Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name: (Judges 13:6)
This was a term generally used of prophets (Deut. 33:1; 1 Sam. 2:27; 9:6-8; 1 Kings 12:22; etc.). Manoah’s wife probably did not imagine that her Visitor was anyone else than a prophet, although she was awe-struck by the majesty of His appearance to the extent that she did not venture to talk to Him, even to ask Him His name or whence He came. Compare v. 10 where she again speaks of Him as “the man,” and v. 16, which states that Manoah did not know He was a heavenly visitant. An Eastern custom is that, when meeting a stranger, the first question usually asked is concerning the name.