Judges 13: The birth of Samson.

Chapters 13-16 of Judges tell the story of Samson, one of the greatest judges of Israel. At the time of Samson’s birth, Israel had been under Philistine oppression for forty years, because they had once again sinned against the Lord. As we have seen in previous chapters, the Lord appears to have punished them, but this is not the case; it is really our own waywardness that brings about these negative consequences.

This story begins with Samson’s parents, Manoah and his wife. Manoah’s wife was barren, but the angel of the Lord appeared to her, with news that she would have a son. The angel said that she was forbidden to drink alcohol or eat anything unclean, and that her son was never to have his hair cut, for he would be a Nazirite. And finally, the angel prophesied that her son would deliver Israel from the Philistines.

When Manoah’s wife told him what had happened, he prayed to the Lord for the man to return. The angel reappeared to Manoah’s wife, so she brought her husband to speak with the angel directly. Manoah asked what they should do for their child, but the angel only told Manoah that his wife must follow the instructions she had received.

Manoah offered a meal to the angel of the Lord, but the angel declined, saying that the burnt offering must be made to the Lord. Manoah brought out the meat of a young goat, placed it upon a rock, and gave it as a burnt offering to the Lord. The angel of the Lord ascended in the flames toward heaven, and the couple knew that they had seen God.

In time, Samson was born, and the Lord blessed him.

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Samson’s name literally means “sun-like”. He was a mighty warrior, a womaniser, and a powerful character prone to sudden outbursts and rage, but his intention was to defend Israel and defeat the Philistines. He was strong in his acknowledgement of his people and his God.

Samson represents the Lord in His divine human, and also the power of the Word in its literal sense. This is why Samson had strength in the abundance of his hair (see Swedenbrog’s works, Doctrine of Sacred Scripture 49[2], and Arcana Caelestia 9836[2]).

Spiritually, barrenness stands for a lack of personal doctrine or a spiritual path, representing how life can feel before regeneration begins. The angel of the Lord appeared to just the woman at first, because the purpose of regeneration is primarily to make us love what is good (represented by a woman). We do this by knowing and obeying truth (represented by a man).

The Nazarites, who vowed not to drink or cut their hair, represented the Lord as the Word in its ultimate and fullest sense (see Swedenborg’s work, Apocalypse Revealed 47). These customs are the marks of a natural and genuine life, as wine can lead us astray, and focusing on appearances can lead to vanity. Above all, Samson’s uncut hair represented this greatness of divine truths from the Word (see Swedenborg’s work, True Christian Religion 214).

The angel was reluctant to tell Manoah and his wife details about their son’s future, except that he would be a Nazarite, and would deliver Israel. He intentionally kept them from knowing what would take place, because if they knew the future, they would no longer be able to act in freedom. Divine Providence - the Lord’s plan for our world - cannot be disclosed to us, or we would no longer live in freedom to make our own decisions (Arcana Caelestia 2493).

Manoah asked the angel what his name was, so he could be honored. However, the angel declined to tell them, as his name was wonderful. A name describes a person’s spiritual qualities, and we are unable to fathom the extent of heavenly qualities because they are of God.

The spiritual meaning of Manoah’s sacrifice comes from the correspondence of a young goat (innocence within the human soul) and the rock (truth). The young goat, placed on the rock as a sacrifice, represents worshipping from our hearts in faith to the Lord. This is the Lord’s requirement of us (Doctrine of Sacred Scripture 18[3] and Arcana Caelestia 9393).

4321. Though these are apparent contradictions and unbelievable to man, they must not for all that be rejected as untrue, because experience itself declares that they are true. If everything for which the cause is not known were so rejected, countless things that reveal themselves in the natural order, for which scarcely one ten-thousandth of their causes is known, would be rejected. For the arcana belonging to the natural order are so many and so great that those which man knows are scarcely any in comparison with those he does not know. What must the situation be with the arcana that reveal themselves in the sphere above the natural order, that is, in the spiritual world, such as the following?

There is one life alone, and from this all receive their life, each individual in a different way from another. Even the evil receive their life from that one life alone, and so too do the hells. Inflowing life acts according to the way it is received.

Heaven is ordered by the Lord in such a way that it is like a Human Being, on account of which it is called the Grand Man. Consequently everything in the human being corresponds to it.

Without influx from heaven into everything with him the human being cannot remain in being even for an instant. All in the Grand Man occupy an unchanging position determined by the nature and the state of the truth and good which governs them. Position there is not position but state, and therefore those on the left are seen constantly on the left, those on the right constantly on the right, those in front constantly in front, and those behind constantly behind. They are seen to be on a level horizontal with the head, chest, back, loins, or feet, overhead or underfoot, straight ahead or obliquely, closer in or further away. They occupy these positions, no matter how or in which direction a spirit turns.

The Lord as the Sun is seen constantly on the right, in the middle of the sky there, a little above a line horizontal with the right eye; and everything exists in relation to the Lord as the Sun and to the Centre there, and so in relation to its one and only source from which it is brought into being and kept in being. And since all appear before the Lord occupying their own unchanging positions, which are determined by states of good and truth, they are therefore seen in the same way by everyone, for the reason that the Lord's life, and therefore the Lord Himself, is present in everyone in heaven.

And there are countless other arcana besides these.