At the first sight of the angel, Manoah’s wife spoke of him as a “man of God” (Judges 13:6). Manoah calls him the same in Judges 13:8. Later, the angel identifies himself to Manoah as “wonderful” (Judges 13:18). The narrator in Judges 13:21 notes that Manoah, after the angel ascended in the flame and appeared no more to Manoah and his wife, “knew that he was the angel of the Lord.” Now in Judges 13:22 it comes directly from Manoah’s lips: “We have seen God.” There has been a progressive realization of the angel’s identity, particularly by Manoah. His wife understood much earlier than he did that the visitor was divine.
22 And Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, for we have seen God.”