Why did Manoah want to prepare a meal for the angel in Judges 13:15? Text of Judges 13:15 “Manoah said to the Angel of the LORD, ‘Please let us prepare a young goat for You.’ ” Ancient Near-Eastern Hospitality For millennia the Semitic code of honor required a host to provide food for any traveler who entered one’s territory. Clay tablets from Mari (18th c. BC) describe kings judged virtuous when they “slaughter a kid for the wayfarer.” Biblical parallels abound: Abraham serves a calf to three visitors (Genesis 18:5-8); Lot bakes unleavened bread for angelic guests (Genesis 19:3); Gideon sets out a young goat and unleavened cakes before the Angel of the LORD (Judges 6:19). Manoah thus acts in step with the ingrained moral reflex of hospitality to strangers. A Sacrificial Instinct, Not Mere Refreshment While “prepare” (Heb ʿāśāh) can mean cook, the chosen animal—“a young goat” (gĕdî-ʿizzîm)—is the standard small-livestock sacrifice (Leviticus 1:10; 4:23). Manoah’s generation lived under Philistine oppression (Judges 13:1); the tabernacle was distant at Shiloh, yet devout Israelites still offered burnt or fellowship offerings locally (cf. Judges 6:26). Manoah’s wording suggests he is prepared either to share a covenant meal (peace offering) or to relinquish it entirely (burnt offering), whichever his mysterious guest prefers (Judges 13:16). Uncertainty About the Visitor’s Identity The text calls the visitor “the Angel of the LORD” (malʾak YHWH). Afterward Manoah exclaims, “We have seen God!” (Judges 13:22), revealing he did not yet grasp the visitor’s divine status when he proposed the meal. His offer embodies reverence mixed with theological ambiguity: provide food if this is simply a prophet, but be ready for sacrifice if this is a heavenly envoy—or God Himself. Pattern Already Modeled by Gideon Just seven chapters earlier Gideon set out a goat and cakes; the Angel of the LORD instructed him to place them on a rock, then consumed them with fire from the staff (Judges 6:19-21). That precedent would have circulated orally. Manoah likely knew the story and reasoned that offering a similar gift was prudent protocol when dealing with a possible divine messenger. Theophany and Christological Foreshadowing Early church writers (e.g., Justin Martyr, Dialogue 59) identified the Angel of the LORD with the pre-incarnate Christ. The angel speaks as God (“I will surely return to you,” Judges 13:3), accepts worship (Judges 13:20), and declares His name “Wonderful” (peliʾ, Judges 13:18), echoed in Isaiah 9:6 (“His name will be called Wonderful”). Manoah’s impulse to serve a meal unwittingly mirrors later disciples who recognized the risen Christ in the breaking of bread (Luke 24:30-31). Covenant Meal as Fellowship Symbol Shared food in Scripture seals relational covenants: Isaac and Abimelech (Genesis 26:30), Moses and elders eating before God (Exodus 24:11). Manoah longs for communion, an expression of faith that God will participate in the birth and destiny of Samson. When the Angel redirects the meal into a burnt offering (Judges 13:16), the fellowship element remains: flames rise heavenward while Manoah and his wife watch, linking earth to heaven. The Young Goat: Practical and Theological Aptness Goats were abundant in Zorah’s limestone hills, inexpensive compared with cattle, yet fully acceptable as offerings (Leviticus 1:10). A kid provided enough meat for three—Manoah, his wife, and the guest—exactly parallel to Abraham’s trio of visitors, reinforcing the text’s inter-canonical harmony. Parallel Manuscript Witness The Masoretic Text, Dead Sea Scroll fragment 4QJudgb, and the Greek Septuagint uniformly read gĕdî-ʿizzîm (“young goat”), strengthening confidence that the invitation was culinary/sacrificial, not symbolically vegetarian or metaphorical. Psychological and Behavioral Dimensions Hospitality lowers social distance, engenders trust, and signals peaceful intent—critical behaviors in conflict-ridden tribal settings (confirmed by modern behavioral studies on prosocial rituals). Manoah’s offer communicates submission rather than resistance to divine instruction, preparing the relational soil for the angel’s revelation of Samson’s Nazarite calling. Answer Summarized Manoah wished to prepare a meal because (1) cultural hospitality demanded it, (2) he sensed sacrificial propriety, (3) he was unsure of the visitor’s divine identity, (4) precedent from Gideon validated the gesture, (5) covenant meals embody fellowship with God, and (6) the chosen animal suited both table and altar. The episode underlines that true communion with God culminates not in feeding Him but in offering to Him—anticipating the ultimate sacrifice and resurrection of Christ, through whom every act of hospitality finds eternal meaning. |
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