposed to have been the same that appeared to Moses, Joshua, Gideon, etc., and no other than the second person of the ever-blessed Trinity. According to Josephus, it was in a plain without the city; and that he appeared in the form of a man is certain from Jdg_13:6 but was not a mere man, a prophet of the Lord, nor a created angel, but the uncreated one, the Angel of the covenant, the Son and Word of God, who often appeared in an human form; since his name is said to be "Wonderful", and he to do wonderful things, and is called "Jehovah", Jdg_13:18,
the angel of the Lord--The messenger of the covenant, the divine personage who made so many remarkable appearances of a similar kind already described.
and said unto her, behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not; barren at that time, and so she had been ever since she was married to that time; and this is observed, that it might appear the more wonderful that she should after this have a child:
but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son - which to do, must be ascribed to divine power, that one in her circumstances should bear a son; as the prediction of it was owing to divine omniscience, and a proof of it.
Jdg 13:4 Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing:
drink not wine - As Samson was designed to be a Nazarite from the womb, it was necessary that, while his mother carried and nursed him, she should live the life of a Nazarite, neither drinking wine nor any inebriating liquor, nor eating any kind of forbidden meat. Nazarites, according to the law, were to abstain, Num_6:2-4 2 Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them, When a man or woman shall separate in order to vow a vow of a Nazarite, in order to separate to the LORD, he shall separate from wine and strong drink and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink; neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes or dried. All the days of his Nazariteship he shall eat nothing that is made of the grapevine, from grape seeds even to a stem.
and eat not any unclean thing - meaning not so much such sort of food as was forbidden by the law to be eaten, which every Israelite was to abstain from, but such as were particularly forbidden to Nazarites, as moist and dried grapes, or anything made of the vine tree, from the kernel to the husk, Num_6:3. The reason of this is, because the child in the womb is nourished with the same the mother is; and as this child was to be a Nazarite from the womb, and even in it, his mother was to abstain both from eatables and drinkables forbidden a Nazarite by the law.
The three prohibitions which the angel of the Lord imposed upon the woman were the three things which distinguished the condition of a Nazarite (see at Num_6:1-8, and the explanation given there of the Nazarite vow). The only other thing mentioned in the Mosaic law is the warning against defilement from contact with the dead, which does not seem to have been enforced in the case of Samson. When the angel added still further, “And he (the Nazarite) will begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines,” he no doubt intended to show that his power to effect this deliverance would be closely connected with his condition as a Nazarite. The promised son was to be a Nazarite all his life long, because he was to begin to deliver Israel out of the power of his foes. And in order that he might be so, his mother was to share in the renunciations of the Nazarite vow during the time of her pregnancy. The message of the angel contained this lesson and warning for Israel, that it could only obtain deliverance from its foes by seeking after a life of consecration to the Lord, such as the Nazarites pursued, so as to realize the idea of the priestly character to which Israel had been called as the people of Jehovah, by abstinence from everything that was unclean, as being emanations of sin, and also by a complete self-surrender to the Lord.
Jdg 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.
A Nazarite - The common Nazarite vow was for a limited time. Others, like Samuel were Nazarites for life 1Sa_1:11 And she vowed a vow and said, O, Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look upon the affliction of Your handmaid and remember me, and not forget Your handmaid, but will give to Your handmaid a man-child, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head. Compare to Paul’s Act_18:18 And Paul having remained many days more, taking leave of the brothers, he sailed from there into Syria. And Priscilla and Aquila were with him. And Paul had shorn his head in Cenchrea, for he had a vow. Act_21:23-26 Therefore do this, what we say to you: We have four men who have a vow on themselves; taking them, be purified with them, and be at expense for them, so that they may shave their heads. And all may know that what they have been told about you is nothing, but you yourself also walk orderly and keep the Law. And as to the nations who believe, we joined in writing, judging them to observe no such things, except only that they keep themselves from both idol sacrifice, and blood, and a thing strangled, and from fornication. Then taking the men on the next day, being purified with them, Paul went into the temple, declaring the fulfillment of the days of the purification, until an offering should be offered for each of them.
