Then the woman came and told her husband: When the angel of the LORD appeared to Manoah’s wife, she was alone. So she left that place to go tell her husband about the angel’s visit. The Hebrew is drawn out here and there is a change of scene and participants, which clearly indicates a new paragraph. Some languages may want to make explicit “When the angel stopped talking, the woman went home and told her husband.”
A man of God came to me: The phrase man of God is often used in the Old Testament to refer to a prophet, the representative of God (Deut 33.1; verse 14.6; verse 1 Sam 2.27). Almost exclusively it is found in the so-called deuteronomic work, which runs from the book of Deuteronomy through 2 Kings. In the book of Judges it is only used here and in verse 13.8. The woman obviously has understood that she was in the presence of someone sent by God, although he himself does not mention speaking on God’s behalf. However, in light of the what she says in the next clause, at this point she may not have yet understood that this representative of God was really an angel. For this reason it is important for translators to respect this text by saying man of God, and not change it to “angel of God.” Indeed, throughout this episode the woman and her husband Manoah always refer to the visitor as the “man” or “man of God.” In translation we might say “man sent by God.”
And his countenance was like the countenance of the angel of God, very terrible: The Hebrew word for countenance comes from the root meaning “see” and is the general word for a person’s “appearance” (New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible). It is repeated twice, perhaps expressing the woman’s excitement. Translators can follow the structure of the Hebrew here, reflected in Revised Standard Version, or begin with a verbal expression, such as “he looked like…” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). Here Samson’s mother refers to the angel of God (see verse 6.20), a person well known to any Israelites who listened to the stories of their people. She does not say “the angel of the LORD,” which is more common in this book. Manoah and his wife do not seem to know exactly who this visitor is until the end of the episode.
Very terrible describes the angel, not God. The Hebrew word rendered terrible comes from the root meaning “be afraid,” which sounds like the root meaning “see.” It may be rendered “awesome” (New International Version), “awe-inspiring” (New Revised Standard Version), or “amazing.” These renderings seem better than “terrifying” (New Living Translation) or “frightening” (Good News Translation, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). The angel’s appearance did not seem to strike fear in the woman, but rather awe (compare Gen 28.17; Exo 15.11; verse 34.10). The adverb very adds emphasis, so we might say “totally incredible.” In some languages it might be more natural to put this description before the comparison (looking like an angel). Contemporary English Version takes these words as referring to the woman: “I was so frightened, that I didn’t even ask where he was from…,” but most versions do not interpret these words this way.
I did not ask him whence he was …: The woman did not ask for details about the man: where he came from or what his name was. Probably she was too surprised to ask any questions. This almost sounds like an excuse she offers to her husband for not finding out more about the visitor. In Hebrew this sentence begins with the waw conjunction, which may be rendered “but” (King James Version) since it was probably expected she ask such questions. The Hebrew clause rendered whence he was can mean “what place he came from” or “who sent him.”
And he did not tell me his name: If the woman is feeling uneasy about not asking the right questions, here she clearly shifts the blame to the messenger who did not reveal his identity. His name can be rendered literally or, since the name represents his whole person and personality, we might say “and he did not tell me who he was.”
It is possible for translators to use indirect speech here (see second model below), but doing this will take away from the liveliness of the narration. Translation models for this verse are:
• Then the woman went home and told her husband, “A man of God appeared to me and he looked just like one of God’s angels, so awesome! But I did not ask him where he was from, nor did he tell me who he was.
• Then the woman went and told her husband that a messenger from God had come to speak with her. She said he was an awesome sight, looking just like a divine messenger [or, angel]. But she told her husband that she did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell her his name.
Quoted with permission from Zogbo, Lynell and Ogden, Graham S. A Handbook on Judges. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .