Suci 3:2-23 Rat
Suci 3:2-23 – Anđeo koji se ukazao Manoahu i njegovoj ženi
Suci 13:2 Bio je neki čovjek iz Zore, iz roda Danovaca, po imenu Manoah; a žena mu bijaše nerotkinja i ne rađaše.
Suci 13:3 Anđeo Jahvin [hebrejski je neodređen - anđeo Jahvin, ili točnije, anđeo Jahvin, svuda isti] pojavi se ženi i reče joj: Vidi sada, nerotkinja si i nemoj rađati; ali ćeš zatrudnjeti i roditi sina.
Suci 13:4 Sada, molim vas, čuvajte se i ne pijte vina ni žestoka pića i ne jedite ništa nečisto:
Suci 13:5 jer, evo, zatrudnjet ćeš i roditi sina; i britva mu neće doći na glavu; jer će dijete biti nazirej Božji od utrobe matere i počet će spašavati Izraela iz ruku Filistejaca.
Suci 13:6 Tada pristupi žena i javi svome mužu govoreći: Božji čovjek dođe k meni, a njegovo lice bijaše kao lice Božjeg anđela [Božjeg anđela], vrlo strašan; i nisam ga pitao odakle je, niti mi je rekao kako se zove:
Suci 13:7 ali mi reče: 'Evo, zatrudnjet ćeš i roditi sina; a sada ne pijte vina ni žestoka pića i ne jedite ništa nečisto; jer dijete će biti nazirej Božji od utrobe do dana smrti.
Suci 13:8 Tada se Manoah zamoli Jahvi i reče: "O, Gospodine, neka dođe opet k nama čovjek Božji kojega si poslao i pouči nas što ćemo učiniti s djetetom koje će se roditi." Suci 13:9 Bog je poslušao glas Manoahov; i anđeo Božji [Božji anđeo] opet dođe k ženi dok je sjedila u polju; ali Manoah, njezin muž, ne bijaše s njom.
Suci 13:10 Žena je požurila, otrčala i javila svome mužu i rekla mu: "Evo, ukazao mi se čovjek koji je došao k meni neki dan." Suci 13:11 Manoah ustade i pođe za svojom ženom, dođe k čovjeku i reče mu: "Jesi li ti čovjek koji je govorio sa ženom?" Rekao je, jesam. Suci 13:12 Manoah reče: Sada neka se jave vaše riječi: što će biti s djetetom i [kako] ćemo s njim? Suci 13:13 Anđeo Jahvin [Jahvin anđeo] reče Manoahu: Neka se pazi svega što sam rekao ženi. Suci 13:14 Ne smije jesti ništa što je od vinove loze, neka ne pije vina ni žestoka pića, niti neka jede što je nečisto; sve što sam joj zapovjedio neka drži. Suci 13:15 Manoah reče anđelu Jahvinu [anđelu Jahvinu]: 'Molim te, dopusti da te zadržimo da ti pripremimo jare. Suci 13:16 Anđeo Jahvin [Jahvin anđeo] reče Manoahu: Ako me i zadržiš, neću jesti od tvog kruha; i ako hoćeš prinijeti žrtvu paljenicu, prinesi je Jahvi. Jer Manoah nije znao da je on anđeo Jahvin [anđeo Jahvin, anđeo Jahvin]. Suci 13:17 Manoah reče Jahvinu anđelu [Jahvinu anđelu]: Kako ti je ime da te počastimo kad se tvoje riječi ispune? Suci 13:18 Anđeo Jahvin [Jahvin anđeo] reče mu: Zašto pitaš za moje ime, kad je divno?
Suci 13:19 Tako je Manoah uzeo jare s prinosom i ponudio ga na stijeni Jahvi; i anđeo ["anđeo" se ovdje ne pojavljuje na hebrejskom] učinio je čudesno, a Manoah i njegova žena su gledali.
Suci 13:20 Jer kad se plamen sa žrtvenika podigao prema nebu, anđeo Jahvin [Jahvin anđeo] uzađe u plamenu žrtvenika. Manoah i njegova žena gledahu to; i padoše ničice na zemlju.
Suci 13:21 Ali se anđeo Jahvin više nije ukazao ni Manoahu ni njegovoj ženi. Tada je Manoah spoznao da je on anđeo Jahvin [anđeo Jahvin, anđeo Jahvin].
Suci 13:22 Manoah reče svojoj ženi: Sigurno ćemo umrijeti, jer smo vidjeli Boga [ELOHIM, bez određenog člana].
