Exodus 23:20,21,25 - God's Angel Before Israel

Exodus 23:20 - "Behold, I send an angel before you, to keep you by the way, and to bring you into the place which I have prepared." -- World English.

This scripture is being presented by some trinitarians as supposedly a reference to their added-on trinity dogma. One claims, "Though the word 'Trinity' is never found in the pages of Scripture,  It is a doctrine that is taught throughout the Scripture, both in the Tanakh and in the New Testament." In reality, Jehovah is presented as only one person throughout the Bible, and one cannot find the trinity doctrinal concept presented even once anywhere in the Bible. One has to created many trinitarian assumptions and then add those assumptions to, and read those assumptions into, any and every scripture presented that is claimed to be speaking of the added-on trinitarian concept.

It is the one person who is Jehovah who sent the angel to guide Israel. The default reasoning is that the angel whom Jehovah sent is not Jehovah who sent him. There is nothing in the verse that says that Jehovah is more than one person. Indeed, it is Jehovah who is speaking, who says he sent this angel; thus the default reasoning should be that this angel is not Jehovah Himself. Any thought that this angel is one of three persons, all of whom are Jehovah, has to be assumed beyond what is stated, added to what is stated, and read into what is stated.

Some combine this scripture with Malachi 3:1, where Jesus is referred to as the angel of the covenant, and in some vague manner apply the word "before" in that verse with the word "before" in Exodus 23:20, and evidently reason that this is proof that the angel in Exodus 23:20 is the Messiah, Jesus. In reality, the application of Malachi 3:1 is totally different from the application in Exodus 23:20. The combining of two scriptures in this manner is not "rightly dividing the word of truth." -- 2 Timothy 2:15, King James Version.

Many Bible Students, however, do believe that this angel was Jesus, as the prehuman Logos, the Son of God. The reality is, however, that no scripture actually presents Jesus as being one of Jehovah's angels. Nevertheless, if this angel was the prehuman son of Jehovah, this would still not mean that we need to imagine and assume that the verse is speaking of any alleged second person of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, as many trinitarian advocates claim. 

Exodus 23:21 - Pay attention to him, and listen to his voice. Don't provoke him, for he will not pardon your disobedience, for my name is in him. 

Jehovah's name -- authority from Jehovah -- was in the angel since Jehovah sent this angel and the angel did the work that Jehovah gave him to do. Jehovah directs the children of Israel to heed what the angel says, for what the angel says is what Jehovah Himself is directing the angel to say. (Exodus 23:21,22) Jehovah again refers to this angel as "my angel" in verse 23, again showing that the angel is not Jehovah Himself, but an angel whom Jehovah sent.

Some claim, based on what is said in Exodus 23:21, that this angel has the authority to pardon transgression, and evidently this is supposed to mean that the angel must be Jehovah, and therefore a person of Jehovah. Actually, what is said in Exodus 23:21 is that this angel "will not pardon your disobedience." It does not say that the angel has been given authority to pardon anyone. Nevertheless, the angel could have been given authority to pardon transgressions; his being given any such authority does not mean that we need to imagine, assume, add to, and read into the scripture that this angel is Jehovah, and further imagine, assume, add to, and read into the scripture that God is more than one person, etc.  Any authority the angel had is in fact that which was given to him and was not inherent to his being.

John 17:11

Some try to tie Exodus 23:20,21 with John 17:11, which they evidently read as saying that Jesus made the claim that God's name was given to Jesus. What Jesus actually prayed for was that Jehovah would keep his followers (whom/whoever Jehovah had given to him) in the name of his God and Father. In other words, "Keep them, whoever you have given me, in your name." This corresponds with Ezekiel 34:23, where Jehovah says that he set up "one shepherd" over his sheep. By his words recorded in John 10:16 and in its context, Jesus was declaring himself to be this one true --the genuine -- shepherd of his Father's sheep. (John 10:29) Nevertheless, if it is thought that Jesus is Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, because the name Jehovah was given to Jesus, this would actually mean that Jesus was not Jehovah until his God gave to Him the Holy Name, which really doesn't make sense.

Nevertheless, was the name of Jesus' God in Jesus? Yes, in the sense that Jesus came in the name of Jehovah, his God, and he stands and feeds the sheep in the name of Jehovah, his God and Father. -- Deuteronomy 18:15-19; Psalm 118:26; Micah 5:4; Matthew 21:9; 23:13,39; Mark 11:9,10,26; 13:35; Luke 13:35; 19:38; John 5:43; 10:25; 12:13; Ephesians 1:3.

Exodus 23:25 - And ye shall serve Jehovah your God, and he will bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.  -- American Standard Version.

According to some, the above speaks of two different persons as being Jehovah, since Jehovah refers to Himself as "he" and also "I". The reasoning appears to be that since Jehovah speaks of Himself in both the third person and second person in the same sentence, we thus need to imagine, assume, add to, and read into the scripture that Jehovah is more than one person, etc. Actually, there is no reason to imagine and assume anything beyond what is written related to Exodus 23:25 as in Exodus 31:17, where Jehovah again speaks of himself in the first and third person.

The more logical reasoning should be that Jehovah spoke of Himself in the third person to emphasize that it was indeed He, and not a false god or some man, who gives this blessing.

Nothing in any of this actually gives us reason to conjure up and presume that this angel is a person of Jehovah, or even that this angel is Jesus, although we can say that the latter is a possibility; if it is so, the Bible says nothing about this angel or any other angel of Jehovah as being Jesus. Definitely, there is nothing in these verses, or any place else in the Bible, about a triune God, or that God is three persons, or that Jesus is Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, etc.

Ronald R. Day, Sr.

Judges 6:11-16 - Gideon and the Angel

Isaiah 63:9,10 – The Messenger Of His Presence

Isaiah 63:9 In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bore them, and carried them all the days of old.
Isaiah 63:10 But they rebelled, and grieved his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, [and] himself fought against them. — World English
In all their distress [He is] no adversary, And the messenger of His presence saved them, In His love and in His pity He redeemed them, And He doth lift them up, And beareth them all the days of old. — Isaiah 63:9, Young’s Literal
Isaiah 63:9,10 is sometimes presented as proof of the trinity, although there is actually nothing at all in these verses about a triune God.

The word “presence” in the phrase “the angel of Jehovah’s presence” probably refers to the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of light by night, that covered the tabernacle for 40 years. (Exodus 31:22,24) There are scriptures that do indicate that an angel who was connected with this cloud, as we read in Exodus 14:19-24. In Exodus 16:9,10, we read that the glory of Jehovah could be seen in the cloud; thus, the connection with the presence of Jehovah being represented in the cloud and the fire that led Israel. We further read in Exodus 40:34-38 that this cloud is associated with the glory of Jehovah. When the cloud moved, the Israelites would move with it, and when the cloud remained still, the Israelites would camp at that point. The indications of the cloud were considered commandments from Jehovah. (Numbers 9:15-23) Numbers 10:34 refers to it as “the cloud of Jehovah”. Thus, the conclusion is that the cloud, and possibly the angel associated with the cloud, is what Isaiah was referring to as the angel of Jehovah’s presence, that is, the angel whom Jehovah was using to lead the fire and the cloud, which represented the presence of Jehovah.

The Holy Spirit of Jehovah is Jehovah’s figurative finger (in action, power), or his figurative mouth (in words given). God’s holy spirit is likened to God’s finger (as the power of God). (Matthew 12:28; Luke 11:20) As the revealment of truth, the holy spirit appears to likened to God’s “mouth”. (1 Kings 8:24; 2 Chronicles 6:4; 36:12,21; Ezra 1:1; Isaiah 1:20; 40:5; 45:23; 48:3; 58:14; 62:2; Jeremiah 9:12,20; Ezekiel 33:7; Micah 4:4; Matthew 4:4; Mark 12:36; Acts 1:17; 28:25; Hebrews 3:7; 9:8; 10:15,16; 2 Peter 1:21) To provoke Jehovah’s mouth is to provoke Jehovah himself; likewise, to grieve Jehovah’s holy spirit is grieve Jehovah himself. There is nothing in this that means that Jehovah’s holy spirit is a separate and distinct person of Jehovah.

Exodus 33:1 Jehovah spoke to Moses, “Depart, go up from here, you and the people that you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your seed.’
Exodus 33:2 I will send an angel before you; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite:
Exodus 33:3 to a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of you, for you are a stiff-necked people, lest I consume you in the way.”

Some would claim that this “angel” that went before Israel is Jesus and that this “angel” is the same “angel” that is mentioned in Isaiah 63:9. Some cite 1 Corinthians 10:4 as proof that this angel of Jesus, although 1 Corinthians 10:4 says that Christ followed them, not that Christ went before them. Usually, these would claim that “the angel of his presence” means that the angel is in the presence of Jehovah, rather than being the messenger representing the presence of Jehovah. Many claim that the “angel of the his presence” corresponds to “the angel of Jehovah”, who, they claim, since he is addressed as “Jehovah”, must be Jehovah. Assuming that this “angel of Jehovah” is Jesus, then they further claim that this has to mean that Jesus is Jehovah, or, in the case of trinitarians, they have further imagine and assume that this means that Jesus is a person of Jehovah. This line of reasoning usually assumes that there is only one who is designated “the angel of Jehovah”.

