Judges 13:16
in Judges 13And the angel of the LORD replied, “Even if I stay, I will not eat your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the LORD.” For Manoah did not know that it was the angel of the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the angel of Jehovah said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread; and if thou wilt make ready a burnt-offering, thou must offer it unto Jehovah. For Manoah knew not that he was the angel of Jehovah.
KJV
And the angel of the Lord said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the Lord. For Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the Lord.
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This verse in Judges 13
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Athanasius of Alexandria296–373
Discourses Against the Arians 2.16.23 · Written before 373.
Therefore to God alone appertains worship, and this the very angels know, that though they excel other beings in glory, yet they are all creatures and not to be worshiped, but worship the Lord. Thus Manoah, the father of Samson, wishing to offer sacrifice to the angel, was thereupon hindered by him, saying, "Offer not to me, but to God." On the other hand, the Lord is worshiped even by the angels; for it is written: "Let all the angels of God worship him."
This site's exposition
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on Judges 13:15-16
Manoah offers to prepare “a young goat”, as Gideon did at 6:19, and the angel turns the meal into an offering: “offer it to the LORD”. Adam Clarke and Matthew Henry take the figure as the Son before his incarnation. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read the words as correcting what Manoah supposed, since “Manoah did not know that it was the angel of the LORD”.
This site's exposition
I will not eat your food
Adam Clarke reads the angel's refusal of food as the mark of a spirit who eats no earthly bread. Athanasius cites this verse to show that the burnt offering belongs to the LORD alone. Manoah is no priest, Matthew Henry notes, yet he offers it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Praises offered up to God are the most acceptable entertainment of the angels; see Rev. xxii. And Manoah, having so good a warrant, though he was no priest and had no altar, turned his meat into a meat offering, and offered it upon a rock to the Lord (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And the angel of the Lord said unto Manoah,....
Angels need not meat nor drink; but the glorifying of God is their meat and drink, and it was Christ's, John iv. And we in some measure do the will of God as they do it if, though we cannot live without meat and drink, yet we eat and drink to the glory of God, and so turn even our common meals into sacrifices.
So Christ was in the world, and the world knew him not. Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself. We could not bear the sight of the divine glory unveiled.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
I will not eat of thy bread - As I am a spiritual being, I subsist not by earthly food. And if thou wilt offer a burnt-offering - Neither shall I receive that homage which belongs to God; thou must therefore offer thy burnt-offering to Jehovah.
The words behind it
23 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּאמֶר֩ | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| מַלְאַ֨ךְ | malakh | [the] angel of | H4397 → | 213 times |
| יְהוָ֜ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מָנ֗וֹחַ | manoach | Manoah | H4495 → | 18 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| תַּעְצְרֵ֙נִי֙ | ta'tzereni | you will detain me | H6113 → | |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אֹכַ֣ל | ʾokhal | I will eat | H398 → | 810 times |
| בְּלַחְמֶ֔ךָ | belachmekha | in food your | H3899 → | 298 times |
| וְאִם־ | veim- | and if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| תַּעֲשֶׂ֣ה | taaseh | you will make | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| עֹלָ֔ה | ʾolah | a burnt offering | H5930 → | 287 times |
| לַיהוָ֖ה | layahweh | to Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| תַּעֲלֶ֑נָּה | taalenah | you will offer up it | H5927 → | 890 times |
| כִּ֚י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָדַ֣ע | yada' | he knew | H3045 → | 945 times |
| מָנ֔וֹחַ | manoach | Manoah | H4495 → | 18 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| מַלְאַ֥ךְ | malakh | [was] [the] angel | H4397 → | 213 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| הֽוּא׃ | hu' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
וַיֹּאמֶר֩and he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
מַלְאַ֨ךְ[the] angel of
malakhH4397 →213 times
יְהוָ֜הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מָנ֗וֹחַManoah
manoachH4495 →18 times
אִם־if
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
תַּעְצְרֵ֙נִי֙you will detain me
ta'tzereniH6113 →
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
אֹכַ֣לI will eat
ʾokhalH398 →810 times
בְּלַחְמֶ֔ךָin food your
belachmekhaH3899 →298 times
וְאִם־and if
veim-H518 →1069 times
תַּעֲשֶׂ֣הyou will make
taasehH6213 →2628 times
עֹלָ֔הa burnt offering
ʾolahH5930 →287 times
לַיהוָ֖הto Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 times
תַּעֲלֶ֑נָּהyou will offer up it
taalenahH5927 →890 times
כִּ֚יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יָדַ֣עhe knew
yada'H3045 →945 times
מָנ֔וֹחַManoah
manoachH4495 →18 times
כִּֽי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
מַלְאַ֥ךְ[was] [the] angel
malakhH4397 →213 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
הֽוּא׃it
hu'H1931 →1879 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Judges 13:23But his wife replied, “If the LORD had intended to kill us, He would not have accepted the burnt offering and the grain offering from our hands, nor would He have shown us all…
it leads to
- Psalms 25:14
The LORD confides in those who fear Him, and reveals His covenant to them.
- 1 Corinthians 12:21
The eye cannot say to the hand, “I do not need you.” Nor can the head say to the feet, “I do not need you.”
- John 14:20
On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you.
- Psalms 86:17
Show me a sign of Your goodness, that my enemies may see and be ashamed; for You, O LORD, have helped me and comforted me.
- John 15:15
No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not understand what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything I have learned from My Father I have…
- Psalms 25:14
Through
Judges 6:20And the angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread, lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And Gideon did so.
it leads to
- Judges 13:19
Then Manoah took a young goat and a grain offering and offered them on a rock to the LORD. And as Manoah and his wife looked on, the LORD did a marvelous thing.
- Judges 13:19
Through
Judges 6:26Then build a proper altar to the LORD your God on the top of this stronghold. And with the wood of the Asherah pole you cut down, take the second bull and offer it…
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 14:40
But everything must be done in a proper and orderly manner.
- 1 Corinthians 14:33
For God is not a God of disorder, but of peace—as in all the churches of the saints.
- 1 Corinthians 14:40
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Judges
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Athanasius of Alexandria, Discourses Against the Arians 2.16.23; Athanasius of Alexandria, Discourses Against the Arians; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.