So we are continuing on the heels of the last post.

Sarai, who is barren, summons her slave girl Hagar to sleep with Abram.

And just as planned, Hagar gives birth to a child.

However, Sarai is just downright insecure about the whole situation.

She feels like Hagar is parading a sense of superiority around her and that compounded by her insecurities has made the situation unbearable.

She begins to harass Hagar.

We are not told specifically what type of abuse was leveled at Hagar but it must have been pretty bad because it caused Hagar to run away.

It is at this point in the Torah that we are introduced for the the first time to an entity that many English Bibles translate as the “Angel of the Lord." (The Complete Jewish Bible says the “Angel of Adonai”)

As a result of allegory, hyperbole, fantasy, and all kinds of unkosher hog-wild mistaken interpretations, the actual meaning of this term has been misunderstood, especially by Christians, for so long.

So the best way to solve the problem is to just go to the original Hebrew.

The original Hebrew is MALACH YAHWEH.

So obviously YAHWEH is referring to God.

However, let’s focus on the term MALACH.

Although many English Bibles translate this sole word as “angel," that is NOT what it means.

MALACH just means “messenger."

Nothing supernatural, MALACH means just means a deliverer of a message.

And, in the Bible, that is how it is often used.

However, whenever the term “MALACH YAHWEH” appears, we are dealing with something different.

By attaching YHVH to the word messenger (MALACH), this is when the meaning transforms from just a plain messenger to to a divine manifestation of God Himself.

So based on the original Hebrew, here is the basic rule you can follow:

If the word MALACH is used alone…

It can be either a regular man delivering a message…

Or an angel depending on the context.

Depending on the context, if you add the word YHVH to it, it becomes a manifestation of God the Father Himself.

Most Bible translators have mistakenly taken every instance of MALACH to be an angel…

© Richoka