He shall begin to deliver Israel - Samson only began this deliverance, for it was not till the days of David that the Israelites were completely redeemed from the power of the Philistines.
thou shalt conceive and bear a son - Which is not only repeated for the confirmation of it, but that she might take notice that he was to be a Nazarite, and therefore must conform to everything agreeable to the law of the Nazarites, and take care that it was observed in him:
and no razor shall come on his head - to cut off the hair of it, not from the time of his birth to his death; for he was to be a perpetual Nazarite: other Nazarites during the time of their Nazariteship were not to suffer a razor to come upon them, but afterwards might; but for such an one as Samson, it was not lawful ever to suffer his hair to be cut off; Num_6:5 All the days of his vow to separate, no razor shall come upon his head. Until all the days are fulfilled in which he separates to the LORD, he shall be holy. He shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.
for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb - in which he was a type of Christ, who was sanctified by the Lord, separated from sinners, and called a "Nazarene": was born of a virgin, as Samson was of a barren woman, and his birth foretold by an angel as this:
and he shall begin to deliver Israel - for the salvation he wrought for Israel was not complete and perfect; it was only begun by him, and carried on in the times of Eli, Samuel, and Saul, and perfected by David. In this his antitype exceeds him, who is the author of the complete salvation of his people out of the hands of all their enemies, sin, Satan, and the world; though in this there is a great resemblance between Samson and our Lord Jesus, in that what he did he did himself alone; not at the head of an army, and with forces under him, as other judges; so Christ with his own arm, and of himself, and without others, wrought salvation for his people; Isa_63:5 And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was no one to uphold; therefore My own arm has saved for Me; and My fury upheld Me.
Jdg 13:6 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:
A man of God - The designation of a prophet, of frequent use in the books of Samuel and Kings 1Sa_2:27; 1Sa_9:6-8, 1Sa_9:10; 1Ki_12:22; 1Ki_13:1, 1Ki_13:5-6, 1Ki_13:11, and applied to Timothy by Paul in the New Testament 1Ti_6:11; 2Ti_3:17.
a man of God came unto me - he appeared in an human form, and therefore she calls him a man; and by his mien and deportment, and the message he brought, she concluded he was a man of God, that is, a prophet; by which name such persons went in those days; what is after related shows that this was a divine Person, and no other than the Son of God:
His countenance - Rather, “his appearance,” as the word is rendered in Dan_10:18.
very terrible - for though she might never have seen an angel, yet it being a common notion that angels were very illustrious, of a beautiful form and of a shining countenance, and very majestic, she compares the man she saw to one; for by being "very terrible", is not meant that he was frightful, and struck her with horror, but venerable and majestic, which filled her with admiration:
Jdg 13:7 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.
behold, thou shalt conceive and bear a son - She says nothing of her barrenness, which the angel took notice of to her, that having been to her reproach:
unto his death - for he was to be a perpetual Nazarite; some were only Nazarites for a time, for so many days or months, according to their vow; but this son was to be a Nazarite all his days, by the appointment of God; nor is it any objection to what is here said, that his hair was cut off before his death, which caused his Nazariteship to cease; since these words are not a prophecy, but a precept; and besides, that affair happened but a little before his death, he died quickly afterwards.
Jdg 13:8 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.
teach us what we shall do - he believed there would be a child born, and he knew what was to be done to a Nazarite in common, according to the law of God respecting such, and the angel had mentioned somewhat to the woman; yet this being an extraordinary case, a Nazarite from his birth to his death, he was desirous of knowing what was further to be done; or if there was any thing more special and particular to be observed concerning him; which showed his readiness and cheerfulness to obey the will of God in all things.
Jdg 13:9 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.
Jdg 13:10 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.
the other day - rather, “in this day,” or “to-day,” for the word other is not in the original, and it is probably that the angel appeared in the morning and evening of the same day.
Jdg 13:11 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.
and he said, I am - the very same person; for though he was not a man, yet appearing in an human form was taken for one; and therefore makes answer according to the supposition of him, and was the selfsame person, and in the same form he had appeared before.
Jdg 13:12 And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him?
How shall we order the child - The original message of the Angel had given information on these two points:
(1) how the child was to be brought up, namely, as a Nazarite;
(2) what he should do, namely, begin to deliver Israel .
Manoah desires to have the information repeated (compare 1Sa_17:26-27, 1Sa_17:30). Accordingly, in Jdg_13:13 the Angel refers to, and enlarges upon, his former injunctions.
Jdg 13:13 And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware.
And the angel of the Lord said unto Manoah - Giving him no direct answer to his question, either what should be done to the child, or what that should do; only reminds of and repeats what he had said to his wife, which she should be careful to observe and would, and that was enough for him to know:
Jdg 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.
