Angel of YHWH, Theophany, and Divine Council Motifs within an Ancient Near Eastern Context
Introduction
The question of whether the pre-incarnate Christ may be discerned within Israel’s Scriptures has occupied interpreters from the patristic period to the present. Classical Christian theology affirmed that the Son participates in divine self-revelation prior to the incarnation (cf. John 1:1–18; Col 1:15–17), while modern historical-critical approaches have urged caution against retrojecting later doctrinal developments onto earlier texts. The task, therefore, is not to force an anachronistic Christology onto the Hebrew Bible, but to ask whether its textual and theological patterns provide conceptual space for such a reading within a canonical and intertextual framework.
This study proposes that a constellation of phenomena—especially the figure of the malʾakh YHWH (“Angel of YHWH”), embodied theophanies, and divine council imagery—generated a conceptual grammar within Israelite religion that later Jewish and early Christian interpreters could develop into more explicit mediatorial or Logos-theologies. This is not advanced as a historical-critical certainty that “Jesus is explicitly present” in the Old Testament, but as a theologically and textually plausible reading grounded in the layered development of Scripture and its reception.
The Angel of YHWH and the Problem of Divine Agency
The figure designated as מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה (malʾakh YHWH) presents a persistent exegetical puzzle. While the term malʾakh ordinarily denotes a messenger, a number of passages collapse the distinction between messenger and sender in ways that exceed normal ANE emissary conventions.
In Genesis 16:7–13, the Angel of YHWH speaks to Hagar and is subsequently identified as YHWH himself: “So she called the name of YHWH who spoke to her, ‘You are El-roi.’”¹ The narrative neither corrects nor qualifies this identification. Similarly, in Exodus 3:2–6, the narrative begins with the Angel of YHWH appearing in the bush but quickly shifts to YHWH speaking directly, with Moses instructed to remove his sandals before the divine presence.²
Scholars have described this phenomenon as a form of “hypostatic agency”, in which the agent embodies the authority and presence of the sender.³ Yet, as Benjamin Sommer has argued, Israel’s theology also permitted a more fluid conception of divine embodiment, in which “God could be present in multiple bodies or forms simultaneously without compromising divine unity.”⁴
Within an ANE framework, royal emissaries could speak in the voice of the king; however, the biblical texts frequently intensify this pattern by attributing worship, divine titles, and covenantal authority directly to the Angel. As Margaret Barker notes, “the Great Angel traditions of Israel present a figure who is both distinct from and identified with YHWH.”⁵ This ambiguity creates a conceptual tension that later Jewish and Christian theology sought to articulate more precisely.
Theophany and Embodied Divine Presence
Closely related to the Angel of YHWH are theophanic narratives in which YHWH appears in visible, localized, and at times anthropomorphic form. Genesis 18 depicts YHWH appearing to Abraham as one among three visitors, yet speaking with singular divine authority.⁶ Exodus 24:9–11 describes Moses and the elders seeing “the God of Israel,” while Exodus 33:20 insists that no one may see God and live. Such tensions suggest differentiated modes of divine visibility rather than contradiction.
The Hebrew concept of כָּבוֹד (kābôd, “glory”) often denotes this visible manifestation. The Septuagint renders this as δόξα (doxa), a term later applied christologically in John 1:14. As Richard Bauckham observes, the New Testament’s claim that Jesus reveals the divine glory is not an innovation ex nihilo but a development rooted in Israel’s traditions of visible divine presence.⁷
From a Second Temple perspective, such manifestations were increasingly conceptualized through intermediary categories. Philo of Alexandria, for instance, describes the Logos as the “image of God” and mediator of divine revelation.⁸ While Philo’s framework is Hellenistic, it demonstrates that Jewish thought of the period could accommodate distinctions within divine manifestation without abandoning monotheism.
Divine Council Motifs and Plurality within Divine Identity
The Hebrew Bible contains a number of passages that reflect a divine council worldview. Genesis 1:26 (“Let us make humanity in our image”), Psalm 82 (“God stands in the council of El”), and 1 Kings 22:19 all depict YHWH in the midst of a heavenly assembly.
Such imagery parallels ANE conceptions of a high god presiding over a council of lesser divine beings, yet Israelite texts reconfigure this structure within a strict monotheistic framework. Mark S. Smith notes that Israelite religion exhibits “a monotheistic theology articulated through the language of an earlier polytheistic cultural matrix.”⁹
Within Second Temple Judaism, this conceptual framework expanded into discussions of exalted mediatorial figures—Wisdom (Prov 8), the Memra of the Targums, and angelic vice-regents such as Metatron. Alan Segal’s seminal study Two Powers in Heaven demonstrates that some strands of early Judaism entertained a “principal angelic figure who bore the divine name and exercised divine authority.”¹⁰
Early Christian Christology emerged within this environment. Larry Hurtado argues that devotion to Jesus as Kyrios represents “a mutation within Jewish monotheism,” rather than a departure from it.¹¹ The identification of Jesus with the divine name and functions attributed to YHWH suggests that early Christians interpreted him within these pre-existing categories of divine mediation.
Linguistic Considerations: Hebrew and Greek
The linguistic texture of the biblical text reinforces these theological dynamics. In Exodus 23:20–23, YHWH promises to send an angel “in whom is my Name.” The Hebrew phrase שְׁמִי בְּקִרְבּוֹ (šĕmî bĕqirbô) implies not merely delegated authority but a sharing in divine identity.¹²
The Septuagint’s translation of YHWH as κύριος (kyrios) provided the linguistic bridge by which early Christians could confess Jesus as Lord while drawing directly on Israel’s Scriptures. As Bauckham argues, the application of kyrios to Jesus places him “within the unique identity of the one God of Israel.”¹³
Similarly, the New Testament’s use of λόγος (logos) in John 1 reflects both Jewish Wisdom traditions and Hellenistic philosophical vocabulary. James Dunn notes that the Logos Christology of John should be understood as “a re-expression of earlier Jewish ways of speaking about God’s self-expression in creation and revelation.”¹⁴
Patristic Reception: Early Christian Readings of Old Testament Theophanies
The early Church Fathers frequently interpreted Old Testament theophanies as manifestations of the pre-incarnate Christ. Justin Martyr argued that “the Word of God… appeared to Moses and to the other prophets in the form of fire and of an angel.”¹⁵ Irenaeus likewise maintained that “the Son, being present with his own handiwork from the beginning, revealed the Father to all.”¹⁶
These readings were not mere allegorical impositions but attempts to reconcile the scriptural witness to an unseen Father with narratives in which God is seen and heard. The Son, as Logos, became the mediating presence through whom God was encountered.
Modern scholarship may question the historical-critical validity of these interpretations, yet they testify to how early Christian communities—closer in time and culture to the biblical texts—understood the patterns of divine manifestation within Israel’s Scriptures.
Hermeneutical Synthesis
A responsible approach must hold together multiple interpretive layers:
First, the historical-critical layer situates each text within its ANE context and Israelite theology. Second, the Second Temple interpretive layer demonstrates how these texts were reread within Jewish traditions of divine mediation. Third, the early Christian layer reads these traditions christologically in light of the resurrection.
Rather than collapsing these perspectives into a single claim, a layered hermeneutic allows for both historical integrity and theological continuity. The Old Testament need not explicitly articulate Nicene Christology in order to provide the conceptual resources from which it later emerged.
Conclusion
The Angel of YHWH, theophanic manifestations, and divine council imagery together form a constellation of motifs that complicate any overly rigid conception of divine singularity in Israel’s Scriptures. While these texts do not explicitly identify Jesus of Nazareth, they generate a theological and linguistic framework in which early Christians plausibly discerned the presence of the pre-incarnate Logos.
To read these passages christologically is therefore not to impose a foreign structure upon them, but to participate in an interpretive trajectory already present within Second Temple Judaism and early Christianity. Yet such readings must be offered with appropriate humility, recognizing the distinction between theological interpretation and historical demonstration.
Footnotes
- Gen 16:13.
- Exod 3:2–6.
- John H. Walton, Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2006), 114–18.
- Benjamin D. Sommer, The Bodies of God and the World of Ancient Israel (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009), 12–18.
- Margaret Barker, The Great Angel (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1992), 23.
- Gen 18:1–3.
- Richard Bauckham, Jesus and the God of Israel (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008), 239–45.
- Philo, On Dreams 1.215.
- Mark S. Smith, The Origins of Biblical Monotheism (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), 32.
- Alan F. Segal, Two Powers in Heaven (Leiden: Brill, 1977), 159–81.
- Larry W. Hurtado, Lord Jesus Christ (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003), 98–110.
- Exod 23:21.
- Bauckham, Jesus and the God of Israel, 182–87.
- James D. G. Dunn, Christology in the Making (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996), 213.
- Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho 60.
- Irenaeus, Against Heresies 4.20.7.
Suggested Discussion Questions
- How does the figure of the Angel of YHWH challenge or reinforce classical monotheism in ancient Israel?
- In what ways do ANE divine council motifs inform our reading of Genesis 1:26 and Psalm 82?
- What are the risks and benefits of reading Old Testament theophanies christologically?
- How does the Septuagint’s translation of YHWH as kyrios shape early Christian theology?
- Can a layered hermeneutic preserve both historical-critical integrity and theological interpretation?
Bibliography
Primary Sources and Ancient Texts
- The Hebrew Bible / Old Testament (BHS; BHQ editions)
- Septuagint (LXX). Edited by Alfred Rahlfs and Robert Hanhart.
- The Dead Sea Scrolls Bible. Translated by Martin Abegg, Peter Flint, and Eugene Ulrich.
- The Apostolic Fathers. Edited by Michael W. Holmes.
- Justin Martyr. Dialogue with Trypho.
- Philo of Alexandria. On the Creation; Allegorical Interpretation.
- Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews.
- Targum Onkelos and Targum Neofiti (for Memra traditions)
- Ugaritic Texts (KTU 1.1–1.6 Baal Cycle)
Old Testament Theology and ANE Context
- Walton, John H. Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2006.
- Walton, John H., and J. Harvey Walton. The Lost World of Genesis One. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2009.
