The
Angel of the Lord (or the
Angel of God) is one of many terms in the
Hebrew BibleThe Hebrew Bible is a term referring to the books of the Jewish Bible as originally written mostly in Biblical Hebrew with some Biblical Aramaic...
(also:
Old TestamentIn Christianity, the Old Testament is the collection of books that form the first of the two-part Christian Biblical canon. These works correspond to the Hebrew Bible , with some variations and additions. In the Eastern Orthodox Church the comparable texts are known as the Septuagint, from the...
) used for an
angelAngels are spiritual beings found in many religious traditions. They are broadly viewed as messengers of God, sent to do God's tasks. Traditions vary as to the precise nature and role of these messages and tasks...
. The Biblical name for angel,
מלאך mal'ach, which translates simply as "messenger," obtained the further signification of "angel" only through the addition of God's name, as ("angel of the Lord," or "angel of God" Zech. xii. 8). Other appellations for angels are
Benei Elohim, "
Sons of GodThere are several theories concerning the identity of the sons of God identified in the Book of Genesis.- Lines of Seth View :...
," Gen.
The
Angel of the Lord (or the
Angel of God) is one of many terms in the
Hebrew BibleThe Hebrew Bible is a term referring to the books of the Jewish Bible as originally written mostly in Biblical Hebrew with some Biblical Aramaic...
(also:
Old TestamentIn Christianity, the Old Testament is the collection of books that form the first of the two-part Christian Biblical canon. These works correspond to the Hebrew Bible , with some variations and additions. In the Eastern Orthodox Church the comparable texts are known as the Septuagint, from the...
) used for an
angelAngels are spiritual beings found in many religious traditions. They are broadly viewed as messengers of God, sent to do God's tasks. Traditions vary as to the precise nature and role of these messages and tasks...
. The Biblical name for angel,
מלאך mal'ach, which translates simply as "messenger," obtained the further signification of "angel" only through the addition of God's name, as ("angel of the Lord," or "angel of God" Zech. xii. 8). Other appellations for angels are
Benei Elohim, "
Sons of GodThere are several theories concerning the identity of the sons of God identified in the Book of Genesis.- Lines of Seth View :...
," Gen. vi. 4; Job 1:6; and
k'doshim, "the Holy Ones".
In the Hebrew Bible angelic messengers often appear to people in the shape of human beings of extraordinary beauty, and are not at once recognized as angels (Gen. xviii. 2, xix. 5; Judges, vi. 17, xiii. 6; II Sam. xxix. 9). Some angels are said to fly through the air; they become invisible; sacrifices touched by them are consumed by fire; they disappear in sacrificial fire, like Elijah, who rode to heaven in a fiery chariot; and they appear in the flames of the thornbush (Gen. xvi. 13; Judges, vi. 21, 22; II Kings, ii. 11; Ex. iii. 2).
When a biblical character sees an angel identified as the
angel of the Lord, this is often interpreted as a
theophanyTheophany, from the Ancient Greek Θεοφάνεια - Τheophaneia , refers to the appearance of a deity to a human, or to a divine disclosure....
.
Historical development of the term within the Hebrew Bible
In the earlier Biblical writings the term "Malakh YHWH" (messenger of the Lord) occurs chiefly in the singular, and signifies a special self-manifestation of God (see Gen. xxxi. 11-13, where the angel of God says, "I am the God of Beth-el"; Ex. iii. 2-6, where the angel of the Lord who appeared to Moses in the flame of fire says, "I am the God of thy father"; compare Gen. xxii. 11; Judges, vi. 11-22).
At times the angel clearly distinguishes himself from the Lord who sends him (see Gen. xvi. 11, xxi. 17; Num. xxii. 31; Judges, xiii. 16). Though appearing in human form (see Gen. xviii. 2 et seq., xxxii. 25; compare Hosea, xii. 5), the angel of the Lord has no individuality. Being only a temporary manifestation of God, the angel can never replace God's presence; wherefore
MosesMoses was, according to biblical texts, a religious leader, lawgiver, and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed. Also called Moshe Rabbeinu in Hebrew Moses was, according to biblical texts, a...
, not satisfied with the Lord's saying "I will send an angel before thee" (Ex. xxxiii. 2), replies: "If thy presence {face} go not with me, carry us not up hence" (Ex. xxxiii. 15).
Within the Hebrew Bible, there is no uniform conception of angels. In
Jacob'sJacob , also known as Israel , was the third Biblical patriarch and ancestor of the twelve tribes of Israel, named after ten of his twelve sons, as well as the two sons of his son Joseph.The Bible says...
dream they ascend and descend the ladder (Gen. xxviii. 12); in the vision of
IsaiahIsaiah is the main figure in the Biblical Book of Isaiah, and is traditionally considered to be its author. He was an 8th-century BC Judean prophet. Part of his message was: "The land will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The LORD has spoken this word."...