Suci 13:23 Ali njegova mu žena reče: "Da nas je Jahve htio pogubiti, ne bi primio žrtvu paljenicu ni žrtvu prinosnicu iz naše ruke, niti bi nam pokazao sve te stvari, niti bi u ovo vrijeme rekao takve stvari.
Suci 13:2-23, svjetski engleski [riječi u zagradama su naše vlastite]
Osim ako nije drugačije navedeno, citati iz Svetih pisama su iz World English Bibleversion. Mnogi naši trinitarni susjedi ukazuju na anđela koji se ukazao Manoahu kao dokaz da je Isus Jahve. Prema jednom trinitarainu, u Sucima 13:22 Manoah shvaća da je razgovarao sa samim Jahvom, i tako je shvatio da je "Bog jedan, ali složen." Prema drugom trinitarcu: "U tom istom poglavlju spominje se Bog, spominje se anđeo Gospodnji (koji se naziva Bog), i spominje se Duh Božji." Pažljivo proučimo ove stihove. Argument je da se "Jahvin anđeo" o kojem se ovdje govori naziva "Bog", kada je Manoah rekao "Vidio sam Boga", te je stoga zapravo sam Jahve. Zatim mnogi trinitarci tvrde da je "anđeo Gospodnji" druga osoba njihovog trojstva. Obično se prvo pretpostavlja da postoji samo jedan "anđeo Gospodnji", a onda se dalje mora pretpostaviti i pročitati u svetim spisima da je taj anđeo Jahvin zapravo Isus. U prvom slučaju, većina prijevoda dodaje određeni član "the" ispred "anđeo", što bi opravdalo zaključak da postoji samo jedan "anđeo" koji nosi naslov "anđeo Jahvin". Međutim, drugdje smo pokazali da je Gabrijel jedini koji je u svetim spisima identificiran kao anđeo Jahvin. (Luka 1:11-2:12; Vidi našu studiju o "Jahvinu anđelu") Možemo reći da se Gabrijel naziva "Jahvinim anđelom", ali Gabrijel definitivno nije ni Jahve ni Isus. Iako smo skloni vjerovati da je anđeo koji se ukazao Manoahu i njegovoj ženi također Gabriel, ne možemo biti sigurni u tome. Manoah i njegova žena sigurno nisu vidjeli samo Božje biće, inače bi to proturječilo mnogim drugim spisima. (Izlazak 33:20; Ivan 1:18; 4:24; 6:46; 1. Timoteju 1:17; 6:16; Izaija 40:25,26) Vidjeli su ga samo reprezentativno, kroz anđela, i na kraju Manoah prepoznaje ovog čovjeka, ne kao Boga Svemogućeg, već kao anđela Jahvina. — Suci 13:21. Je li ime anđela bilo neizrecivo? Netko tvrdi da se u Luki anđeo koji se pojavio identificirao, ali anđeo koji se ukazao Manoahu i njegovoj ženi nije se htio identificirati, tvrdeći da je njegovo ime bilo neizrecivo, previše divno da bi se izgovorilo. (Suci 13:17,18) Stoga se tvrdi da su dva anđela različita, a onaj koji se pojavio Manoahu bio je sam Jahve koji se pojavio u svojoj navodnoj "drugoj osobi" trojstva. Za nas ovo stvarno puno čita u i između redaka vidjeti trojstvo u ovome. Dio temelja ove ideje proizlazi iz lažne ideje da je Božje sveto ime neizrecivo i da se ne smije izgovarati. Pogledajte naše studije o ovoj ideji o Svetom imenu kao neizrecivom. Riječ prevedena kao *divan* u mnogim prijevodima u Sucima 13:18 je Strongova #6383. To je pridjev. Strong kaže za ovu riječ: “izvanredno:–tajno, divno” BDBG je definira: “čudesno, neshvatljivo, izvanredno.”* Ova riječ, kao takva, pojavljuje se samo na jednom drugom mjestu u Svetom pismu, Psalmi 139:6, gdje je prevedena kao “previše divno” u Verziji kralja Jakova. Ideja da ova riječ znači da je anđeo govorio da je njegovo ime neizrecivo mora se uračunati u ovo.
