Shoftim Chapter 13 | Misleading for the Sake of Peace

In our chapter, we can find a type of "deception" from God. In a lecture given at Yeshivat Otniel, Dr. Yoshi Fargeon highlights omissions of information within the story that shed light on the angel's revelation to Manoach's wife.

The whole narrative of a barren woman conceiving hints at a child born through supernatural means. Naturally, this woman was not meant to give birth, and this child belongs to God, who altered the laws of nature for him. Thus, in every such story, we look for the child’s unique purpose and his potential for greatness.

Indeed, the angel outlines the conditions for raising the child and promises his destiny: “Take care: drink neither wine nor strong drink and eat nothing unclean. For indeed, you shall be with child; you shall bear a son. Let no razor touch his head, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb. He will begin to save Israel from the hands of the Philistines” (13:4–5).

But when the woman tells the story to her husband Manoah, she omits this part about his purpose: “He said to me, 'You shall be with child, and you shall bear a son; drink neither wine nor strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for the boy will be a Nazirite to the Lord from the womb until his dying day.’”

The detail she chooses to leave out is the story’s heart — it’s what makes this event a response to a national problem, not just a solution to a private tragedy. She likely omits this part because it’s already hard enough to believe that a barren woman will conceive, and she doubts her husband would believe that their child will be the savior.

Manoach senses that information is missing, and he prays to God to send the man of God again to tell them the child’s purpose: “‘Please, my Lord,” he said, ‘let the man of God whom You sent come to us again and teach us what to do with the boy who will be born.’” However, when God sends the angel a second time, he again appears to the woman when she’s alone, which hints that he comes in response to Manoach’s prayer but for the woman.

When Manoach asks the angel what he said, we can imagine the woman is nervous — if he speaks the truth, it will reveal that she left out certain details. But when the angel emphasizes to do “as I told the woman,” Manoach believes he’s hearing the full message, while in reality, the angel tailors his words to match the woman’s story: “‘Now,’ said Manoach, ‘may your words come to pass. How should the boy be properly dealt with?’ The Lord’s angel replied to Manoach, ‘The woman must be kept from all that I said to her. She must eat nothing derived from the grapevine, drink neither wine nor strong drink, and eat nothing unclean; she must follow all my instructions.’”

The angel did not appear to complete the details for Manoach but rather to give the woman the credibility she needed. God's intervention in the world created issues in her personal life, and God is willing to mislead for the sake of peace.