Judges 13:6

6 And the woman went in, and spoke to her husband, saying, A man of God came to me, and his appearance of an angel of God, very dreadful; and I did not ask him whence he was, and he did not tell me his name.

Judges 13:6 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 13:6

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.

Judges 13:6 In-Context

4 And now be very cautious, and drink no wine nor strong drink, and eat no unclean thing;

5 for behold, thou art with child, and shalt bring forth a son; and there shall come no razor upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Phylistines.

6 And the woman went in, and spoke to her husband, saying, A man of God came to me, and his appearance of an angel of God, very dreadful; and I did not ask him whence he was, and he did not tell me his name.

7 And he said to me, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bring forth a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, and eat no unclean thing; for the child shall be holy to God from the womb until the day of his death.

8 And Manoe prayed to the Lord and said, I pray thee, O Lord my lord, the man of God whom thou sentest; let him now come to us once more, and teach us what we shall do to the child about to be born.

Footnotes

• [a]. is.