David Limbaugh@DavidLimbaugh
I asked the AI study guide in Logos Bible Software about the term angel of the Lord in the Old Testament and why evangelical scholars interpreted that to mean a pre-incarnate version of Christ. I further asked it about the Jewish interpretation. I think the answer is interesting as it always is.
Angel of the Lord
> Many evangelical scholars believe that the term angel of the Lord in the Old Testament describes pre-incarnate appearances of the son of God. Why did they come to believe that God is not an angel his son is not an angel so how did Bible scholars come up with the theory that the term angel of the Lord was in fact a pre-incarnate Christ? Also, how did the Jews interpret that phrase and how was that phrase? translated in the Hebrew scriptures.
Evangelical scholars arrived at the preincarnate Christ interpretation through careful textual analysis rather than theological assumption. The angel of the Lord identifies himself as Yahweh in accounts like Abraham and Jacob’s encounters, speaking both for and as God, while others identify him as God—as seen in Hagar’s and Joseph’s stories.[1] Although Scripture teaches that only God deserves worship, the Angel of the Lord accepts reverence and worship.[1] These characteristics—combined with the angel’s divine knowledge and actions—suggested a figure distinct from ordinary messengers yet possessing divine attributes.
A crucial observation strengthened this interpretation: theologians noticed the phrase “the angel of the Lord” never appears after Jesus arrives in the New Testament, suggesting that once the incarnation occurred, this unique heavenly representative became obsolete because Jesus became God’s earthly, visible representative.[2] Unlike other angelic beings who refused worship because they were creatures, the angel of the Lord accepted it without rebuke, and unlike other angels who emphatically declared their creatureliness when people sought to worship them, the angel of the Lord did not.[3]
Regarding Jewish interpretation, the evidence is complex. Jewish theologians prior to the New Testament era, observing texts featuring the Angel and other “dual Yahweh” language, developed a theology of two powers in heaven—a teaching Jewish authorities declared heresy after the second century AD.[4] In the Septuagint (Greek translation), only 33 of 56 occurrences carry the definite article, making it difficult to determine conclusively whether Alexandrian Jewish translators understood this “Angel” as having unique identity or as simply one of God’s heavenly hosts.[5] The Aramaic Targums, however, rendered Genesis 4:1 as “I have gotten a man, the angel of Jehovah” or “the angel of the Lord,” suggesting rabbis recognized something supernatural in the text.[6]
[1] David J. MacLeod, “The Trinity and Scripture,” Emmaus Journal (2002), 11:2:195.
[2] René A. López, “Identifying the ‘Angel of the Lord’ in the Book of Judges: A Model for Reconsidering the Referent in Other Old Testament Loci,” Bulletin for Biblical Research (2010), 14.
[3] Douglas McCready, He Came down from Heaven: The Preexistence of Christ and the Christian Faith (Downers Grove, IL; Leicester, England: InterVarsity Press; Apollos, 2005), 180–181.
[4] Michael S. Heiser, The Bible Unfiltered: Approaching Scripture on Its Own Terms (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2017), 67.
[5] John M. Jr. Baze, “The Angel of the Lord in the Old Testament—Part II,” Conservative Theological Journal (1998), 2:4:66.
[6] Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, Ariel’s Bible Commentary: The Book of Genesis (San Antonio, TX: Ariel Ministries, 2008), 115–116.
