Judges chapter 13

After reading chapter 13:

*The  Israelites did "evil" in the sight of Yahweh, so he delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for a standard biblical length of time, forty years. Then a man named Manoah from the Danite clan had a wife who was childless. The angel of Yahweh appeared to her as a man and told her she would have a son. This son was to be a Nazarite, set apart to Yahweh from birth. The mother was not to drink anything fermented, or eat anything unclean. Also, the boy will never have a haircut. Numbers 6 describes the Nazarite vow. However, it appears to be voluntary and temporary, unlike this boy to be born, who has a permanent decision made for him.

*The woman went to her husband and told him what had happened. Manoah prayed to Yahweh to send the Angel back to teach them how to raise the boy. The angel appeared to the woman again while she was working in the field. She ran and told her husband.  Manoah followed her back to the field and spoke to the angel. He asked him for instructions. The angel basically repeated what he had originally told the woman. Manoah volunteered to prepare a young goat to eat. The angel, who Manoah seems to have thought was a prophet, turned it down. He told Manoah to make a burnt offering to Yahweh instead. Manoah asked the angel what his name was but was told he wouldn't be able to understand it.

*Manoah sacrificed a goat and a grain offering to the Yahweh on a rock, which was a clear violation of the law of  the Israelites. Sacrifices were to be done by the priests at the altar in front of the tabernacle, which was currently supposed to be in Shiloh.( Numbers 18 and 22)However, Yahweh doesn't seem to have a problem with it at this time. As the flames of the sacrifice blazed up, the angel ascended to heaven in the flame. Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground. Manoah thought they were doomed to die but his wife replied practically that, if that were true, Yahweh would not have accepted the sacrifice and told them about their future son. Eventually, the boy was born and they named him Samson. One day the Spirit of Yahweh began to stir in him.

* One can't help wondering how many women of ancient times told their husbands that a god had decided she would become pregnant.

Edited.

Numbers chapter 6

After reading chapter 6:

*Most of this chapter is what to do if you have taken a Nazarite vow. We are not told specifically  what is a Nazarite or his vow, but it seems to be some kind of dedication to God.

-The Nazarite must not eat or drink any products made from grapes, including wine, vinegar, grapes, raisins, etc.
- He must not cut his hair at all. That is the symbol of his dedication.
-He must not touch or go anywhere near a dead body or he will defile his hair. (?!)
-If he does defile his hair by going near a dead body, he must shave it all off and bring a sin offering to the lord, because it was a sin for him to be in the presence of a dead body. Then he must rededicate himself to the lord and start his vow period over.
-When he has fulfilled his vow he is to bring various sacrificial offerings to the tabernacle. After those are performed by the priest, he is to have his head shaved in front of the tabernacle and the hair is to be put in the fire under the fellowship offering.
-Then the priest is to take a portion of the offering, wave it in front of the lord, then keep it for himself. (I'm not making this up.)
-After that the Nazarite is free to drink wine.

*The last part of the chapter is a blessing Yahweh tells Moses to tell Aaron and his sons to say over the Israelites. It is similar to the one sung at the sabbath meal in Fiddler in the Roof. It is echoed in Psalm 67:1. A portion  of this blessing was also found on two silver amulets in a cave in Jerusalem, dated to around 600 B.C.E. They are one of the earliest Hebrew references to Yahweh ever found. The story of Moses would have taken place at least 600 years earlier, if it happened.