Judges 13:22

22 Manoah said, "We have seen God, so we will surely die."

Judges 13:22 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 13:22

And Manoah said unto his wife
Being risen from the ground, where they fell on their faces:

we shall surely die, because we have seen God;
by which it appears that he not only believed him to be an angel, and not a man, but a divine Person; for though angels are sometimes called "Elohim", the word here used, yet good men were not wont to fear death, or conclude they should die on sight of an angel; but their notion was, that an appearance of God to them was death, and were surprised when it did not follow, ( Genesis 32:30 ) ( Judges 6:22 Judges 6:23 ) ( Exodus 33:20 ) .

Judges 13:22 In-Context

20 The flames went up to the sky from the altar. As the fire burned, the angel of the Lord went up to heaven in the flame. When Manoah and his wife saw that, they bowed facedown on the ground.

21 The angel of the Lord did not appear to them again. Then Manoah understood that the man was really the angel of the Lord.

22 Manoah said, "We have seen God, so we will surely die."

23 But his wife said to him, "If the Lord wanted to kill us, he would not have accepted our burnt offering or grain offering. He would not have shown us all these things or told us all this."

24 So the woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson. He grew, and the Lord blessed him.