There are many connections between the situation of Manoah’s wife and that of Abraham’s wife Sarah (see Gen 18.1-15). It is even possible that the storyteller was inspired by that story in describing the situation of Manoah’s wife.
This verse begins with the Hebrew waw conjunction rendered And, which introduces the first event in the story line. Several versions omit it (Good News Translation, New International Version), but Contemporary English Version says “but one day,” which serves as a good model here.
The angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her: This is not the first time that the angel of the LORD has appeared (see, for example, verse 2.1; verse 6.11). In this section Yahweh’s messenger is sometimes called “the angel of God” (verse 13.9) and at other times “a/the man of God” (verse 13. 6, 8). Here as elsewhere, this person represents the LORD, and at times seems to be the LORD himself. How the angel appeared is never described. However, it is common in the Scriptures for angels to be described in anthropomorphic or human terms. The angel speaks and converses with human beings. Appeared renders a special form of the Hebrew verb raʾah meaning “see.” It may be translated “came” or “showed himself.”
Behold, you are barren and have no children …: In his message to the woman the angel first identifies her problem and then announces its resolution. The angel begins with the Hebrew word hinneh (Behold), followed by the particle naʾ, which is a politeness marker that softens these remarks. For you are barren and have no children, see verse 13.2. Here there is mirroring of the narrator’s remarks and the words spoken by the angel. In this context Behold is used to introduce unexpected good news, so we might say “Yes, I know you are barren…,” “It’s true that you’re barren…,” or “Dear woman, I know you have no children….”
But you shall conceive and bear a son: But renders well the Hebrew waw conjunction, which introduces a contrast here. Since the woman’s problem was expressed in two clauses, so is the solution. She is barren, so she will conceive. She has no children, but she will bear a son. The Hebrew verb rendered conceive refers to getting pregnant, which many languages will express with an idiomatic expression, such as “get belly” or even “eat pregnancy.” The Hebrew expression translated bear a son refers to giving actual birth to a child. The word for son can refer to a child of either sex, but it soon becomes evident that this will be a male child. Bear a son may be rendered “you will have a son” or “you will give birth to a boy child.” These two clauses are repeated throughout this section. Unlike Sarah’s case, no time frame is given here.
Translation models for this verse are:
• Yahweh’s messenger came to the woman and said, “I know you have been unable to have children, but I have good news: you will get pregnant and have a son.
• But one day the angel of Yahweh came to the woman and told her, “It is true that you have no children, but you will indeed get pregnant and give birth to a son.
Quoted with permission from Zogbo, Lynell and Ogden, Graham S. A Handbook on Judges. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .