Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Judges 13:6
Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, and his countenance [was] like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him not whence he [was], neither told he me his name:
6. A man of God ] An inspired man; the phrase is used of a prophet, Deu 33:1; 1Sa 2:27 ; 1Sa 9:6-8; 1Ki 12:22 etc. Here the man of God seemed to be more than human.
and I asked him not ] A strange visitor is first asked whence he comes (hence LXX. cod. A and Vulgate omit the negative), and then he is expected to give his name. Such is the rule of Eastern manners; the reticence on both sides in the present case is noted as unusual.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
A man of God – The designation of a prophet, of frequent use in the books of Samuel and Kings 1Sa 2:27; 1Sa 9:6-8, 1Sa 9:10; 1Ki 12:22; 1Ki 13:1, 1Ki 13:5-6, 1Ki 13:11, and applied to Timothy by Paul in the New Testament 1Ti 6:11; 2Ti 3:17.
His countenance – Rather, his appearance, as the word is rendered in Dan 10:18.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 6. But I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name] This clause is rendered very differently by the Vulgate, the negative NOT being omitted: Quem cum interrogassem quis esset, et unde venisset, et quo nomine vocaretur, noluit mihi dicere; sed hoc respondit. “Who, when I asked who he was and whence he came, and by what name he was called, would not tell me; but this he said,” c.
The negative is also wanting in the Septuagint, as it stands in the Complutensian Polyglot: , “And I asked him whence he was, and his name, but he did not tell me.” This is also the reading of the Codex Alexandrinus; but the Septuagint, in the London Polyglot, together with the Chaldee, Syriac, and Arabic, read the negative particle with the Hebrew text, I asked NOT his name, &c.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
A man of God; a prophet, or sacred person, sent with a message from God.
Very terrible, or, venerable, or awful, full of majesty.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
6-8. then Manoah entreated theLordOn being informed by his wife of the welcome intimation,the husband made it the subject of earnest prayer to God. This is aremarkable instance, indicative of the connection which God hasestablished between prayer and the fulfilment of His promises.
Jud13:11-14. THE ANGELAPPEARS TO MANOAH.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Then the woman came and told her husband,…. To whom it would be joyful news, as it was to her:
saying, a man of God came unto me; he appeared in an human form, and therefore she calls him a man; and by his mien and deportment, and the message he brought, she concluded he was a man of God, that is, a prophet; by which name such persons went in those days; and so the Targum calls him a prophet of the Lord: but it is a mere conceit of Ben Gersom that it was Phinehas, who in all probability was not living; besides what is after related shows that this was a divine Person, and no other than the Son of God:
and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible; for though she might never have seen an angel, yet it being a common notion that angels were very illustrious, of a beautiful form and of a shining countenance, and very majestic, she compares the man she saw to one; for by being “very terrible”, is not meant that he was frightful, and struck her with horror, but venerable and majestic, which filled her with admiration:
but I asked him not whence he [was], neither told he me his name; this she added to prevent her husband’s inquiring about his name and place of abode; and perhaps, as she came along, she reflected on herself that she did not ask those questions; which might be owing to the surprise she was in, partly at the awful and venerable appearance of the person, and partly at the joyful news he brought her; though it seems as if she did ask his name, but he did not tell her what it was.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The woman told her husband of this appearance: “ A man of God, ” she said (lit., the man of God, viz., the one just referred to), “ came to me, and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God, very terrible; and I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name, ” etc. “ Man of God ” was the expression used to denote a prophet, or a man who stood in immediate intercourse with God, such as Moses and others (see at Deu 33:1). “ Angel of God ” is equivalent to “angel of the Lord” (Jdg 2:1; Jdg 6:11), the angel in whom the invisible God reveals himself to men. The woman therefore imagined the person who appeared to her to have been a prophet, whose majestic appearance, however, had produced the impression that he was a superior being; consequently she had not ventured to ask him either his name or where he came from.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
(6) A man of God.Angels always appeared in human form, and Manoahs wife, though awe-struck by the majesty of the angels appearance, did not know him to be other than a prophet. Josephus, writing to please the coarse tastes of Gentile readers, describes the messenger as a tall and beautiful youth, who excited the jealousy of Manoah (Antt. v. 8, 2).
