Manoah ( ''Mānoaḥ'') is a figure from the

Book of Judges The Book of Judges is the seventh book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. In the narrative of the Hebrew Bible, it covers the time between the conquest described in the Book of Joshua and the establishment of a kingdom in the ...

13:1-23 and 14:2-4 of the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Samson SAMSON (Software for Adaptive Modeling and Simulation Of Nanosystems) is a computer software platform for molecular design being developed bOneAngstromand previously by the NANO-D group at the French Institute for Research in Computer Science an ...

Family

According to the Bible, Manoah was of the

tribe of Dan The Tribe of Dan (, "Judge") was one of the twelve tribes of Israel, according to the Torah. According to the Hebrew Bible, the tribe initially settled in the hill lands bordering Tribe of Ephraim, Ephraim and Tribe of Benjamin, Benjamin on the ...

and lived in the city of Zorah. He married one woman, who was barren. Her name is not mentioned in the Bible, but according to tradition she was called Hazzelelponi or Zelelponith. She was a daughter of Etam and sister of Ishma. Manoah and his wife were the parents of famous judge

Samson SAMSON (Software for Adaptive Modeling and Simulation Of Nanosystems) is a computer software platform for molecular design being developed bOneAngstromand previously by the NANO-D group at the French Institute for Research in Computer Science an ...

. According to Rabbinic tradition, they also had a daughter called Nishyan or Nashyan.

Birth of Samson

Manoah and his barren wife were childless, but the angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah's wife and told her that she would give birth to a son. The child was to be dedicated from the womb as a

Nazirite In the Hebrew Bible, a nazirite or a nazarite ( ''Nāzīr'') is an Israelite (i.e. Jewish) man or woman who voluntarily took a vow which is described in . This vow required the nazirite to: * Abstain from wine and strong drink as well as all oth ...

, which entailed restrictions on his diet that the angel spelled out in detail. The woman, whose name is not mentioned in the Bible, told her husband, "A man of God came to me." Manoah prayed, and the angel returned to instruct the both of them. After the angel left, Manoah tells his wife, "We shall surely die, because we have seen God." Together with his wife, Manoah subsequently tried to dissuade Samson from marrying a

Philistine Philistines (; Septuagint, LXX: ; ) were ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan during the Iron Age in a confederation of city-states generally referred to as Philistia. There is compelling evidence to suggest that the Philist ...

woman but traveled with him to

Timnah Timnath or Timnah was a Philistine city in Canaan that is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible in and in connection with Samson. Modern archaeologists identify the ancient site with a tell lying on a flat, alluvial plain, located in the Sorek Valley ...

for the wedding ceremony when they were unable to do so. Samson's birth has special importance for some Christians (primarily

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

) because of its similarity to the

Annunciation The Annunciation (; ; also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord; ) is, according to the Gospel of Luke, the announcement made by the archangel Gabriel to Ma ...

to the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

. After Samson's death, his family recovers his body and buries him near the tomb of Manoah.

In culture

* In

John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet, polemicist, and civil servant. His 1667 epic poem ''Paradise Lost'' was written in blank verse and included 12 books, written in a time of immense religious flux and politic ...

closet play A closet (especially in North American English, North American English usage) is an enclosed space, with a door, used for storage, particularly that of clothes. ''Fitted closets'' are built into the walls of the house so that they take up no app ...

Samson Agonistes ''Samson Agonistes'' (from Greek Σαμσών ἀγωνιστής, "Samson the champion") is a tragic closet drama by John Milton. It appeared with the publication of Milton's '' Paradise Regained'' in 1671, as the title page of that volume st ...

,'' Manoah visits Samson after his imprisonment by the Philistines, and attempts to ransom them for his freedom. * In the 1914 American film ''

'', Manoah was played by George Periolat, while his wife was played by Lule Warrenton. * In the 1949 film '' Samson and Delilah'' (starring

Victor Mature Victor John Mature (January 29, 1913 – August 4, 1999) was an American stage, film, and television actor who was a leading man in Hollywood during the 1940s and 1950s. His best known film roles include '' One Million B.C.'' (1940), '' My Darli ...

and Hedy Lamarr), Manoah is played by Charles Evans in an uncredited appearance. * In the 1984 film '' Samson and Delilah'', Manoah is played by

. * In the 1996 film '' Samson and Delilah'', Manoah, played by Paul Freeman, is shown as a poor old man. His wife is called

Mara Mara or MARA may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Mara (''Doctor Who''), an evil being in two ''Doctor Who'' serials * Mara (She-Ra), fictional characters from the ''She-Ra and the Princesses of Power'' and ''The New Advent ...

in this film. * In the 2018 film ''

'', Manoah is played by

Rutger Hauer Rutger Oelsen Hauer (; 23 January 1944 – 19 July 2019) was a Dutch actor, with a career that spanned over 170 roles across nearly 50 years, beginning in 1969. In 1999, he was named by the Dutch public as the Best Dutch Actor of the Century. H ...

and his wife (called Zealphonis) is played by Lindsay Wagner.

Notes

{{Authority control Talmud people 12th-century BCE Hebrew people Samson Angelic visionaries Tribe of Dan