Judges 13:8-23

The revelations of the Angel 13:8-23

God sent His Angel to revisit Manoah and his wife because they voiced questions in prayer about how they should rear Samson (Judges 13:8), his way of life (Judges 13:12), and his vocation (Judges 13:12). Their desire to bring their son up according to God’s will was commendable. Samson’s parents were similar to Samuel’s in this respect (cf. 1 Samuel 1:27-28; 1 Samuel 2:19).

Evidently Manoah also assumed that the Angel of the Lord was a prophet (Judges 13:17). The Angel told Manoah that His name was "wonderful" (Heb. pil’i, Judges 13:18, "beyond understanding," NIV).

"The word . . . is not the proper name of the angel of the Lord, but expresses the character of the name; and as the name simply denotes the nature, it expresses the peculiarity of his nature also. It is to be understood in an absolute sense-’absolutely and supremely wonderful’ (Seb. Schmidt) . . ." [Note: Keil and Delitzsch, p. 407.]

The same Hebrew word translated "wonderful" appears in Isaiah 9:6 as a title of Messiah. The idea here is that the Angel said Manoah and his wife could not fully comprehend the significance of who He was (cf. Exodus 3:13-14; Isaiah 9:6; Psalms 139:6). Though we can apprehend God to some extent, we cannot fully comprehend Him. Sinful mortals cannot fully appreciate all there is to know about God, even with the aid of the revelation He has given us.

As Gideon had done, Manoah prepared a sacrifice to God in appreciation for this special revelation (cf. Judges 6:19-24). Block provided a table showing 11 comparisons between Gideon’s sacrifice in Judges 6:17-24 and Samson’s in Judges 13:15-23. [Note: Block, Judges . . ., p. 411.] The similarities suggest that the writer wanted the reader to interpret Samson’s sacrifice in the light of Gideon’s. Manoah and his wife finally realized that they had been talking with the Angel of the Lord when He arose heavenward in the flame from the blazing sacrifice on the altar (Judges 13:20). He did something "wonderful" for them. They fell on their faces in worship and out of fear of the Lord.

"Manoah was the first to speak but the last to recover his composure, reflecting the widely-held belief that if a man saw God he would die (Exodus 33:20; Judges 6:22-23)." [Note: Cundall and Morris, p. 160.]

Interestingly, Manoah reacted hysterically, but his wife was more logical and objective (cf. Elkanah and Hannah). Several writers have noted that this unnamed woman is the real hero of the Samson narrative, besides God. She is the one character in it who exemplifies faithfulness to God’s word and His ways. [Note: E.g., Robert Alter, "Samson without Folklore," in Text and Tradition, p. 51; Adele Reinhartz, "Samson’s Mother: An Unnamed Protagonist," Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 55 (1992):29; and McCann, pp. 94-97.]