The Messiah announced by Malachi, as Adonai, even Melach, the
Messenger of the Covenant--His Appearance to Jacob at Bethel;
and to Isaiah, Abraham, Moses, Gideon, and others, under various
designations, as Adonai, Melach, a Man, Jehovah Zebaoth, the
Holy One, El-Shaddai, &c.
It will be seen that the designations referred to include all those
which are applied to the Divine Being: and that in numerous instances
they are applied interchangeably in the same passages and connections,
in such manner as clearly to show that they identify the same Person.
Thus the words El, Elohe, Elohim, translated God; and Jah, Jehovah,
Adon, and Adonai, translated Lord, are, separately, and also in
conjunction with Melach, _Angel or Messenger_, and with other names of
office, employed to designate and identify that delegated Person who is
"both Lord (_Jehovah_) and Christ."
In demonstration of this, we may first refer to some passages in which
the appellative _Melach_, the primary signification of which is
_Messenger_, occurs, as a designation of him who was sent of the Father;
as Malachi iii. 1: "Behold, I send my messenger, [John the Baptist,] and
he shall prepare the way before _me_; and _the_ Adon whom ye seek shall
suddenly come to his temple, even Melach, the _Messenger_, of the
Covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith Jehovah
Zebaoth." And Isaiah xl. 3, 5: "The voice of him that crieth in the
wilderness, Prepare ye the way of _Jehovah_, make straight in the desert
a highway for our _Elohe_.... And the glory of _Jehovah_ shall be
revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of Jehovah
hath spoken it."
These prophecies are quoted by the Evangelists as identifying Jesus the
Christ. See Matthew iii. 1-6; xi. 10; Mark i. 2-4; Luke iii. 3-6; John
i. 6-8. They point to John as he who was spoken of by these prophets,
and as proclaiming in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of Jehovah. He
whose way was prepared was therefore the _Messenger_ of the Covenant,
_the Adon_, _the Elohim_, and the _Jehovah_--the delegated official
Person to whom these several designations are applied in the
predictions. That official Person was the Revealer, as well as the
subject of the ancient revelations; and, as will hereafter be more
particularly noticed, manifested himself in different aspects and
relations of his official work, and in those diverse relations often
spoke predictively (as at the close of each of the above passages) and
otherwise, to and of himself.
The same conclusions result from a passage in the narrative of Jacob's
journey from Padan-aram to Shechem, Gen. xxxii., taken in connection
with the reference to it by the prophet Hosea: "And Jacob was left
alone; and there wrestled _a man_ with him until the breaking of the
day.... And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel:
for as a prince hast thou power with Elohim and with men, and hast
prevailed.... And he blessed him there. And Jacob called the name of the
place Peniel: for I have seen Elohim face to face." Hosea, referring to
Jacob, chap. xii., says: "He had power with Elohim; yea, he had power
over the angel, [_Melach, the Messenger_,] and prevailed; he wept and
made supplication _unto him_: he _found him_ in Beth-El, and there he
spake with us; even Jehovah Elohe Zebaoth--Jehovah is his memorial."
Here the God-man, the only Divine Person who, under the ancient or
present dispensation, has ever manifested himself visibly in the
likeness of man, is seen face to face by Jacob, and is denominated
Elohim, the Messenger, the Jehovah Elohe Zebaoth, whose peculiar
designation is Jehovah. Accordingly, Hosea says of Melach, _the
Messenger_, that Jacob made supplication _unto him_: he found _him_ in
Beth-El, indicating that it was in the place which he named Beth-El that
he first recognized the official acting administrator of providence and
grace, the God-man, in the relations in which he then appeared to him.
The passage specially referred to by the prophet in relation to Beth-El
is in Gen. xxviii., where Jacob's flight to Padan-aram, to avoid the
wrath of Esau, is narrated. On his way he slept in the open field, and
beheld in a dream a ladder extending from earth to heaven. "And behold!
Jehovah stood above it, and said, I am Jehovah Elohe of Abraham, and
Elohe of Isaac, &c. And Jacob awoke and said, Surely Jehovah is in this
place: ... this is the house of Elohim." The _Messenger_ therefore to
whom Jacob made supplication, and whom he first saw at Beth-El, was
Jehovah the Elohe of Abraham and Isaac, even Jehovah Elohe Zebaoth.
To show by another instance that He who in the ancient oracles is called
Adon, Adonai, and Jehovah Zebaoth, is in the New Testament referred to
as the Christ, Isaiah vi. may be cited. I saw, says the prophet, "the
Adonai sitting upon a throne." "Then said I, Woe is me!... for mine eyes
have seen the King, Jehovah Zebaoth." The apostle John, chap. xii.,
ascribes what was announced at this scene to Christ, and adds: "These
things said Esaias when he saw his glory and spake of him."