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*Brown, Driver, Briggs i Gesenius. “Unos hebrejskog leksikona za Pil’iy”. “KJV starozavjetni hebrejski leksikon”. http://www.biblestudytools.net/Lexicons/Hebrew/heb.cgi?number=6383. Biti čudesan ne znači da je anđeo rekao da je svoje ime smatrao toliko cijenjenim da ga nije želio dati, niti je rekao da je njegovo ime neizrecivo. Doista, da je ovo sam Jahve, Jahve je poznat u cijelom SZ-u po tome što je otkrio svoje Sveto Ime. Sveta pisma ne govore zašto je anđeo govorio na način na koji je govorio, ali vjerujemo da je Manoah ovdje bio spreman odati veliku čast onome za koga je mislio da je muškarac, i to kao čovjek - čast koja bi očito trebala pripadati samo Jahvi; anđeo je to prepoznao i stoga ovdje vidimo odanost pravog Božjeg glasnika - on nije htio uzeti slavu sebi kao čovjeku koja je pripadala Bogu; on to nije želio. Bilo mu je drago, smatralo je to dovoljnom čašću, što ima privilegiju obaviti neki posao za Jahvu. (Vidi Otkrivenje 22:8,9) Isus je u mnogim prilikama učinio slično ovome. — Matej 19:17; Ivan 7:28,29; 8:28. Neki trinitarci ukazuju na Izaiju 9:6 i povezuju to s onim što je anđeo rekao u Sucima 13:18, tvrdeći da se na oba mjesta koristi naziv "Divni", a budući da je Isus nazvan "Divni" u Divnom savjetniku u Izaiji 9:6, to dokazuje da je ovaj anđeo Isus. Nadalje se tvrdi da je u Izaiji 9:6 Isus nazvan Bogom*, što dokazuje da je ovaj anđeo Svemogući Bog. Jedan tvrdi da anđeo u Sucima 13:18 prisvaja isto vlastito ime ["Divni"] kao i Isus u Izaiji 9:6, dakle njih dvoje su jedno te isto. Ne možemo sa sigurnošću reći da anđeo iz Suaca 13:18 nije bio Isus, jer je sigurno mogao biti Isus u svom predljudskom postojanju. Međutim, nemamo razloga vjerovati u to. =============== *Ne vjerujemo da je Isus onaj o kome se govori o "silnom Bogu" u Izaiji 9:6. Pogledajte naše studije: „Ne niz imena“, „Jednina imena sina“, Jednina imena i „Jednina imena“. Zapravo, dok mnogi prijevodi imaju riječ "predivan" na oba mjesta, riječi na hebrejskom nisu potpuno iste, iako su obje preuzete iz korijena glagola, Strongova #6381. U Izaiji 9:6, riječ prevedena "Divno" je Strongova #6382. Ova se riječ obično koristi, ne kao vlastito ime, već kao uobičajena imenica muškog roda za opisivanje Jahvinih djela (Izlazak 15:11; Psalam 77:11,14; 78:12; 88:10,12; 89:5; 119:129; Izaija 25:1; 29:14), a koristi se za Jeruzalem u Tužaljkama 1 :9. Riječ koju je anđeo upotrijebio je Suci 13:18 nije uopće imenica, već pridjev. U svakom slučaju, korištenje sličnih riječi na oba mjesta ne dokazuje tvrdnju da je ime Jahve ili Isus neizrecivo, to jest, preveliko da bi se moglo izgovoriti. Riječ prevedena kao "čudesa" u Svjetskoj engleskoj Bibliji sudaca 13:19 je Strongov #6381, što je korijenski glagol za druge dvije riječi o kojima smo već raspravljali. Pogledajte naše studije: Treba li se izgovarati Božje sveto ime? Je li Božji narod u starozavjetna vremena naglas izgovarao sveto ime? Vjerujemo da je ispravno gledište da je Jahvin anđeo u Sucima 13:18 govorio Manoahu da je njegovo ime izvan domene da mu se oda čast koju mu je Manoah želio dati. Ovo odgovara kontekstu, jer Manoah, vjerujući da je anđeo čovjek, htio mu je dati veću čast od one koja mu je pripadala. I iz tog razloga, anđeo je odbio dati svoje ime. Stoga vjerujemo da je misao dana u KJV ispravljena, to jest da je njegovo ime držano u "tajnosti" od Manoaha. Tvrdi se da je ovaj anđeo konačno prihvatio Manoahovu ponudu, nakon što je Manoah shvatio da je on Svemogući Bog. Što zapravo kaže zapisnik? “Tako je Manoah uzeo jare s prinosom i ponudio ga na stijeni Jahvi; i [anđeo] je učinio čudesno, a Manoah i njegova žena su to gledali.” (Suci 13:19) Zapis kaže da je Manoah ponudio jare Jahvi. “Tako je Manoah uzeo jare s žrtvom od žita i prinio ga na stijeni Jahvi, a on je činio čudesa dok su Manoah i njegova žena gledali.” (Nova američka standardna verzija) Riječ prevedena kao "čuda" ovdje je Strongova #6381. “Jer kad se plamen sa žrtvenika podigao prema nebu, anđeo Jahvin uzađe u plamenu žrtvenika. Manoah i njegova žena gledahu to; i padoše ničice na zemlju. Ali se anđeo Jahvin više nije ukazao ni Manoahu ni njegovoj ženi. Tada je Manoah spoznao da je on anđeo Jahvin.” (Suci 13:20,21) Tek nakon što je Jahve potrošio žrtvu i kada se anđeo uzdigao u Jahvinu plamenu, Manoah je znao da je taj čovjek zapravo Jahvin anđeo.
