An appearance of the Angel of the Lord
To Manoah: My Name Is Wonderful
Before Samson is born, the Angel of the LORD appears twice to Manoah and his wife with the promise of a son. When Manoah asks the visitor's name, the answer is that it is secret, or wonderful. The Angel ascends in the altar flame, and Manoah fears he and his wife have seen God.
“And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret?”Judges 13:18
What happened
The Angel of the LORD announces to Manoah's barren wife that she will bear a son who is to be a Nazarite. Manoah prays for the man of God to return, and the Angel appears again. Manoah asks his name, so they may honor him when the promise comes true. The Angel answers why do you ask my name, seeing it is secret, a word often rendered wonderful. Manoah offers a young goat on a rock to the LORD, and as the flame goes up toward heaven the Angel ascends in the flame of the altar while they watch and fall on their faces. Manoah says they will surely die because they have seen God, but his wife reasons that the LORD would not have received their offering if he meant to kill them.
Why many see the pre-incarnate Christ
The heart of this scene is the Angel's own answer, that his name is secret or wonderful, using the same word Isaiah applies to the coming child called Wonderful. He ascends in the altar flame, receiving what amounts to a sacrifice, and Manoah concludes they have seen God. For these reasons many Christians read this Angel as a manifestation of the LORD, and some as the pre-incarnate Son. We name this honestly as interpretation. The word translated wonderful can mean simply beyond understanding, and a messenger may decline to give a name without claiming to be God. The passage invites awe more than it settles identity, and readers differ.
Is this the Son before Bethlehem?
Christians have long lingered here because the Angel's name is Wonderful, the very title Isaiah gives to the child who is born to us, Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God. Many have heard the two passages answer each other, as if this hidden visitor and the promised Christ share a name too deep to speak. Whether or not the Angel is the pre-incarnate Son, the God who came to a childless couple with a name beyond telling is the God who came in Jesus, whose name is above every name. The One who ascended in the altar flame points us to the One who offered himself as the sacrifice and rose beyond our sight.
Questions people ask
What does it mean that the Angel's name is Wonderful?
When Manoah asks his name, the Angel says it is secret, or wonderful, the same word Isaiah gives the promised child, Wonderful. Many Christians see a link and read the Angel as a manifestation of God, and some as the pre-incarnate Son. Honestly, the word can also mean simply beyond understanding, and a messenger may withhold a name without claiming deity. The scene invites awe more than certainty.
Did Manoah and his wife see God?
After the Angel ascends in the altar flame, Manoah fears they will die because they have seen God. His wife responds that the LORD would not have accepted their offering if he meant to kill them. The couple treat the encounter as meeting God himself, which is one reason many read the Angel as more than an ordinary messenger, though faithful readers weigh the identity differently.