NAMES OF ANGELS 293 reposes upon the more strict and usual conception of what the angels are, and applies it in a looser way. Passages of this sort may be found, perhaps, in Ps. xxxiv. 7: "The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him"; and Ps. xci. 11: "He shall give His angels charge over Thee, to keep Thee in all Thy ways. They shall bear Thee up in their hands, lest Thou dash Thy foot against a stone." It may be difficult in particular cases to decide between the strict use of the name to indicate personal agents, and its more colourless use for God's providential care. The colourless use, however, is not the primary, but the secondary application, and reposes on what is more strict; it is a figurative mode of speech, which is based, however, on what many times is actual fact. Now, second, Scripture uses certain names for these superhuman beings. And these names are of two kinds: first, those which define their nature, or the class or grade of being to which they belong, in contrast with the race of men; and, second, those which describe their office, in regard to God or men. Names of the first kind are אלהים They are called Elohim, or sons of בְּנֵי א' or אֵלִים בְּנֵי א' or The Elohim; Elim, or sons of Elim. This expression is no doubt wrongly translated in our Version 'sons of God.' name Elohim is used both for God and for angels. angels are Elohim; and as a family or class they are 'sons of Elohim,' just as prophets are Nebi'im, or sons of Nebi'im. The idea that they are called 'sons of God' because they stand in close relation to God, or because they share in the purely spiritual nature of God, is not contained in the expression; neither is the idea present that they are the adopted sons of God, having stood the period of probation with success, and now received into His family. This cannot be meant; for in Job the Satan appears among the 'sons of Elohim,' and is one of them. We found the name Elohim to mean 'mights,' 'powers,' and it is with this meaning that the name is given to the angels. In contrast with man, angels belong to the class of Elohim. In Ps. xxix. 1 our Version reads quite rightly if the name is to be . interpreted, "Give unto the Lord, O ye mighty, give unto the Lord glory and strength"-literally: "Give unto the Lord, ye sons of Elim." The sons of Elim' form the attendants and ministers around Jehovah; and in the end of the Psalm it is said: "In His palace doth every one say, Glorious!" In Ps. lxxxix. 6 the same expression is translated "sons of the mighty": "Who in heaven can be compared with Jehovah, who among the sons of the mighty -Bene Elim-can be likened unto the Lord?" The angels, therefore, in contrast with the human race, belong to the class of Elohim. They are sons of Elohim. The exegetical tradition firmly reposes on this fact. And perhaps in some cases it may apply the name Elohim to angels where it properly means God, as in Ps. viii. 6: “ Thou hast made him a little lower than Elohim"; in the Septuagint angels, though modern interpreters prefer God.' I am not sure whether the exegetical tradition here be not more in accordance with the modes of thinking in the Old Testament. It might be an interesting question how the same name Elohim came to designate God and this class of beings. Perhaps we should be satisfied with the general explanation, that the name, meaning 'powers,' is applied from the standpoint of men to all that is above man, to the region lying above him. Though the same name is given, the two are never confounded in Scripture. But if this answer does not seem satisfactory, our inquiries will throw us back into a prehistorical period, a period where the genesis of the general name Elohim and its general applications must be investigated. From the beginning of Scripture we find God and these Elohim called by the same name; He is surrounded by them; they are His servants, and they minister to His purposes of grace and providence. We can quite well perceive, however, how this broke open a line of thought in another direction. The false gods of heathenism were also Elohim; and in this way certain classes of angels and these gods were brought into connection or identification, and the gods of the nations SUPRAHUMAN MESSENGERS AND MINISTERS 295 became demons or evil angels. There is a curious fluctuation in the exegetical tradition, due, perhaps, to this mode of conception. In Ps. xcvii. 7 it is said: "Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols: worship Him, all ye gods"; but the Septuagint renders: "worship Him, all ye angels." These Elohim, or sons of Elohim, form the council of Jehovah. They surround Him, and minister to Him. He and they are Elohim. And it is from this point of view that some explain the use of the plural in such passages as "Let us make man" (Gen. i. 26); "Let us go down and there confound their language" (Gen. xi. 7). In character these angels are said to excel in strength, and to be mighty (Ps. ciii. 20); they are styled ? (Job v. 1, xv. 15; Ps. lxxxix. 