For it happened, when the flame went up toward the sky from off the altar, that the angel of Yahweh ascended in the flame of the altar: and Manoah and his wife looked on; and they fell on their faces to the ground.
God’s messenger repeated the instructions for the benefit of Samson’s father (8-14), who then prepared to offer a sacrifice to God (15-16). When the messenger ascended towards heaven in the flames of the altar, Samson’s parents realized that he was a supernatural figure, the angel of the Lord (17-23; see note on Joshua 5:13-15).