Yeshua in the Old Testament

8/6/2019 Yeshua in the Old Testament

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lesh as Yeshua of Nazareth!

Let's begin by reviewing some generally overlooked evidence from ancient Aramaic translations of the Hebrew Scriptures calledTargums. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE) gives us some background on what the Targums are and

where they came from:

The most elementary meaning of the word targum is "translation" or "interpretation" . . .In later times the term targum became associated primarily with the various Aramaictranslations of the OT . . . Often these translations tend to be paraphrastic, and

sometimes they contain extensive annotations rather than pure literal renderings of theHebrew text.

. . . The Hebrew Scriptures were the primary source and inspiration for the Jewish way oflife. Thus it was imperative to interpret the meaning of holy writ. The oral tradition, likethe Targums, provided a more or less official interpretation of the meaning ofScripture . . . The Targums, like the oral law, contain a wealth of information concerningthe way the Jewish interpreters of late antiquity understood the Scriptures . . .

. . . Most scholars agree that the practice of translating the Bible into Aramaic was anearly custom. Certainly the large Jewish community that remained in Babylon after the

decree of Cyrus (537 B.C.) would have eventually required a translation of the sacredliterature into Aramaic. . . . The Targums were indeed an actualization of the Bible, andthey often elucidate the ancient Jewish understanding of particular texts.

The earliest Targums known are those discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls. . . . Itmay well be that the Targums were preserved and transmitted as oral tradition longbefore they were committed to writing. Already the Mishnah and the Tosefta described thecustom of reading the Hebrew Bible and having it translated into Aramaic . . .

The study of the Targums is of paramount importance, for they reflect early Jewish ideas,customs, and Halakah as well as Jewish interpretation of Scripture. Hence the Targumsare relevant sources for the study of the Hebrew OT not only because they demonstratehow the text was translated and understood, in much the same way as the LXX and otherancient Bible translations, but also because the Targums preserve remnants of Jewishthought from late antiquity. In this respect . . . they can elucidate Jewish life andunderstanding of the Scripture from the time of nascent Christianity. (pp. 727, 728, 729,vol. 4, "Targum")

As theISBE points out, the Targums can be helpful in understanding the way a first- century Jew at the time of Christ would have

nderstood the Hebrew Scriptures. When the Tanakh shows God ('elohim) or the LORD (YHVH) conversing with human

eings, who would Yeshua's Jewish contemporaries have understood this to be?

The Targums help us to answer this question. We're going to examine some Old Testament appearances of God and see how theTargums interpret these appearances. First, let's look at the story of Hagar's flight into the desert away from Sarai:

GENESIS 16:7 Now the Angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in thewilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. 8 And He said, "Hagar, Sarai's maid, wherehave you come from, and where are you going?" She said, "I am fleeing from thepresence of my mistress Sarai." 9 The Angel of the LORD said to her, "Return to yourmistress, and submit yourself under her hand." 10 Then the Angel of the LORD said toher, "I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for

multitude." 11 And the Angel of the LORD said to her: "Behold, you are with child, andyou shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the LORD has heard youraffliction. 12 He shall be a wild man; his hand shall be against every man, and everyman's hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren." 13 Thenshe called the name ofthe LORD [YHVH] who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, "Have I also here seen Him who sees me?" (NKJV)


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The name YHVH(also variously rendered "YHWH," "Yahweh," "Yahveh," "Yehovah," or "Jehovah") is found over 6,800 times

n the Old Testament. A detailed review of the Hebrew Scriptures shows this name was applied to God the Father (Deu. 18:15;Psa. 110:1), the Angel of the LORD (Exo. 13:21; 19:20), and even to other angels (Gen. 19:18, original Hebrew text). So theppearance of this name, which seems to be used like a surname (Eph. 3:14-15), does not automatically identify the spiritual entityeferred to here.

n verse 13 we see that Hagar called the "Angel of the LORD" who spoke to her by the name YHVH. However, the Targums

ecord another name for this being:

