Chapter 15. The Angel of the Lord
The Angel/Mal’ak of the Lord/Yhovah first manifested as such biblically, to Hagar, Abraham’s consort, to bless and protect Ishmael, and again later appearing as the Angel of God/‘Elohiym. The words “of the” and “of” part the two titles were inserted by translators, indicating Yhovah appeared angel-like to Hagar as well as angel-like of ha ‘Elohiym as in the Triune God.
I find the ways God and Lord God appear to Abraham fascinating. The Lord/Yhovah first spoke to Abraham while Abraham was still in Mesopotamia and then again in Canaan. The Word of the Lord/Yhovah first came to Abraham when Abraham was fretting over an heir. One might argue that the Angel of the Lord/Yhovah first appeared to Abraham to bless Sarah to become pregnant with Isaac, as Yhovah appeared in the form of a man along with two other men that were angels, the two angels thereafter went to Sodom. One deduces the Sodom narrative is the first time Yhovah appeared in a physical man-like to Abraham, after Melchizedek blessed Abraham.
God/‘Elohiym is the title or name we are provided to represent the tripartite nature of God the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit throughout Genesis 1. God/‘Elohiym is the continued expression of choice in first few verses of Genesis 2. Lord God/Yhovah ‘Elohiym is introduced beginning in Genesis 2:4 when Adam was about to be created: “the Lord God made the earth and the heavens,” which is a cognate verse to John 1:2 that states regarding the Word: “All things were made by him, and without him not any thing was made that was made” when God spoke as the Word. Both Genesis 2:4 and John 1:2 are consistent with Colossians 1:14–16: “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him.”
