Verse 17:[1] 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?
[What name is to thee?[2] (thus the Septuagint, Jonathan)] Thus מִי/who is used in the place of מָה/what (for quiescent letters are readily exchanged one for another). Thus, in Micah 1:5, What is the transgression of Jacob?[3] where nevertheless others have, Who is the cause of the transgression? (Drusius).
[מִ֣י שְׁמֶ֑ךָ] An abbreviated form of speech, in the place of,מִי אַתָּה וּמִי שְׁמֶךָ, Who art thou? and who art thou called? or in the place of, מִי אַתָּה בְשִׁמְךָ, Who art thou in thy name? (Vatablus).
[That, if thy speech, etc.] In Hebrew, it is כִּי/when; which indicates that Manoah did not doubt (Bonfrerius).
We may do thee honour: Either by making honourable mention of thee, or by performing respect and service to thee, by a present, which they usually gave to prophets, 1 Samuel 9:7, 8; 1 Kings 14:3.
Verse 18:[4] And the angel of the LORD said unto him, (Gen. 32:29) Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret (or, wonderful;[5] Is. 9:6[6])?
[Why askest thou my name, which is wonderful?לָ֥מָּה זֶּ֖ה תִּשְׁאַ֣ל לִשְׁמִ֑י וְהוּא־פֶֽלִאי׃] Why askest thou thus concerning my name, which is secret? (Munster), which is most glorious? (Syriac, similarly the Arabic), and it is wonderful? (Septuagint), since it is secret, or arcane, or hidden? (Pagnine, Tigurinus, Vatablus, Jonathan, Piscator); that is, since it is not familiar, and known to men, or among men? (Vatablus). Since it does not belong to my office to indicate my name to thee, but rather to keep it hidden? (Piscator). Jonathan translates it, separated, namely, from thy notice. Hence the name was הַמְּפּוֹרָשׁ, what was separated from the notice of men. This place evinces that this Angel was the eternal Word, that is, Christ; whose name is hidden and wonderful, that is, Jehovah. Others: and He is wonderful, namely, the Angel (Drusius). And He was wonderful, that is, He preferred to reveal Himself to Manoah in deeds, rather than with words. What follows argues that this is the proper exposition (Malvenda out of Junius). In פֶּלְאִי/wonderful the א is quiescent, otherwise it would be פִּלְאִי, of the form עִבְרי/Hebrew (Drusius). That word is not found in this form elsewhere in Scripture: they note that it is a Toar,[7] that is, an adjective (Malvenda out of Munster).
Wonderful: Or, hidden from mortal men; or, wonderful, such as thou canst not comprehend; my nature or essence (which is oft signified by name in Scripture) is incomprehensible. This shows that this was the Angel of the covenant, the Son of God.
[1] Hebrew: וַיֹּ֧אמֶר מָנ֛וֹחַ אֶל־מַלְאַ֥ךְ יְהוָ֖ה מִ֣י שְׁמֶ֑ךָ כִּֽי־יָבֹ֥א דְבָרֶיךָ֖ וְכִבַּדְנֽוּךָ׃
[2] Hebrew: מִ֣י שְׁמֶ֑ךָ.
[3] Hebrew: מִֽי־פֶ֣שַׁע יַעֲקֹ֗ב.
[4] Hebrew: וַיֹּ֤אמֶר לוֹ֙ מַלְאַ֣ךְ יְהוָ֔ה לָ֥מָּה זֶּ֖ה תִּשְׁאַ֣ל לִשְׁמִ֑י וְהוּא־פֶֽלִאי׃
[5] Hebrew: פֶלִאי.
[6] Isaiah 9:6: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful (פֶּלֶא), Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
[7] A Toar is a noun denoting an agent bearing a certain quality or characteristic.
Robert Hawker's Poor Man's Portion: '"And there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day."—Genesis 32:24
My soul, here is a lovely portion for the morning. For the morning, did I say? Yea, both for night and morning, and, indeed, until the everlasting morning break in upon thee, and all the shadows of the night flee away. For are not all the seed of Jacob like their father, wrestlers in the actings of faith, and the fervour of prayer, until they come off, like him, prevailing Israels? And who was this man which wrestled with the patriarch? Let scripture explain scripture, and give the answer. By his strength, said the prophet Hosea, Hosea 12:3, etc. "he had…
Jonathan Edwards' Notes on the Scripture: 'Another thing signified by God's glorious appearing in a cloud, was probably the mysteriousness of the divine essence and subsistence, and of the person of Christ, and of the divine operations. Thus it is said, Psalm 97:2, "Clouds and darkness are round about him, righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne." 1 Kings 8:12, "The Lord said that he would dwell in the thick darkness." Psalm 18:11, "He made darkness his secret place. His pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies." Proverbs 30:4, "What is his name, and what is his Son's name, if thou canst tell?" Isaiah 9:6, "His name shall be called Wonderful." Judge…
Jonathan Edwards' History of the Work of Redemption: 'So it was a human form in which Christ appeared to the seventy elders, of which we have an account, Exodus 24:9, 11, "Then went up Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet, as it were a paved work of sapphire-stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness. And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink." So Christ appeared afterwards to Joshua in the form of the human nature, Joshua 5:13, 14, "And i…
Matthew Henry: 'The angel declined telling him his name, and would not so far gratify his curiosity. Manoah desired to know his name (Judges 13:17), and of what tribe he was, not as if he doubted the truth of his message, but that they might return his visit, and be better acquainted with him (it is good to increase and improve our acquaintance with good men and good ministers); and he has a further design: "That when thy sayings come to pass, we may do thee honour, celebrate thee as a true prophet, and recommend others to thee for divine instructions,—that we may call the child that shall be born after thy name, and so do thee honour,—or that w…