She may not eat of anything that cometh from the vine - Grapes moist or dried, kernels, or husks, or anything made of them:
Jdg 13:15 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.
Manoah said unto the angel - The language of Manoah, like that of Gideon Jdg_6:18 Do not depart from here, I pray, until I come to You, and bring forth my food offering and set it before You. And He said, I will stay until you come again, seems to indicate some suspicion that his visitor was more than human. The word rendered “made ready,” is also the proper word for “offering a sacrifice,” and is so used by the Angel in the next verse. By which it appears that the Angel understood Manoah to speak of offering a kid as a burnt-offering. Hence, his caution, “thou must offer it unto the Lord.”
Made ready - Supposing him to be a man and a prophet, to whom he would in this manner express his respect, as was usual to strangers. The stranger declined the intended hospitality and intimated that if the meat were to be an offering, it must be presented to the Lord [Jdg_13:6]. Manoah needed this instruction, for his purpose was to offer the prepared viands to him, not as the Lord, but as what he imagined him to be, not even an angel (Jdg_13:16), but a prophet or merely human messenger. It was on this account, and not as rejecting divine honors, that he spoke in this manner to Manoah.
Jdg 13:16 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.
And if thou wilt offer a burnt-offering - if he meant to provide not a festival entertainment, but a sacrifice, then he should take care that he did not offer it to strange gods, as was now very much the custom with Israel in this their time of apostasy, Jdg_13:1 but to the true Jehovah, and not to a servant of his, a prophet or an angel, but to himself:
for Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the Lord - he took him to be a man, a prophet sent of God, and not an angel; and much less the uncreated one, to whom as such only the sacrifice could be offered.
Bread - That is, meat, as bread is commonly taken in scripture.
Jdg 13:17 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?
that when thy sayings come to pass, we may do thee honour - say that such a prophet, whose name is such, and lives in such a place, foretold these things; or that they might send him a present, in gratitude for, and as a reward of his service and trouble; so the reward of a laborer, and the maintenance of a Gospel minister, is called "honor", 1Ti_5:17 Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in word and doctrine.
Jdg 13:18 And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret?
Jdg 13:18 And the Angel of Jehovah said to him, Why do you ask after My name in this way? Yea, it is Wonderful. (MKJV)
Seeing it is secret - It was because it was secret that they wished to know it. The angel does not say that it was secret, but it is Wonderful; the very character that is given to Jesus Christ, Isa_9:6 For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be on His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace; and it is supposed by some that the angel gives this as his name, and consequently that he was our blessed Lord.
why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret - and not to be known; as his nature and essence as a divine Person, which may be meant by his name, is what passes knowledge, is infinite and incomprehensible; see Pro_30:4 or "wonderful"; which is one of the names of Christ, and fitly agrees with him, who is wonderful in his person, as God and man; in his incarnation, in his offices and relations, in his love to his people, and in all he is unto them, and has done for them;
The word is Strong’s H6383 meaning remarkable, secret, wonderful, incomprehensible. It was used as a description of the name of the angel of the Lord (Jdg_13:18); and as a description of the knowledge of the Lord Psa_139:6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot go up to it.
Jdg 13:19 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.
The angel did wondrously - He acted according to his name; he, being wonderful, performed wonderful things; probably causing fire to arise out of the rock and consume the sacrifice, and then ascending in the flame.
So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering - The kid which he proposed to make an entertainment with, for the man of God, he took him to be, he fetched and brought for a burnt offering, at the hint which the angel had given him, and joined to it a meat offering, as was usual whenever burnt offerings were made; Num_15:3,
offered it upon a rock unto the Lord - for though Manoah was not a priest, nor was this a proper place for sacrifice; high places were now forbidden, and only at the tabernacle in Shiloh were offerings to be brought; yet all this was dispensed with, and Manoah was justified in what he did by the warrant of the angel, Jdg_13:16. The rock was probably near the place where this meeting of Manoah and his wife with the angel was, and where the discourse between them passed; and which served instead of an altar, and on which Manoah sacrificed, not to idols, but to the true Jehovah, as the angel directed:
Jdg 13:20 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.