Actually, the Hebrew is not definite; there is no definite article to correspond with “the” in the Hebrew. Thus, it is not “the” angel of Jehovah, but it could be rendered as “an” angel of Jehovah. The Bible speaks of many “angels of Jehovah”, and one is mentioned by name, that is, Gabriel. Garbriel is most definitely not Jesus. Although it is possible that Jesus, in his prehuman existence, may have appeared as an angel of Jehovah, there is no scripture that definitely shows that he did. Likewise, we do not know that the “angel” who went before Israel in the cloud representing the glory of Jehovah was Jesus, although we do believe that the cloud may be seen as providing a type of Jesus in that Jesus makes manifest the glory of Jehovah.

Nevetheless, to get “triune God” out of Isaiah 63:9, one would have imagine and assume several things. One would have to imagine and assume that “Jehovah”, spoken of in Isaiah 63:8, and the one referenced as “his” in Isaiah 63:10, is not the triune God, but rather one of the persons of the triune God. One would have to imagine that “angel/messenger” of Jehovah’s presence, refers not to the triune God, but rather to a person of the triune God. One would have further imagine and assume that Jehovah’s Holy Spirit that is referred to in Isaiah 63:10, is not the triune God, but rather a person of the triune God. In actuality, there is no scriptural reason to force such imaginations into the verses.

See our studies:
Angel of Jehovah
The Rock Was Christ

Judges 13:2-23 - The Angel that Appeared to Manoah and His Wife

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{Judges 13:2} There was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and didn't bear.
{Judges 13:3} An angel of Jehovah appeared to the woman, and said to her, "See now, you are barren, and don't bear; but you shall conceive, and bear a son.
{Judges 13:4} Now therefore please beware and drink no wine nor strong drink, and don't eat any unclean thing:
{Judges 13:5} for, behold, you shall conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head; for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb: and he shall begin to save Israel out of the hand of the Philistines."

{Judges 13:6} Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, "A man of God came to me, and his face was like the face of an angel of God, very awesome; and I didn't ask him where he was from, neither did he tell me his name:
{Judges 13:7} but he said to me, 'Behold, you shall conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing; for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.'"

{Judges 13:8} Then Manoah entreated Jehovah, and said, "Oh, Lord, please let the man of God whom you did send come again to us, and teach us what we shall do to the child who shall be born."

{Judges 13:9} God listened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah, her husband, wasn't with her.
{Judges 13:10} The woman made haste, and ran, and told her husband, and said to him, "Behold, the man has appeared to me, who came to me the [other] day."

{Judges 13:11} Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said to him, "Are you the man who spoke to the woman?"

He said, "I am."

{Judges 13:12} Manoah said, "Now let your words happen. What shall be the ordering of the child, and [how] shall we do to him?"

{Judges 13:13} The angel of Jehovah said to Manoah, "Of all that I said to the woman let her beware.
{Judges 13:14} She may not eat of anything that comes of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing; all that I commanded her let her observe."

{Judges 13:15} Manoah said to the angel of Jehovah, "Please, let us detain you, that we may make a young goat ready for you."

{Judges 13:16} The angel of Jehovah said to Manoah, "Though you detain me, I won't eat of your bread; and if you will prepare a burnt offering, you must offer it to Jehovah." For Manoah didn't know that he was an angel of Jehovah.

{Judges 13:17} Manoah said to the angel of Jehovah, "What is your name, that when your words happen, we may honor you?"

{Judges 13:18} The angel of Jehovah said to him, "Why do you ask about my name, since it is secret?"

{Judges 13:19} So Manoah took the young goat with the meal offering, and offered it on the rock to Jehovah: and [the angel] did wondrously, and Manoah and his wife looked on.

{Judges 13:20} For it happened, when the flame went up toward the sky from off the altar, that the angel of Jehovah ascended in the flame of the altar: and Manoah and his wife looked on; and they fell on their faces to the ground. 

{Judges 13:21} But the angel of Jehovah did no more appear to Manoah or to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of Jehovah.
{Judges 13:22} Manoah said to his wife, "We shall surely die, because we have seen God [or, a god, a mighty one]."

{Judges 13:23} But his wife said to him, "If Jehovah were pleased to kill us, he wouldn't have received a burnt offering and a meal offering at our hand, neither would he have shown us all these things, nor would at this time have told such things as these."

Judges 13:2-23, Restoration Light Improved Version 

Many of our trinitarian neighbors point to the angel that appeared to Manoah as proof that Jesus is Jehovah. According one trinitarain, in Judges 13:22 Manoah realizes that he had been speaking to Yahweh himself, and thus realized that "God is one yet compound." According to another trinitarian: "In that same chapter, God is mentioned, the Angel of the Lord (who is called God), is mentioned, and the Spirit of God is mentioned." Let us examine these verses carefully.

The argument is that the "Angel of Jehovah" spoken of here is referred to as "God", when Manoah said "I have seen God", and is therefore actually Jehovah himself. It is then further asserted by many trinitarians that "the angel of the Lord." as they often phrase it, is the second person of their trinity. It is usually first assumed that there is only one "angel of the Lord", and, then it has to be further assumed and read into the scriptures that this angel of Jehovah is actually Jesus. Usually, most translations add the definite article "the" before "angel" even when the Hebrew is indefinite, which to many would seem to justify the conclusion that there is only one "angel" who bears the title "angel of Jehovah". However, we have shown elsewhere that there is one identified in the scriptures as the angel of Jehovah, and this angel is Gabriel. (Luke 1:11-2:12; See our studies related to "Angel of Jehovah") We can say that Gabriel is called an "angel of Jehovah", but Gabriel is definitely neither Jehovah nor Jesus. While we are inclined to believe that the angel that appeared to Manoah and his wife is also Gabriel, we can not be definite in stating this. Rather than claiming to be Jehovah, this angel speaks of Jehovah as someone who is not himself. Manoah and his wife certainly did not see the very being of God, else this would contradict many other scriptures. (Exodus 33:20; John 1:18; 4:24; 6:46; 1 Timothy 1:17; 6:16; Isaiah 40:25,26) They saw him only representatively, through an angel, and in the end Manoah recognizes this man, not as God Almighty, but as an angel of Jehovah. -- Judges 13:21.

Was the Angel's Name Ineffable?

Someone argues that in Luke the angel that appeared identified himself, but the angel that appeared to Manoah and his wife would not identify himself, claiming that his name was ineffable, one too wonderful to be spoken. (Judges 13:17,18) Thus it is evidently being claimed that there are more than one "angel of Jehovah, and that the one that appeared to Manoah was Jehovah himself that appeared in his alleged "second person" of the assumed trinity. To us this really reads a lot into and between the lines to see trinity in this. Part of the basis of this idea stems from the false idea that God's Holy Name is ineffable, and should not be pronounced. See our studies regarding God's Holy Name.

The word translated *wonderful* in many translations at Judges 13:18 is Strong's #6383. It is an adjective. Strong says of this word: "remarkable:--secret, wonderful" BDBG defines it: "wonderful, incomprehensible, extraordinary."* This word, as such, appears in only one other place in the Scriptures -- Psalms 139:6 -- where it is translated "too wonderful" in the King James Version. The idea that this word means that the angel was saying that his name was ineffable has to be read into this.
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*Brown, Driver, Briggs and Gesenius. "Hebrew Lexicon entry for Pil'iy". "The KJV Old Testament Hebrew Lexicon".
http://www.biblestudytools.net/Lexicons/Hebrew/heb.cgi?number=6383.

While we tend to believe that the KJV rendering "secret" to be more correct than "wonderful," let us suppose that the angel actually did say his name was too wonderous. To be wondrous does not mean that the angel was saying that he considered his name so highly esteemed that he did not want to give it, nor was he saying that his name was ineffable. Indeed if this were Jehovah himself, Jehovah is known throughout the OT for revealing His Holy Name in its Hebrew form. The scriptures do not say why the angel spoke in the manner that he did, but we believe that the reason may have been that Manoah was here ready to give great honor to one he thought to be a man, and that as a man -- honor which should evidently only go to Jehovah; the angel recognized this and thus we see here the loyalty of God's true messenger -- he would not take the glory to himself as a man which belonged to God; he did not want it. He was glad, counted it honor enough, to be privileged to do some work for Jehovah. (See Revelation 22:8,9) On many occasions, Jesus did similar to this. -- Matthew 19:17; John 7:28,29; 8:28.

Some trinitarians point to Isaiah 9:6, and endeavor to link this prophecy to what the angel said in Judges 13:18, claiming that in both places the name "Wonderful" is used, and since it is claimed that Jesus is called "Wonderful" in Wonderful Counselor in Isaiah 9:6, that is proves that this angel is Jesus. It is further argued that in Isaiah 9:6, Jesus is called God*, thus this is alleged to prove that this angel is God Almighty. One argues that the angel in Judges 13:18 is claiming the same proper name ["Wonderful"] as Jesus in Isaiah 9:6, thus the two are one and the same. As we have pointed out in several studies, however, the name in Isaiah 9:6 is more than likely a description of the God of the promised one, not a description of son to whom the name is given.* While we cannot say for a certain that the angel of Judges 13:18 was not Jesus, for he certainly could have been Jesus in his prehuman existence. We have no reason to believe so, however, but even if it was, this does not mean that we need read into this the added-on trinity dogma.
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*We do not believe that the one being spoke of "mighty God" in Isaiah 9:6 is Jesus. See our studies: "Not a Series of Names", "The Singular Name of Son Given", A Singular Name, and "The Singular Name".