With respect to the point now particularly in view, the Scriptures
quoted above render it certain that the Divine Person who by Malachi is
called the Messenger of the Covenant, and the Adonai, and by Hosea, the
Messenger, Elohim, and Jehovah, is identical with Jesus the Christ.
"Sometimes the same Divine appearance which at one time is called Melach
Jehovah, is afterwards called simply Jehovah, as in Gen. xvi. 7; Col. v.
13; Exod. iii. 2; Col. iv., &c., &c. This is to be so understood that
the _Angel of God_ is here nothing else than the invisible Deity itself,
which thus unveils itself to mortal eyes." And after referring to
Michaëlis and Tholuck, "Hence Oriental translators, as Saadias,
Abusaides, and the Chaldeo-Samaritan, wherever Jehovah himself is said
to appear on earth, always put for the name of God, the _Angel of God_."
Gesenius, Lex., Art. _Melach_.
Illustrations might be adduced from the New Testament to show that the
apostles understood the Messiah and the Messenger Jehovah to be the same
Person. Thus, Galatians iv. 14: "Ye received me as an angel of God, even
as Christ Jesus;" where the rendering, in our own and other versions,
"_an_ angel," corresponds with the erroneous usage so common in the Old
Testament. The meaning is: Ye received me with respect and confidence,
as ye would have received the Melach, the Messenger Jehovah, even Jesus
the Messiah. For undoubtedly, had a created _angel_ been referred to, a
comparison would not have been made placing the Messiah on a level with
him. The instances in the New Testament in which the Angel Jehovah is
referred to, though unhappily not discriminated in our translation, are
from the context easily distinguishable. See Acts vii. 30, 35, 38.
The word _Adonai_ occurs as a Divine designation several hundred times
in the Old Testament, chiefly in the form indicated above, but sometimes
simply _Adon_. It is often employed in connections which clearly show it
to be a personal designation of the Messiah, and which assert or imply
his official prerogatives, agency, or relations. It is employed
interchangeably with _Jehovah_, _Elohim_, and other Divine designations,
sometimes preceding and at others following them; sometimes with, but
more commonly without the article.
In the second of the above forms, this word is commonly, like the
secular English title _lord_, applied to men in the relation of masters
or rulers, as _Melach_ is applied to men to distinguish them officially
as messengers. And as our own, in common with other translators, failed
to mark the distinction between the use of the word Melach, as a
designation of the Messiah, and the use of it with reference to created
agents, human or angelic, so they seem to have regarded the words Adonai
and Adon as importing something inferior to the Divine designations of
_Jehovah_ and _Elohim_; which difference they indicate by uniformly
writing their translation of the former words in small letters, and
their translation of the latter in capitals.
Whatever impression or inference may result from this usage to the English
reader, or to the Israelite who reads the original under the same views
which influenced the translation, it is by no means probable that either
of them would infer, or be struck with the impression, that _Adonai_ was a
distinctive and familiar title of the delegated One, the Messiah, of
correlative and equivalent significance as a Divine designation with those
with which it is indifferently and interchangeably employed. For the
further illustration of this point, therefore, the following passages are
cited:
In Gen. xviii., we read that Jehovah appeared visibly to Abraham in the
likeness of man, _i. e._, in the delegated official Person, Messiah. In
what is related in the narrative as having been said or done by him,
while visibly present, he is called Jehovah, while Abraham, in speaking
to him, uniformly calls him Adonai, prays to him as having power to save
the righteous in Sodom, and addresses him as Judge of all the earth. It
is therefore manifest that the two designations, Jehovah and Adonai,
identify the same Person; that Abraham speaks to him as visibly present;
and that his visible presence in the likeness of man determines him to
have been the delegated One. At the close of their interview, "Jehovah
went his way, and Abraham returned to his place."
When the personal WORD came to Abram, Gen. xv., saying, Fear not, I am thy
shield, &c., Abram, replying, verse 2, calls him Adonai Jehovah, and also
in verse 8; while in verses 4, 6, 7, and 18, he calls him Jehovah.
