Judges 13:17

17 Then Manoah asked the angel of God, "What's your name? When your words come true, we'd like to honor you."

Judges 13:17 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 13:17

And Manoah said unto the angel of the Lord, what is thy name,
&c.] Who art thou, and by what name art thou called? for since he could not prevail upon him to stay and eat a meal with him, he desired to know his name, and where he lived, that when he heard his name mentioned he might speak well of him, or send to him upon occasion; or if any message was sent from him, as Jarchi suggests, that he might show a respect to him, and observe it: and particularly,

that when thy sayings come to pass, we may do thee honour?
say that such a prophet, whose name is such, and lives in such a place, foretold these things; or that they might send him a present, in gratitude for, and as a reward of his service and trouble; so the reward of a labourer, and the maintenance of a Gospel minister, is called "honour", ( 1 Timothy 5:17 ) and thus Josephus F15 understood it, that they might give him thanks, and send him a present.


FOOTNOTES:

F15 Antiqu. l. 5. c. 8. sect. 3.

Judges 13:17 In-Context

15 Manoah said to the angel of God, "Please, stay with us a little longer; we'll prepare a meal for you - a young goat."
16 God's angel said to Manoah, "Even if I stay, I won't eat your food. But if you want to prepare a Whole-Burnt-Offering for God, go ahead - offer it!" Manoah had no idea that he was talking to the angel of God.
17 Then Manoah asked the angel of God, "What's your name? When your words come true, we'd like to honor you."
18 The angel of God said, "What's this? You ask for my name? You wouldn't understand - it's sheer wonder."
19 So Manoah took the kid and the Grain-Offering and sacrificed them on a rock altar to God who works wonders.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.