For it came to pass, when the flame went up towards heaven from off the altar - That is, from the rock, which served instead of an altar, and from whence perhaps the fire sprung which consumed both the burnt offering and the meat offering, the flame of which went up to heaven; this rock or altar having no covering, but was "sub dio", open to the heavens:
Manoah and his wife looked on it - just as the disciples of Christ looked steadfastly on him as he went up to heaven, when a cloud received him out of their sight, Act_1:9 And saying these things, as they watched, He was taken up. And a cloud received Him out of their sight.
fell on their faces to the ground - with astonishment and surprise at what they saw, through fear and reverence of the divine Being, of whose presence they were now sensible, and as worshipping of him, and praying to him.
the flame went up towards heaven from off the altar - so Josephus says, that he touched the flesh with a rod he had, and fire sparkled out, and consumed it with the bread, or meat offering; just in the same manner as the angel did with the kid and cakes that Gideon brought, Jdg_6:21 Then the Angel of Jehovah put forth the end of the staff that was in His hand and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes. And there rose up fire out of the rock and burned up the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the Angel of Jehovah went away out of his sight.
Jdg 13:21 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.
Jdg 13:22 And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God.
we shall surely die, because we have seen God - he believed him to be a divine Person; for though angels are sometimes called "Elohim", the word here used, yet good men were not wont to fear death, or conclude they should die on sight of an angel; but their notion was, that an appearance of God to them was death, and were surprised when it did not follow, Gen_32:30 And Jacob called the name of the place Face of God; for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.
Jdg 13:23 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.
If the Lord were pleased to kill us - This is excellent reasoning, and may be of great use to every truly religious mind. It is not likely that God, who has preserved thee so long, borne with thee so long, and fed and supported thee all thy life long, girding thee when thou knewest him not, is less willing to save and provide for thee and thine now than he was when, probably, thou trustedst less in him. He who freely gave his Son to redeem thee, can never be indifferent to thy welfare. Nor would he have told thee such things of his love, mercy, and kindness, and unwillingness to destroy sinners, as he has told thee in his sacred word, if he had been determined not to extend his mercy to thee.
if the Lord was pleased to kill us - Here the angel is called Jehovah by the woman, and shows this was the uncreated angel:
Jdg 13:24 And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him.
called his name Samson - The etymology is doubtful. Perhaps it comes from a word signifying “to minister,” in allusion to his Nazaritic consecration to the service of God.
called his name Samson - it signifies the sun, this name might be given him, because of the splendor of his countenance with which he might be born, or in memory of the shining countenance of the angel which brought the tidings of his birth, or because he was to be the instrument of dispelling the darkness of calamity and distress Israel were now in: but the word more properly signifies a minister or servant, from whence the sun has its name; for Samson was to be, and was, a minister and servant of God, and of his people Israel. There is an agreement between the type and the antitype in this name in either sense. Christ is the mighty God, and mighty Savior, the sun of righteousness, the light of the world, and the deliverer of his people from darkness of calamity and distress; and who came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and perform the great service of redemption and salvation:
And the Lord blessed him - Gave evident proofs that the child was under the peculiar protection of the Most High; causing him to increase daily in stature and extraordinary strength. Endowed him with all those graces and gifts of mind and body which were necessary for the work he was designed for. Blessed him not only with extraordinary strength of body, but with great endowments of mind, with the Spirit and graces of the Spirit; with grace, and blessings of it, and with his gracious presence.
Jdg 13:25 And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.
The Spirit of the Lord began to move him - He felt the degrading bondage of his countrymen, and a strong desire to accomplish something for their deliverance. These feelings and motions he had from the Divine Spirit. It may be observed, that as the tribe of Dan lay near to the Philistines, and so liable to their ravages, and might be most oppressed by them, so a deliverer of Israel was raised up in this tribe. The meaning of this verse, which forms the introduction to the following account of the acts of Samson, is simply that Samson was there seized by the Spirit of Jehovah, and impelled to commence the conflict with the Philistines.
Camp of Dan - Probably the place where his parents dwelt; for they were Danites, and the place is supposed to have its name from its being the spot where the Danites stopped when they sent some men of their company to rob Micah of his teraphim, etc. Jdg_18:12 And they went up and pitched in Kirjath-jearim, in Judah. Therefore, they called that place A Camp of Dan to this day. Behold, it is behind Kirjath-jearim. As he had these influences between Zorah and Eshtaol, it is evident that this was while he dwelt at home with his parents; for Zorah was the place where his father dwelt; see Jdg_13:2. Thus God began, from his infancy, to qualify him for the work to which he had called him.
