The Bible In Paintings >>> Women in the Bible Series ✝️ MRS. MANOAH — With a Mother with Such Deep Faith, How Did Samson So Foolishly Choose Delilah? ✝️

[Hebrews 11:6]

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WOMEN IN THE BIBLE
MRS. MANOAH

JUDGES 13

Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, so the LORD delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years.

A certain man named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was sterile and remained childless. The angel of the LORD appeared to her and said, “You are sterile and childless, but you are going to conceive and have a son. Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean, because you will conceive and give birth to a son. No razor may be used on his head, because the boy is to be a Nazirite, set apart to God from birth, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”

1
TINTORETTO
"The Annunciation to Manoah's Wife"

2
CARLO SARACENI
"An Angel Appearing to the Wife of Manoah"

3
"The Angel of the Lord Appears to Manoah's Wife"

Then the woman went to her husband and told him, “A man of God came to me. He looked like an angel of God, very awesome. I didn’t ask him where he came from, and he didn’t tell me his name. But he said to me, ‘You will conceive and give birth to a son. Now then, drink no wine or other fermented drink and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite of God from birth until the day of his death.’ ”

Then Manoah prayed to the LORD: “O Lord, I beg you, let the man of God you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born.”

God heard Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman while she was out in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her. The woman hurried to tell her husband, “He’s here! The man who appeared to me the other day!”

Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he said, “Are you the one who talked to my wife?”

“I am,” he said.

So Manoah asked him, “When your words are fulfilled, what is to be the rule for the boy’s life and work?”

The angel of the LORD answered, “Your wife must do all that I have told her. She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, nor drink any wine or other fermented drink nor eat anything unclean. She must do everything I have commanded her.”

Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “We would like you to stay until we prepare a young goat for you.”

The angel of the LORD replied, “Even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the LORD.” (Manoah did not realize that it was the angel of the LORD.)

Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the LORD, “What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes true?”

He replied, “Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding.”

4
PIETER SYMONSZ POTTER
"The Angel Announces to Manoach and His Wife
the Birth of Their Son Samson"

5

Then Manoah took a young goat, together with the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock to the LORD. And the LORD did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched: As the flame blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground. When the angel of the LORD did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it was the angel of the LORD.

“We are doomed to die!” he said to his wife. “We have seen God!”

But his wife answered, “If the LORD had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this.”

The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson. He grew and the LORD blessed him, and the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him.

6
"Manoah and His Wife Offer a Sacrifice; the Angel Floats Above"

7
SALOMON DE BRAY
"The Angel Leaves Manoah and His Wife"

8
GOVERT FLINCK
"Manoah's Sacrifice"

9
EUSTACHE LE SUEUR
"The Sacrifice of Manoah"

10
"Manoah and His Wife Give a Sacrifice"

11
JAN LUYKEN
"Manoach and His Wife Kneel at the Altar
above which the Angel Hovers"

12
CLAES CORNELISZ MOEYAERT
"The Sacrifice of Manoah"

13
LOUIS DESPLACES
"Manoah and His Wife Pray to an Angel
which Emerges from the Flame of Their Altar"

14
FRANS POST
"Manoah's Sacrifice"

15
PIETER LASTMAN
"Sacrificio di Manoach"

16
PIETER LASTMAN
"Sacrifice of Manoah"

17

18
SALOMON KONINCK
"Manoah's Sacrifice"

19
BENJAMIN WEST
"The Sacrifice of Manoah"

20
ANTONIO BALESTRA
"An Angel Promises Manoah’s Wife a Son"

21
JAMES TISSOT
"The Angel Ascends Toward Heaven"

22
WILLEM DE POORTER
"O Sacrifício de Manoá"

23

24
SAMUEL VAN HOOGSTRATEN
"Manoah's Sacrifice"

25

26
ADRIAEN VAN NIEULANDT
"Manoah's Sacrifice"

27
MARC CHAGALL
"Manoah and His Wife, Offering a Sacrifice,
Saw the Angel of the Lord Flying in the Flame "

28
SIMON JULIEN
"The Sacrifice of Manoah, Father of Samson"

29
LOUIS GAUFFIER
"The Prediction of the Birth of Samson"

30
REMBRANDT
"Manoah's Sacrifice"

→ a n d   f i n a l l y ←

31

New International Version ©1984, Abrgd, EMPHASES added
Masthead Painting: “GUEST” by Andrey Mironov

