The Angel Ascends after Manoah's Sacrifice

Manoah and his wife are without children as she cannot conceive. But then one day a "man of God" appears to the woman and tells her she will soon be pregnant.

Out of gratitude Manoah sacrifices a kid goat. Then something miraculous happens: the man of God ascends in the flame, up to heaven.

The Bible says that Manoah and his wife both fell to the ground. Willem Drost, one of Rembrandt's students, choose a depiction that is more in line with their reactions. Manoah fears he will die as he has just seen God. His wife is more down to earth: if God had wanted to kill them, he wouldn't have gone through all that trouble.

Manoah's wife is not named. She would indeed give birth to a child: the great Samson.

The caption in French reads "L'ange quitte Manüé et sa femme, et s'éleve au milieu de la flame quil avoit excitée": the angel leaves Manoah and his wife, and rises in the flame he ignited. It was probably written by the 18th century French collector Pierre Crozat, who owned some 350 Rembrandt drawings.

The drawing was previously attributed to Rembrandt, who made two other drawings on this episode, in the late 1630s and in the early 1650s.