Actually, while many translations have the word "wonderful" in both places, the words in Hebrew are not exactly the same, although they are both taken from the root verb, Strong's #6381. In Isaiah 9:6, the word translated "Wonderful" is Strong's #6382. This word is usually used, not as a proper name, but as a common masculine noun to describe the works of Jehovah (Exodus 15:11; Psalm 77:11,14; 78:12; 88:10,12; 89:5; 119:129; Isaiah 25:1; 29:14), and it is used of Jerusalem in Lamenations 1:9. The word used by the angel is Judges 13:18 is not a noun at all, but an adjective. At any rate, the usage of similar words in both places does not prove the contention that either the name of God or of Jesus is ineffable, that is, too great to be uttered; such similarity certainly does not prove that Jesus is Jehovah, or that Jesus is a person of Jehovah, etc.. The word translated "wonders" in the World English Bible of Judges 13:19 is Strong's #6381, which is the root verb for the other two words already discussed. More than likely, however, the thought presented in the KJV of Judges 13:19 is correct, that is, that the angel was speaking of his name as a "secret", possibly because Manoah may have wanted to use that name so as to give worship to the angel that should only belong to Jehovah for whom the angel was serving as a messenger (angel).
See our studies:
Should God's Holy Name Be Pronounced?
Did God's People in Old Testament Times Utter the Holy Name Aloud?

We believe that the proper view is that the angel of Jehovah in Judges 13:18 was telling Manoah that his name was beyond the realm of being given the worship which Manoah wanted to give it. This fits the context, for Manoah, believing that the angel was a man, wanted to give him a greater honor than that which he was due. And thus, we conclude that for this reason, the angel refused to give his name. Thus we believe the thought given in the KJV to be correct, that is, his name was kept "secret" from Manoah.

It is claimed that this angel finally accepted the offering of Manoah, once Manoah realized that he was God Almighty. What does the record actually say? "So Manoah took the young goat with the meal offering, and offered it on the rock to Jehovah: and [the angel] did wondrously, and Manoah and his wife looked on." (Judges 13:19) The record states that Manoah offered the goat to Jehovah. "So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering and offered it on the rock to [Jehovah], and He performed wonders while Manoah and his wife looked on." (New American Standard Version) The word translated "wonders" here is Strong's #6381.

"For it happened, when the flame went up toward the sky from off the altar, that the angel of Jehovah ascended in the flame of the altar: and Manoah and his wife looked on; and they fell on their faces to the ground. But the angel of Jehovah did no more appear to Manoah or to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of Jehovah." (Judges 13:20,21) Thus, evidently, it was not until after the offering is consumed by Jehovah, and that the angel ascended in the flames of Jehovah, that Manoah knew that the man was actually the angel of Jehovah.

Many trinitarians point to the fact that Manoah and wife fell on their faces to the ground. It is claimed that Manoah and his wife worshiped the angel, and that this proves that this angel was Jesus as part of their alleged trinity. Actually, the scripture does not say that they were giving worship to the angel, only that they fell on their faces to the ground. And even if they did give worship to the angel, it does not say that they were giving the angel the worship that only belongs of Jehovah. Since the scripture does not say the meaning behind this action, we can say that it possibly could have been a reaction to the intense light that was before them as the angel ascended to the sky in the flames, or it could have been an act of worship to Jehovah. At any rate, bowing before a representative of God, or a personage of honor, does not constitute worship that only belongs to Jehovah. -- Ruth 2:8-10; 1 Samuel 24:8; 25:23,41; 2 Samuel 14:33; 18:28; etc. ----- See also our study: Jesus Received Worship.

Judges 13:22 - Manoah Saw God Almighty?

"Manoah said to his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God [elohim]." (Judges 13:22) Some of our trinitarian neighbors tell us that this is proof positive that the angel himself was actually God Almighty, since Manoah was afraid that he would die because he had seen God. In using the word often transliterated as "Elohim" here, was Manoah actually saying that he thought he had seen God Almighty, or was he saying that he thought he had seen a mighty spirit being, one of the angels*, and thus feared for his life? Did he falsely go from one extreme to another, from believing that the person was a man to thinking that the person was God Almighty? We cannot be for sure, but since the record states that after the angel ascended in the flames, that "then Manoah knew that he was the angel of Jehovah," this tends to discount the idea that Manoah thought he actually saw the being of Jehovah. It is more probable that when Manoah realized that it was actually an angel and not simply a man, that he became afraid that seeing much a superior mighty one [elohim*] would bring his death. We do know if that Manoah and his wife had actually seen the actual substance of God, they surely would have died. -- Exodus 33:20; John 1:18; 6:46; 1 John 4:12,20.
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*From the scriptures we learn that certain men and angels are also called ELOHIM: Exodus 4:16; 7:1; Psalm 8:5 {compare Hebrews 2:7}; 86:6-8; 95:3; 50:1; Psalm 82:6,7 (See John 10:34,35; 1 John 3:2) Additionally, the wicked (familiar) spirit that impersonated Samuel is called elohim. (2 Samuel 28:8,13) Remembering that the basic meaning of the Hebrew words el (God) and elohim (Gods, or God superlative) is strength, might, power, we can see how it is possible that in saying elohim Manoah meant that he feared for his life because the angel of Jehovah was such mighty spirit being, as compared to him who was but a human. See our study: "Hebraic Usage of the Titles for God"

In reality, an angel of Jehovah is not Jehovah whom the angel is serving as a messenger, although Jehovah can certainly speak by means of His messengers, and Jehovah may be addressed by means of Jehovah's messenger, but the messenger whom Jehovah sends is not Himself. Additionally, the reality is that any thought that an angel of Jehovah is a separate and distinct person of Jehovah has to be imagined beyond what is written; it has to be further imagined and assumed that this angel was Jesus, and thus in reality it is what has been imagined and assumed that the trinitarian actually offers as proof of the trinity in Judges 13. What we do not find anywhere in Judges 13, or anywhere else in the entire Bible, is the thought that Yahweh -- the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob -- is more than one person, or that Yahweh consists of three separate and distinct persons.

Addendum

The question is asked: If Manoah was mistaken when said he had seen God, wouldn't his statement, in effect, be a lie, and therefore that Manoah would be a liar? We answer: As we have presented above, we believe Manoah may have used the word elohim [the Hebrew is indefinite] as meaning a superior mighty one, as is used of an angel. Nevertheless, if Manoah had been thinking that he had seen God Almighty, any error in statement in the broad sense of the word is a lie, in that it is not the truth. In this sense, all men are liars. (Romans 3:4) This does not mean that such are willful liars, however. However, since Jehovah spoke through His angel to Manoah Jehovah's angel could seem to have been Jehovah himself, which could have led to his fear. Similary, we should also note that both Manoah and his wife also called this angel a "man", not knowing that he was angel. (Judges 13:6,8,10,11) Additionally, when Manoah asked the angel if he was the 'man' that had spoken to his wife, the angel answered: "I am," the angel acknowledged this usage toward him. (Judges 13:11) Was the angel lying in saying the he was this "man"? Likewise, in verse 11, the writer of the book of Judges himself refers to the angel as "the man." The angel was not actually a 'man', that is, a human, but he appeared as a human, and therefore could be spoken of a "man". The angel did appear in a body as a man. Likewise the angels that appeared to Abraham are referred to as "men". (Genesis 18:16,22) We do not consider this to be actual ying, it is just stating matters as they were in their appearance, and likewise, if Manoah thought that the angel was Jehovah Himself, this would have been a reaction to what it seemed to him.

Ronald R. Day, Sr, Restoration Light Bible Study Services (ResLight, RlBible)

Zechariah 2:11 - Jehovah Sends Jehovah?

It is being claimed that Zechariah 2:11 is proof that Jehovah sends Himself, and that thus, Jehovah is more than one person. Actually, as we will demonstrate, our trinitarian neighbors have to add to this and read into this their trinitarian philosophies.

We should note that the ancient Hebrew did not have punctuation. We have to be careful in understanding who is saying what. Any punctuation found in copies or translations has been supplied by men. Once one understands who is speaking which words, one can properly add quote marks to these verses. We believe the verses involved should be punctuated as follows:

Zechariah 2:8 For this is what Jehovah of hosts says (for glory he has sent me to the nations which plunder you, for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye):
Zechariah 2:9 "Behold, I will shake my hand against them, and they will become spoil for their servants." Then you will know that Jehovah of hosts has sent me.
Zechariah 2:10 "Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion! For behold, I am coming and I will dwell in your midst," says Jehovah.
Zechariah 2:11 Many nations will be joined to Jehovah in that day, and they will become my people. And I will dwell in your midst. Then you will know that Jehovah of hosts has sent me to you.