GENESIS 16:7 And the Angel of the Lord found her at the fountain of waters in thedesert; at the fountain of waters which is in the way to Chagra. 8 And He said, Hagar,handmaid of Sara, whence comest thou, and whither does thou go? And she said, Frombefore Sara my mistress I have escaped. 9 And the Angel of the Lord said to her,Return to thy mistress, and be subject under her hand. 10 And the Angel of the Lordsaid to her, Multiplying I will multiply thy sons, and they shall not be numbered formultitude. 11 And the Angel of the Lord said to her, Behold, thou art with child, andthou wilt bear a son, and thou shalt call his name Ishmael, because thy affliction isrevealed before the Lord. 12 And he shall be like the wild ass among men: his hands shalltake vengeance of his adversaries, and the hands of his adversaries be put forth to do himevil; and in the presence of all his brethren shall he be commingled and shall dwell. 13

And she gave thanks before the Lord whose Word spake to her, and thus said, Thou artHe who livest and art eternal; who seest, but art not seen! (Targum Pseudo-Jonathan,

translated by J.W. Etheridge)

GENESIS 16:13 And Hagar gave thanks, and prayed in the Name ofthe Word of theLord, who had been manifested to her, saying, Blessed be Thou, Eloha, the Living One ofall Ages, who hast looked upon my affliction. (Jerusalem Targum, translated by J.W.

Etheridge)

Targum Pseudo-Jonathan (so named because of an initial misidentification of its composer by scholars) and the Jerusalem

Targum both tell us that it was theMemra (Aramaic for "Word") ofYHVHwho came and spoke to Hagar.amed because of an

nitial misidentification

We know from the New Testament who first-century messianic Jews identified as the Word of the LORD:

JOHN 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Wordwas God. (NKJV)

JOHN 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory,the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. (NKJV)

REVELATION 19:11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He whosat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a namewritten that no one knew except Himself. 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood,and His name is called The Word of God. (NKJV)

ewish knowledge of a high-ranking spirit being called the Word (Ara.Memra, Gr.Logos) is well attested at the time of Christ.

everal of the Targums use this designation to describe the one who interacted with the patriarchs and the nation of Israel in thewilderness. Additionally, the writings of Philo of Alexandria, a contemporary of Yeshua, give us a lot of information about whohis Word was understood to be (for additional details on Philo's discussion of the Word, see my article "Who is Jesus Christ?").
http://www.herealittletherealittle.net/index.cfm?page_name=Yeshua


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Next, let's examine the appearance ofYHVHto Abraham at Mamre:

GENESIS 18:1 Then the LORD [YHVH] appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre,as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. (NKJV)

The Hebrew text of Genesis 18:1 says that YHVHwas the one who appeared to Abraham. However, theJerusalem Targum

ives us further identification of who came to him:

GENESIS 18:1 Therefore was there a word of prophecy from before the Lord untoAbraham the Just, and the Word of the Lord was revealed to him in the valley of vision;and he sat in the door of the tabernacle, comforting himself from his circumcision in thefervour (or strength) of the day. (Jerusalem Targum, translated by J.W. Etheridge)

TheJerusalem Targum records that YHVHwho appeared to Abraham after his circumcision was actually the Word ofYHVH.

Later, we see that God tested Abraham's commitment and obedience:

GENESIS 22:1 Now it came to pass after these things that God [ha'elohim] testedAbraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." 2 Then He said, "Takenow your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, andoffer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tellyou." (NKJV)

Targum Pseudo-Jonathan further identifies the 'elohim who told Abraham to sacrifice his son:

GENESIS 22:1 The Word of the Lord at once tried Abraham, and said to him, Abraham!And he said, Behold me. And He said, Take now thy son, thy only one whom thou lovest,Izhak, and go into the land of worship, and offer him there, a whole burnt offering, uponone of the mountains that I will tell thee. (Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, translated by J.W.

