And the woman bore a son: With virtually no transition, the promise given in verse 13.3 is fulfilled, bringing this introductory part of the Samson story to an end. In most translations a new paragraph can begin here. The Hebrew waw conjunction rendered And can be omitted, but in some languages a time expression such as “Later” (Contemporary English Version) or “Sometime later” would be appropriate. The mother of Samson remains unnamed, but receives the blessing she was promised.

And called his name Samson: It is the mother who gives a name to her son. The name Samson (Hebrew Shimshon) sounds a little like the Hebrew word for “sun” (shemesh). The sun was worshiped as a god in the nearby town of Beth-shemesh (meaning “house/temple of the sun”; see verse 1.33).

And the boy grew: The Hebrew waw conjunction rendered and marks the passing of time here, but in many languages it can be omitted. For boy see verse 13.5. Grew renders a Hebrew verb that can mean “grow up” or “become great,” but the first meaning seems to be in view here.

And the LORD blessed him is an extraordinary statement, since it is only used here in this book. Samson is the only judge singled out in this way. The Hebrew waw conjunction rendered and does not introduce the next event. The LORD certainly must have blessed Samson as he grew, and Contemporary English Version makes this explicit: “As the boy grew, the LORD blessed him.” Blessed means “granted favor,” often in terms of material blessings (see, for example, Deut 7.12-16). Most languages will have an idiomatic expression for blessed, such as “threw water on.” In verse 5.2 the Hebrew verb for blessed also appears, but there it means “praise.”

Translation models for this verse are:

• Later Manoah’s wife gave birth to a son and called him “Samson.” As this boy grew up, Yahweh blessed him.

• The man’s wife had a son, and she named him “Samson.” This child grew up and the LORD poured out his favor on him.

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 .