And the woman bore a son and called his name Samson. And the young man grew, and the LORD blessed him. And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
There are a lot of great names in the Bible. Think of these names:
*Adam and Eve
*Noah
*Abraham and Sarah
*Moses
*Aaron
*David
*Solomon
*Nehemiah
*Isaiah
*Jeremiah
God even mentions the names of evil people who did harm in the Bible?
*Cain who killed Abel
*Goliath who persecuted the Israelites
*King Saul who tried to kill David
*Nebuchadnezzar who exalted himself
*Ham who did some type of evil toward his father Noah
*Absaolom who tried to take away his father David’s kingdom
And these names are just in the Old Testament. Think of all the names listed in the New Testament. Paul ended a number of his letters with a list of names of those who helped him in the ministry. He even listed names of those who hindered his ministry. Even Pilate, who ordered the execution of Jesus, is named. And Herod, who killed all the babies at Jesus birth, is mentioned by name.
Yet, in the above verse we read about the birth of Samson and his mother is never named. Samson is one of the most famous of all the judges of Israel. He was certainly a men of great strength, as well as great emotion. His father (Manoah) is identified but his barren mother is never named. Even Samson’s prostitute lover is named (Delilah), but not his mother. We have no reason given for this and there are assuredly other characters in the Bible referred to but never named. This is especially true of women. Noah’s wife is never named. Moses’ wife is never named. Nor is Job’s wife ever named. So too Lot’s wife. The Queen of Sheba is never given a name. Obviously these are all women, who, in the Biblical days took a back sit to men. The significance of this is that God often uses people in this world for His glory and His plans without giving them any recognition. All people created by God have some significance in God’s plan. Samson’s mother had to take a vow before God to accomplish God’s task for her:
Judges 13:13-14 (ESV)
And the angel of the LORD said to Manoah, “Of all that I said to the woman let her be careful. She may not eat of anything that comes from the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, or eat any unclean thing. All that I commanded her let her observe.”
Her obedience to God brought a great servant into this world God used to defeat His enemies. Yet, she is not named. We ought not to seek recognition from the world but we should seek God’s mission for the world.
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