Judges 13:22

13:22 Manoah said to his wife, “We will certainly die, because we have seen a supernatural being!” ¹ 

Judges 18:5

18:5 They said to him, “Seek a divine oracle for us, ²  so we can know if we will be successful on our mission.” ³ 

Judges 20:27

20:27 The Israelites asked the Lord (for the ark of God’s covenant was there in those days;

[13:22]  ¹ tn Or “seen God.” Some take the Hebrew term אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) as the divine name (“God”) here, but this seems unlikely since v. 21 informs us that Manoah realized this was the Lord’s messenger, not God himself. Of course, he may be exaggerating for the sake of emphasis. Another option, the one followed in the translation, understands Manoah to be referring to a lesser deity. The term אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) is sometimes used of an individual deity other than the Lord (see BDB 43 s.v. 2.a). One cannot assume that Manoah was a theologically sophisticated monotheist.

[18:5]  ² tn Heb “Ask God.”

[18:5]  ³ tn Heb “so we can know if our way on which we are going will be successful.”