Mnogi trinitarci ukazuju na činjenicu da su Manoah i žena pali ničice na zemlju. Tvrdi se da su Manoah i njegova žena obožavali anđela, te da to dokazuje da je taj anđeo bio Isus kao dio njihovog navodnog trojstva. Zapravo, Sveto pismo ne kaže da su se klanjali anđelu, samo da su pali ničice na zemlju. Budući da Sveto pismo ne govori značenje iza ove radnje, možemo reći da je to mogla biti reakcija na intenzivnu svjetlost koja je bila pred njima dok se anđeo penjao na nebo u plamenu, ili je to mogao biti čin obožavanja Jahve. U svakom slučaju, klanjanje pred Božjim predstavnikom ili počasnom osobom ne predstavlja štovanje koje pripada samo Jahvi. — Ruta 2:8-10; 1. Samuelova 24,8; 25:23,41; 2. Samuelova 14,33; 18:28; itd. —– Vidi također našu studiju: Isus je dobio štovanje. Suci 13:22 – Manoah je vidio Boga Svemogućeg? “Manoah reče svojoj ženi: Sigurno ćemo umrijeti, jer smo vidjeli Boga [elohima].” (Suci 13:22) Naši trojstveni susjedi nam govore da je ovo pozitivan dokaz da je sam anđeo zapravo bio Svemogući Bog, jer se Manoah bojao da će umrijeti jer je vidio Boga. Korištenjem riječi Elohim ovdje, je li Manoah zapravo rekao da je mislio da je vidio Svemogućeg Boga ili je rekao da je mislio da je vidio moćno duhovno biće, jednog od anđela*, i stoga se bojao za svoj život? Je li lažno otišao iz jedne krajnosti u drugu, od vjerovanja da je ta osoba čovjek do mišljenja da je ta osoba Svemogući Bog? Ne možemo biti sigurni, ali budući da zapis navodi da je nakon što je anđeo uzašao u plamenu, “tada je Manoah spoznao da je on anđeo Jahvin”. Ovo nastoji odbaciti ideju da je Manoah mislio da je stvarno vidio Jahvu. Vjerojatnije je da se Manoah, kada je shvatio da je to zapravo anđeo, a ne samo čovjek, uplašio da će vidjeti mnogo nadmoćnijeg [elohima*] smrt. Znamo da su taj Manoah i njegova žena stvarno vidjeli lice Božje, sigurno bi umrli. — Izlazak 33:20; Ivan 1:18; 6:46; 1. Ivanova 4:12,20. ========== *Iz svetih spisa saznajemo da se određeni ljudi i anđeli također nazivaju ELOHIM: Izlazak 4:16; 7:1; Psalam 8:5 {usporedi Hebrejima 2:7}; 86:6-8; 95:3; 50:1; Psalam 82:6,7 (Vidi Ivan 10:34,35; 1. Ivanova 3:2) Osim toga, zao (poznati) duh koji je oponašao Samuela naziva se elohim. (2. Samuelova 28:8,13) Sjećajući se da je osnovno značenje hebrejskih riječi el (Bog) i elohim (Bogovi, ili Bog u superlativu) snaga, moć, moć, možemo vidjeti kako je moguće da je rekavši elohim Manoah mislio da se boji za svoj život jer je Jahvin anđeo bio tako moćno duhovno biće, u usporedbi s njim koji je bio samo čovjek. Pogledajte našu studiju: “Hebrejska uporaba titula za Boga” U stvarnosti, Jahvin anđeo nije Jahve, iako Jahve sigurno može govoriti preko svog glasnika, i Jahvi se može obraćati preko Jahvinog glasnika, ali glasnik kojeg Jahve šalje nije on sam. Nadalje, stvarnost je da se svaka pomisao da je Jahvin anđeo odvojena i posebna osoba od Jahve mora zamisliti izvan onoga što je napisano; mora se nadalje zamisliti i pretpostaviti da je taj anđeo bio Isus, a ono što se zamišljalo kao pretpostavka je ono što trinitarijanac zapravo nudi kao dokaz trojstva u Sucima 13. Ono što ne nalazimo nigdje u Sucima 13, ili bilo gdje drugdje u cijeloj Bibliji, je misao da je Jahve — Bog Abrahama, Izaka i Jakova — više od jedne osobe, ili da se Jahve sastoji od tri odvojene i različite osobe.