6, 8; Zech. xiv. 5; Dan. viii. 13). And from their ministering office the representation appears in Job that they interpret to men God's afflictive providences with them; and, on the other side, might be supposed to receive men's complaints of this too severe chastisement: "Cry then; is there any that will answer thee? and to which of the 'p wilt thou turn?" (v. 1). The passage is poetical, and merely touches upon a supposed turn that Job's mind might take. It does not go the length of teaching that it is part of the office of angels. to intercede, or even to represent. Although these excel in purity far above men, the profound consciousness of the Creator's holiness in Israel represents Him as finding something to blame in them: "He charges His angels with error" (Job iv. 18). Names are also given to these angels as having certain characteristics, or filling certain offices, as seraphim, cherubim. There is another class of names given to these beings, however, which is of great interest. They are called angels, DON, i.e. messengers, and D, i.e. ministers. These names describe their office, and the place they have in the providence of God. All the Old Testament is filled with illustrations of their operations in this sphere, and examples need not be cited. "The angels represent in a personal manner," says Hermann Schultz, "God's care of His people; they are the medium of His government of His kingdom, and of His interference in the affairs of the world. They reveal the will of God in reference to the present and the future, call men of God to the undertaking of great deeds which God will accomplish by their hand (as Moses, Jerubbaal), deliver the pious out of danger, and execute the judgments of God against the sinful world, or the disobedient in Israel, as in the case of David. When they manifest themselves among men, it is always as armed with some commission from God, which they come to execute." 1 2. The Angel of the Lord. As God's manifestations of His will and His interferences in the world are predominantly in the way of carrying out His purpose of redemption, the angels usually appear on missions of mercy or in furtherance of the salvation, either of individuals, or of the people as a whole. Prominent among those who labour in this direction stands one angelic figure, who has always attracted largely the attention of interpreters, and regarding whom very diverse. judgments have been passed, the Angel of the Lord.' It has not been uncommon to find in him a manifestation of the Logos or Son of God, and in his appearance among men a pre-intimation of the incarnation. With regard to the name Angel of the Lord,' of course any angel may bear this name. And in many places where such a name is applied, there is no reason to consider that the angelic being to whom it is given is in any way distinguished from others. Thus in 1 Kings xix. 5, it is said that as Elijah lay under a juniper tree an angel touched him; and then further on in the narrative: " And the Angel of the Lord said unto him." The definiteness here arises from the fact of the angel having been already mentioned. So in the history of David it is said that the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem; and then it is added that the angel 1 Alt. Theol., i. p. 560. THE ANGEL OF THE LORD 297 of the Lord was standing by the floor of Araunah the Jebusite (2 Sam. xxiv. 16). Passages of a similar kind. are numerous. But there are many passages of a different kind, where the definiteness of the expression the Angel of the Lord cannot be explained in this way, and where things are said of this angel that are scarcely applicable to ordinary angelic messengers. Thus at the period of the Exodus, the Angel of the Lord led Israel; and it is said regarding him: "Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for My name is in him. But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak," etc. (Ex. xxiii. 20-23). And in Ex. xxxii. 34 it is said: "Mine Angel shall go before thee"; which in Ex. xxxiii. 14 is varied: "My presence (p, My face) shall go, and I will give thee rest"; and in Isa. lxiii. 9 the two are combined: "In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the Angel of His presence (, i.e. the Angel of His face, the Angel who was His face) saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them.” Here regarding this Angel two things are said: that Jehovah's name, i.e. His revealed character, is in him; and that he is Jehovah's face, i.e. the face of Jehovah may be seen in him. They who look upon him look upon Jehovah, and in him all that Jehovah is is present. Hence he saves, and will not pardon transgression, though he has the power. With these passages are to be combined others which describe the emotions of those to whom the Angel appeared, e.g. Jacob said: "I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved" (Gen. xxxii. 30); and when he recurs to this event in his dying prophecy, he says: "The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads" (xlviii. 16). These passages indicate that in the minds of those to whom this angel appeared, it was an appearance of Jehovah in person. Jehovah's face was seen. His name was revealed. The Angel of the Lord is Jehovah present in |