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268 with a swordlike object in his hand took place in the time of King David. Not heeding the prohibition against taking a census of his able-bodied men, he received word from the Lord through Gad the Visionary that it was up to David which of three punishments would be meted out by the Lord. When David hesitated, He raised his eyes, and saw the Angel of Yahweh hovering between the Earth and the heavens, and his drawn sword stretched out over Jerusalem. And David and the Elders, clothed in sackcloths, Equally illustrative are the instances when the Angels ap- peared without such a distinctive object in their hands, for then they had to resort to other magical acts to convince the recipients of the Divine Word that the embassy was authentic. Whereas in the case of the encounter by Gideon the magical wand was specifically mentioned, such a wand was apparently not within sight when the Angel of Yahweh appeared to the barren wife of Mano'ah and foretold the birth of Samson, providing he would be a Nazirite and the woman, like her son once born, abstain from drinking wine or beer or the eating of unclean foods (additionally, the boy's hair was never to be cut). When the Angel appeared a second time to make sure the instructions for conceiving and for raising the boy were being followed, Mano'ah sought to verify the speaker's identity, for he looked like "a man." So he asked the emissary, "What is thy name?" Instead of revealing his identity, the "angel did a wonder": And the angel of Yahweh said to him: "Why askest thou for my name, which is a secret?" So Manoah took the kid of sacrifice and placed it on the rock DIVINE ENCOUNTERS fell face down. (I Chronicles 21:16)