Dodatak
Postavlja se pitanje: ako je Manoah pogriješio kada je rekao da je vidio Boga, ne bi li njegova izjava zapravo bila laž, pa bi stoga Manoah bio lažac? Odgovaramo: Kao što smo gore predstavili, ne vjerujemo da je Manoah upotrijebio riječ elohim [hebrejski je neodređen] u značenju superiornog moćnika, kao što se koristi za anđela. Unatoč tome, ako je Manoah mislio da je vidio Svemogućeg Boga, svaka pogreška u izjavi u širem smislu riječi je laž, utoliko što nije istina. U tom smislu, svi ljudi su lažljivci. (Rimljanima 3:4) Međutim, to ne znači da su takvi namjerni lažljivci. Ipak, budući da je Jahve govorio preko svog anđela, Manoahu se moglo činiti da je Jahveov anđeo bio sam Jahve, što ga je moglo dovesti do straha. Trebamo također primijetiti da su i Manoah i njegova žena također nazivali ovog anđela "čovjekom", ne znajući da je on anđeo. (Suci 13:6,8,10,11) Osim toga, kada je Manoah upitao anđela je li on 'čovjek' koji je razgovarao s njegovom ženom, anđeo je odgovorio: "Jesam", anđeo je potvrdio ovu upotrebu prema njemu. (Suci 13:11) Je li anđeo lagao govoreći da je on taj “čovjek”? Isto tako, u stihu 11, sam pisac knjige o Sucima naziva anđela "čovjekom". Anđeo zapravo nije bio ‘čovjek’, odnosno čovjek, ali se pojavio kao čovjek, pa se stoga moglo govoriti o “čovjeku”. Anđeo se doista pojavio u tijelu kao čovjek. Isto tako, anđeli koji su se ukazali Abrahamu nazivaju se "ljudima". (Postanak 18:16,22) Ne smatramo da je ovo stvarno laganje, to je samo iznošenje stvari onakvima kakve su bile u svom izgledu, a isto tako, da je Manoah mislio da je anđeo sam Jahve, to bi bila reakcija na ono što mu se čini.
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Judges 3:2-23 – The Angel that Appeared to Manoah and His Wife
Judges 13:2 There was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and didn’t bear.
Judges 13:3 The angel of Yahweh [Hebrew is indefinite - an angel of Yahweh, or more correctly, Yahweh's angel, same throughout] appeared to the woman, and said to her, See now, you are barren, and don’t bear; but you shall conceive, and bear a son.
Judges 13:4 Now therefore please beware and drink no wine nor strong drink, and don’t eat any unclean thing:
Judges 13:5 for, behold, you shall conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head; for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb: and he shall begin to save Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.
Judges 13:6 Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came to me, and his face was like the face of the angel of God [God's angel], very awesome; and I didn’t ask him whence he was, neither did he tell me his name:
Judges 13:7 but he said to me, Behold, you shall conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing; for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.
Judges 13:8 Then Manoah entreated Yahweh, and said, Oh, Lord, please let the man of God whom you did send come again to us, and teach us what we shall do to the child who shall be born.
Judges 13:9 God listened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God [God's angel] came again to the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah, her husband, wasn’t with her.
Judges 13:10 The woman made haste, and ran, and told her husband, and said to him, Behold, the man has appeared to me, who came to me the [other] day.
Judges 13:11 Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said to him, Are you the man who spoke to the woman? He said, I am.
Judges 13:12 Manoah said, Now let your words happen: what shall be the ordering of the child, and [how] shall we do to him?
Judges 13:13 The angel of Yahweh [Yahweh's angel] said to Manoah, Of all that I said to the woman let her beware.
Judges 13:14 She may not eat of anything that comes of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing; all that I commanded her let her observe.