Etheridge)

Here we see that the 'elohim who told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac was the Word of the LORD. Later in the story of Abraham and

saac, we find Isaac asking his father where they were going to acquire a sacrificial animal. Abraham told Isaac that 'elohim would

rovide the sacrifice:

GENESIS 22:8 And Abraham said, "My son, God ['elohim] will provide for Himself thelamb for a burnt offering." So the two of them went together. (NKJV)

TheJerusalem Targum identifies this 'elohim as the Word of the LORD:

GENESIS 22:8 And Abraham said, The Word of the Lord will prepare for me a lamb;and if not, then thou art the offering, my son! And they went both of them together with acontrite heart. (Jerusalem Targum, translated by J.W. Etheridge)

The understanding that the Word, and not the Father, was the one who actually tested Abraham helps explain a puzzling statementound in Genesis 22:12:


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GENESIS 22:10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.11 But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham,Abraham!" So he said, "Here I am." 12 And He said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad, ordo anything to him; for NOW I know that you fear God, since you have not withheldyour son, your only son, from Me." (NKJV)

f God is omniscient ("all-knowing"), wouldn't He have known already whether or not Abraham feared him enough to obey theommand to sacrifice Isaac? Clearly, the scriptural answer to that question is "yes" (Isa. 46:10). But if we recognize that the one

esting Abraham was not God the Father, but rather the Word of the LORD (also known as the Angel of the LORD), then thispisode makes sense.

This same Angel is the one who appeared as YHVHto Jacob at Bethel, as the following two related passages of Scripture

onfirm:

GENESIS 28:10 Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran. 11 So hecame to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he tookone of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place tosleep. 12 Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its topreached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13And behold, the LORD [YHVH] stood above it and said: "I am the LORD God [YHVH'elohey] of Abraham your father and the God ['elohey] of Isaac; the land on which you lie Iwill give to you and your descendants. 14 Also your descendants shall be as the dust ofthe earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south;and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. 15 Behold, I amwith you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for Iwill not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you." 16 Then Jacob awokefrom his sleep and said, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it." (NKJV)

GENESIS 31:11 "Then the Angel of God [mal'ak ha'elohim] spoke to me in a dream,saying, 'Jacob.' And I said, 'Here I am.' 12 And He said, 'Lift your eyes now and see, allthe rams which leap on the flocks are streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted; for I haveseen all that Laban is doing to you. 13 I am the God [ha'el] of Bethel, where youanointed the pillar and where you made a vow to Me. Now arise, get out of this land, andreturn to the land of your family.' " (NKJV)

This is also the Angel that later wrestled with the patriarch Jacob:

GENESIS 32:24 Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until thebreaking of day. 25 Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched thesocket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob's hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him.26 And He said, "Let Me go, for the day breaks." But he said, "I will not let You go unlessYou bless me!" 27 So He said to him, "What is your name?" He said, "Jacob." 28 And Hesaid, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled withGod ['elohim] and with men, and have prevailed." 29 Then Jacob asked, saying, "Tell meYour name, I pray." And He said, "Why is it that you ask about My name?" And He blessedhim there. 30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: "For I have seen God['elohim] face to face, and my life is preserved." (NKJV)

The Targums give us a better understanding of who this Angel was that Jacob wrestled with, and why he could say that he hadeen "God" ('elohim) face to face:


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GENESIS 32:24 And Jakob remained alone; and a Man wrestled with him till the morningascended. 25 And he saw that he prevailed not with him, and he touched the hollow ofhis thigh, and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was dislocated in wrestling with him. 26 And hesaid, Let me go; for the morning ascendeth. And he said, I will not let Thee go, unlessThou bless me. 27 And He said to him, What is thy name? And he said, Jakob. 28 And Hesaid, Thy name shall be no longer Jakob, but Israel; for a prince art thou before the Lord,and with men, and thou hast prevailed. 29 And Jakob asked Him, and said, Show me nowThy Name! And He said, Why dost thou ask My Name? And He blessed him there. 30 AndJakob called the name of the place Peniel: because I have seen the Angel of the Lordface to face, and my soul hath been saved! (Targum Onkelos, translated by J.W. Etheridge)

GENESIS 32:24 And Jakob remained alone beyond the Jubeka; and an Angel contendedwith him in the likeness of a man. And he said, Hast thou not promised to give the tenthof all that is thine? And, behold, thou hast ten sons and one daughter: nevertheless thouhast not tithed them. Immediately he set apart the four firstborn of the four mothers, andthere remained eight. And he began to number from Shimeon, and Levi came up for thetenth. Michael answered and said, Lord of the world is Thy lot. And on account of thesethings he (Michael) remained from God at the torrent till the column of the morning wasascending. 25 And he saw that he had not power to hurt him, and he touched the hollowof his thigh, and the hollow of Jakob's thigh was distorted in his contending with him. 26

