Judges 13:6

So the woman went and told her husband, “A man of God came to me. His appearance was like the angel of God, exceedingly awesome. I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Manoah's wife reports to her husband the visit of the angel of the LORD, recounting the encounter before relaying the command concerning the unborn son (v. 7).

The words — איש האלהים ('ish ha'elohim), "man of God," is the title she gives the visitor — the same designation later applied to Samuel (1 Sam 9:6).

The thread — The "man of God" title and the unnamed, awe-inspiring appearance follow the theophanic pattern: the messenger is not identified, and his coming (בא, ba') marks a divine arrival rather than a human one.

Why it lands — The woman's report is defined by what is absent: no name given, no name asked. The reader is asked to notice that the messenger's identity is deliberately withheld, setting up Manoah's own question in v. 17 and marking this as a theophanic encounter, not a human visit.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וַתָּבֹ֣אva./ta.Vo'and/ she went הָאִשָּׁ֗הha./'i.Shahthe/ woman וַתֹּ֣אמֶרva./To.merand/ she said לְאִישָׁהּ֮le./'i.Sha/hto/ husband/ her לֵאמֹר֒le./Mor<to>/ saying אִ֤ישׁ'ish<the> man of הָאֱלֹהִים֙ha./'E.lo.Him<the>/ God בָּ֣אba'he came אֵלַ֔י'e.La/ito/ me וּמַרְאֵ֕הוּu./mar.'E./huand/ appearance/ his כְּמַרְאֵ֛הke./mar.'Eh[was] like/ [the] appearance of מַלְאַ֥ךְmal.'Akh<the> angel of הָאֱלֹהִ֖יםha./'E.lo.Him<the>/ God נוֹרָ֣אno.Ra'awesome מְאֹ֑דme.'Odvery וְלֹ֤אve./Lo'and/ not שְׁאִלְתִּ֙יהוּ֙she.'il.Ti./huI asked/ him אֵֽי־'ei-where?מִזֶּ֣הmi./Zehfrom/ this ה֔וּאHu'[was] he וְאֶת־ve./'Etand/ <obj.>שְׁמ֖וֹshe.M/oname/ his לֹֽא־lo'-not הִגִּ֥ידhi.Gidhe toldלִֽי׃L/ito <the>/ me

King James Version

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:

Cross-references

Judges 13:17 Then Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes to pass?”
Matthew 28:3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.
1 Samuel 9:6 “Look,” said the servant, “in this city there is a man of God who is highly respected; everything he says surely comes to pass. Let us go there now. Perhaps he will tell us which way to go.”
Revelation 1:17 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. But He placed His right hand on me and said, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last,
Deuteronomy 33:1 This is the blessing that Moses the man of God pronounced upon the Israelites before his death.
2 Kings 4:9 Then the woman said to her husband, “Behold, now I know that the one who often comes our way is a holy man of God.
Daniel 8:17 As he came near to where I stood, I was terrified and fell facedown. “Son of man,” he said to me, “understand that the vision concerns the time of the end.”
Daniel 10:5 I lifted up my eyes, and behold, there was a certain man dressed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist.
Daniel 10:11 He said to me, “Daniel, you are a man who is highly precious. Consider carefully the words that I am about to say to you. Stand up, for I have now been sent to you.” And when he had said this to me, I stood up trembling.
Luke 1:19 “I am Gabriel,” replied the angel. “I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.