Angel of the Lord

The title “angel of the LORD” literally conveys something like, “the messenger of Yahweh.” The word ‘angel’ is lower case because it describes His role: messenger, which is normally not capitalized. It is a common noun, not a proper name. LORD is uppercase because English Bibles traditionally use LORD to represent the divine name YHWH. Capitalization in English translations does not, by itself, determine whether the Angel of the LORD is divine, because ancient Biblical Greek and Hebrew did not originally use capitalization and punctuation the way modern English does. Rather than relying on capitalization, we will examine the biblical accounts to understand how this figure is identified and described. Therefore, in the passages presented, the word angel will not be capitalized unless the translation itself does so. We will allow the whole biblical pattern to identify Him rather than depending upon capitalization.

God: Then the LORD said to Abram, “Leave your country, your kindred, and your father’s household, and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”
(Gen. 12:1-3)

angel of the LORD: Just then the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham, Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. “Do not lay a hand on the boy, or do anything to him,” said the angel, “for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from me.” And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time, saying, “By Myself I have sworn declares the LORD, that because you have done this and not withheld your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the gates of their enemies. And through your offspring all the nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.
(Gen. 22:11, and 15-18)

God: Then the word of the LORD came to Abram saying, “This one will not be your heir, but one who comes from your own body will be your heir.” And the LORD took him outside and said, “Now look to the heavens and count the stars, if you are able.” Then He told him, “So shall your offspring be.”
(Gen. 15:4-5)

angel of the LORD: So the angel of the LORD told her “Return to your mistress and submit to her authority.” Then the angel added, “I will greatly multiply your offspring so that they will be too numerous to count.
(Gen. 16:9-10)

God and angel of the LORD:‍ There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from within a bush. Moses saw the bush ablaze with fire, but it was not consumed. So Moses thought, “I must go over and see this marvelous sight. Why is the bush not burning up?” When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called out to him from within the bush, “Moses, Moses!”
(Exo. 3:2-4)

God: Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. And I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the LORD.
(Exo. 6:8)

My angel: Behold, I am sending an angel before you to protect you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. Pay attention to him and listen to his voice; do not defy him, for he will not forgive rebellion, since My Name is in him. But if you will listen carefully to his voice and do everything I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes For My angel will go before you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, and I will annihilate them.
(Exo. 23:20-23)

God: When the LORD your God brings you into the land that you are entering to possess, and He drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you
(Deut. 7:1)

angel of the LORD: Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim and said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land that I promised to your fathers, and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you, and you are not to make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall tear down their altars.
(Judges 2:1-2)

God: Moses was unable to enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Whenever the cloud was lifted from above the tabernacle, the Israelites would set out through all the stages of their journey. If the cloud was not lifted, they would not set out until the day it was taken up. For the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel through all their journeys.
(Exo. 40:35-38)

angel of God: And the angel of God, who had gone before the camp of Israel, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from before them, and stood behind them, so that it came between the camps of Egypt and Israel. The cloud was there in the darkness, but it lit up the night. So all night long neither camp went near the other.
(Exo. 14:19-20

God: When I brought your fathers out of Egypt and you reached the Red Sea, the Egyptians pursued them with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. So your fathers cried out to the LORD, and He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, over whom He brought the Sea and engulfed them.
(Josh 24:5-7)

My angel: The LORD replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot out of My book. Now go, lead the people to the place I described. Behold, My angel shall go before you.
(Exo. 32:33-34) and (Exo. 33:1)

God: And on that very day the LORD brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt by their divisions.
(Ex. 12:51) ‍

angel of the Lord: The Egyptians mistreated us and our fathers. and when we cried out to the LORD, He heard our voice, sent an angel, and brought us out of Egypt.
(Numbers 20:15-16