Very terrible.Comp. Mat. 28:3-4.
I asked him not whence he was.The LXX. omit the negative.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
6. A man of God The human form he bore led her to mistake the Angel for a prophet, and yet she thought that he was more than human.
Very terrible Majestic. His presence was such as to command a holy fear.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jdg 13:6 a
‘Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, “A man of God came to me and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible.” ’
The visitor was in human form but his appearance was ‘very terrible’ (awesome). The woman was filled with awe at her experience. This is why to the wife the messenger is ‘the angel of God ’. (Possibly here we should translate this as ‘a divine messenger’ as indicating awesomeness and mystery). He had not told her His name, thus He was to her an unidentifiable divine being. On His second appearance to her He thus came as ‘the messenger (angel) of God ’ (not Yahweh) (Jdg 13:9), the latter referring back to her previous usage and experience, even though He had first come to her (but not with her realising it) as the angel of Yahweh (Jdg 13:3). Her concentration was on the ‘otherness’ (that which is beyond human experience and comprehension) of the visitant. To her He was an unknown divine visitant (see Jdg 13:22).
Jdg 13:6 b
“But I did not ask from where he came, nor did he tell me his name.”
This is her confession of her own failure. She had been so awestruck that she had not asked where He came from. She had been silent before Him and He had not revealed His own identity, He had not revealed His name. To reveal the name would have been as a bond between the two, as it would mean that the angel revealed something of His inner qualities and being. But this had not happened, and thus there was no personal bonding. It is intended to be a condemnation on her, and a sign of her religious syncretism, that she was not aware that He was the Angel of Yahweh.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jdg 13:6. His countenancevery terrible The French version has it very well, fort venerable, a countenance full of majesty; such as was that of St. Stephen, when he appeared before the Sanhedrim at Jerusalem, Act 6:15. His Judges saw his face, as it had been the face of an angel. It does not appear, that either Manoah, or his wife, at first conceived this sacred messenger to be any other than some prophet commissioned by God to them.
REFLECTIONS.There is no end of Israel’s evil, or of God’s mercy. Once more the heavy hand of the Philistines is upon them; and during forty years, more or less, they bear the punishment of their sins under these oppressors, till God, in the person of Samson, raises up a deliverer for them.
1. His tribe and parentage: of Dan, which bordered nearest on the Philistines, and of parents who had long been childless. Note; (1.) Where is the greatest danger, and the least prospect of relief, there God often chooses to display his power and glory. (2.) The fruit of the womb is a heritage and gift which cometh of the Lord.
2. An angel appears to Manoah’s wife, even the glorious angel of the everlasting covenant, who now comes in the fashion of a man, as afterwards really partaking of the same nature.
3. The message that he brings her is most welcome and unexpected, and the charge that he delivers strict and solemn. He compassionately mentions her misfortune of barrenness; this shall be her grief no longer; she shall conceive and bear a son, who, being appointed for singular service, must be a Nazarite, not only from his birth, but also from his conception; for which, and during her pregnancy, she must not touch any thing that comes of the vine, nor eat any unclean thing; nor is a razor ever to come on his head, God intending by him to begin his people’s deliverance. Note; (1.) God sees and compassionates our secret griefs. (2.) They who would preserve themselves in holiness for God, must deny themselves the indulgence of their appetites. (3.) The offspring usually partakes of the parents’ bodily habit. Temperate parents have healthy children, while the curse of lewdness and luxury descends often on the fruit of the womb. (4.) The beginnings of salvation are glorious; how much more the completion of it. (5.) Samson is the type of him who foretold his birth; he was thus holy, undefiled, and separate from sinners, conceived of the Holy Ghost, a Nazarite purer than snow, raised up not only to begin, but to perfect the salvation of his people.