And he said, Let me go, for the column of the morning ascendeth; and the hour comethwhen the angels on high offer praise to the Lord of the world: and I am one of the angelsof praise, but from the day that the world was created my time to praise hath not comeuntil now. 27 And he said, I will not let thee go, until thou bless me. And he said, What isthy name? He answered, Jakob. 28 And he said, Thy name shall be no more called Jakobbut Israel, because thou art magnified with the angels of the Lord and with the mighty,and thou hast prevailed with them. 29 And Jakob asked and said, Show me now thyname. And he said, Why dost thou ask for my name? And he blessed Jakob there. 30 AndJakob called the name of the place Peniel; for he said, I have seen the Angels of theLord face to face, and my soul is saved. (Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, translated by J.W.

Etheridge)

Targum Onkelos informs us that the 'elohim who wrestled with Jacob was actually the Angel of the LORD. Targum Pseudo-

Jonathan goes a step further and identifies this Angel as Michael (cf. Dan. 10:13, 21; 12:1; Jude 9; Rev. 12:7). We will further

iscuss the identity of Michael a little later.

At the end of his life, during Jacob's adoption of his two grandsons Ephraim and Manasseh as his own offspring, he speaks oncemore of the 'elohim who had blessed and redeemed him:

GENESIS 48:15 And he blessed Joseph, and said: "God [ha'elohim], before whom myfathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God [ha'elohim] who has fed me all my life longto this day, 16 the Angel [hamal'ak] who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads;let my name be named upon them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; andlet them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth." (NKJV)

n this passage, Israel parallels the 'elohim of his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac with the Angel that wrestled with him

nd redeemed him from evil. This Angel is the one who changed his name from Jacob (lit. "supplanter") to Israel (lit. "Godtrives"). It was this Angel who was the 'elohim of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Another ancient appearance of the Angel of the LORD took place at Mount Sinai when Moses saw the burning bush:

EXODUS 3:2 And the Angel of the LORD [mal'ak YHVH] appeared to him in a flame offire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire,but the bush was not consumed. 3 Then Moses said, "I will now turn aside and see thisgreat sight, why the bush does not burn." 4 So when the LORD [YHVH] saw that he


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turned aside to look, God ['elohim] called to him from the midst of the bush and said,"Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." 5 Then He said, "Do not draw near this place.Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground." 6Moreover He said, "I am the God ['elohim] of your father -- the God ['elohey] of Abraham,the God ['elohey] of Isaac, and the God ['elohey] of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for hewas afraid to look upon God [ha'elohim]. (NKJV)

This 'elohim who appeared to Moses is called the Angel of the LORD in verse 2. Both the Old and New Testaments show that

he Angel here was YHVH, also known as the Word ofYHVH, who acted as the primary spokesman for God the Father.

n the book of Acts, Stephen, during his testimony before the Sanhedrin council, confirms that it was this Angel that spoke toMoses, and not God the Father:

ACTS 7:30 [Stephen said] "And when forty years had passed, an Angel of the Lordappeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai." (NKJV)

ACTS 7:35 "This Moses whom they rejected, saying, 'Who made you a ruler and a judge?'

is the one God sent to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the Angel whoappeared to him in the bush. (NKJV)

A little later in their dialogue, Moses asked the Angel in the burning bush what he should tell the children of Israel when they askedim the name of the God that sent him to them:

EXODUS 3:14 And God ['elohim] said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And He said, "Thus youshall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.' " (NKJV)

The Angel's reply has been understood in several different ways, but theJerusalem Targum confirms that this 'elohim speaking

o Moses was in fact the Word of the LORD:

EXODUS 3:14 And the Word of the Lord said to Mosheh, He who spake to the world,Be, and it was; and who will speak to it, Be, and it will be. And he said, Thus shalt thouspeak to the sons of Israel, EHEYEH hath sent me unto you. (Jerusalem Targum, translated

by J.W. Etheridge)

tephen, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, also tells us that the Angel of the LORD was with the Israelites in their wildernessourney from Egypt:

ACTS 7:38 This [Moses] is he who was in the congregation in the wilderness with theAngel w ho spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and w ith our fathers; and he receivedliving oracles to give to us. (RSV)

The apostle Paul makes mention of the spiritual being who brought the Israelites out of Egypt in his first epistle to the Corinthianhurch. Let's look and see who he identifies as the one who accompanied the Israelites:

I CORINTHIANS 10:1 Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all ourfathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, 2 all were baptized into Mosesin the cloud and in the sea, 3 all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the samespiritual drink. For they drank ofthat spiritual Rock that followed them, and that


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EXODUS 19:7 And Mosheh came and called the sages of Israel and set in order beforethem all these words which the Word of the Lord had commanded him. 8 And all thepeople answered together in the fulness of their heart, and said, All that the Word ofthe Lord hath spoken, we will do. And Mosheh returned the words of the people inprayer before the Lord. 9 And the Word of the Lord said to Mosheh, Behold, My Wordwill be revealed to thee in the thickness of the cloud, that the people may hear while Ispeak with thee, and may also believe for ever in the words of the prophecy of thee, Myservant Mosheh. And Mosheh delivered the words of the people in prayer before the Lord.

(Jerusalem Targum, translated by J.W. Etheridge)

EXODUS 19:20 Then the LORD [YHVH] came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of themountain. And the LORD [YHVH] called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moseswent up. 21 And the LORD [YHVH] said to Moses, "Go down and warn the people, lestthey break through to gaze at the LORD, and many of them perish." (NKJV)

EXODUS 20:1 And God ['elohim] spoke all these words, saying: (NKJV)

We see here that the entity referred to as "the Angel" by Stephen is the same one called YHVHand 'elohim in these verses from

Exodus. This proves that the terms "LORD" and "Angel of the LORD" were used interchangeably for the same being in the Bible.

TheJerusalem Targum rendering of Exodus 20:1 confirms that the 'elohim who spoke to Israel from Mount Sinai was the

Word of the Lord, not God the Father:

EXODUS 20:1 And the Word of the Lord spake all the excellency of these words saying:

(Jerusalem Targum, translated by J.W. Etheridge)

Exodus 23:20-23 confirms that the Angel who spoke to the Israelites from Mount Sinai was in the wilderness with Moses and theongregation of Israel during their wandering. This passage shows that the Angel's duties included keeping the Israelites in God's

ways and bringing them into the Promised Land:

EXODUS 23:20 " Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and tobring you into the place which I have prepared. 21 Beware of Him and obey His voice; donot provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him. 22

But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to yourenemies and an adversary to your adversaries. 23 For My Angel w ill go before you andbring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and theHivites and the Jebusites; and I will cut them off. (NKJV)

This Angel was a messenger delivering God the Father's words to Moses and the children of Israel, and God's name ("YHVH")

was upon him. Because of this role, at times he referred to himself in the third person when relaying God's words. Without annderstanding and awareness of his role, things can get a little confusing when reading the statements and activities of this Angel.n fact, the Scriptures even show Moses himself becoming confused in one instance:

EXODUS 33:1 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Depart and go up from here, you and thepeople whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore toAbraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, 'To your descendants I will give it.' 2 And I w il l sendMy Angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanite and the Amorite and the Hittiteand the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. 3 Go up to a land flowing with milk andhoney; for I w ill not go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way, for you are


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a stiff-necked people." (NKJV)

God the Father, through His messenger the Angel, tells Moses that He will not accompany them into the Promised Land. TheAngel so translucently communicates God's remarks to Moses that it appears as if he is talking to Moses himself, instead of Godhe Father speaking through him. This situation seems to confuse Moses, because he goes on to say that the Angel had not let himnow whom he would send with him to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land (Exo. 33:12). He obviously didn't recognize thathe Angel was speaking for the Most High God in verse 3 and not for himself. Moses apparently thought that the Angel of the

LORD, who had accompanied them to this point, would be replaced by another angel. God, through the Angel, reassures Moseshat His "Presence" would continue to accompany them:

