Hebrew Key Terms:
Context: The angel of the LORD appears to Manoah's barren wife with an annunciation: "You will conceive and give birth to a son" (13:3). The child would be "a Nazirite to God from the womb" (נְזִיר אֱלֹהִים יִהְיֶה הַנַּעַר מִן־הַבֶּטֶן). The Nazirite vow (Numbers 6) involved consecration through abstaining from wine, avoiding razor and corpse. For Samson, this was not a temporary vow but a lifelong calling from before birth. The commission: "he will begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines" (13:5). The verb יָחֵל ("begin") indicates partial, initiatory deliverance.
OT-to-OT Development:
Connections:
Christological Connection: Samson's prenatal consecration anticipates Christ's unique status. Jesus was "holy" from conception (Luke 1:35), set apart for redemptive purpose. John the Baptist, also announced to barren parents with Nazirite elements (Luke 1:15), prepared for Christ. Where Samson was to "begin" deliverance, Jesus accomplished complete salvation: "It is finished" (John 19:30). The Nazirite pattern of consecration finds its fulfillment in Christ, who was "made to be sin who knew no sin" (2 Corinthians 5:21)—the one truly set apart, holy, consecrated for the ultimate deliverance of His people.
Connection Method(s): Typology (Providential, Backward-Looking) — Samson's prenatal consecration through barren-wife annunciation and lifelong Nazirite status anticipates Christ's unique holiness from conception, though Samson only "began" what Christ completed.
Trajectory Table: 137 - Samson (Spirit-Empowered Deliverer)