Thus the angel is the one who says: "Then you will know that Jehovah of hosts has sent me." This statement is sandwiched between two quotes from Jehovah, one before: "For surely I will shake my hand against them, and they will become spoil for their servants," and the other after: "Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion! For behold, I am coming and I will dwell in your midst."

Earlier we see that an angel of Jehovah is speaking and then another angel appears who begins to speak. (Zechariah 1:12; 2:1,3) It is this angel that is speaking in verses 8 through 11. He speaks of himself as being sent by Jehovah in verse 11. Many Bible Students believe that this angel is Jesus -- or, at least, represents Jesus typically.

The New American Catholic Bible renders these verses this way (without identifying exactly who is saying what, except for the parenthetical phrase):

For thus said the LORD of hosts (after he had already sent me) concerning the nations that have plundered you: Whoever touches you touches the apple of my eye. See I wave my hand over them; they become plunder for their slaves. Thus you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me. Sing and rejoice, O daugher of Zion! See, I am coming to dwell among you, says the LORD. Many nations shall join themselves to the LORD on that day, and they shall be his people, and he will dwell among you, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.

Note that this is speaking of when many nations are joined to Jehovah which takes place in the millennial age, when Satan deceives the nations no more. (Revelation 20:3; Isaiah 25:7,8; 2:2,3) This is done through Jesus. (Acts 17:31) At that time also the New Jerusalem will belong to Jesus and be his people; Jesus will dwell in the midst of New Jerusalem, even as Jehovah will also dwell with New Jerusalem and all mankind. (Revelation 21:1-5) God's Kingdom with Jesus ruling as King will be enlarged to include all nations, not merely Israel. -- Jeremiah 12:14-17; Romans 4:13; Zechariah 8:20-21; Isaiah 2:3; Micah 4:2.

"Jehovah your God is one Jehovah." -- Deuteronomy 6:4

He is not two or three Jehovahs, as though there can be one Jehovah who sends another Jehovah.

The one Jehovah (the Father, the only true God -- John 17:1,3) says to the Lord of David: Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. These scriptures in themselves prove that Jesus is NOT Jehovah. -- Psalm 110:1; Matt. 22:43-45; 26:64; Mark 12:35-37; Luke 20:41-44; Acts 2:34; 7:55: Romans 8:34; Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 1:13; 10:12,13; 1 Peter 3:22

Only if one runs all that is stated together without giving recognition to who is saying what could one read into the verses that Jehovah is sending Jehovah. Common sense should tell us that the angel is speaking and quotes Jehovah, and speaks of himself at other times. What we have presented is the default reasoning: that the angel is speaking and quoting Jehovah while he speaks. One can find quotes like this in Psalms and many times in the writings of the prophets, so it is nothing at all unusual. We are just called upon to use our common sense, and not be blinded by preconceived doctrine so as to read into the verses something that is not there.

For example, Isaiah 8:1-3. One could read verse three as a continuation of the quotation of Jehovah's words in verse one, thus making it appear that Jehovah is the one who went to the prophetess, but common sense tells us that Isaiah stopped quoting Jehovah and began referring to himself. Of course, if one were convinced that Isaiah was Jehovah himself, one could read this as saying that Jehovah went to the prophetess. Common sense tells us otherwise.

The second Psalm is another example. David, of course, is speaking, but he quotes both Jehovah and Jesus as speaking. If one were to run all these verses together without making proper qualifications as to who is speaking, one could even conclude that David is Jehovah. Of course, our common sense tell us that David speaks as himself at times, and then quotes Jehovah and Jesus, and many translations make this apparent by adding punctuation.

Likewise in Psalm 46. The Psalmist speaks, saying:

Psalm 46:9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow, and cuts the spear apart. He burns the chariots in the fire.
Psalm 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth.
Psalm 46:11 Jehovah of Hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge.

If one wanted to believe that this Psalmist was God, one could disregard the fact that he is quoting Jehovah in verse 10, so as to claim that the Psalmist was himself speaking as God. *The World English* translation and many other translations do supply quotes for verse 10, thus designating these words are the Psalmist's quote of God.

What we do not find in Zechariah 2 is any reference to two or three persons in Jehovah, or that Jesus is one person of Jehovah who sent by another person of Jehovah. Such an idea has to be imagined, assumed and then read into what is being said.

Genesis 18:1-3 - Abraham and the Three Angels

And Jehovah appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre. And he was sitting at the door of the tent in the heat of the day.[2] And he lifted up his eyes and looked; and, behold, three men were standing by him. And he saw, and he ran to meet them from the entrance of the tent. And he bowed to the ground.[3] And he said, My Lord, if now I have found favor in Your sight, I beg You, do not leave from near Your servant. -- Genesis 18:1-3, Green's Literal.

(1) This narrative begins with the statement that Jehovah appeared to Abraham, and then Abraham saw three men, whom he went out to meet. Although it is often assumed that Jehovah made his appearance here as the three "men", such is not clearly stated in the record. It could be that the appearance of Jehovah in verse one is separate from and before Abraham saw the three men. The term "angel" means messenger, as one who delivers messages for someone else. (See Genesis 19:13) We accept the possibility that Jehovah's appearance to Abraham began before he saw the three men approaching, but at the same time admit that the scriptural testimony is not clear enough to come to a definite conclusion. That these three "men" were actually angels whom Jehovah sent can be seen from Genesis 19:1,13; thus the default conclusion is that these three men were not actually Jehovah who sent them. Nevertheless, at the same time, we could grant that Jehovah can appear by any means that he wishes

(2) Regardless, however, angels sent by Jehovah are sometimes addressed as "Jehovah" in the Hebrew Scriptures. (Exodus 3:2,4,14; Judges 6:12, 14; Zechariah 3:1,2) Just as their being called "men" does not mean that they were actually men, so their being referring to as "Jehovah" does not mean the angels themselves were actually Jehovah, but rather that they spoke for him (similar to a manner in which interpreters might speak for another person in a court of law) as they always behold the face of Jehovah, something which man cannot do. (Matthew 18:10; John 1:18; 1 John 4:1) As we have shown, Genesis 19:13 lets us know that these men (angels) were sent by Jehovah.

(3) Nevertheless, it is often claimed that the three angels who appeared to Abraham were actually the three persons of the alleged holy trinity. Some claim that one of the three angels is called Jehovah in Genesis 18:1 and it is further claimed that this angel was actually Jesus -- the second person of the alleged trinity -- in his prehuman existence. Some have noted that the New World Translation has Abraham saying: "Jehovah, if, now, I have found favor in your eyes, please do not pass by your servant." (Genesis 18:3) Thus it has been claimed that in verse three all three angels are addressed by Abraham as Jehovah (Jehovah) in the singular and then in verse four they are addressed in the plural. However, is the New World Translation correct in placing Jehovah in this verse? They do so because this verse is listed as one of the places that the Jewish scribes allegedly replaced Jehovah with Adoni or Adonai. See Appendix 32 of the Companion Bible:
http://www.therain.org/appendixes/app32.html

See also Appendix Two below.

(4) It is not certain, and probably unlikely, that the tetragrammaton of God's Holy Name originally appeared in verse 3, since, the Dead Sea Scroll of Isaiah indicates that most of the places where it has been claimed that the scribes made a substitution do not actually have the tetragrammaton. (Some have claimed that in some places where the Masoretic text has vowel points to make the word Adonai, the vowel points should have been put for Adoni -- "my Lord", as the Masoretic text has in Genesis 18:3). Given this, we have little reason to believe that Abraham was addressing the three angels as Jehovah in Genesis 18:3.
See: Adonay, the Tetragammaton, and the Great Isaiah Scroll

(5) Nevertheless, the text does have Abraham using the singular pronoun in verse three, whereas in verses 4 and 5 he uses plural pronouns. Does this mean that Abraham was addressing the holy trinity as one in verse 3 and then as individuals in verses 4 and 5? Such would have to be an assumption based on such a preconceived notion, for there is nothing here to indicate such. It would assume that Abraham knew of the alleged trinity doctrine in order to address the three as being the one Jehovah (Deuteronomy 6:4), and further that he knew he was addressing this alleged trinity as recorded in Genesis 18:3. (Some trinitarians claim that the trinity was not revealed until the New Testament -- although in reality there is nothing at all in the New Testament about three persons in one God.) Since there were three men present there, however, there is no reason to assume that Abraham was addressing all three as one, but rather the logical assumption is that he was addressing one of the three angels.

(6) The comments from the 1599 Geneva Study Bible states concerning Genesis 18:3, that Abraham was "speaking to the one who appeared to be most majestic, for he thought they were men."* This agrees with Hebrews 13:2, for Paul tells of those who entertained angels without knowing it. That Abraham at first viewed these three as men, and not angels, is seen in the fact that he asked them to 'rest themselves under the tree.' Had he thought he was addressing the supposed Holy Trinity, or the Almighty Jehovah himself, it is doubtful that he would have stated such. It also agrees with the reference to these angels as men, for they had assumed bodies in the appearance of men. Thus we conclude that Abraham simply addressed one of the angels in verse 3 and in verses 4 and 5 he was addressing all three of the angels. This is much more reasonable than to read into this that all three were Jehovah, or three different persons of Jehovah, and Abraham knew he was addressing a triune God. But the fact that the latter has to be read into this scripture is itself enough to see the circular reasoning one has to use to think that this scripture is some kind of proof of three persons in one God.
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*Beza, Theodore. "Commentary on Genesis 18". "The 1599 Geneva Study Bible". 1600-1645.