Judges 13:15 Manoah said to the angel of Yahweh [Yahweh's angel], I pray you, let us detain you, that we may make ready a kid for you.
Judges 13:16 The angel of Yahweh [Yahweh's angel] said to Manoah, Though you detain me, I won’t eat of your bread; and if you will make ready a burnt offering, you must offer it to Yahweh. For Manoah didn’t know that he was the angel of Yahweh [an angel of Yahweh, Yahweh's angel].
Judges 13:17 Manoah said to the angel of Yahweh [Yahweh's angel], What is your name, that when your words happen, we may honor you?
Judges 13:18 The angel of Yahweh [Yahweh's angel] said to him, Why do you ask after my name, seeing it is wonderful?
Judges 13:19 So Manoah took the kid with the meal-offering, and offered it on the rock to Yahweh: and the angel ["the angel" does not appear in the Hebrew here] did wondrously, and Manoah and his wife looked on.
Judges 13:20 For it happened, when the flame went up toward the sky from off the altar, that the angel of Yahweh [Yahweh's angel] ascended in the flame of the altar: and Manoah and his wife looked on; and they fell on their faces to the ground.
Judges 13:21 But the angel of Yahweh did no more appear to Manoah or to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of Yahweh [an angel of Yahweh, Yahweh's angel].
Judges 13:22 Manoah said to his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God [ELOHIM, without the definite article].
Judges 13:23 But his wife said to him, If Yahweh were pleased to kill us, he wouldn’t have received a burnt offering and a meal-offering at our hand, neither would he have shown us all these things, nor would at this time have told such things as these.
Judges 13:2-23, World English [bracketed words are our own]
Unless otherwise noted, scripture citations are from the World English Bibleversion.
Many of our trinitarian neighbors point to the angel that appeared to Manoah as proof that Jesus is Yahweh. According one trinitarain, in Judges 13:22 Manoah realizes that he had been speaking to Yahweh himself, and thus realized that “God is one yet compound.” According to another trinitarian: “In that same chapter, God is mentioned, the Angel of the Lord (who is called God), is mentioned, and the Spirit of God is mentioned.” Let us examine these verses carefully.
The argument is that the “Angel of Yahweh” spoken of here is referred to as “God”, when Manoah said “I have seen God”, and is therefore actually Yahweh himself. It is then further asserted by many trinitarians that “the angel of the Lord” is the second person of their trinity. It is usually first assumed that there is only one “angel of the Lord”, and, then it has to be further assumed and read into the scriptures that this angel of Yahweh is actually Jesus. In the first instance, most translations add the definite article “the” before “angel”, which would seem to justify the conclusion that there is only one “angel” who bears the title “angel of the Yahweh”. However, we have shown elsewhere that the only one identified in the scriptures as the angel of Yahweh is Gabriel. (Luke 1:11-2:12; See our study on “The Angel of Yahweh“) We can say that Gabriel is called the “angel of Yahweh”, but Gabriel is definitely neither Yahweh nor Jesus. While we are inclined to believe that the angel that appeared to Manoah and his wife is also Gabriel, we can not be definite in stating this. Manoah and his wife certainly did not see the very being of God, else this would contradict many other scriptures. (Exodus 33:20; John 1:18; 4:24; 6:46; 1 Timothy 1:17; 6:16; Isaiah 40:25,26) They saw him only representatively, through an angel, and in the end Manoah recognizes this man, not as God Almighty, but as the angel of Yahweh. — Judges 13:21.
Was the Angel’s Name Ineffable?
Someone argues that in Luke the angel that appeared identified himself, but the angel that appeared to Manoah and his wife would not identify himself, claiming that his name was ineffable, one too wonderful to be spoken. (Judges 13:17,18) Thus it is claimed that the two angels are different, and the one that appeared to Manoah was Yahweh himself that appeared in his alleged “second person” of the trinity. To us this really reads a lot into and between the lines to see trinity in this. Part of the basis of this idea stems from the false idea that God’s Holy Name is ineffable, and should not be pronounced. See our studies regarding this idea of the Holy Name as being ineffable.
The word translated *wonderful* in many translations at Judges 13:18 is Strong’s #6383. It is an adjective. Strong says of this word: “remarkable:–secret, wonderful” BDBG defines it: “wonderful, incomprehensible, extraordinary.”* This word, as such, appears in only one other place in the Scriptures, Psalms 139:6, where it is translated “too wonderful” in the King James Version. The idea that this word means that the angel was saying that his name was ineffable has to be read into this.
