The Meaning of Judges 13:23 Explained

Judges 13:23

KJV: But his wife said unto him, If the LORD were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have shewed us all these things, nor would as at this time have told us such things as these.

YLT: And his wife saith to him, 'If Jehovah were desirous to put us to death, He had not received from our hands burnt-offering and present, nor shewed us all these things, nor as at this time caused us to hear anything like this.'

Darby: But his wife said to him, "If the LORD had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and a cereal offering at our hands, or shown us all these things, or now announced to us such things as these."

ASV: But his wife said unto him, If Jehovah were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt-offering and a meal-offering at our hand, neither would he have showed us all these things, nor would at this time have told such things as these.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

But his wife  said  unto him, If  the LORD  were pleased  to kill  us, he would not have received  a burnt offering  and a meat offering  at our hands,  neither would he have shewed  us all these [things], nor would as at this time  have told  us [such things] as these. 

What does Judges 13:23 Mean?

Context Summary

Judges 13:15-25 - The Promise Fulfilled
Manoah's wife comforted her husband with admirable tact. How often her words come back to us, at the different stages of life! The fact that God continues to bless and use, to answer prayer and give revelations of Himself, may be quoted as a reason for believing that He has not cast us off. Would He have showed us such things as these and then kill us? His love in time past forbids us to think so.
Samson means sunny. A happy, laughing lad, with his profuse crown of unshorn hair-is it any wonder that the soldiers of the garrison, situated on the Dan-frontier, welcomed him? And the Spirit of God began to play on his young soul, as a minstrel plays on his harp. Such is the literal rendering of "began to move." Oh, happy are they whose natures lie open to God's touch, so that the least movement produces a quick and glad answer! As the Aeolian harp will respond to the kiss of the zephyr or the moan of the rising storm, so be it with our hearts and lives. Thus our unconscious influence may become as songs without words. [source]

Chapter Summary: Judges 13

1  Israel is delivered into the hands of Philistines
2  An angel appears to Manoah's wife
8  The angel appears to Manoah
15  Manoah's sacrifices, whereby the angel is discovered
24  Samson is born

What do the individual words in Judges 13:23 mean?

But said to him his wife if had desired Yahweh to kill us not He would have accepted from our hands a burnt offering and a grain offering nor would He have shown us - all these [things] and at this time nor would He have told us [such things] as this
וַתֹּ֧אמֶר ל֣וֹ אִשְׁתּ֗וֹ לוּ֩ חָפֵ֨ץ יְהוָ֤ה לַהֲמִיתֵ֙נוּ֙ לֹֽא־ לָקַ֤ח מִיָּדֵ֙נוּ֙ עֹלָ֣ה וּמִנְחָ֔ה וְלֹ֥א הֶרְאָ֖נוּ אֶת־ כָּל־ אֵ֑לֶּה וְכָעֵ֕ת לֹ֥א הִשְׁמִיעָ֖נוּ כָּזֹֽאת

וַתֹּ֧אמֶר  But  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
ל֣וֹ  to  him 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
אִשְׁתּ֗וֹ  his  wife 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אִשָּׁה  
Sense: woman, wife, female.
חָפֵ֨ץ  had  desired 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: חָפֵץ 
Sense: to delight in, take pleasure in, desire, be pleased with.
יְהוָ֤ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
לַהֲמִיתֵ֙נוּ֙  to  kill  us 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Hifil, Infinitive construct, first person common plural
Root: מוּת  
Sense: to die, kill, have one executed.
לָקַ֤ח  He  would  have  accepted 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יָקַח 
Sense: to take, get, fetch, lay hold of, seize, receive, acquire, buy, bring, marry, take a wife, snatch, take away.
מִיָּדֵ֙נוּ֙  from  our  hands 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, feminine singular construct, first person common plural
Root: יָד  
Sense: hand.
עֹלָ֣ה  a  burnt  offering 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: עֹלָה  
Sense: whole burnt offering.
וּמִנְחָ֔ה  and  a  grain  offering 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular
Root: מִנְחָה  
Sense: gift, tribute, offering, present, oblation, sacrifice, meat offering.
וְלֹ֥א  nor 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
הֶרְאָ֖נוּ  would  He  have  shown  us 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, third person masculine singular, first person common plural
Root: רָאָה 
Sense: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
אֵ֑לֶּה  these  [things] 
Parse: Pronoun, common plural
Root: אֵהֶל 
Sense: these.
וְכָעֵ֕ת  and  at  this  time 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-k, Article, Noun, common singular
Root: עֵת  
Sense: time.
לֹ֥א  nor 
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
הִשְׁמִיעָ֖נוּ  would  He  have  told  us  [such  things] 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, third person masculine singular, first person common plural
Root: שָׁמַע 
Sense: to hear, listen to, obey.
כָּזֹֽאת  as  this 
Parse: Preposition-k, Pronoun, feminine singular
Root: זׄאת  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, such.