(7) Again in Genesis 18:13, Jehovah speaks. Many believe that one of the angels is being called "Jehovah", but this is not stated, and thus has to be assumed. It could be that Jehovah had appeared to Abraham totally separate from the three men, as we mentioned in paragraphs one and three above. Likewise in verses 17-21; while it could have been one of the angels speaking for Jehovah, it is not stated as such. Another point to be made is that if one of these angels was referred to as "Jehovah", we should not view this as meaning that the angel himself is Jehovah, any more than the reference to these angels as "men"* should be viewed as meaning that these angels were actually men. (See Psalm 8:5) At the same time, we do not deny that Jehovah Himself could appear in the form of a man, although we consider this highly unlikely.
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*It has been claimed by some that these were actually men, and not angels who made an appearance as men. The claim is that the Hebrew word 'enowsh (Strong's Hebrew #582) is derived from the Hebrew word anash which it is claimed Thayer (?) defines the Hebrew word means: "incurable, desperate/desperately wicked, woeful." Strong's number for the word actually used in Genesis 17:2 is #376, often transliterated as "iysh." It is true that mankind is under the curse, but mankind was not that way from the beginning. Adam was created and pronounced "good". and the word "iysh" was applied to him before he sinned and came under condemnation. (Genesis 2:23,24)  The Hebrew word 'enowsh, as well as the Hebrew word 'adam (Strong's #120), are employed in Psalm 8:4,5 in speaking of the creation of man: "What is man ['enowsh], that you think of him? The son of man ['adam], that you care for him? For you have made him a little lower than [elohim], And crowned him with glory and honor." This does not sound like the actual usage carries the thought of that man was originally created wicked, although we do agree that man is so now, since God "through one trespass, all men were condemned," (Romans 5:18) and "gave them up to vile passions," (Romans 1:26) so that "fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) In Hebrews 2:6, both words are rendered by the one Greek word *Anthropos*, which tends to indicate that the two Hebrew words 'enowsh and 'adam are being used interchangeably in Psalm 8:4. At any rate there is nothing in the idea that these men were actually flesh and blood men and not angels who appeared as "men".

(8) The narrative shows that the men went to Sodom, but that Jehovah remained in the presence of Abraham. (Genesis 18:22) Genesis 19:1 speaks, not of three angels, but of two angels, thus it is assumed that one of the angels, who is referred to as "Jehovah", stayed with Abraham while the other two went to Sodom. This is probably correct; however, this is not actually stated but assumed. Jehovah was in the presence of Abraham, but we read that he departed from Abraham, presumably to go down to Sodom as he had stated he was going to do, with the intention of destroying Sodom and Gomorrah. (Genesis 18:20,21) Abraham showed that he understood that this is what Jehovah meant by the questions he asked Jehovah as recorded in Genesis 18:23-32. Nevertheless, we admit that it is possible that one of the angels was being addressed as Jehovah, and the other two went to Sodom before the one who was being addressed as Jehovah. Notwithstanding, that these angels did not consider themselves to be Jehovah can be seen from Genesis 19:13 (Green's Literal), where it is recorded that they state: "We are about to destroy this place, for the cry of them is great before Jehovah, and Jehovah has sent us to destroy it."

(9) Again the New World Translation has Lot referring to one of the angels as "Jehovah" in Genesis 19:18. Jehovah does not appear here in the Masoretic text, but it is one of the places that it is claimed that Jewish scribes substituted Adoni for Jehovah. For the same reasons given in paragraphs 3 and 4 above regarding Genesis 18:3, we highly doubt that Lot originally used the Holy Name here. But even if he did, it should be considered in a representative sense, in accordance with Genesis 19:13.

(20) What we do not find in any of these scriptures is any reference to three persons in one God, nor do we find anything that clearly backs up the claims of many trinitarians that this account has all three persons of their alleged trinity present before Abraham. See also our study on Genesis 19:24.

See also:

Angel of Jehovah

Appendix One - Angel Worship:

The question is raised concerning Genesis 3:2: If these are men are merely angels, then why does Abraham bow down in front of them; isn’t this angel worship?

To answer this question with either a yes or no would be misleading. There is a proper "worship" that can be given to angels which could be considered "angel worship", but the phrase "angel worship" seems to mean to give to the angels worship that should only go to Jehovah. However, to respectfully honor any man or angel by bowing down before such is not giving to the creature the worship that only belongs to Jehovah. Nevertheless, the Hebrew word used, and which is often rendered as "bow down to/before", etc. , is the word that means "worship". If such worship is given to any man or angel as that which is due in honor of such a man or angel, then such worship is not giving to the creature that which only belongs to the Most High.

Since we have provided studies on this elsewhere, we refer one to those studies:

The Worship Due Jesus

Jesus Received Worship

Bibliography
We do not necessarily agree with the conclusions given by the authors.

Russell, Charles Taze. The Atonement Between God and Man
http://www.agsconsulting.com/htdbv5/htdb0123.htm#x2662, page 43.
http://www.agsconsulting.com/htdbv5/htdb0123.htm#x2781, page 73.
http://www.agsconsulting.com/htdbv5/htdb0124.htm#x2848, page 94.

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Appendix Two -- Seeing the Son, Nor the Father:

It is claimed that when scripture says that no man has seen God, that this refers only to the Father, and not the son, and thus it is claimed that Abraham was Jehovah as the Son, but not the Father. The assumption being added to and read into the scripture, based on the assumption that God is three persons (which also had to be added to and read into the scriptures), is that only the alleged first person of the alleged triune God that cannot be seen, while the alleged and assumed second and third persons of the alleged triune God can be seen. The scriptures, of course, nowhere ever present such a thought. Indeed, nowhere is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob ever presented as being more than one person. Jesus stated that his Father is the only true Supreme Being. (John 17:1,3) Paul refers only to the Father as being the source of all, the Supreme Being. (1 Corinthians 8:6) Nowhere in the Bible do we find that any Bible writer ever speaks of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as being more than one person, or that Jesus is a separate and distinct person of God, or that God's Holy Spirit is a separate and distinct person of God. All such has to be imagined beyond what is written, added to, and read into what is written. Nevertheless, many would seem to claim that only one of the angels was actually "Jehovah" while the other two were not Jehovah. This line of argument appears to be that Abraham saw the alleged Jehovah the Son, but that he did not see Jehovah the Father. Some who make this claim will at the same time refer to all three of these men/angels as being the alleged three persons of the trinity, evidently without seeing the contradiction.

Appendix Three - Plural and Singular Usage:

Clarification of the plural and singular usage in Genesis 18:1-5:

{Genesis 18:1} Jehovah appeared to him [Abraham] by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day. 

{Genesis 18:2} He lifted up his eyes and looked, and saw that three men stood opposite him. When he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself to the earth,

{Genesis 18:3} and said, "My lord [Masoretic transliterated, Adonai], if now I have found favor in your [singular] sight, please don't go away from your [singular] servant. 

{Genesis 18:4} Now let a little water be fetched, wash your [singular] feet, and rest yourselves [plural] under the tree. 

{Genesis 18:5} I will get a morsel of bread so you can refresh yourselves [plural]. After that you may go your [singular] way, now that you [singular] have come to your [singular] servant."

They [plural] said, "Very well, do as you have said." - RL Improved Version.

International Standard Version

Genesis 18:3 - "My lords," he told them, "if I have found favor with you [singular], please don't leave your [singular] servant. 

We have designated the usage of the singular and plural in the Hebrew in the above quotations. Many like to see in this the trinitarian assumptions, although the default reasoning should be that Abraham used the singular simply to designate the three men as being one group.  Trinitarians may even agree with this as designating a compound unity or composite unity, which they claim describes their trinity dogma. Actually, neither compound unity nor composite unity can be applied to what is claimed in the trinity dogma, but we have discussed this in our study, The Meaning of Echad. Nevertheless, after studying the Hebrew closer, it appears that Abraham is addressing all three, using both singular and plural forms in the Hebrew.

In the Masoretic text of Genesis 18:3, we do find the form transliterated as Adonai. The basic form is transliterated as Adoni, which is singular. The Masoretes took the basic Hebrew form and added a vowel point to make Adoni plural, evidently in all places they thought that Adoni referred to Jehovah,  thus forming what is often transliterated as Adonai. We cannot be sure that this is what they thought regarding this usage in Genesis 18:3. However. James Strong evidently did not think that it was being applied to Jehovah in this verse, and thus places it under his number 113 rather than his number 136. At any rate, the word could be understood as either plural or singular. If plural, it would actually mean "my Lords" rather than "my Lord."

Appendix 4 - Abraham Saw Jehovah -- Genesis 18:22

The claim is made that one cannot see God the Father, but that one can see God the Son. One of the scriptures given to support this idea is Genesis 18:22.
{Genesis 18:22} The men turned from there, and went toward Sodom, but Abraham stood yet before Jehovah.  -- RL Improved Version.

