After another note of the Israelites doing evil in the eyes of the Lord and the Lord giving them into the hands of the Philistines, the narrative of the final judge begins somewhat unusually, with his birth narrative (13:1–25). The announcement of miraculous birth to a barren woman is a familiar biblical theme (cf. Gen. 18:9–15), and the careful instructions given by the angel to Manoah’s wife further heighten the expectation that the child to be born will be special. Specifically, it is disclosed that the child is to be a Nazirite from the womb, and his mission will be to begin the deliverance of Israel from the Philistines.

Regarding the Nazirite status, a comparison of the instructions given by the angel with the Nazirite rule in Numbers 6:1–21 shows both similarities and differences.…