(vi. 2) they are six-winged seraphim; in
EzekielAccording to religious texts, Ezekiel was a priest in the Bible who prophesied for 22 years sometime in the 6th century BC in the form of visions while exiled in Babylon, as recorded in...
the cherubim and living creatures (ḥayyot) have the likeness of a man, are winged, and have feet (Ezek. i. 5-7, x. 19-21). As guests of the biblical patriarch
AbrahamAbraham is the founding patriarch of the Israelites, Ishmaelites, Midianites and Edomite peoples, as described in the book of Genesis. He is widely regarded as the patriarch of Jews, Christians, and Muslims....
, they eat (Gen. xviii. 8); in the house of Manoah the angel refuses to eat (Judges, xiii. 16). Whether in the popular mind these angels took the place of the powers of nature deified by the heathen nations elsewhere, or whether the psychological process was a different one, the monotheism of Israel necessitated the assumption of beings representing a heavenly hierarchy ready to mediate between man and God.
Christian view
In
ChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented by the revelations in the New Testament....
, many commentators interpret the phrase "Angel of the Lord" to refer to a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ (see
"ChristophanyA Christophany is an appearance of the incarnate Christ in the Old Testament, or after his ascension. The appearance is an "alleged" one because Jews do not typically agree with such a Christian interpretation of Jewish scriptures.Christophanies may include instances where no expressly Messianic...
"). Some point out that although many angels appear in the New Testament, the specific, divine "Angel of the Lord" never appears, therefore they conclude that he is now been incarnated as Jesus Christ.
Among others in Christianity, the Angel of the Lord is considered a general representation of
God the FatherIn many monotheist religions, God is given the title and attributions of Father. In the Israelite religion and its closest modern relative, Talmudic Judaism, God is called Father because he is the creator, law-giver, and protector...
, due to several verses stating that no one can look upon the face of the
LORDJehovah is a transliteration of , a vocalized Hebrew variant of the tetragrammaton that occurs 6518 times in the Ben Chayyim Hebrew Text of 1525 A.D., on which the Old Testament of the King James Bible is based...
and live.
Some Christian translations capitalize "
AngelAngels are spiritual beings found in many religious traditions. They are broadly viewed as messengers of God, sent to do God's tasks. Traditions vary as to the precise nature and role of these messages and tasks...
" to indicate the being's divinity.
Examples of the term in the Bible
- Genesis 16:7-14. The Angel of the LORD appears to a woman named Hagar
-People:* Hagar , in the Abrahamic faiths, the handmaiden of Sarah , and the mother of Abraham's son Ishmael.* Sammy Hagar, rock musician.* Mandy Hagar, New Zealand children's book author.* Albert Hagar, Canadian politician....
. The Angel speaks as GodGod is a deity in theistic and deistic religions and other belief systems, representing either the sole deity in monotheism, or a principal deity in polytheism....
in the first-person, and in verse 13 Hagar identifies the visitor as God.
- Genesis 22:11-15. The Angel of the LORD appears to Abraham
Abraham is the founding patriarch of the Israelites, Ishmaelites, Midianites and Edomite peoples, as described in the book of Genesis. He is widely regarded as the patriarch of Jews, Christians, and Muslims....
and, again, refers to God in the first-person.
- Genesis 31:11-13. The Angel of God speaks to Jacob
Jacob , also known as Israel , was the third Biblical patriarch and ancestor of the twelve tribes of Israel, named after ten of his twelve sons, as well as the two sons of his son Joseph.The Bible says...
in a dream and tells him "I am the God of BethelBethel was a border city described in the Old Testament as being located between Benjamin and Ephraim...
".
- Exodus 3:2-4. The Angel of the LORD appears to Moses
Moses was, according to biblical texts, a religious leader, lawgiver, and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed. Also called Moshe Rabbeinu in Hebrew Moses was, according to biblical texts, a...
in a flame in verse two, and God speaks to Moses from the flame in verse four.
- Numbers 22:22-38. The Angel of the LORD meets the prophet Balaam
Balaam is a diviner in the Torah, his story occurring towards the end of the Book of Numbers. The etymology of his name is uncertain, and discussed below. Every ancient reference to Balaam considers him a non-Israelite, a prophet, and the son of Beor, though Beor is not so clearly identified...
on the road. In verse 38, Balaam identifies the Angel who spoke to him as God.
- Judges 2:1-3. The Angel of the LORD appears to Israel
Israel officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
and identifies Himself as God.
- Judges 6:11-23. The Angel of the LORD appears to Gideon
- Religion :* Gideon , an Israelite judge, appearing in the Book of Judges* Gideon , a figure in the Book of Mormon* Gideons International, distributor of copies of the Bible- Media :...
. In verse 14 the Angel refers to Himself as God; in verse 21 the Angel allows Gideon to sacrifice to Him as to God ("Then the angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the LORD departed out of his sight."), and in verse 22 Gideon fears for his life because he was in the presence of God.
- Judges 13:3-22. The Angel of the LORD appears to Manoah
Manoah is the father of Samson. Manoah means rest or quiet in Judges 13:1-23 and 14:2-4 of the Hebrew Bible.Manoah was of the tribe of Dan, and lived in the city of Zorah. He and his wife were childless, but an angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah's wife and told her that she would give birth to a...
and his wife, and, in verse 22, is identified as God.
Further reading