And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God.
Manoah was of the tribe of Dan, living with his childless wife at Zorah on the border overlooking the Philistine plain in a household that stayed true to Jehovah. The one he and his wife had seen was the Angel of Jehovah, appearing as the man of God, a messenger from God's holy presence. The Angel promised a son through whom God would begin to deliver Israel from the Philistines, commanded the mother to drink no wine nor strong drink and to eat no unclean thing, and required the child to be consecrated to God as a Nazarite from birth with uncut hair.
After realizing whom they had seen, Manoah told his wife that they would surely die because they had seen God in this messenger from His presence, believing such a sight could be fatal. His fear expressed awe at God's majesty and power, reflecting the exalted sense of God that filled people who saw and spoke with a messenger from His holy presence. The encounter is an example of how God uses angels to communicate with human beings.
Manoah was of the tribe of Dan, living with his childless wife at Zorah on the border overlooking the Philistine plain in a household that stayed true to Jehovah. The one he and his wife had seen was the Angel of Jehovah, appearing as the man of God, a messenger from God's holy presence. The Angel promised a son through whom God would begin to deliver Israel from the Philistines, commanded the mother to drink no wine nor strong drink and to eat no unclean thing, and required the child to be consecrated to God as a Nazarite from birth with uncut hair.
After realizing whom they had seen, Manoah told his wife that they would surely die because they had seen God in this messenger from His presence, believing such a sight could be fatal. His fear expressed awe at God's majesty and power, reflecting the exalted sense of God that filled people who saw and spoke with a messenger from His holy presence. The encounter is an example of how God uses angels to communicate with human beings.