Instances like that in chap. xviii., and others, would seem to indicate
that in cases of local visible manifestation of the personal Word,
designations specially appropriate to his official character and agency
were suggested to the minds of the beholders. Thus Moses, Exod, iv. 10,
"said unto Jehovah, O Adonai." The Person whom he addressed was the
Messenger Jehovah, who had appeared to him. Again, verse 13, he says: "O
Adonai." In other parts of that chapter, the same Person is called
Jehovah, Elohim, and Elohe. In Moses' song, chap. xv. 17, Jehovah (that
is, the Messenger) and the Adonai are addressed as the same Person: "Thou
shalt bring them in and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance;
in the place, O Jehovah, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in; in the
sanctuary, O Adonai, which thy hands have established." So, chap. xxxiv.,
when Jehovah (the Messenger) descended and manifested the glory of his
Person to Moses, and proclaimed himself Jehovah as he passed by, Moses
bowed and worshipped; and he said: "If now I have found grace in thy
sight, O Adonai, let Adonai, I pray thee, go among us." In like manner,
Deut. iii. 23, 24, Moses, praying to Jehovah, addresses the Adonai: "And I
besought Jehovah at that time, saying, O Adonai Jehovah.... I pray thee
let me go over and see the good land." Also, chap. ix. 26: "I prayed
therefore unto Jehovah, and said, O Adonai Jehovah, destroy not thy
people, and thine inheritance which thou hast redeemed." Once more, when,
after the trespass of Achan, the Israelites were smitten, Joshua fell upon
his face before the ark of Jehovah, and said: "Alas! O Adonai Jehovah....
O Adonai, what shall I say," &c. Similar instances occur in the prayers of
Gideon, Manoah, David, and the prophets; and throughout their writings, as
in the instances quoted, doubtless this term designates the Messenger of
the Covenant, the Holy One, the Christ, and whether sometimes substituted
by copyists for the word Jehovah or not, its import is the same, as
appears from the connections in which it occurs.
At the interview of the same Divine Person with Gideon, Judges vi., he
is called Melach Jehovah, Jehovah, Adonai, Melach _the_ Elohim, and
Adonai Jehovah Melach Jehovah came and sat under an oak--appeared
visibly--and said unto Gideon, Jehovah is with thee. Gideon replied, O
Adonai, if Jehovah be with us, &c. Jehovah looked upon him and said, Go
in this thy might. Gideon answered, O Adonai, wherewith shall I save
Israel? Jehovah said, Surely I will be with thee. Gideon prepared a
sacrifice. Melach _the_ Elohim said, Take the flesh, &c. Melach Jehovah
touched the flesh with his staff. Fire rose out of the rock and consumed
the flesh. Melach Jehovah departed out of Gideon's sight. Gideon
exclaimed, Alas, O Adonai Jehovah! for I have seen Melach Jehovah face
to face. Jehovah said unto him, Peace be unto thee.
The purport of the expressions in this narrative may be more fully
represented as follows: The Melach, (the Messenger,) who is Jehovah,
came in the form of a wayfaring man, and sat down under an oak in a
field where Gideon was, and said unto him, Jehovah is with thee. And
Gideon said to him, (Jehovah,) O Adonai, &c. Jehovah looked upon him and
said, Go in this thy might, &c. Gideon said to him, O Adonai, wherewith
shall I save Israel? Jehovah said to him, Surely I will be with thee.
Gideon presented a sacrifice to him. The Melach, (or Messenger,) who is
the true Elohim, said to Gideon, Take the flesh, &c., and lay them upon
this rock, and he did so. The the Melach, (or Messenger,) who is
Jehovah, put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and
touched the flesh, &c.; and there rose up fire out of the rock and
consumed the flesh, &c. Gideon said, Alas, O Adonai Jehovah! for I have
seen the Melach, who is Jehovah, face to face. To which Jehovah replied,
Peace be unto thee; fear not, &c. Then Gideon built an altar there unto
Jehovah.
So in the narrative of the visible appearance of the same Divine Person
to Manoah and his wife, Judges xiii., where, as in the foregoing and
other parallel instances, the term Melach distinguishes the Divine
Person referred to as present and seen. The Melach (who is) Jehovah
appeared unto the woman, &c. The woman came and told her husband,
saying, A _man_, _the_ Elohim, came unto me, and his countenance was
like the countenance of the Melach (who is) _the_ Elohim, &c. Then
Manoah entreated Jehovah, and said, O Adon, let the man, _the_ Elohim
which thou didst send, come again unto us.... And _the_ Elohim hearkened
to the voice of Manoah, and the Melach, _the_ (or who is _the_) Elohim,
came again unto the woman as she sat in the field.... And she ran and
said to her husband, Behold _the man_ hath appeared unto me that came
unto me the other day.... And Manoah came and said unto him, Art thou
_the man_ that spakest unto the woman? And he said, I am.... And the
Melach (who is) Jehovah said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the
woman let her beware. And Manoah said to the Melach (who is) Jehovah, I
pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for
thee. And the Melach (who is) Jehovah said unto Manoah, Though thou
detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt
offering, thou must offer it unto Jehovah. For Manoah knew not that he
was the Melach (who is) Jehovah.... So Manoah took a kid, with a meat
offering, and offered it upon a rock unto Jehovah. And ... it came to
pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the
Melach (who is) Jehovah ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah
and his wife looked on, and fell on their faces to the ground, &c. Then
Manoah knew that he was the Melach (who is) Jehovah. And Manoah said
unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen Elohim. But his
wife said unto him, If Jehovah were pleased to kill us, he would not
have received a burnt offering at our hands, &c. Nothing surely can be
more evident than that all these designations refer to the one delegated
official Person--Messiah, the Messenger of the Covenant, visible in the
form of man.
