With this new turn of events, and the mention of both Manoah and his wife, a new subsection seems to begin here, so translators will probably begin a new paragraph here. Manoah turns to his wife and expresses the traditional belief that to see God would bring about their death. Gideon had the same fear (see verse 6.22-23).

And Manoah said to his wife: In much of this section Manoah’s wife seems to take everything at face value and believe. However, Manoah is very agitated, needs to be convinced, and imagines various problems.

We shall surely die renders an emphatic statement in Hebrew, which is literally “Dying we will die.” Manoah believes that death is certain. Translators should try to communicate some of the emphasis here.

For we have seen God: The Hebrew connector ki rendered for introduces the reason for fearing that they will die. Throughout the Old Testament, there is a belief that anyone who sees God face to face will immediately die. The Hebrew word for God here is ʾelohim, which could refer either to the God of Israel (Yahweh) or a “divine being” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). Contemporary English Version says “an angel.” However, in light of the wife’s statement in the next verse, it is clear she understands her husband to mean Yahweh. It is possible that this statement is a way of making fun of the husband, with the husband still not believing, and the wife sure they had seen the LORD. However, like Revised Standard Version, most versions say “God,” which is recommended here. If so desired, a footnote may be included to explain the ambiguity here.

Translation models for this verse are:

• Then Manoah said to his wife, “We will surely die because we have seen God.”

• Manoah said to his wife, “I am sure we will die. We have seen God.”*
* The word for “God” in Hebrew can refer to the God of Israel or a divine being.

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 .