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*Brown, Driver, Briggs and Gesenius. “Hebrew Lexicon entry for Pil’iy”. “The KJV Old Testament Hebrew Lexicon”.
http://www.biblestudytools.net/Lexicons/Hebrew/heb.cgi?number=6383.
To be wondrous does not mean that the angel was saying that he considered his name so highly esteemed that he did not want to give it, nor was he saying that his name was ineffable. Indeed if this were Yahweh himself, Yahweh is known throughout the OT for revealing his Holy Name. The scriptures do not say why the angel spoke in the manner that he did, but we believe that Manoah was here ready to give great honor to one he thought to be a man, and that as a man — honor which should evidently only go to Yahweh; the angel recognized this and thus we see here the loyalty of God’s true messenger — he would not take the glory to himself as a man which belonged to God; he did not want it. He was glad, counted it honor enough, to be privileged to do some work for Yahweh. (SeeRevelation 22:8,9) On many occasions, Jesus did similar to this. — Matthew 19:17; John 7:28,29; 8:28.
Some trinitarians point to Isaiah 9:6, and link this to what the angel said inJudges 13:18, claiming that in both places the name “Wonderful” is used, and since Jesus is called “Wonderful” in Wonderful Counselor in Isaiah 9:6, that is proves that this angel is Jesus. It is further argued that in Isaiah 9:6, Jesus is called God*, thus this proves that this angel is God Almighty. One claims that the angel in Judges 13:18 is claiming the same proper name ["Wonderful"] as Jesus in Isaiah 9:6, thus the two are one and the same. We cannot say for a certain that the angel of Judges 13:18 was not Jesus, for he certainly could have been Jesus in his prehuman existence. We have no reason to believe so, however.
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*We do not believe that the one being spoke of “mighty God” in Isaiah 9:6 is Jesus. See our studies: “Not a Series of Names”, “The Singular Name of Son Given“, A Singular Name, and “The Singular Name“.
Actually, while many translations have the word “wonderful” in both places, the words in Hebrew are not exactly the same, although they are both taken from the root verb, Strong’s #6381. In Isaiah 9:6, the word translated “Wonderful” is Strong’s #6382. This word is usually used, not as a proper name, but as a common masculine noun to describe the works of Yahweh (Exodus 15:11; Psalm 77:11,14; 78:12; 88:10,12; 89:5; 119:129; Isaiah 25:1; 29:14), and it is used of Jerusalem in Lamenations 1:9. The word used by the angel is Judges 13:18 is not a noun at all, but an adjective. At any rate, the usage of similar words in both places does not prove the contention that either the name of Yahweh or of Jesus is ineffable, that is, too great to be uttered. The word translated “wonders” in the World English Bible of Judges 13:19 is Strong’s #6381, which is the root verb for the other two words already discussed.
See our studies:
Should God’s Holy Name Be Pronounced?
Did God’s People in Old Testament Times Utter the Holy Name Aloud?
We believe that the proper view is that the angel of Yahweh in Judges 13:18 was telling Manoah that his name was beyond the realm of being given the honor which Manoah wanted to give it. This fits the context, for Manoah, believing that the angel was a man, wanted to give him a greater honor than that which he was due. And for this reason, the angel refused to give his name. Thus we believe the thought given in the KJV to correct, that is, his name was kept “secret” from Manoah.
It is claimed that this angel finally accepted the offering of Manoah, once Manoah realized that he was God Almighty. What does the record actually say? “So Manoah took the kid with the meal-offering, and offered it on the rock to Yahweh: and [the angel] did wondrously, and Manoah and his wife looked on.” (Judges 13:19) The record states that Manoah offered the kid to Yahweh. “So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering and offered it on the rock to the LORD, and He performed wonders while Manoah and his wife looked on.” (New American Standard Version) The word translated “wonders” here is Strong’s #6381.
“For it happened, when the flame went up toward the sky from off the altar, that the angel of Yahweh ascended in the flame of the altar: and Manoah and his wife looked on; and they fell on their faces to the ground. But the angel of Yahweh did no more appear to Manoah or to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of Yahweh.” (Judges 13:20,21) It was not until after the offering is consumed by Yahweh, and that the angel ascended in the flames of Yahweh, that Manoah knew that the man was actually the angel of Yahweh.
