Judges 13:11-16 - I will not eat your food

13:11-14

Manoah came and asked the “man” if he was the one who had appeared to his wife the other day. The angel confirms that he is, and Manoah asks how they are to bring up the child throughout his life. This would seem to imply that he had accepted his wife’s testimony, and wanted to make sure that they looked after the child properly. The commentary Evans focuses more on the importance that the event places on the woman, and says that Manoah was not accepting his wife’s testimony until it was confirmed. I take a more favourable view towards Manoah. It is undoubtedly true that the Lord treats faithful women with great respect.

13:15,16

Manoah wanted to demonstrate typical middle-eastern hospitality and so invited the angel to stay with them and have a meal. The young goat mentioned here would be for a meal, not intended in any sacrificial context. This is confirmed by the angel’s response. He is willing to stay for a short time, but will not eat any of their food. Instead he encourages them to offer a burnt offering to the Lord. Manoah did not, at this point, realise that it was the angel of the Lord he was speaking to. The latter point is quite amazing really. Our natural expectation is that if an angel came to visit us there would be a celestial laser light show, but many (not all) of the angelic visitations in the Bible are quite mundane.