The Angel of the Lord

The Angel of the LORD is a very significant figure in the Old Testament. He is no ordinary angel, but one that is peculiarly involved with the formation of the Israelite nation and their protection. We discover the title, Angel of the LORD, for the first time when this Angel appeared to Hagar after she ran away from Sarai, her mistress (Genesis 16:7). The Angel told her to return to Sarai and that he would multiply her seed (Genesis 16:10). This is not a prerogative of an ordinary angel. Angels simply do not take part in deciding which family will grow large and which will not, or which will become a nation and which will not. This is not an ordinary angel that spoke with Hagar. Moreover, in verse-16 Hagar called upon the name of the LORD that spoke with her. That is, she called him God. It is evident that no one spoke with her but this Angel, and he did not correct Hagar as she worshiped him. This would have been unacceptable, if this Angel were not God himself (Revelation 19:10; 22:8-9). Yet this particular Angel has never prevented anyone who desired to worship him from doing so.

Perhaps it would be good to give some definition to the word angel, so we can have a better idea of what we are speaking about when we use the term Angel of the Lord. The word is malak (G4397) in the Hebrew and pronounced mal awk. According to Strong’s Hebrew Lexicon, the word comes from an unused root that means to dispatch as a deputy. It is a messenger specifically of God, that is, an angel, but also a prophet, priest or teacher. This word is used to describe the office of the prophet, Haggai (Haggai 1:13), of the priest, Malachi (Malachi 2:1), or the office of John the Baptist (Malachi 3:1; cp. Matthew 11:10; Mark 1:2; Luke 7:27). It can also mean a messenger from one man to another as in Genesis 32:3, 6 (cp. Number 20:14; Joshua 7:22; Judges 6:35 etc.). It can mean an ambassador or a prince as in Isaiah 30:4 which may also be implied in Isaiah 33:7. Therefore, since this word describes a number of offices, it does not necessarily mean an angelic being. The Angel of the LORD may just as well have been translated as the Messenger or Ambassador of the LORD, and may imply being his Prophet, Priest or Prince, all titles of Jesus in the New Testament!