EXODUS 33:14 And He said, "My P resence will go with you, and I will give you rest." 15Then he said to Him, "IfYour Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up fromhere." (NKJV)

The Angel of the LORD is the one referred to here as the "Presence" ofYHVH. Moses proclaims this to the people of Israel in

Deuteronomy 4:37, and in Isaiah 63:9, the Angel of the LORD is called the "Angel of His Presence":

DEUTERONOMY 4:37 [Moses said] "Because he loved your forefathers and chose theirdescendants after them, he brought you out of Egypt by his Presence and his greatstrength," (NIV)

ISAIAH 63:9 In all their [the Israelites'] affliction He was afflicted, and the Angel of HisPresence saved them; in His love and in His pity He redeemed them; and He bore themand carried them all the days of old. (NKJV)

The Angel of the LORD was also called the Angel of God's Presence because he possessed the nature, character, and authority ofGod the Father. This concept has numerous parallels to Christ in the New Testament:

II CORINTHIANS 4:4 . . . Christ, who is the image of God . . . (NKJV)

COLOSSIANS 1:15 [Christ] . . . is the image of the invisible God , the firstborn of everycreature: (KJV)

HEBREWS 1:3 [Christ] . . . being the brightness of His glory and the express image ofHis person, and upholding all things by the word of His power . . . (NKJV)

n I Corinthians 10:9 Paul once more identifies YHVHwho accompanied the Israelites in their desert sojourn as Christ. The

ncident he mentions here (recorded in Numbers 21:5-6) occurred while the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness for 40 years:

I CORINTHIANS 10:9 Nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted [Christ], and

were destroyed by serpents; (NKJV)

NUMBERS 21:5 And the people spoke against God ['elohim] and against Moses: "Whyhave you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and nowater, and our soul loathes this worthless bread." 6 So the LORD [YHVH] sent fieryserpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the peop le of


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Israel died. (NKJV)

A comparison of the two Scriptures above makes it clear that Christ, "God" ('elohim) and "the LORD" (YHVH) mentioned in

Numbers 21:5-6 are all the same entity.

udges 2:1 confirms that it was the Angel of the LORD who led the Israelites out of Egypt and into the Promised Land:

JUDGES 2:1 Then the Angel of the LORD [mal'ak YHVH] came up from Gilgal to Bochim,

and said: "I led you up from Egypt and brought you to the land of which I swore toyour fathers; and I said, 'I will never break My covenant with you.' " (NKJV)

ust as the Angel of the LORD was God's messenger to the people of Israel, Christ was also a "messenger" of God the Father inhe New Testament. Regarding his role, Yeshua said "I have not spoken on my own authority; the Father who sent me has told me

what to say and what to speak" (John 12:49).

Another pair of Scriptures further identifies the Angel of the LORD as the Messiah. Recorded in Judges 13 is the story ofamson's parents being notified of his impending birth by the Angel of the LORD. Manoah, Samson's father, did not realize that

he one who foretold the birth of his son was the Angel (Judges 13:16). He asked the Angel of the LORD what his name was, so

hat they might honor him when his prophecy came true. The Angel's answer is very revealing, if understood correctly:

JUDGES 13:18 And the Angel of Jehovah said to him, Why do you ask this about Myname? Yea, it is Wonderful. (A Literal Translation of the Bible)

The Angel ofYHVHanswered Manoah by saying that his name was "Wonderful." When we compare the Angel's answer to the

rophecy of the coming Messiah recorded in Isaiah 9:6, the similarities are striking:

ISAIAH 9:6 For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government willbe upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, MightyGod, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (NKJV)

The name the Angel gave Manoah is one of the names prophesied to be applied to Yeshua the Messiah. By itself, this could simplye discounted as a coincidence. However, when considered with the weight of the other evidence we've examined, it's clear thathe Angel of the LORD is the one who became Christ.

n the first century C.E., the Greek translation of the Old Testament known as the Septuagint (LXX) was widely used by Greek-

peaking Jews. In the LXX, this same verse is rendered somewhat differently:

ISAIAH 9:6 For a child is born to us, and a son is given to us, whose government is uponhis shoulder: and his name is called the Messenger [aggelos] of great counsel: for Iwill bring peace upon the princes, and health to him. (Brenton's LXX)

As you can see, the Septuagint calls the coming Messiah the "Aggelos (Angel) of Great Counsel." Both the Hebrew and Greek

ersions of this verse link the coming Messiah to the Angel of the LORD. The evidence is substantial that the Angel of the LORD

nd Yeshua the Messiah are one and the same!

ome people have trouble with using the designation "Angel" for the preincarnate Messiah. However, the Scriptures clearly showhat this is a description that applies to him:

MALACHI 3:1 "Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. Andthe Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger


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[mal'ak, lit. "Angel"] of the covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming," says theLORD of hosts. (NKJV)

n Malachi, we see that "the Lord" who "will suddenly come to His temple" is also called the "Angel of the covenant." Plainly, thecriptures indicate that "Angel" is one of the titles of the coming Messiah.

Another appearance of the being we know as Christ is recorded in Joshua 5:13-15. Here he calls himself the "Commander of theost ofYHVH":

JOSHUA 5:13 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyesand looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. AndJoshua went to Him and said to Him, "Are You for us or for our adversaries?" 14 So Hesaid, "No, but as Commander of the army [tseva', "host"] of the LORD I have nowcome." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, "Whatdoes my Lord say to His servant?" 15 Then the Commander of the LORD's army said toJoshua, "Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy." AndJoshua did so. (NKJV)

From Revelation 22:8-9, we know that worship of angels is forbidden. However, here we see Joshua bowing before andworshiping this Angel. Indeed, just as with the Angel of the LORD in the burning bush on Mount Sinai (Exo. 3:5), the groundwhere this Angel stood was considered holy. Clearly, this is no ordinary spirit being!

n their commentary on this passage of Scripture, Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown state: ". . . The address and the adoration of

oshua, the holiness communicated to the spot by the presence of this Personage, and the application to him of theame Jehovah (ch. vi. 2), identify Him with theAngel of the Lord . . . " (p. 13, vol. I, part 2,A Commentary: Critical,

Experimental, and Practical).

This Scripture identifies another role the Messiah plays in God's plan: that of the commander of His holy angels. Several NewTestament passages show that the Messiah is the commander of the army of God's loyal angels:

REVELATION 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who saton it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 12 Hiseyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name writtenon Him which no one knows except Himself. 13 He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood,and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies wh ich are in heaven,clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on w hite horses. 15 FromHis mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and Hewill rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God,

the Almighty. 16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OFKINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." (NASU)

JUDE 14 It was also about these that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam,prophesied, saying, "See, the Lord is coming w ith ten thousands of his holy ones,15 to execute judgment on all, and to convict everyone of all the deeds of ungodlinessthat they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things thatungodly sinners have spoken against him." (NRSV)

MATTHEW 25:31 "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angelswith Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory." (NKJV)

MARK 8:38 "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinfulgeneration, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of


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His Father w ith the holy angels." (NASU)

The Messiah's position as the commander of the army of holy angels goes hand-in-hand with his role as guardian of the nation ofsrael, as we will see.

s there any other character identified in the Bible as the commander of the holy angels and the protector of the nation of Israel?Yes, there most definitely is!

DANIEL 12:1 "At that time Michael, the great prince, the protector of your people[Israel], shall arise. There shall be a time of anguish, such as has never occurred sincenations first came into existence. But at that time your people shall be delivered,everyone who is found written in the book. (NRSV)

REVELATION 12:7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting againstthe dragon [Satan]; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they were defeated andthere was no longer any place for them in heaven. (RSV)

Most people believe that Michael is one of several high-ranking "archangels" that serve God. Yet a look at what the Bible saysbout this topic shows that this belief is not scripturally substantiated. The term "archangel" is found only twice in the Bible.