If we want to understand the scripture beyond what is written, as related to "seeing" Jehovah, one does have to assume something that is not stated. We could just simply take the scripture as it reads without assuming anything. Many trinitarians, however, will present us with various assumptions they claim are what the scripture actually says. Some have assumed that these three men/angels are actually Jehovah Himself, and then further assume that these three men/angels are three persons of Jehovah, and then further imagine and assume that these three persons are their "God the Father", "God the Son", and "God the Holy Spirit/Ghost". In this case, if Abraham was actually "seeing" God, he would have been seeing all three persons of the alleged triune God. Additionally, even if Jehovah Himself appeared as three angels, or one of these "men," it does not mean that we need to add the trinitarian assumptions to the Bible.

The above, however, appears to assuming that only one of these three angels is God, and it is evidently being assumed that because Abraham saw this man/angel, that he was actually seeing Jehovah. And then it is being further imagined and assumed that this is the alleged "God the Son" that can be seen, while it is being imagined and assumed that it is only one person of the alleged triune God that cannot be seen. And then all that is being imagined and assumed is read into the verses and being presented as though it is actually what is written, when in reality, it is not all so stated.


Jehovah evidently did make an appearance through three of His angels, and these angels spoke the words of Jehovah (Genesis 1:1,13,14,17,19,20,26; 19:16), and did what Jehovah sent them to do. (Genesis 19:13) The default reasoning, we believe, should be that Jehovah, appearing through these angels, spoke through them, and Jehovah is addressed through them, but we should not assume that they were actually Jehovah, and then further imagine and assume that any one of these angels was an alleged Supreme Being the Son of the Supreme Being. Were these three angels of Jehovah whom Jehovah sent actually "men" (Genesis 18:2,16,22; 19:5,8,10,11,12,16) having a little lower than the angels, or were they actually angels (Genesis 19:1,15), spirit sons of God, having a glory that is greater than the glory of men? (Psalm 8:4,5) It they were actually men, then they did not have the Supreme glory, but rather they would have had a glory that is even lower than that of the angels. Neither are any of these angels actually Jehovah, although Jehovah evidently did make his appearance through these angels. 

By Ronald R. Day, Sr.

Zechariah 3:2 - Does Jehovah Ask Jehovah to Rebuke Satan?

Zechariah 3:1-2 - And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of Jehovah, and Satan standing at his right hand to be his adversary.[2] And Jehovah said unto Satan, Jehovah rebuke thee, O Satan; yea, Jehovah that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? -- American Standard Version.

 Deuteronomy 6:4 - Hear, O Israel: Jehovah our God is one Jehovah. -- American Standard Version.

Zechariah 3:2 is sometimes quoted as proof that Jesus is called "Jehovah" and therefore it is claimed that Jesus is a person of the trinitarian concept of three persons in God. Of course, there is nothing all here that presents any concept that the one Jehovah is more than one person, or that He is three persons, etc. Such concepts have to imagined, assumed, added to, and read into what is stated.

As it reads in the translation above, it would appear that there are two different Jehovahs, one Jehovah who speaks of another Jehovah, and that one Jehovah calls upon another Jehovah to rebuke Satan. There cannot actually be two Jehovahs, since Deuteronomy 6:4 tells that the God of Israel is only one Jehovah. We could simply leave the matter as it is without any explanation, or we could use our reasoning to come to a logical conclusion.

Many would imagine, assume, add to, and read into what is stated that the angel of Jehovah here is Jesus, who supposedly speaks to Satan and says, "Jehovah rebuke you." Some trinitarians have claimed that "Jehovah" in this context is God the Father, and they claim that the the angel is God the Son, thus it is claimed that two persons of the trinity are spoken of here.

We should first point out that the above viewpoints are more eisegesis than exegesis, for they read into the verse that the angel of Jehovah is is one whom Jehovah anointed and sent (Isaiah 61:1), and then further imagine, assume, add to and read into this verse that there is something here about the trinity. There is nothing at all in this or the rest of Zechariah that would point to the idea that the angel of Jehovah who was speaking for Jehovah was in reality Christ, and certainly nothing about the Messiah being a person of his God, Jehovah. Such ideas have to be assumed, although we concede that Jesus could have appeared as an angel of Jehovah in his prehuman existence, but we believe that it could have been Gabriel, the angel of Jehovah who appeared* as recorded in Luke. Regardless, the idea of three persons in one God would have to be read into the verse, for it certainly is not there.
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*See our studies related to:
Angel of Jehovah

Nevertheless, many trinitarians imagine, assume, add to, and read into the scriptures that the angel of Jehovah is the visible form of Jehovah as the second person of their trinity, and Numbers 12:8 and Hebrews 1:3 are given to support this idea. The idea is that the second person of Jehovah can be seen while the first person of Jehovah can be seen. They would, at least in their minds, reword Zechariah 3:2 to have it say: "And the second person of Jehovah said unto Satan, The first person Jehovah rebuke thee, O Satan; yea, the person of Jehovah that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? -- American Standard Version.

However, there is nothing in Zechariah 3:2 that shows that the Son is called  Jehovah (Yahweh). The idea that the angel of Jehovah is Jesus is but an assumption to begin with, and even if the angel of Jehovah was Jesus, at most this would only prove that he was being called Jehovah as the spokesperson for Jehovah.

We believe that the most logical reasoning it that the angel of Jehovah is speaking is left "understood" in verse 2, for it is directly stated in verse 3 that it is the "angel" of Jehovah who is speaking and not Jehovah himself. With this thought even many trinitarian translators have agreed, as we show in the translations quoted below:

And the angel of the Lord said to Satan, "May the Lord rebuke you, Satan; may the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this man a brand snatched from the fire?" -- Confraternity-Douay Version.

And the angel of the Lord said to Satan, "May the Lord rebuke you, Satan; may the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this man a brand snatched from the fire?" -- New American Bible.

The angel of Yahweh said to Satan, 'May Yahweh rebuke you, Satan! May Yahweh rebuke you, since he has made Jerusalem his choice. Is not this man a brand snatched from the fire?' -- New Jerusalem Bible.

We also wish to point out that the Syriac Peshitta text also reads "angel of Jehovah", and not just "Jehovah", in Zechariah 3:2.

Regardless, the context shows that it is the angel of Jehovah speaking for Jehovah. (Zechariah 2:3; 3:1,6) One would have to assume that the angel that speaks here was actually Jesus, which is not clearly shown from the scripture itself.

Some parallel this verse with Jude 9, and claim that these two verses show that Jesus is Jehovah. This approach to the scriptures becomes a problem for those trinitarians that do not wish to accept that Jesus is Michael the archangel.* However, many trinitarians do believe that Jesus is Michael the archangel.
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*See our short study on Jude 1:9; see also our studies on:
Michael the Archangel

If the angel of Jehovah in Zechariah 3:2 is the archangel spoken of in Jude 9, then the angel in Zechariah 3:2 would be Michael the archangel. While it is possible that the angel of Jehovah in Zechariah 3:2 could have been Jesus, we we don't think this to be true. We certainly see nothing here that says that the one Jehovah is more than one person, or that Jesus is Jehovah, and definitely nothing that says that Jesus is a person of Jehovah.

* Angel of Jehovah

(In this study, God's Holy Name is most often rendered as "Jehovah" regardless of how it appears in the translation being quoted)

It is often claimed that there is only one "angel of the Lord" in the Bible and that "angel of the Lord is Jesus as the alleged second person of the Holy Trinity.  Strictly speaking, there is no "angel of the Lord" in the Old Testament. The Bible does refer to angels of Jehovah and angels of God, but it never says "angel of the Lord." The extant Greek New Testament manuscripts do several times have the expression that could be rendered as "angel of Lord," but it should be evident that in each instance a form of the Greek word often transliterated as KURIOS (meaning, lord) is used to replace the Holy Name of God. The only angel of Jehovah that is identified by name is Gabriel. -- Luke 1:11,19.

However, we believe that the correct reasoning related to any angel of Jehovah is that the angel often speaks and acts for Jehovah, and thus is often referred to and addressed as Jehovah. There is definitely no reason to create all many assumptions that trinitarians present so as to have it appear to be two persons of Jehovah: Jehovah the Father who sent Jehovah the Son as the messenger of Jehovah the Father. It is true that certain scriptures seem to imply that Jehovah was speaking directly to humans, but a comparison of scriptures shows that Jehovah was actually speaking through or by means of his angels. -- Exodus 3:2-4 [see Acts 7:30,35; Galatians 3:19]; Genesis 16:7-11,13; 22:1,11,12,15-18.

If we need to reach a conclusion, we do have to do some reasoning in reference to the scriptures that speak of the "angel of Jehovah", for the Bible gives no direct answer to this, except the statements in Acts 7:30,35 and Galatians 3:19. Acts 7:30,35 does not record Stephen as saying that the Lord Jesus spoke to Moses. Trinitarians assume that Jehovah was an angel (messenger) and yet that the angel was the angel -- messenger "of" Jehovah, sent by Jehovah. They would imagine and assume that Jehovah is more than one person and therefore the one person of Jehovah sent another person of Jehovah as a messenger of the first person of Jehovah, etc. Therefore they view the appearances of the angel of Jehovah as so-called theophanies, not just in the sense of a divine being making appearances, but in the sense of the Supreme Being allegedly appearing as men. They seem to see no inconsistency in this whatsoever. The assumptions are made to comply with their added-on trinitarian dogma so to have it appears that Jehovah is the angel sent by Jehovah, claiming that Jehovah as the Son was sent by Jehovah as the Father. Sadly, they do not seem to realize that this concept is no where presented in the Bible, and they have to create several assumptions outside of what is written in order to "see" the concept in the scriptures.