[Hebrews 11:6]

A R C H I V E S
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[Hebrews 11:6]

The angel actually appears just to Mrs. Manoah—twice. And it is Mrs. Manoah who has the good sense to answer her hysterical husband with calm reason. The author draws further attention to her by never naming the star of this story.

And so she has become one of my favorite characters in the Bible, and someone I am very much looking forward to meeting in heaven.

[Red Badger]

Names were very sacred in those days......................

[Hebrews 11:6]

But I don’t think that why the author chose not to name her; rather, she is the exception who proves your rule.

[Phinneous]

He is SHIMSHON in Hebrew because he shined like the SHEMESH (sun.)

Nothing he did was foolish - see the Jewish commentaries on his seeming-sins.

https://www.sefaria.org/Judges?tab=contents

[Red Badger]

I wasn’t referring to her, but the angel.

When Moses asked for the name of God, He replied ‘I AM’.

When asked for his name, this angel simply said it was beyond understanding.

Knowing the name of an angel, or demon for that matter, can be a very powerful and dangerous thing..............

[Hebrews 11:6]

I am reacting not to any supposed misbehavior by him—his fear was understandable—but rather to her exhibition of levelheaded calmness under fire.

[Hebrews 11:6]

Well, I consider it part of the author’s sublime inspiration that we have God remaining anonymous and the author paralleling that with her.

[Nervous Tick]

I can only imagine HOW you find so many wonderful paintings that well illustrate so many powerful events in Scripture. Thank you for bringing them to us! Your work is beneficial to me in my (flawed and feeble, but persistant) walk with CHRIST. Blessings!

[etabeta]

Great story, great faith, great paintings. Thank you, Dan!

[No name given]

Such beautiful art.

[Hebrews 11:6]

HOW you find so many wonderful paintings

Having done about a thousand of these threads now, I have discovered many helpful resources. God uses the internet. But I won't bore you with how the sausage gets made.

Your work is beneficial to me in my...walk with CHRIST.

The Holy Spirit and I are rejoicing:

"being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:6

[Hebrews 11:6]

Thank you, Alba!

[Hebrews 11:6]

Agreed.

[Big Red Badger]

‘Why do you ask my Name
It is Beyond Understanding!’
.
Jesus has ‘That Name’ in Revelation!
.
Morning Bruddas.

[Big Red Badger]

Flawed,Feeble and Persistent!
Love It.
.
These days my cup runneth Over.

[InkStone]

Hello Dan, and glad mid-week to all.

A wonderful story of faith, grace and God’s blessings. His Word goes forth in eternal truth.

Fine art each of them Dan, thank you!

[Hebrews 11:6]

A wonderful story of faith

Mrs. Manoah's faith, and her husband's, so inspires me that I was very eager to re-tell her story. Essentially, that is what led to this Women in the Bible Series.

Also, I commend to your attention their conversations, evincing an easy familiarity--even without the Holy Spirit's indwelling presence--with their God.

[Hebrews 11:6]

Sorry—I misunderstood your post, thinking you referred to Manoah. Wasn’t fully awake yet.

Samson had a wonderful example in his mother of a woman of faith, obviously not duplicated by Delilah. My headline was meant not to deprecate Samson but by that contrast to extol his mother. Samson was explicitly in God’s service, but I’ll leave his merits for another occasion.

[SisterK]

Knock me over with a feather.

Today, in this thread, is the first time I ever considered that the angel that appeared before Samson’s mother was a theophany.