Many trinitarians point to the fact that Manoah and wife fell on their faces to the ground. It is claimed that Manoah and his wife worshipped the angel, and that this proves that this angel was Jesus as part of their alleged trinity. Actually, the scripture does not say that they were giving worship to the angel, only that they fell on their faces to the ground. Since the scripture does not say the meaning behind this action, we can say that it could have been a reaction to the intense light that was before them as the angel ascended to the sky in the flames, or it could have been an act of worship to Yahweh. At any rate, bowing before a representative of God, or a personage of honor, does not constitute worship that only belongs to Yahweh. — Ruth 2:8-10; 1 Samuel 24:8; 25:23,41; 2 Samuel 14:33; 18:28; etc. —– See also our study: Jesus Received Worship.
Judges 13:22 – Manoah Saw God Almighty?
“Manoah said to his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God [elohim].” (Judges 13:22) Our trinitarian neighbors tell us that this is proof positive that the angel himself was actually God Almighty, since Manoah was afraid that he would die because he had seen God. In using the word Elohim here, was Manoah actually saying that he thought he had seen God Almighty, or was he saying that he thought he had seen a mighty spirit being, one of the angels*, and thus feared for his life? Did he falsely go from one extreme to another, from believing that the person was a man to thinking that the person was God Almighty? We cannot be for sure, but since the record states that after the angel ascended in the flames, that “then Manoah knew that he was the angel of Yahweh.” This tends to discount the idea that Manoah thought he actually saw Yahweh. It is more proabable that when Manoah realized that it was actually angel and not simply a man, that he became afraid that seeing much a superior mighty one [elohim*] would bring his death. We do know if that Manoah and his wife had actually seen the face of God, they surely would have died. — Exodus 33:20; John 1:18; 6:46; 1 John 4:12,20.
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*From the scriptures we learn that certain men and angels are also called ELOHIM: Exodus 4:16; 7:1; Psalm 8:5 {compare Hebrews 2:7}; 86:6-8; 95:3; 50:1; Psalm 82:6,7 (See John 10:34,35; 1 John 3:2) Additionally, the wicked (familiar) spirit that impersonated Samuel is called elohim. (2 Samuel 28:8,13) Remembering that the basic meaning of the Hebrew words el (God) and elohim (Gods, or God superlative) is strength, might, power, we can see how it is possible that in saying elohim Manoah meant that he feared for his life because the angel of Yahweh was such mighty spirit being, as compared to him who was but a human. See our study: “Hebraic Usage of the Titles for God“
In reality, an angel of Yahweh is not Yahweh, although Yahweh can certainly speak by means of His messenger, and Yahweh may be addressed by means of Yahweh’s messenger, but the messenger whom Yahewh sends is not Himself. Additionally, the reality is that any thought that the angel of Yahweh is a separate and distinct person of Yahweh has to be imagined beyond what is written; it has to be further imagined and assumed that this angel was Jesus, and what has been imagined assumed is what the trinitarian actually offers as proof of the trinity in Judges 13. What we do not find anywhere in Judges 13, or anywhere else in the entire Bible, is the thought that Yahweh — the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob — is more than one person, or that Yahweh consists of three separate and distinct persons.
Addendum
The question is asked: If Manoah was mistaken when said he had seen God, wouldn’t his statement, in effect, be a lie, and therefore that Manoah would be a liar? We answer: As we have presented above, we do not believe Manoah used he word elohim [the Hebrew is indefinite] as meaning a superior mighty one, as is used of an angel. Neverthless, if Manoah had been thinking that he had seen God Almighty, any error in statement in the broad sense of the word is a lie, in that it is not the truth. In this sense, all men are liars. (Romans 3:4) This does not mean that such are willful liars, however. Nevertheless, since Yahweh spoke through His angel, to Manoah Yahweh’s angel could seemed to have been Yahweh himself, which could have led to his fear. We should also note that both Manoah and his wife also called this angel a “man”, not knowing that he was angel. (Judges 13:6,8,10,11) Additionally, when Manoah asked the angel if he was the ‘man’ that had spoken to his wife, the angel answered: “I am,” the angel acknowledged this usage toward him. (Judges 13:11) Was the angel lying in saying the he was this “man”? Likewise, in verse 11, the writer of the book of Judges himself refers to the angel as “the man.” The angel was not actually a ‘man’, that is, a human, but he appeared as a human, and therefore could be spoken of a “man”. The angel did appear in a body as a man. Likewise the angels that appeared to Abraham are referred to as “men”. (Genesis 18:16,22) We do not consider this to be actual ying, it is just stating matters as they were in their appearance, and likewise, if Manoah thought that the angel was Yahweh Himself, this would have been a reaction to what is seemed to him.