Behold, _the_ Adon, Jehovah Zebaoth, doth take away from Jerusalem and
from Judah the stay and the staff, &c. Isa. iii. 1.
Therefore shall _the_ Adon, Adonai Zebaoth, send, &c. Isa. x. 16.
Behold, _the_ Adon, Jehovah Zebaoth, shall lop the bough, &c. Isa. x.
33.
Thou (Abiathar) bearest the ark of Adonai Jehovah. 1 Kings ii. 26.
Thou art my Elohe and my Adonai. Ps. xxxv. 23.
To Jehovah Adonai belong the issues from death. Ps. lxviii. 20.
Let not them that wait on thee, O Adonai, Jehovah Zebaoth, be ashamed.
Ps. lxix. 6.
Thou art my hope, O Adonai Jehovah. Ps. lxxi. 5.
But do thou for me, O Jehovah Adonai, for thy name's sake. Ps. cix. 21.
O Jehovah Adonai, the strength of my salvation. Ps. cxl. 7.
Mine eyes are unto thee, O Jehovah Adonai. Ps. cxli. 8.
The phrases "Thus saith Adonai Jehovah Zebaoth," "Adonai Jehovah," and
"Adonai Zebaoth," occur in very numerous instances in the prophets.
Probably in all such formulas the sense would be more perfectly
expressed by interposing the words who is, or who art: as, _The_ Adon
who is Jehovah of hosts; _The_ Adon who is the Adonai of hosts; The ark
of Adonai, who is Jehovah. It is evidently by way of explanation,
illustration, and emphasis, that two or more designations are so
conjoined.
Some critics, probably from regarding the terms _Adonai_ and _Adon_ as of
inferior significance to _Jehovah_ and _Elohim_, when employed as Divine
designations, imagine that the Jewish copyists substituted the former in
place of the latter, or in place of _Jehovah_, to avoid the enunciation
of that sacred name. No supposition could well be more improbable than
this, whether considered in relation to the subject-matter, or to the
reason assigned for it. In relation to the subject, it would imply a
general consent among copyists, Jewish readers, priests and rabbies, and
Gentile proselytes, as to the instances in which such a surreptitious
change should be made, received, and sanctioned. And as to the alleged
reason, if it was a real and sufficient reason in a single instance, or in
many instances, why not in all? Why suppress the fearful name, and
substitute a term of inferior or doubtful import in some cases, and allow
it to retain its place in a far greater number of cases? But the
groundlessness of the supposition referred to is sufficiently shown by the
fact that, in the passages above cited, and in many others, the several
designations, Adonai, Adon, Jehovah, and Elohim, are employed conjointly
in the same sentences, with reference to the same Person, and as of
equivalent import as Divine designations.
The same Divine Person, the Messiah, the Administrator and Revealer,
manifested himself to the inspired writers in various ways, and in
different aspects of his person and relations: to their faith as the
self-existent, omnipresent Jehovah; to their senses in his complex,
official person, and delegated, covenant relations, the Messenger,
visible in the likeness of man, Adonai, the Adon.
Thus Daniel, chap. x. 16, 17: "One like the similitude of the sons of
men _touched my lips_; then I opened my mouth and spake, and said unto
him that _stood before me_, O Adonai!... how can the servant of this
Adonai talk with this Adonai?" And Amos, chap. vii., relates that he
_saw the Adonai_ standing on a wall, with a plumb-line in his hand, and
that the Adonai spoke to and was answered by him. The context shows
that, though appearing visibly as a man, he exercised Divine
prerogatives. Again, chap. ix. 1: "I saw the Adonai _standing_ upon the
altar." Afterwards he speaks as Jehovah, and, verse 16, utters the
prediction, quoted Acts xv. 16, that, after the Gentile dispensation, "I
will return and will build again the tabernacle of David which is fallen
down, ... and I will set it up."
