The Meaning of Judges 13:25 Explained

Judges 13:25

KJV: And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.

YLT: and the Spirit of Jehovah beginneth to move him in the camp of Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Darby: And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him in Ma'haneh-dan, between Zorah and Esh'ta-ol.

ASV: And the Spirit of Jehovah began to move him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And the Spirit  of the LORD  began  to move him at times  in the camp  of Dan  between Zorah  and Eshtaol. 

What does Judges 13:25 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 13:25 mean?

And began the Spirit of Yahweh to move upon him at Mahaneh Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol -
וַתָּ֙חֶל֙ ר֣וּחַ יְהוָ֔ה לְפַעֲמ֖וֹ בְּמַחֲנֵה־ דָ֑ן בֵּ֥ין צָרְעָ֖ה וּבֵ֥ין אֶשְׁתָּאֹֽל פ

וַתָּ֙חֶל֙  And  began 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: חָלַל 
Sense: to profane, defile, pollute, desecrate, begin.
ר֣וּחַ  the  Spirit 
Parse: Noun, common singular construct
Root: רוּחַ  
Sense: wind, breath, mind, spirit.
יְהוָ֔ה  of  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
לְפַעֲמ֖וֹ  to  move  upon  him 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct, third person masculine singular
Root: פָּעַם  
Sense: to thrust, impel, push, beat persistently.
בְּמַחֲנֵה־  at  Mahaneh 
Parse: Noun, proper
Root: מַחֲנֶה  
Sense: encampment, camp.
דָ֑ן  Dan 
Parse: Preposition, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: דָּן 
Sense: the 5th son of Jacob, the st of Bilhah, Rachel’s handmaid.
בֵּ֥ין  between 
Parse: Preposition
Root: בַּיִן 
Sense: between, among, in the midst of (with other preps), from between.
צָרְעָ֖ה  Zorah 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: צָרְעָה  
Sense: a town in Dan, residence of Manoah and the home town of Samson.
אֶשְׁתָּאֹֽל  Eshtaol 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶשְׁתָּאֹול  
Sense: a Danite city located within Judah.
פ  - 
Parse: Punctuation