There are trinitarians that claim that there is only one angel of Jehovah, or as many often prefer, "angel of the Lord", whom they claim is the Son of God. We do not actually know that there is only one angel of Jehovah, as both the Hebrew and the Greek are often indefinite, so that it could be rendered "an angel of Jehovah". In Luke 1:11,19,26 an angel of Jehovah is identified as Gabriel. If there is only one "angel of Jehovah", then the angel is thus identified as Gabriel, not Jesus.

 As far as Jesus appearing in the Old Testament, it very well could have been that the same chain of communication was employed in the Old Testament days as was employed in Revelation: From Jehovah to the Logos to an angel of Jehovah. (Revelation 1:1; Genesis 16:7-11; 22:11; 31:11; Exodus 3:2-5; 23:20-23; Judges 2:1-4; 6:11,12; 13:3) We can read that Jesus was there with his God and Father before the world of mankind was made, and that it was through the pre-human Jesus, spoken of as the Logos, that the world of mankind was made. -- John 1:1,3,10; 17:5.

Although we do leave open the possibility that Jesus could have made appearances in the OT as an angel of Jehovah, the only angel actually identified by name as an angel of Jehovah is Gabriel. (Luke 1:11,19) Nevertheless, if Jesus did appear as one of Jehovah's angels, such would still not mean that that Jesus is Jehovah, or that Jesus is one three persons all of whom are Jehovah, etc. However, we are not given any hint in the scriptures that any of the scriptures that refer to an "angel of Jehovah" has any reference to Jesus in his pre-human existence. 

We have mentioned Galatians 3:19. In this scripture, the apostle Paul speaks of "angels" [plural] used in setting up of the law. "Why, then, the law? on account of the transgressions it was added, till the seed might come to which the promise hath been made, having been set in order through messengers [angels] in the hand of a mediator." (New American Standard) The word translated "ordain" (Strong's 1299) in the KJV here means: "to arrange, appoint, ordain, prescribe, give order." The mediator referred to is Moses, who thus received the law from God through the angels, who set these laws in order to Moses so that he could write them down. Paul, however, does not identify any of the angels referred to as being Jesus.

We conclude that there were "angels" that spoke for and represented the Word of Jehovah, and thus quoted Jehovah in the first person as they spoke the words of Jehovah. Likewise, they were on occasion responded to by the term "Jehovah", since Jehovah was speaking through them.

  

Another point is that many trinitarians will deny that Jesus was an angel before coming to the earth (in opposing the idea that Jesus is Michael the archangel), yet paradoxicallymany of these same trinitarians want the angel of Jehovah spoken of here to be the prehuman Jesus. Nevertheless, there are some trinitarians who do believe that Jesus is the Michael the archangel, although these claim that Michael was uncreated.

Jesus never made any claims to be Jehovah. He claimed Jehovah as his God and Father, the one who sent him, anointed him, and gave him his authority. The holy spirit reveals through the scriptures that Jehovah (Yahweh) is the only true God, the God and Father of the Lord Jesus. Jehovah (Yahweh) is the God and Father of the Lord Jesus. Jesus has one who is the Supreme Being over him; Jesus is not his Supreme Being whom he worships, prays to, and who sent him, and whose will he carried out in willful obedience. -- Deuteronomy 18:15-19; Matthew 4:4 (Deuteronomy 8:3; Luke 4:4); Matthew 4:7 (Deuteronomy 6:16); Matthew 4:10 (Exodus 20:3-5; 34:14; Deuteronomy 6:13,14; 10:20; Luke 4:8); Matthew 22:29-40; Matthew 26:42; Matthew 27:46; Mark 10:6 (Genesis 1:27; Genesis 2:7,20-23); Mark 14:36; 15:34; Luke 22:42; John 4:3; 5:30; 6:38; 17:1,3; 20:17; Romans 15:6; 2 Corinthians 1:3; 11:31; Ephesians 1:3,17; Hebrews 1:9; 10:7; 1 Peter 1:3; Revelation 2:7; 3:2,12.

The holy spirit reveals through the scriptures that Jesus was sent by Jehovah, speaks for Jehovah, represents Jehovah. Jesus is not Jehovah whom he represents and speaks for. -- Deuteronomy 18:15-19; Matthew 23:39; Mark 11:9,10; Luke 13:35; John 3:2,17,32-35; 4:34; 5:19,30,36,43; 6:57; 7:16,28; 8:26,28,38; 10:25; 12:49,50; 14:10; 15:15; 17:8,26; 20:17; Acts 2:22,34-36; Romans 15:6; 2 Corinthians 1:3; 8:6; 11:31; Colossians 1:3,15; 2:9-12; Hebrews 1:1-3; Revelation 1:1.

With the above in mind, let us examine the scriptures where it is claimed that Jesus appeared as as the angel of Jehovah, and as supposedly as "Jehovah", in the Old Testament.

Genesis 16:7-14

The angel of [Jehovah] found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur. 8 He said, "Hagar, Sarai's handmaid, where did you come from? Where are you going?" She said, "I am fleeing from the face of my mistress Sarai." 9 The angel of [Jehovah] said to her, "Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hands." 10 The angel of Yahweh said to her, "I will greatly multiply your seed, that they will not be numbered for multitude." 11 The angel of [Jehovah] said to her, "Behold, you are with child, and will bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because {Jehovah] has heard your affliction. 12 He will be like a wild donkey among men. His hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him. He will live opposite all of his brothers." 13 She called the name of [Jehovah] who spoke to her, "You are a God who sees," for she said, "Have I even stayed alive after seeing him?" 14 Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi. Behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered. -- World English, "Jehovah" is rendered as "Yahweh" in this translation, but we have altered it to present the Holy Name as "Jehovah".

The first time that the expression, "angel of Jehovah", appears in the Bible is in Genesis 16:7. Indeed, it is the first mention of an "angel" at all in the Bible. The angel speaks to Hagar, who was fleeing from the harsh treatment of Sarai, Abraham's wife. (Genesis 16:6) It is claimed that in these verses, Hagar calls the "angel of Jehovah" by the name "Jehovah", and that therefore the "angel of Jehovah" is the same being as Jehovah. (Genesis 16:13) While we do not believe that any angel of Jehovah is actually Jehovah, at most what is actually written would only lead one to assume such and nothing more, since there is nothing here that links this "angel of Jehovah" to a supposed second person of the trinity. Nevertheless, from this it is evidently thought that Jehovah is more than one person, and that the angel of Jehovah is one of the persons of Jehovah, based on the assumption that the first person of the imagined trinity, the God and Father of Jesus, cannot been seen, while the second person of Jehovah, Jesus, can be seen, etc. All of this, of course, is not found in scripture, it has to be conjured up beyond what is actually stated, added to, and read into what is stated. Of course, it is true that Jesus' God is invisible, and thus cannot be seen by mankind. Any idea, however, that Jehovah had be more than one person because of this has to be imagined, assumed, added to, and read into the scriptures.

Without interjecting trinitarian philosophy, however, the default reasoning should be that the "angel of Jehovah" is not Jehovah who is sent the angel. The word angel means "messenger," which means that the messenger is speaking on behalf of someone else who sent him. Thus Jehovah appears, speaks through, and acts through His messenger. In other words, the expression itself tells us that the "angel" or "messenger of Jehovah" is not Jehovah, for Jehovah is the one that sent the messenger, and that thus the messenger speaks the words of Jehovah. Thus logically, we should conclude that the author of Genesis 16:13 actually refers to Jehovah, who was the one who spoke by means of his angel, and not to the angel, the messenger, himself, who was sent by Jehovah. A similar example is where angels are referred to as men. Although they appear as "men," they are not actually men; likewise, they appear on behalf of Jehovah, and thus are addressed as being "Jehovah" or "God," although they are actually not Jehovah or the Supreme Being. Additionally, the author could have been expressing the matter as it appeared to Hagar, who might have thought that the angel of Jehovah was Jehovah himself.

We know that Hagar did not actually see the invisible Jehovah himself, although she evidently thought she had seen Jehovah. No human can see Jehovah's  mighty and invisible substance and yet live. Indeed, since he is the "invisible God", any appearance that he makes has to be in by means of some visible representation of Him. 

The World English Bible translation, and some others, makes it appear that Hagar thought she had actually seen Jehovah himself, and have made it appear that Hagar was glad that she was still alive, even after having seeing God Almighty. The King James Version translates the related words like this: "Thou God seest (Strong's #7210, yar] me: for she said, Have I also here looked [Strong's #7200, har] after him that seeth [Strong's #7210] me?" This could be read as an acknowledgment by Hagar that although Jehovah had looked after her, and had seen her plight and also seen the future of her descendants, she had failed in looking after Jehovah. "She rebukes her own dullness and acknowledges God's graces, who was present with her everywhere." (Beza, Theodore. "Commentary on Genesis 16". "The 1599 Geneva Study Bible". 
https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/mhm/exodus-33.html#ex+33:10.
1600-1645).

