Manoah's wife (also referred to as Samson's mother) is an unnamed figure in the Book of Judges, the wife of Manoah. She is introduced in Judges 13:2 as a barren woman. The angel of the Lord appears to her and tells her she will have a son. She later gives birth to Samson.
![](http://upload.luquay.com/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c6/Jacopo_Tintoretto_-_The_Annunciation_to_Manoah%27s_Wife_-_WGA22660.jpg/255px-Jacopo_Tintoretto_-_The_Annunciation_to_Manoah%27s_Wife_-_WGA22660.jpg)
J. Cheryl Exum argues that Manoah's wife is more perceptive than her husband, in that she "senses at once something otherworldly" about the man of God who visits her, and "recognizes a divine purpose behind the revelation."[1] Bruce Waltke regards her as cynical, noting that, unlike Hannah, she neither prays for a child nor praises God afterwards.[2]
Ancient Rabbinic tradition identifies this woman as the Hazzelelponi mentioned in 1 Chronicles 4:3, and the Talmud gives her a variant of this name, Tzelelponit (Hebrew: צללפונית).[3]
In the 1949 Cecil B. Demille's biblical film, Samson and Delilah, Manoah's wife was rendered as "Hazelelponit".
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Exum, J. Cheryl. "Mother of Samson". Jewish Women's Archive. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
- ^ Waltke, Bruce. An Old Testament Theology. p. 610.
- ^ Babylonian Talmud Bava Batra 91a. Sefaria.org.