Manoah is the name of Samson’s father. The Angel of the Lord has appeared to Manoah’s wife and told her she was going to have a son. Manoah’s wife was told specific instructions that included directions for her and for the child when he was born:

• No wine or fermented drink for the mom
• No unclean food according to the Levitical code for the mom
• No razor used on the head of the boh
• The boy will be a Nazirite all of his days (The law of Moses gave details concerning the stipulations and guidelines for a person taking a Nazirite vow in Numbers 6.)

Manoah’s wife told Manoah that, “A man of God came to me. He looked like an angel of God, very awesome….” (Judges 13:6-7). She also told Manoah the specific instructions the angel had given her.

Manoah’s response to his wife’s news and Manoah’s dialogue with the Angel of the Lord when he returns is interesting and gives insight into the level of theology, or lack thereof, common in Israel at that time. We can learn a few things from this dialogue with the Angel of the Lord about the corrupt theology and the failure it produces in a man’s life and character.

1. Manoah wants to see and speak with this Angel himself. Why? Is he a thrill seeker? Does he want the experience?  Does he doubt his wife? Or, does he really care and want more precise information. It appears Manoah is manipulating the situation and seeks to gain power by accessing this divine messenger.
2. Manoah prayed to the Lord in 13:8, yet in 13:16 Manoah does not know he is talking to the Angel of the Lord. As would be expected a man in this generation does not have a clear line of demarcation between the Canaanite religion and YHWH worship or between the pagan gods and the Lord Almighty.
3. Manoah wants more information in 13:8, but the Angel of the Lord responses to this by saying, “Your wife must do all that I have told her.” And, then merely repeats what he had already said. Important point here! The Lord does not add to or take away from his word. And, there is no further revelation. The Lord did not forget something. He said what he meant and he meant what he said.
4. The Angel of the Lord appears again to Manoah’s wife who was in the field (13:9)
5. Both times the Angel of the Lord appeared the man Manoah was not working in the field, but his wife was. In fact, when Manoah’s wife comes to get Manoah the second time the text says, “The woman hurried to tell her husband…Manoah got up and followed his wife.” (13:10-11) It appears that Manoah was lazy, slept in, and sent his wife to the fields instead of himself.
6. When the angel replies to Manoah’s question, “Are you the one…,” the Angel of the Lord says, “I am.”
7. When Manoah asks for more details, the Angel of the Lord does not provide any, but merely repeats the Word that had already been revealed. Literally Manoah asks, in the Hebrew, to know “the boys justice and his deeds.” The Angel of the Lord ignores this question and returns to the previous revelation given to the woman. Manoah will learn nothing new, other than confirmation that the Lord is dealing with his wife…not him.
8. Manoah asks the Angel of the Lord to say for a meal. Manoah was either thinking he was a man of God from one of the tribes of Israel, or a prophet, since “Manoah did not realize that it was the angel of the Lord,” in 13:16. Or, Manoah was following the custom and understanding of the times that believed that feeding a meal to a divine being would both detain the deity causing them to spend more time with their host and would obligate the deity to provide additional blessings to the host. The Angel of the Lord says very specifically, “I will not eat any of your food.” The Angel of the Lord ate with Abraham and Moses because they were friends and allies, but Manoah is not considered faithful, worthy or a friend of God.
9. The Angel of the Lord does say, “But if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the Lord.”
10. Manoah asked the name of the Angel of the Lord. Manoah still thinks it is a man or a prophet, and  Manoah says they want to honor the man (probably as a true prophet) when his words come true. Manoah may doubt the words of the Angel of the Lord, and seek to hold him accountable by asking his name. Or, by knowing the name of a deity a man had access to the deity and gave the man a form of power and privilege. Worst case scenario – Manoah wanted to honor the messenger instead of the Lord.
11. The Angel of the Lord replies to the request to know his name by asking the question: “Why do you ask my name?” and then making a statement concerning his name: “It is beyond understanding.”  The Angel of the Lord’s answer indicates that he is no mere messenger, but contains the divine nature of God himself. This is the second member of the Trinity, the Son of God, speaking to Manoah and his wife.

"A soul that is unoccupied
with truth will fill itself
with false realities
to satisfy the void."
- Galyn Wiemers

Mark Twain describes the appearance of Jerusalem in his book "The Innocents Abroad" when he visited the Holy Land in 1869:

"A fast walker could go outside the walls of Jerusalem and walk entirely around the city in an hour. I do not know how else to make one understand how small it is. The appearance of the city is peculiar. It is as knobby with countless little domes as a prison door is with bolt-heads. Every house has from one to half a dozen of these white plastered domes of stone, broad and low, sitting in the center of, or in a cluster upon, the flat roof. Wherefore, when one looks down from an eminence, upon the compact mass of houses (so closely crowded together, in fact, that there is no appearance of streets at all, and so the city looks solid,) he sees the knobbiest town in the world, except Constantinople. It looks as if it might be roofed, from center to circumference, with inverted saucers. The monotony of the view is interrupted only by the great Mosque of Omar, the Tower of Hippicus, and one or two other buildings that rise into commanding prominence."

- Mark Twain,
The Innocents Abroad
1869