‘ And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah, and his wife was barren, and did not bare.'
Zorah (modern Sar‘ah?) was a town in the lowlands of Judah (Joshua 15:33). It was on the north side of the valley of Sorek (called Zharka in the Amarna letters). Manoah belonged to those of the Danites who had not migrated to Laish (Judges 18:29). Note that it is ‘the clan of Danites' not the tribe. The name ‘Manoah' means ‘resting place, condition of rest'. It may be intended to indicate that his spirit was at rest even in the trying circumstances. But he shared one sadness with his wife. She had had no children, she was barren. When God wished to show His power He often chose a barren woman for the purpose (compare Sarah -Genesis 16:1; Rebekah - Genesis 25:21; Hannah - 1 Samuel 1:2; 1 Samuel 1:5; Elizabeth - Luke 1:7). This was to indicate that the resulting birth was God's work and the child born was thus His in a special way. This was also true in this case.