Hi Dave,
I have also held to the same view regarding the Angel of Yahweh in the OT, that he is a theophany of Christ. It just seems strange to think of Christ appearing to people before he was born, and there doesn't seem to be any specific teaching of it in the NT. Although given John 1:1, I assume Jesus is 'the Word of the Lord' who came to the prophets of the OT.
I also find it strange that the NT uses a phrase which is very similar to the OT phrase 'the angel of Yahweh'. Which is the correct translation in the NT: an angel of the Lord, or the angel of the Lord?
You seem to think it is 'an angel'. Yet the KJV translates it 'the angel'.
Hi Spud,
Well you have certainly put the cat amongst the pigeons with that quote from the KJV. I must confess that I have not used the KJV for serious Bible Study for over 30 years so my comments were based on more recent translations such as the NIV, NASB and ESV. I now find that there are several places where the KJV uses ‘the angel’ while the others use ‘an angel’. This is where I wish I had more than a rudimentary (an exaggeration in itself) knowledge of Greek. I have looked at Strong’s Concordance and also at an interlinear Greek/English New Testament which I have but neither throw much light on which would be the preferred translation. Perhaps Alien, who at least has done some formal studies in Greek, can come galloping across on his white stallion to help us (avoiding encounters with windmills on the way) and provide some insights here.
I must say I am uncomfortable with the KJV’s use of the angel of the Lord in some places. Matt 1:20 and 2:13 serve as examples here. In the first Mary is already pregnant while the second concerns the flight to Egypt. Philippians 2:5-8 tells us that when Jesus came to live amongst us as a man He ‘emptied himself’, or set aside, His divine attributes, including omnipresence and became fully man. I then have a problem with a theophanic appearance of Jesus while He was present on earth, whether as a man, or still in the womb or as a young child.
Enjoy what is left of the day.
Can't hang around long. I've tied Dobbin up, but someone might nick him since he is such a handsome stead.
Mt 1:20 "
An angel of the Lord".
Mt 2:13 "
An angel of the Lord".
I've not followed the discussion fully, but would suggest you don't worry too much about whether "the" is there in the Greek or Hebrew. It isn't always used quite the same way as in English.
Angelos in Greek, basically means "messenger" and, as such, says nothing about whether the messenger is supernatural or not or, even, whether someone separate is sending him. In fact, John the Baptist is described as an "
angelos" in Mark 1.2, which is a quote from Malachi 3:1 where "
mal'ak/mal'ach" means messenger in very much the same way as "
angelos". Just to complicate things "Malachi" just means "my messenger" so is that his name (like "Fred") or his title?
I think you will have to decide based very much on the context.