Eustache Le Sueur - The Sacrifice of Manoah, 1640-1650

Manoah ( ''Mānoaḥ'') is a figure from the

Book of Judges The Book of Judges (, ') is the seventh book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. In the narrative of the Hebrew Bible, it covers the time between the conquest described in the Book of Joshua and the establishment of a kingdo ...

13:1-23 and 14:2-4 of the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''

Family

According to the Bible, Manoah was of the tribe of Dan and lived in the city of Zorah. He married one woman, who was barren. Her name is not mentioned in the Bible, but according to tradition she was called

Hazzelelponi Hazzelelponi ( he, הַצְּלֶלְפּוֹנִי ''Haṣṣəlelpōnī'', "the shade-facing") is a biblical woman mentioned in 1 Chronicles 4:3. Tzelafon was named after her. Hazzelelponi was a daughter of a man named Etam and thus a descendan ...

Zelelponith Hazzelelponi ( he, הַצְּלֶלְפּוֹנִי ''Haṣṣəlelpōnī'', "the shade-facing") is a biblical woman mentioned in 1 Chronicles 4:3. Tzelafon was named after her. Hazzelelponi was a daughter of a man named Etam and thus a descenda ...

. She was a daughter of Etam and sister of Ishma. Manoah and his wife were the parents of famous judge

Samson Samson (; , '' he, Šīmšōn, label= none'', "man of the sun") was the last of the judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Book of Judges (chapters 13 to 16) and one of the last leaders who "judged" Israel before the institution o ...

. According to Rabbinic tradition, they also had a daughter called Nishyan or Nashyan.

Birth of Samson

Manoah and his wife were childless, but the

angel of the Lord The (or an) angel of the ( he, מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה '' mal’āḵ YHWH'' "messenger of Yahweh") is an entity appearing repeatedly in the Tanakh (Old Testament) on behalf of the God of Israel. The guessed term ''YHWH'', which occurs ...

appeared to Manoah's wife and told her that she would give birth to a son. The child was to be dedicated from the womb as a

Nazirite In the Hebrew Bible, a nazirite or a nazarite ( he, נָזִיר ''Nāzīr'') is one who voluntarily took a vow which is described in . "Nazarite" comes from the Hebrew word ''nazir'' meaning "consecrated" or "separated". Those who put themselves ...

, which entailed restrictions on his diet, which the angel spelled out in detail. The woman (whose name is not mentioned in the Bible) told her husband, "A man of God came to me". Manoah prayed and the angel returned to instruct the both of them. After the angel left, Manoah tells his wife, "We shall surely die, because we have seen God." Together with his wife, Manoah subsequently tried to dissuade Samson from marrying a

Philistine The Philistines ( he, פְּלִשְׁתִּים, Pəlīštīm; Koine Greek ( LXX): Φυλιστιείμ, romanized: ''Phulistieím'') were an ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan from the 12th century BC until 604 BC, when ...

woman, but traveled with him to Timnah for the wedding ceremony when they were unable to do so. Samson's birth has special importance for some Christians (primarily

Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

), because of its similarity to the

Annunciation The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ang ...

to the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

. After Samson's death, his family recovers his body and buries him near the tomb of Manoah.

In culture

* In the 1914 American film ''

'', Manoah was played by

George Periolat George Periolat (February 5, 1874 – February 20, 1940) was an American actor. Biography Born in Chicago, Illinois, George Periolat began his career as a Broadway actor. Making his film debut with the Essanay Studios in Chicago, he moved to ...

, while his wife was played by

Lule Warrenton Lule Warrenton (June 22, 1862 – May 14, 1932) was an American actress, director, and producer during the silent film era. She appeared in more than 80 films between 1913 and 1922. She was born in Flint, Michigan and died in Laguna Beach, C ...

. * In the 1949 film '' Samson and Delilah'' (starring

Victor Mature Victor John Mature (January 29, 1913 – August 4, 1999) was an American stage, film, and television actor who was a leading man in Hollywood during the 1940s and 1950s. His best known film roles include '' One Million B.C.'' (1940), '' My Darli ...

and

Hedy Lamarr Hedy Lamarr (; born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler; November 9, 1914 January 19, 2000) was an Austrian-born American film actress and inventor. A film star during Hollywood's golden age, Lamarr has been described as one of the greatest movie actress ...

), Manoah is played by Charles Evans in an uncredited appearance. * In the 1984 film '' Samson and Delilah'', Manoah is played by

. * In the 1996 film '' Samson and Delilah'', Manoah, played by Paul Freeman, is shown as a poor old man. His wife is called

Mara Mara or MARA may refer to: Animals *Mara (mammal), a species of the cavy family *Mara the Lioness, in the movie ''Born Free'' Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Mara (''Doctor Who''), an evil being in two ''Doctor Who'' serials *Mara, ...

in this film. * In the 2018 film ''

'', Manoah is played by Rutger Hauer and his wife (called Zealphonis) is played by

Lindsay Wagner Lindsay Jean Wagner (born June 22, 1949) is an American film and television actress, model, author, singer, and acting coach. Wagner is best known for her leading role in the American science-fiction television series '' The Bionic Woman'' (197 ...

Notes

{{Authority control Talmud people Book of Judges Samson Hebrew Bible people Angelic visionaries Burials in Israel Tribe of Dan