The Angel of the LORD [Malakh YHWH]. Part 2.

 [20] And behold, I send  my messenger before your face, that he may guard you in the way, that he may bring you into the land which I prepared for you.  [21] Take heed to yourself, and hearken to him, and do not resist his persuasion,  for he should not avoid you,  for my name is upon him!  [22] If in hearing you shall hearken  to my voice, and do all as much as I give charge to you, I will be an enemy to your enemies, and I will be an adversary to the ones being an adversary of you.  [23] [*3*shall go *1*For  *2*my messenger] leading you; and he will bring you to the Amorite, and Hittite, and Perizzite, and Canaanite, and Gergesite, and Hivite, and Jebusite; and I will obliterate them.

(Exodus 23:20-23 [ABP])

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"Of the Angel whom the Lord promises Moses (Exo 23:20) to send before the people to be their guide and protector through the wilderness, He says, "Observe him, and obey his voice:...for My Name is in him:" ki Shemi bekirbo, "quia Nomen Meum in interiori ejus est"; and therefore some of the rabbins identify the Angel with Shaddai. See Jarchi in loco. In this view, "My Name is in him," is equivalent with "My Nature or Essence is in him." He is the Divine Angel; Malak habberith, "the Angel of the Covenant"; Malak haggoel, "the Angel the Redeemer." But in the Targums this Angel is identified with the Memra. Thus, in Deuteronomy 31:6, Moses, referring to the promise of the heavenly Guide, bids the Israelites cast away all fear of their enemies; where the Targum reads, "Fear them not: for the Memra of the Lord thy God will be the Leader before thee." And in Joshua 5:14, 15, the Being who had the appearance of a man, as He spake with the Hebrew captain, but whose presence made the ground on which He stood "holy ground," says to him (according to the Targum), "I am the Angel sent from the presence of God...And Joshua fell upon his face, and adored." "This Angel," says Moses Ben Nachman, "is the Angel Redeemer, of whom it is written, 'For My Name is in him.' He is the Angel who said to Jakob, 'I am the God of Bethel'; He it is of whom it is said, 'God called to Moses out of the bush.'...For it is written, 'Jehovah brought us up out of Egypt'; and elsewhere, 'He sent His Angel, and brought us up out of Egypt.' Again it is written, 'And the Angel of His Presence saved them'; that Angel, namely, who is the Presence of God, of whom it is said, 'My Presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.' Finally, this is the Angel of whom the prophet speaks, 'He whom ye seek shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Angel of the Covenant whom ye delight in.'" In the passage quoted here by the Rabbi, from Isaiah 63:8, 9, the Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel identifies the Angel with the Memra, sent to redeem and to save. The comment of Philo is equally remarkable: "God, as the Shepherd and King, conducts all things according to law and righteousness, having established over them" ton orthon autou logon, protogonon uion, "His true Word (and) Only Begotten Son, who, as the Viceroy of the great King, protects and ministers to this sacred flock. For it is said, Behold, I am: I will send My angel before thy face to keep thee in the way." (De Agricult., Opp., i., 308.) http://tinyurl.com/msgmc8e
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"my name is in him—This angel is frequently called Jehovah and Elohim, that is, God." --Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary

Jehovah would send an angel before them, who should guard them on the way from injury and destruction, and bring them to the place prepared for them, i.e., to Canaan. The name of Jehovah was in this angel (Exo 23:21), that is to say, Jehovah revealed Himself in him; and hence he is called in Exo 33:15-16, the face of Jehovah, because the essential nature of Jehovah was manifested in him. This angel was not a created spirit, therefore, but the manifestation of Jehovah Himself, who went before them in the pillar of cloud and fire, to guide and to defend them (Exo 13:21). But because it was Jehovah who was guiding His people in the person of the angel, He demanded unconditional obedience (Exo 23:21), and if they provoked Him (תּמּר for תּמר, see Exo 13:18) by disobedience, He would not pardon their transgression; but if they followed Him and hearkened to His voice, He would be an enemy to their enemies, and an adversary to their adversaries (Exo 23:22). -- Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

"When the most famous Rabbi of the Middle Ages RaSHI considered this issue he referred to the words of Exodus 23:20--21: "See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way...  Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him...  since my name is in him." RaSHI suggests that the words at the end of the verse " 'my name is in him' mean 'He and I have the same name.' " http://tinyurl.com/o7zgajs

  

“The Jerusalem Targum plainly identifies who this Angel was:

EXODUS 19:3 And Moses went up to God [ha'elohim], and the LORD [YHVH] called to him from the mountain, saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: (NKJV)

EXODUS 19:3 And Mosheh went up to seek instruction from before the Lord; and the Word of the Lord anticipated him from the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou speak to the men of the house of Jakob, and teach the congregation of the sons of Israel. (Jerusalem Targum, translated by J.W. Etheridge)

EXODUS 19:7 So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which the LORD [YHVH] commanded him. 8 Then all the people answered together and said, "All that the LORD [YHVH] has spoken we will do." So Moses brought back the words of the people to the LORD [YHVH] . 9 And the LORD [YHVH] said to Moses, "Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever." So Moses told the words of the people to the LORD [YHVH]. (NKJV)

EXODUS 19:7 And Mosheh came and called the sages of Israel and set in order before them all these words which the Word of the Lord had commanded him. 8 And all the people answered together in the fulness of their heart, and said, All that the Word of the Lord hath spoken, we will do. And Mosheh returned the words of the people in prayer before the Lord. 9 And the Word of the Lord said to Mosheh, Behold, My Word will be revealed to thee in the thickness of the cloud, that the people may hear while I speak with thee, and may also believe for ever in the words of the prophecy of thee, My servant Mosheh. And Mosheh delivered the words of the people in prayer before the Lord. (Jerusalem Targum, translated by J.W. Etheridge)

EXODUS 19:20 Then the LORD [YHVH] came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the LORD [YHVH] called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. 21 And the LORD [YHVH] said to Moses, "Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to gaze at the LORD, and many of them perish." (NKJV)

EXODUS 20:1 And God ['elohim] spoke all these words, saying: (NKJV)

We see here that the entity referred to as "the Angel" by Stephen is the same one called YHVH and 'elohim in these verses from Exodus. This proves that the terms "LORD" and "Angel of the LORD" were used interchangeably for the same being in the Bible.

The Jerusalem Targum rendering of Exodus 20:1 confirms that the 'elohim who spoke to Israel from Mount Sinai was the Word of the Lord, not God the Father:

EXODUS 20:1 And the Word of the Lord spake all the excellency of these words saying: (Jerusalem Targum, translated by J.W. Etheridge)

Exodus 23:20-23 confirms that the Angel who spoke to the Israelites from Mount Sinai was in the wilderness with Moses and the congregation of Israel during their wandering. This passage shows that the Angel's duties included keeping the Israelites in God's ways and bringing them into the Promised Land:

EXODUS 23:20 " Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. 21 Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him. 22 But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. 23 For My Angel will go before you and bring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will cut them off. (NKJV)

This Angel was a messenger delivering God the Father's words to Moses and the children of Israel, and God's name ("YHVH") was upon him. Because of this role, at times he referred to himself in the third person when relaying God's words. Without an understanding and awareness of his role, things can get a little confusing when reading the statements and activities of this Angel. In fact, the Scriptures even show Moses himself becoming confused in one instance:

EXODUS 33:1 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Depart and go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, 'To your descendants I will give it.' 2 And I will send My Angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanite and the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. 3 Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people." (NKJV)

God the Father, through His messenger the Angel, tells Moses that He will not accompany them into the Promised Land. The Angel so translucently communicates God's remarks to Moses that it appears as if he is talking to Moses himself, instead of God the Father speaking through him. This situation seems to confuse Moses, because he goes on to say that the Angel had not let him know whom he would send with him to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land (Exo. 33:12). He obviously didn't recognize that the Angel was speaking for the Most High God in verse 3 and not for himself. Moses apparently thought that the Angel of the LORD, who had accompanied them to this point, would be replaced by another angel. God, through the Angel, reassures Moses that His "Presence" would continue to accompany them:

EXODUS 33:14 And He said, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." 15 Then he said to Him, "If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here." (NKJV)

The Angel of the LORD is the one referred to here as the "Presence" of YHVH. Moses proclaims this to the people of Israel in Deuteronomy 4:37, and in Isaiah 63:9, the Angel of the LORD is called the "Angel of His Presence":

DEUTERONOMY 4:37 [Moses said] "Because he loved your forefathers and chose their descendants after them, he brought you out of Egypt by his Presence and his great strength," (NIV)

ISAIAH 63:9 In all their [the Israelites'] 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. (NKJV)”  http://tinyurl.com/pmc9rde

To be continued...