- Walton, John H. The Lost World of the Israelite Conquest. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2017.
- Smith, Mark S. The Origins of Biblical Monotheism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.
- Smith, Mark S. The Early History of God. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002.
- Day, John. Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2000.
- Miller, Patrick D. The Divine Warrior in Early Israel. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1973.
- Keel, Othmar, and Christoph Uehlinger. Gods, Goddesses, and Images of God in Ancient Israel. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1998.
- Hallo, William W., and K. Lawson Younger Jr., eds. The Context of Scripture. Leiden: Brill, 1997–2002.
Divine Council and Heavenly Mediators
- Heiser, Michael S. The Unseen Realm. Bellingham, WA: Lexham, 2015.
- Heiser, Michael S. Angels: What the Bible Really Says About God’s Heavenly Host. Bellingham: Lexham, 2018.
- Parker, Simon B. Ugaritic Narrative Poetry. Atlanta: SBL Press, 1997.
- Cook, John J. The Interpretation of the Old Testament in Greco-Roman Paganism. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2004.
- Segal, Alan F. Two Powers in Heaven. Leiden: Brill, 1977.
- Fletcher-Louis, Crispin H. T. All the Glory of Adam. Leiden: Brill, 2002.
- Mach, Michael. Angels in Early Judaism. Berlin: de Gruyter, 1992.
Angel of YHWH and Theophany Studies
- Sommer, Benjamin D. The Bodies of God and the World of Ancient Israel. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009.
- Meier, John P. “Angel of the Lord.” Anchor Bible Dictionary 1:248–53.
- Haggai, Mazor. “The Messenger of YHWH.” Vetus Testamentum 63 (2013): 1–16.
- Levenson, Jon D. Sinai and Zion. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1985.
- Cross, Frank Moore. Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1973.
- Barker, Margaret. The Great Angel: A Study of Israel’s Second God. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1992.
- Kugel, James L. The God of Old: Inside the Lost World of the Bible. New York: Free Press, 2003.
Second Temple Judaism and Intermediary Figures
- Segal, Alan F. Two Powers in Heaven. Leiden: Brill, 1977.
- Fletcher-Louis, Crispin. Jesus Monotheism Volume 1. Eugene: Cascade, 2015.
- Stuckenbruck, Loren T. Angel Veneration and Christology. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1995.
- Orlov, Andrei. The Enoch-Metatron Tradition. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2005.
- Nickelsburg, George W. E. Jewish Literature between the Bible and the Mishnah. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2005.
- Collins, John J. Apocalyptic Imagination. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2016.
New Testament Christology and Divine Identity
- Bauckham, Richard. Jesus and the God of Israel. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008.
- Hurtado, Larry W. Lord Jesus Christ. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003.
- Hurtado, Larry W. One God, One Lord. London: T&T Clark, 1988.
- Dunn, James D. G. Christology in the Making. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996.
- Wright, N. T. The Resurrection of the Son of God. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2003.
- Bird, Michael F. Jesus the Eternal Son. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2017.
- McGrath, James F. The Only True God. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2009.
Logos Theology and Jewish Wisdom Traditions
- Philo of Alexandria. On Dreams; On the Confusion of Tongues.
- Winston, David. Logos and Mystical Theology in Philo of Alexandria. Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, 1985.
- Boyarin, Daniel. The Jewish Gospels. New York: New Press, 2012.
- Dunn, James D. G. Christology in the Making, esp. Wisdom Christology sections.
- Witherington, Ben. Jesus the Sage. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1994.
Patristic and Early Christian Interpretation
- Justin Martyr. Dialogue with Trypho.
- Irenaeus. Against Heresies.
- Tertullian. Against Praxeas.
- Origen. On First Principles.
- Athanasius. On the Incarnation.
- Ayres, Lewis. Nicaea and Its Legacy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.
Hebrew and Greek Linguistic Resources
- Brown, Francis, S. R. Driver, and Charles Briggs. Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (BDB).
- Koehler, Ludwig, and Walter Baumgartner. HALOT.
- Louw, Johannes P., and Eugene Nida. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament.
- Kittel, Gerhard, ed. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (TDNT).
- Botterweck, G. Johannes, and Helmer Ringgren. Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament (TDOT).
Hermeneutics and Method
- Childs, Brevard S. Biblical Theology of the Old and New Testaments. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1992.
- Goldingay, John. Old Testament Theology. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2003–2009.
- Vanhoozer, Kevin J. The Drama of Doctrine. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2005.
- Hays, Richard B. Echoes of Scripture in the Gospels. Waco: Baylor University Press, 2016.
- Wright, N. T. Scripture and the Authority of God. New York: HarperOne, 2013.
Balanced / Critical Voices (for methodological caution)
- Barr, James. The Semantics of Biblical Language. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1961.
- Levenson, Jon D. The Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament, and Historical Criticism. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1993.
- Sommer, Benjamin D. The Bodies of God and the World of Ancient Israel. Cambridge, 2009.
- Kugel, James L. How to Read the Bible. New York: Free Press, 2007.
- McGrath, James F. The Only True God. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2009.
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