God: So Jacob was left all alone, and there a man who wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower Jacob, he struck the socket of Jacob’s hip and dislocated it as they wrestled. Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me. What is your name?” the man asked. “Jacob,” he replied. Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and you have prevailed.” And Jacob named the place Peniel, saying, “Indeed, I have seen God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”
(Gen. 32: 24-30)

the angel: In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel, and in his vigor he wrestled with God. Yes, he struggled with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought His favor; he found Him at Bethel and spoke with Him there—the LORD God of Hosts, the LORD is His name of renown.
(Hosea 12:3-5)

God and the angel of the LORD: And I said to you: ‘I am the LORD your God. You must not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.’ But you did not obey Me.” Then the angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon and said, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.” “Please my Lord,” Gideon replied, “if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all His wonders of which our fathers told us, saying, ‘Has not the LORD brought us up out of Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hand of the Midian.” The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel from the hand of Midian. Am I not sending you?”… “Surely I will be with you, the LORD replied, “and you will strike down all the Midianites as one man.”…And the LORD said, “I will stay until you return.
(Judges 6:10-14, 16, and 18)

angel of God (continuing from above): And the angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread, lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And Gideon did so. Then the angel of the LORD extended the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread. And the fire flared from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. Then the angel of the LORD vanished from his sight.
(Judges 6:20-21)

God (continuing from above): When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the LORD, he said, “Oh no Lord GOD! I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!” But the LORD said to him, “Peace be with you. Do not be afraid, for you will not die.”
(Judges 6:22-23)

Spirit of the LORD (continuing): ‍ ‍So the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, who blew the ram’s horn and rallied the Abiezrites behind him.
(Judges 6:34)

God (continuing): Then Gideon said to God, “If You are going to save Israel by my hand, as You have said, then behold, I will place a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that You are going to save Israel by my hand, as you have said.” And that is what happened. When Gideon arose the next morning, he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water. Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me; let me speak one more time. Please allow me one more test with the fleece. This time let it be dry, and the ground covered with dew.” And that night God did so. Only the fleece was dry and dew covered the ground.
(Judges 6:36-40)

angel of the LORD: Then God’s anger was kindled because Balaam was going along, and the angel of the LORD stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding his donkey, and his two servants were with him. When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, she turned off the path and went into a field. So Balaam beat her to return her to the path. Then the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow passage between two vineyards, with walls on either side. And the donkey saw the angel of the LORD and pressed herself against the wall, crushing Balaam’s foot against it. So he beat her once again. And the angel of the LORD moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn to the right or left. When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam, and he became furious and beat her with his staff.
(Numbers 22:22-27)

God (Continuing): Then the LORD opened the donkey’s mouth, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times?” Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now!” But the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not the donkey you have ridden all your life until today? Have I ever treated you this way before?” “No,” he replied. Then the LORD opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand. And Balaam bowed low and fell face down.
‍ ‍The angel of the LORD asked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to oppose you, because your way is perverse before me. The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If she had not turned away then, by now I would surely have killed you and let her live.” “I have sinned,” Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, “for I did not realize that you were standing in the road to confront me. And now, if this is displeasing in your sight, I will go back home.” But the angel of the LORD said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but you are to speak only what I tell you.”
(Num. 22:28-35)

God: “See, I have come to you,” Balaam replied, “but can I say just anything? I must speak only the word that God puts in my mouth”. (Num. 22:38)

If the word angel means a messenger, then the title Angel of the LORD identifies this figure by His role as a messenger. Yet the biblical accounts present Him in a remarkable way: He speaks as God, is spoken of as God, and is sometimes directly addressed as God, while remaining distinct from the One who sends Him. He makes promises that belong to God alone, exercises divine authority, and is identified with the LORD Himself. When these passages are considered together with the New Testament revelation of Jesus Christ, I understand the Angel of the LORD to be none other than Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God. He is the One who makes the invisible God known (John 1:18; John 6:46). The Son is sent by the Father, yet the Son is God. The Son is the image of the invisible God (Col. 1:15). Thus, the Angel of the LORD provides a remarkable glimpse of the truth that the Father and the Son are distinct Persons, yet they are one God.