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Language Studies
Hebrew Thoughts
mal''’âkh - מַלְאָך (Strong's #4397)
Messenger, angel
mal'’âkh 'messenger, angel' מַלְאָך (Strong's #4397)
"Behold I send my messenger" (Malachi 3:1, NKJ)
מַלְאָך mal'’âkh (Strong's #4397, x214) is thought to be from an unused Hebrew root לָאַך lâ’akh which appears similar to הָאַך hâlakh (Strong's #1980, x500) "to go". "Messenger" feels too weak a translation and "angel" too strong an interpretation. Somewhere in between would seem to be the meaning, a deputised official with some authority which could cover everything from a messenger, to a prophet, priest or angelic emissary. The related מְלָאכָה melâ’khâh (Strong's #4399, x167) from מַלְאָך mal'’âkh describes skilled "work" or "business" often deputised for another.
Some 111 times in 92 verses מַלְאָך mal'’âkh is translated as "angel" - "of the LORD", "of God", "his angel", or just "the angel". The first instances of the word are all "angel" verses, encounters with Hagar (Genesis 16:7-11, 21:17), Abraham (Genesis 22:11,15) and Jacob in a dream (Genesis 31:11). Moses had similar encounters at the burning bush (Exodus 3:2) and at the Red Sea (Exodus 14:19).
Balaam and his donkey also met מַלְאַך יהוה mal'’akh YHWH (Numbers 22:22-35). Similarly, Gideon (Judges 6:11-22), Elijah (1 Kings 19:5,7) also meet an angelic messenger. Manoah's wife - and Samson's mother, also received a visit from an angel whom she later described as "A man of God אִישׁ הָאֱלהִים ’îysh hâ’elôhîym came unto me, and his appearance was like the countenance of the angel of God, very terrible/awesome" (Judges 13:6).
Mephibosheth describes King David as "כְּמַלְאַך kemal'’akh like an angel of God" (2 Samuel 19:25) with actions against the king being akin to actions against God. In the same way, in 1 Chronicles 21:12-16, the angel of the LORD could be a "destroying angel" שָׁחַת shâchath (Strong's #7843, x147) acting as more than a messenger, and less than the idealistic view of a benign angel, instead being an agent of judgement with the power and authority to carry out God's will, with only God able to intervene and נָחַם nâcham (Strong's #5162, x108) "repent/be moved to pity" for his action.
The language of the "the Angel of the LORD" is peculiarly absent, apart from isolated references in Isaiah (37:36, 63:9) and Hosea 12:4, from the prophets - apart, that is, from Zechariah in which there are 20 occurrences. There are dozens more "Angel of the LORD" references showing an angel "destroying, healing, killing, saving", more than mere communication. All of which show that the meaning is far broader and stronger than just a messenger. Messengers of old needed to have authority to act, as communications back and forth could take days.
The roughly 100 times when מַלְאָך mal'’âkh doesn't mean "angel" but is translated by "messenger, ambassador" includes Jacob sending envoys as appeasers to his brother Esau (Genesis 32:3,6) and Moses sending representatives to seek peaceful passage from the kings of the Edomites and Amorites (Numbers 20:14, 21:21). The "spies" sent into Jericho are also termed "messengers" (Joshua 6:17,25).
Malachi, whose name מַלְאָך mal'’âkh (Strong's #4401, x1) means either "my messenger" or an abbreviated "messenger of Yah", speaks of priests as mouthpieces of God (2:7) and of a messianic herald who "will clear the way before me...a messenger of the covenant" (3:1).
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