Who is the Angel of the LORD?

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The term “angel of the Lord” (or “of God”) appears 48 times in the Old Testament in 14 different books and 19 times in the New Testament in 3 books. What that description means is not clearly known. Ramm is helpful in his statement, “There is some obscurity … which an honest exegesis will not overlook.”9 Following are several different suggestions for the meaning of “angel of the Lord”:

1.      A representation and a type of God.10

2.      God himself. This suggestion is gleaned from the fact that “angel of the Lord” is interchanged many times with “the Lord” or “God.”11

3.      A manifestation of Christ prior to His incarnation on earth.12 This suggestion relates to the fact that the term, “angel of the Lord” is interchanged with only “the Lord” in a few places.

4.      A special servant of God.13

5.      An angel of higher stature than others with special ministries for Yahweh.14

6.      The voice of God—the voice of the sender in the voice of the one sent.15

7.      The Holy Spirit of God.16

8.      The “angel of God’s presence” referred to in Isaiah 63:9.17


The specific identity of the “angel of the Lord” is related to what this angel did, which includes the following:

1.      Contradicted what an “angel” sent by Moab said to Elijah.

2.      Spoke directly to various people including Abraham, Balaam, Daniel, David, Deborah, Gideon, Hagar, Haggai, Hezekiah, Jacob, and Joshua in the Old Testament; and to Joseph, the shepherds, Peter, and Philip in the New Testament.

3.      Opened eyes to see the unseen—eyes of a donkey and Balaam.

4.      Engaged in two-way communications with people (throughout most of Zechariah).

5.      Protected and guided the Hebrews through their wilderness wanderings.

6.      Rescued Peter from prison.

7.      Appeared in human form.

8.      Protected people.

9.      Threatened people.

10.      Destroyed cities and people.

11.      Stirred the healing water at the Bethseda Pool.


The “angel of the Lord” is interchanged with “God” and with the “Lord” in several passages, and the words of this angel were referred to as being the words of the Lord and of God, but it never announced, “I am God.” The grammatical structure of the term can mean one of the following: (1) one who is the Lord; (2) one who is sent from the Lord; (3) one who shares such a close relationship with the Lord that the Lord Himself is characterized by what this angel did or said.

Even though some people saw an “angel of the Lord” and thought they had actually seen God, there is no conclusive evidence that the “angel of the Lord” is a theophany—an appearance of God Himself, or is a Christophany—a pre-incarnation appearance of Christ Himself. The idea that this angel was Christ is unlikely for many reasons, which include the following:


(1)      God never said to any angel (including the “angel of the Lord”) “you are my son” (Heb. 1:5).

(2)      Christ is superior to all angels including the “angel of the Lord” (Heb. 1:4).

(3)      All angels, including the “angel of the Lord,” are to worship Christ (Heb. 1:6).

(4)      It is unlikely that while in Mary’s womb, Christ would appear to Joseph as an “out-of-the-womb” experience (Matt. 1:20).

(5)      It is unlikely that Christ appeared to the shepherds in an “out of the infant body/manger” experience to see “me” (Luke 2:9).

(6)      It seems unlikely that Christ would have appeared in an “out of the body” experience when He was about two years old to warn Joseph to escape to Egypt (Matt. 2:13).

 (7)      Nowhere in the New Testament is Christ ever identified as being that angel of the Lord throughout the Old Testament; although He is identified as being the Rock that provided water for the Hebrew people (1 Cor. 10:4).

While it is possible the “angel of the Lord” was a theophany, it is more likely this description is a general term referring to any angel on a mission for God. Rabbi Hirsch is beneficial. He believes the “angel of the Lord” is an angel without any special identity except being sent by the Lord/God as are all angels.18

Perhaps this angel refers to God’s own personal angel (sort of like an executive assistant), for it is possible that both God and Jesus had their angel (for God’s angel see Gen. 24:7; Dan. 6:22, and several other places; for Jesus’ angel see Rev. 1:1; 3:5; 22:6; 22:16).

There may be more ink spilled trying to nail down the specific identity than is either necessary or helpful since all heavenly angels are God’s ministering spirits and since the presence of God’s Spirit is the presence of God (Ps. 51:11; 139:7; Eph. 2:22; 1 John 3:24). However, any angel is either God’s or Jesus’, and is thus the extended presence of God or Jesus. Thus the description, “angel of His presence,” can fit any angelic visitation to earth with God’s mission and message (Isa. 63:9).


Staton, K. (2005). Angels (pp. 48–51). Joplin, MO: College Press Publishing Company.

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