4. With a transport of joy, she flies to carry her husband an account of what had passed. Struck at the majestic and venerable appearance of the messenger, she describes his countenance as luminous, like Moses’s face, or bright with divine irradiation as an angel. His words she repeats, but neither dared ask his name nor whence he came. Note; (1.) We should call those who are near and dear to us to partake in our joys. (2.) True yoke-fellows should communicate their experiences for their mutual comfort and edification.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
An interesting information to her husband. No doubt from the nature of the prohibition, both Manoah and his wife conceived somewhat wonderful of this child; and cheerfully wished that a child, concerning whose birth so much attention was to be shown, might be dedicated as a Nazarite to the Lord from the womb. Nothing can be more interesting, nor more devoutly to be prayed for by true believers in Jesus, than that their offspring should be early followers of the Lord as dear children. If my Reader be a parent he will outrun all that I might add up on this subject.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jdg 13:6 Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, and his countenance [was] like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him not whence he [was], neither told he me his name:
Ver. 6. Then the woman came and told her husband. ] Which because the first woman did not, but held a parley with the serpent, great mischief ensued. Married couples must freely impart their minds one to another in things of common concernment. Coniugis illa sui Cor, Caput iste suae. Josephus tells us that Manoah was jealous of his wife: but who told him so?
A man of God.
Very terrible.
But I asked him not whence he was.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
A Man. Hebrew. ‘ish. App-14. This was according to the woman’s apprehension.
God. Hebrew. Elohim. App-4.
countenance = appearance.
terrible = awe-inspiring.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
A man: Deu 33:1, Jos 14:6, 1Sa 2:27, 1Sa 9:6, 1Ki 17:18, 1Ki 17:24, 2Ki 4:9, 2Ki 4:16, 1Ti 6:11
countenance was: Mat 28:3, Luk 9:29, Act 6:15
terrible: Jdg 13:22, Gen 28:16, Gen 28:17, Exo 3:2, Exo 3:6, Dan 8:17, Dan 10:5, Dan 10:11, Mat 28:4, Rev 1:17
but I asked: etc. The Vulgate renders this cause very differently, the negative Not being omitted: Quem cum interrogassim quis esset, et unde venisset, et quo nomine vocaretur, noluit mihi dicere; sed hoc respondit, etc; “Whom when I asked who he was, and whence he came, and by what name he was called, would not tell me, but this he said,” etc.
The negative is also wanting in the Septuagint, as it is in the Complutensian Polyglott; , , . “And I asked him whence he was, and his name, but he did not tell me.” This is also the reading of the Codex Alexandrinus; but the Septuagint in the London Polyglott, the Chaldee, Syriac, and Arabic, read the negative particle with the Hebrew Text: I asked Not his name, etc.
his name: Jdg 13:17, Jdg 13:18, Gen 32:29, Luk 1:19
Reciprocal: Exo 3:13 – What is his name Son 5:15 – his countenance Joh 19:9 – Whence Rev 7:13 – whence
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jdg 13:6. A man of God came unto me A prophet, or sacred person, sent with a message from God. Like the countenance of an angel, very terrible Or venerable, awful, full of majesty. Though Manoahs wife had never seen an angel before, yet she might well say this, as it was a prevailing opinion among all people, that celestial beings were more excellent in their nature than mankind, and bore an extraordinary majesty in their countenances, which struck the human beholder with awe and admiration. But I asked not whence he was, &c. The lustre of his aspect infused such an awe into her, as rendered her incapable of making such inquiry.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
13:6 Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, and his countenance [was] like the countenance of an angel of God, very {c} terrible: but I asked him not whence he [was], neither told he me his name:
(c) If flesh is not able to endure the sight of an angel, how much less the presence of God?