God sent His Angel to revisit Manoah and his wife because they voiced questions in prayer about how they should rear Samson (v. 8), his way of life (v. 12), and his vocation (v. 12). Their desire to bring their son up according to God's will was commendable. Samson's parents were similar to Samuel's in this respect (cf. 1 Sam. 1:27-28; 2:19).
Evidently Manoah also assumed that the Angel of the Lord was a prophet (v. 17). The Angel told Manoah that His name was "wonderful"(Heb. pil'i, v. 18, "beyond understanding,"NIV).
"The word . . . is not the proper name of the angel of the Lord, but expresses the character of the name; and as the name simply denotes the nature, it expresses the peculiarity of his nature also. It is to be understood in an absolute sense--'absolutely and supremely wonderful' (Seb. Schmidt) . . ."246
The idea here is that the Angel said Manoah and his wife could not fully comprehend the significance of who He was (cf. Exod. 3:13-14; Isa. 9:6; Ps. 139:6). Though we can apprehend God to some extent, we cannot fully comprehend Him. Sinful mortals cannot appreciate fully all there is to know about God even with the aid of the revelation He has given us.
As Gideon had done, Manoah prepared a sacrifice to God in appreciation for this special revelation (cf. 6:19-24).247He and his wife finally realized that they had been talking with the Angel of the Lord when He arose heavenward in the flame from the blazing sacrifice on the altar (v. 20). He did something "wonderful"for them. They fell on their faces in worship and out of fear of the Lord.
"Manoah was the first to speak but the last to recover his composure, reflecting the widely-held belief that if a man saw God he would die (Ex. 33:20; Jdg. 6:22, 23)."248
Interestingly, Manoah reacted hysterically, but his wife was more logical and objective (cf. Elkanah and Hannah).
