The Angel of the Lord (mal'akh YHWH) is a mysterious heavenly figure who appears repeatedly in the Old Testament as God's special messenger and representative. In many texts, the Angel of the Lord seems to be identified with God himself, since he speaks with divine authority and those who meet him experience having seen God. Many theologians view the Angel of the Lord as a theophany – a manifestation of God, and some Christian interpretations link this figure to the pre-incarnate Christ.
Hechos clave
The Angel of the Lord Meets Hagar in the Wilderness
When Hagar fled from Sarah, the Angel of the Lord found her by a spring in the wilderness and promised that her descendants would become numerous. He told her to return, and Hagar named the Lord who spoke to her 'You are a God who sees'.
8and he said, "Hagar, slave girl of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?" "I am running away from my mistress Sarai," she answered.
11The angel of the LORD also said to her, "You are pregnant, and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard your cry of affliction. [Footnote: Ishmael means "God hears."]
13So she gave a name to the LORD who had spoken to her: "You are the God who sees me," for she said, "Have I really seen him and lived, the One who sees me?"
The Angel of the Lord Stops Abraham's Sacrifice of Isaac
When Abraham was about to sacrifice his son Isaac on Mount Moriah, the Angel of the Lord called out from heaven and stopped him. The angel confirmed God's blessing upon Abraham because of his obedience.
12"Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me."
17I will surely bless you and greatly multiply your offspring, like the stars in the sky and like the sand on the seashore. Your offspring will possess the gate of their enemies,
The Angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in a flame within a bush that burned but was not consumed. From the bush, God spoke and revealed himself as 'I am who I am' and called Moses to deliver Israel from Egypt.
2There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush. Moses looked, and though the bush was burning with fire, it was not consumed.
6Then he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." At this Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
15God also said to Moses, "Say this to the Israelites: 'The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.' This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.
When Balaam set out to curse Israel, the Angel of the Lord stood in his way with a drawn sword. The donkey saw the angel and turned aside three times before the Lord opened Balaam's eyes so he could see the angel.
22But God's anger flared up because he was going, and the angel of the LORD stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him.
23When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, she turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat her to get her back on the road.
32The angel of the LORD asked him, "Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you, because your way is reckless before me.
34Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, "I have sinned. I did not realize you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now if this displeases you, I will go back."
The Angel of the Lord came and sat under the oak tree in Ophrah and called Gideon to deliver Israel from the Midianites. When Gideon brought an offering, the angel touched it with his staff, fire leaped from the rock and consumed the offering.
11Then the angel of the LORD came and sat under the oak at Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was threshing wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites.
13Gideon replied, "Please, my lord, if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about, saying, 'Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?' But now the LORD has abandoned us and handed us over to Midian."
21Then the angel of the LORD reached out the tip of the staff in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread. Fire flared up from the rock and consumed the meat and the bread, and the angel of the LORD vanished from his sight.
The Angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah's wife and announced that she would bear a son who would be a Nazirite and begin to deliver Israel from the Philistines. When Manoah offered a sacrifice, the angel ascended in the flame from the altar, and Manoah realized they had seen God.
3The angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, "You are barren and have borne no children, but now you will conceive and give birth to a son.
5for you are going to conceive and give birth to a son. No razor is to touch his head, for the boy will be a Nazirite of God from birth, and he will begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines."
6The woman went and told her husband, "A man of God came to me. He looked like an angel of God—awesome to behold. I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name.
16The angel of the LORD replied, "Even if I stay, I will not eat your food. But if you want to prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the LORD." Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the LORD.
19So Manoah took the young goat and the grain offering and offered them on the rock to the LORD. And the LORD did a wondrous thing while Manoah and his wife looked on.
20As the flame rose from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. When Manoah and his wife saw it, they fell facedown to the ground.