JUDE 9 But Michael the archangel [ho archaggelos], when he disputed with the devil andargued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment,but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" (NASU)

I THESSALONIANS 4:16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, withthe voice of the archangel [archaggelou] and with the trumpet of God, and the dead inChrist will rise first. (NASU)

The word "archangel" is simply a transliteration into English of the Greek wordarchaggelos. This compound word is comprised

f the Greek wordsarche andaggelos.Arche means primacy, either in relation to time or rank;aggelos has the same meaning as

he Hebrew wordmal'ak; it refers to a messenger or an envoy. The literal meaning ofarchaggelos is "chief messenger." The

Bible clearly shows that Christ was God's "chief messenger" to mankind.

JOHN 8:26 " . . . He who sent Me is true and I speak to the world those thingswhich I heard from Him." (NKJV)

JOHN 12:49 [Christ said] "For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Fatherwho sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I shouldspeak." (NKJV)

n I Thessalonians 4:16, we see that the Lord Yeshua will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel. It is

Yeshua who is shouting, and it is his voice that will raise "the dead in Christ." This is confirmed by Yeshua's own words, recordedn John 5:25:

JOHN 5:25 "Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead willhear the voice of the Son of God, and those w ho hear w ill live. (NASU)


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This Scripture clearly shows that ONLY Yeshua's voice will initiate the resurrection of the dead. Paul tells us in I Thessalonians:16 that it is the voice of "archangel" that sounds at Yeshua's return and raises "the dead in Christ." Therefore, logic leads us tohe conclusion that "the voice of the archangel" belongs to Yeshua. Additionally, Daniel records that the appearance of Michael therchangel at the end of the age will be accompanied by a resurrection (Dan. 12:1-2).

As we saw in the Scriptures above, Michael is the only "archangel" specifically referenced in the Bible. The belief in multiplearchangels" is not scriptural. A belief in archangels appears to have developed in early Judaism; a similar belief evolved in the

Catholic church. The concept seems to have been derived from a passage in the book of Daniel:

DANIEL 10:13 "But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days;and behold, Michael, one ['echad] of the chief princes, came to help me, for I hadbeen left alone there with the kings of Persia." (NKJV)

n this verse, Michael is called "one" of the chief princes. The majority of translations render the Hebrew word 'echadas "one"

ere. Most scholars take this to mean that he is only one of an unspecified group of equivalent rank. However, 'echadcan also be

ranslated "first," as it is in Young's Literal Translation, shown below:

DANIEL 10:13 'And the head of the kingdom of Persia is standing over-against me twentyand one days, and lo, Michael, first ['echad] of the chief heads, hath come in to helpme, and I have remained there near the kings of Persia;' (YLT)

When this meaning of'echadis applied, Daniel 10:13 takes on an entirely different context. In Young's translation, Michael's

osition is shown to be above the other "princes." The Bible reveals that these rulers are actually powerful spirit beings (commonlyalled "angels") who have been given authority over the various nations of the earth. For additional details on this topic, see myrticle "The Heavenly Divine Council."

n Daniel 10:21 and 12:1, Michael is designated as the spiritual prince ruling over the nation of Israel:

DANIEL 10:20 Then he said, "Do you know why I have come to you? But now I will returnto fight against the prince of Persia; and when I am through with him, lo, the prince ofGreece will come. 21 But I will tell you what is inscribed in the book of truth: there isnone who contends by my side against these except Michael, your prince. (RSV)

DANIEL 12:1 "At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge ofyour people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there

was a nation till that time; but at that time your people shall be delivered, every onewhose name shall be found written in the book. 2 And many of those who sleep in thedust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame andeverlasting contempt. (RSV)

When all the Scriptures on this topic are objectively examined, we can see that the belief Michael is one of several archangels is notupported. In fact, The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary states this about the Jewish understanding of the identity of Michael in first-

entury Judaism:

Michael was sometimes spoken of as the angel who mediated between God and Moses inthe giving of the law at Sinai (cf. Jub. 1:27; 2:1) and so may be the angel mentioned atActs 7:38. (p. 716, "Michael")

As we have already seen, the angel mentioned by Stephen in Acts 7:38 is the Angel of the LORD, who has been identified withYeshua the Messiah. Additionally, Targum Pseudo-Jonathan says the Angel who wrestled with Jacob was Michael.
http://www.herealittletherealittle.net/index.cfm?page_name=Divine-Council


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Yeshua in the Old Testament

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