What we do not find in Genesis 16:7-14, or anywhere else in the Bible, is the thought that Jehovah is more than one person. What we do not find in Genesis 16:7-14, or anywhere else in the Bible, is the thought that any angel of Jehovah is Jesus, whom Jehovah also sent. -- Deuteronomy 18:15-19; Isaiah 61:1; Matthew 10:40; Mark 9:37; Luke 4:18; 9:48; 10:16; John 3:16,17; 4:34; 5:24,30,36,37; 6:38-40,44,57; 7:16,28,29,33; 8:16,26,29,42; 9:4; 11:42; 12:44,45,49; 13:20; 14:24; 15:21; 16:5; 17:3,8,18,21,23,25; 20:21; Acts 3:13-26; Galatians 4:4; 1 John 4:9,10.

Genesis 18:1,22; 19:1,17,22,23

Genesis 18:1,22; 19:1,17,22,23 are some scriptures that are often presented to supposedly show that the three angels who visited Abraham were in fact the three persons of the alleged trinity of persons in one God. Of course, not one of these scriptures ever speaks of these three angels, also referred to as "men", as three persons of Jehovah, thus such a thought has to be read into what is said. We have discussed these scriptures more fully in the study entitled, "Abraham and the Three Angels", and so will not go into more detail in this study.

Genesis 21:17-20:

Genesis 21:17 And God heard the voice of the lad. And the Angel of God called to Hagar from the heavens, and said to her, What [aileth] thee, Hagar? Fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad there, where he is.
Genesis 21:18 Arise, take the lad, and hold him in thy hand; for I will make of him a great nation.
Genesis 21:19 And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went and filled the flask with water, and gave the lad drink.
Genesis 21:20 And God was with the lad, and he grew; and he dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. -- Darby Translation.

Here many trinitarians call upon the spirit of human imagination so as to assume that the angel (messenger) of God is God Himself; they would further imagine and assume that the angel is their alleged second person of God, and that "God" in the expression "angel of God" refers to one of the alleged "persons" of God. Thus, by reason of their imagination, they would assume that Jesus is the angel of God, and that Jesus is also God. While we highly doubt that any of the angels of God is Jesus, even if it was, all the rest of the assumptions would not follow.

We should note that we believe that the most direct way to view this is that in Genesis 21:17, when the angel speaks to Hagar, he first speaks his own words, but in Genesis 22:18, he related the words of God of whom he is a messenger. Jehovah speaks through, by means of his angels, and thus an angel of God may relay the words of God in the first person. The fact that an angel of God does this does not mean that we need to imagine and assume that any angel who does so is actually the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, nor does it give any reason to imagine and assume any of these angels are persons of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, etc. The very fact that an angel is called "angel" -- messenger -- signifies that the angel is delivering the words of the One who sent him.

Genesis 22:11-14

Genesis 22:11 The angel of Yahweh called to him out of the sky, and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" He said, "Here I am."
Genesis 22:12 He said, "Don't lay your hand on the boy, neither do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me."
Genesis 22:13 Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and saw that behind him was a ram caught in the thicket by his horns. Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering instead of his son.
Genesis 22:14 Abraham called the name of that place Yahweh-jireh. As it is said to this day, "In Yahweh's mountain it will be provided."

Some have claimed that since Abraham called the place "Jehovah-jireh" [Jehovah provides], and since it appears that it was actually the angel that actually provided that ram, that this means that Abraham was actually attributing the name "Jehovah" to the angel of Jehovah, and further it is imagined and assumed that this angel of Jehovah was actually a person of Jehovah, and further imagined and assumed that this person was the Lord Jesus in his prehuman existence. This really reads a lot into the verse that just isn't there. Whether Jehovah directly provided the ram, or whether Jehovah used the angel to provide the ram, this still does not mean that the angel [messenger] of Jehovah was actually Jehovah, as Jehovah often takes the credit for the work done by those whom he sends. (Exodus 3:10,12; 12:17; 18:10; Numbers 16:28; Judges 2:6,18; 3:9,10; 6:34; 11:29; 13:24,25; 14:6,19; 15:14,18; 16:20,28-30, 2 Kings 4:27; Isaiah 43:11, 45:1-6; etc.) Nevertheless, we cannot say definitely that Jesus did not appear in the Old Testament as an angel of his god, Jehovah, As stated earlier in this section, an angel of Jehovah in the Old Testament could have been Jesus, but more than like none of these angels were Jesus. The only angel of Jehovah identified by name in the Bible is Gabriel. (Luke 1:11,19) In many of the instances where an angel of Jehovah is spoken of in the Bible in the Old Testament, it could have been Gabriel.

Another claim some make concerning these verses is that Abraham offered the ram up to the angel as a burnt offering, thus proving that the angel of Jehovah was actually Jehovah himself, or as trinitarians claim, a "person" of Jehovah, that is Jesus in his prehuman existence. Again, nothing is said about the ram being offered to the angel, although, acting as Jehovah's representative, it would have been appropriate for the angel to receive the offering on behalf of Jehovah. This still would not make the angel of Jehovah into Jehovah himself.

Genesis 22:15-19.

15 The angel of [Jehovah] called to Abraham a second time out of the sky, 16 and said, "I have sworn by myself, says [Jehovah], because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 that in blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is on the seashore. Your seed will possess the gate of his enemies. 18 In your seed will all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice." -- World English.

Here the angel of Jehovah quotes Jehovah, thus this should show that the angel of Jehovah is not Jehovah. It certainly does not call for use of extra-Biblical imagination so as to assume that Jehovah is more than one person, and that the angel is one of the persons of Jehovah, etc. Without injecting trinitarian assumption into what is said, the logical conclusion is that the angel speaks and acts on behalf on the one whom he represents.

Genesis 31:11,13; 32:1,24,28,30

Another episode that many refer to is in Genesis 31:11,13; 32:1,24,28,30. It is claimed that the angel with whom Jacob wrestled was in reality Jesus, and in turn, it is claimed from this that Jesus is God Almighty. At most one could read into the verses that the angel is God, or a god. There are no scriptures that link the angel with Jesus, although it is possible that it could have been.

Numbers 12:8: Ezekiel 33:11

Some point to Numbers 12:8, which reads: "with him will I speak mouth to mouth, even manifestly, and not in dark speeches; and the form of [Jehovah] shall he see: why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant, against Moses?" (World English) It is claimed that this is proof positive that the "angel of Jehovah" is Jehovah. We need to point out that this "proof positive" is based upon the assumption that Jehovah is more than one person, and the assumption that the "angel of Jehovah" is actually Jesus. Also it based on the assumption that "face to face" means that  Moses actually looked upon the face of Jehovah, the Almighty Most Powerful Supreme Being of the Universe. Scripturally, we find this idea to be absurd, especially in view of the fact that Jehovah directly told Moses: "You cannot see my face, for man may not see me and live." -- Exodus 33:20.

However, we can let scripture interpret scripture here and come to a conclusion. Let us look at Exodus 33:11: "[Jehovah] spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend." Here we learn what this term "face to face" is meant to convey: "as a man speaks to his friend." Matthew Henry* states concerning Exodus 33:20: "God talked with Moses (v. 9), spoke to him face to face, as a man speaks to his friend (v. 11), which intimates that God revealed himself to Moses, not only with greater clearness and evidence of divine light than to any other of the prophets, but also with greater expressions of particular kindness and grace. He spoke, not as a prince to a subject, but as a man to his friend, whom he loves, and with whom he takes sweet counsel." -- Henry, Matthew. "Commentary on Exodus 33".

"Matthew Henry Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible".
https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/matthew-henry-complete/exodus/33.html
1706.

Additionally, we can see that this is also confirmed by the statement in Geneva Study Bible notes for Exodus 33:11. There we find:

33:11 And the LORD spake unto Mosesd face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.

(d) Most clearly and familiarly of all others, (Numbers 12:7,8; Deuteronomy 34:10)

We definitely find nothing in Numbers 12:8 that would show that Jesus is Jehovah, or that Jehovah is more than one person, etc.

It is claimed by some that to call the angel of Jehovah by the name "Jehovah", and to bow down to this angel as though he was Jehovah, is a "clear" violation of the second commandment. If bowing down to angel is to be considered to be a clear violation of the second commandment, then we must assume that many who bowed downed to kings, elders, judges, etc., all through the Old Testament were breaking the second commandment. Of course, this is ridiculous. (See our study: The Worship Due to Jesus) It is true that if one should actually give to the angel the exclusive worship that only belongs to the Most High, that this would be setting such an one up in the station of Jehovah himself, and thus would be a violation of the second commandment.

What we never find any of the scriptures related to any "angel of Jehovah", or anywhere else in the Bible, is the thought that Jesus is Jehovah, or that Jehovah is more than one person. Such ideas have to be imagined beyond what is actually written, and assumptions have to be formulated, added to, and read into, the scriptures so as to make the scriptures conform to what is being imagined.

See also our resource page on:

Angel(s) of Jehovah