Bible Dictionary
Angel Of The Lord
The Angel of the Lord is a special divine messenger appearing in several Old Testament narratives. The passages distinguish and yet closely associate this messenger with God’s own presence and activity.
Definition
The Angel of the Lord is a special divine messenger appearing in Old Testament narratives. The sources describe this figure as a distinctive form in which God manifested Himself to people and connect the appearances with Christ’s visible form before the incarnation.
Biblical Usage
The Angel of the Lord appears in passages such as the accounts of Hagar, Abraham, Moses, Joshua, and Gideon. The narratives distinguish the angel from God while also closely associating the angel with God’s presence, name, authority, and redemptive activity.
Historical Background
The supplied material presents the identification of the Angel of the Lord with a pre-incarnate manifestation of Christ as an interpretation of the cited passages.
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Smith's Bible Dictionary
(Genesis 16:7) etc. (The special form in which God manifested himself to man, and hence Christ’s visible form before the incarnation. Compare (Acts 7:30-38) with the corresponding Old-Testament history; and (Genesis 18:1,13,14,33) and Genesis 19:1)