Judges 13

Jehovah

And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years. Judges 13:1

Jehovah allows Israel's oppression as the consequence of their sin, setting the stage for the deliverer He is about to raise up. The God who chastens is the same God who saves.

How we know: Jehovah is the premortal Christ (Abraham 1:16; D&C 110:3–4) · the verse itself names Him · a footnote points to Him · the chapter heading names Him

Angel of the LORD

Angel of the LORD — the Messenger of Jehovah, who speaks and is answered as Jehovah Himself

And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. Judges 13:3–5

A heavenly visitor appears and promises a son who will begin to deliver Israel; by the end of the chapter Manoah says they have seen God (v. 22). Where 'the angel of the LORD' appears and is then addressed and worshipped as the LORD — to Hagar, to Moses at the bush — Latter-day Saints read the premortal Jesus Christ, Jehovah Himself, coming to His people.

How we know: the verse itself names Him · the chapter heading names Him · a traditional type, cited

• the same title in Genesis 16:7-13 — The angel of the LORD appears to Hagar and promises a son; she then 'called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me'.
• the same title in Exodus 3:2-6 — The angel of the LORD in the burning bush speaks as 'the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'.

Annunciation of a deliverer (Samson as type)

And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. Judges 13:3–7

An angel announces to a barren woman a son set apart to God from the womb who will deliver Israel. The pattern foreshadows Gabriel's announcement of the birth of Jesus; and the wording marks the limit of the type — Samson only 'begins' to deliver Israel, while Christ finishes the work.

How we know: the verse itself names Him · the chapter heading names Him · a traditional type, cited

• a type of what is in Luke 1:31 — 'Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS' — the same annunciation formula to Mary.

Jehovah

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. Judges 13:16

The visitor refuses Manoah's meal and sends the offering past himself to the LORD — the One toward whom every burnt offering pointed. The verse is the chapter's own caution against reading the messenger and Jehovah as simply interchangeable.

How we know: Jehovah is the premortal Christ (Abraham 1:16; D&C 110:3–4) · the verse itself names Him

Wonderful (the secret name)

Peli — wonderful, beyond understanding (KJV 'secret'); the root of the 'Wonderful' of Isaiah 9:6

And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour? Judges 13:17–18

The word rendered 'secret' is the Hebrew word for 'wonderful', from the same root Isaiah uses when he names the coming Messiah 'Wonderful'. The visitor's name is too wondrous to be told — a hidden title that points to Christ, and the next verse says he then 'did wonderously', from that very root.

How we know: the verse itself names Him · a footnote points to Him · a traditional type, cited

• the same title in Isaiah 9:6 — 'his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.'
• alludes to Genesis 32:29 — The divine wrestler turns aside Jacob's question with the same words: 'Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name?' — the tie the Church footnote note18_a makes.

Ascending in the flame of the altar

So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it upon a rock unto the LORD: and the angel did wonderously; and Manoah and his wife looked on. Judges 13:19–20

The offering is made on a rock, the visitor 'does wonderously', and then rises to heaven in the flame of the sacrifice itself. The picture binds the divine messenger to the offering, and every offering was given as a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten (Moses 5:7).

How we know: the verse itself names Him · another scripture interprets it of Him · the chapter heading names Him · a footnote points to Him

• interpreted by Moses 5:7 — 'This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father' — the revealed meaning of the burnt offering Manoah makes.
• a type of what is in Hebrews 9:24 — Christ 'is not entered into the holy places made with hands ... but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us' — the ascent from the altar that this scene pictures.

Angel of the LORD seen as God

But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the LORD. Judges 13:21–23

Manoah realizes the visitor was divine and says they have seen God. His wife reasons that the LORD accepted their offering and therefore does not mean to kill them: the God who shows Himself to His people comes to bless and save, as Jehovah later did in the flesh.

How we know: the verse itself names Him · a footnote points to Him · a traditional type, cited

• alludes to Genesis 32:30 — Jacob at Peniel: 'I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved' — the same fear and the same relief.

Jehovah

And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him. Judges 13:24

The promised child is born and Jehovah blesses him — the same Lord who sent the promise carries it out. The blessing is the Lord's doing, not Samson's.

How we know: the verse itself names Him · the chapter heading names Him