In the first chapter of Zechariah the following Divine designations
occur: Jehovah, Jehovah Zebaoth, Adonai, _the_ Melach, and Melach
Jehovah. The Person locally present and visible, who in the 9th verse is
called Adonai and _the_ Melach, in the 11th and 12th verses Melach
Jehovah, and in the 13th, 14th, and 19th verses _the_ Melach, is in the
8th and 10th verses called a _man_. I saw by night and behold, a man ...
among the myrtle trees, v. 8. And the _man_ that stood among the myrtle
trees answered, v. 9. And they answered the Melach Jehovah that stood
among the myrtle trees, v. 11.
But the prophet on seeing the man, v. 8, addresses him as Adonai. "Then
said I, O Adonai! what are these?" And _the_ Melach answered, &c. v. 9.
In the progress of the ensuing colloquy, the visible Person, in the form
of man, _the_ Melach, the Melach who is Jehovah, speaks to and of
Jehovah and Jehovah Zebaoth, as the Messiah did when visibly present
incarnate in man's nature on earth; and an audible response was in like
manner given. See v. 10, 12, 13.
Illustrations of the same usage might be adduced from almost every part
of the Old Testament, where the Messiah, as announced by designations
peculiar to his complex official Person and character, and as visibly
present, speaks to and of himself and also to and of the Father, under
designations which refer only to the Divine Nature. The same is
customary likewise with the prophets. Thus David, Ps. cx.: "Jehovah (the
Father) saith to _Adonai_, (the Messiah, as is declared in the New
Testament,) Sit thou at my right hand," &c. And Ps. ii.: Why do the
heathen rage?... and the rulers take counsel against Jehovah and against
the Anointed, or Messiah, v. 1, 2. The Adonai shall have them in
derision, v. 4. I (the Messiah) will declare the decree: Jehovah hath
said onto me, Thou art my Son, &c., v. 7.
The exceeding confusion which obscures our common version of Zechariah,
and especially of the first chapter, implies that the translators did
not understand the designations above quoted, a _man_, _the Melach_,
_Melach Jehovah_, and _Adonai_, as referring to one and the same person,
nor all or any of them as referring to the official Person, Messiah.
In chapter ii., _the_ Melach is the Divine speaker throughout: "And
behold _the_ Melach that talked with me (see i. 9) went forth, and
another angel (a messenger) went out to meet him; and HE (_the_ Melach)
said unto him, (_i. e._, to the messenger,) Run," &c. v. 3, 4. Here,
according to our version, the other angel is made to direct the Melach
who is Jehovah (see i. 9, 11, 12) to run, &c., by the omission of the
relative HE, as printed in capitals above; which, it is obvious from the
original, and also from the ensuing context, ought to be retained. For
after directing the approaching messenger to run, &c., he proceeds: "For
I, saith Jehovah, will be unto her, Jerusalem, a wall of fire round
about, and will be the glory in the midst of her:" the reference of
which is further evidence that the speaker is the Messiah, here
designated _the Melach_ and _Jehovah_. The same speaker, continuing to
the end of the chapter, treats of the dispersion, preservation, and
subsequent restoration of the Israelites, and reëstablishment of
Jerusalem as his dwelling-place.
Throughout the remainder of the book, the Divine Person speaking to the
prophet is the same as the man, the Melach, the Adonai, the Melach
Jehovah, of the first chapter. He announces what is said by Jehovah, and
Jehovah Zebaoth; his rebuke of Satan, iii. 2; his promise of THE BRANCH,
referring to the Messiah as he was to be manifested incarnate, iii. 8,
and vi. 12. In various places the prophet designates _the_ Melach, and
Jehovah as his Adonai, and as the Adon of the whole earth, iv. 4, 5, 13,
14; vi. 4, 5; ix. 4. Adonai Jehovah, ix. 14, and Jehovah their Elohe,
ix. 16, x. 6, declares that the _man_ whose name is THE BRANCH shall
build the temple of Jehovah, and shall sit and rule upon his throne, and
shall be a Priest upon his throne, &c., vi. 12, 13. That it was Jehovah
who was prized at thirty pieces of silver, _i. e._, Jehovah says of
himself, as Messiah, that he was so prized, xi. 13. Represents Elohim
and Melach Jehovah as equivalent, identifies Jehovah Zebaoth with the
SHEPHERD, the _man_ that is his fellow, xiii. 7. Jehovah whose _feet_
shall stand upon the mount of Olives which is before Jerusalem, xiv. 4.
Jehovah who shall be King over all the earth, xiv. 9. The King Jehovah
Zebaoth, whom all nations shall worship.
The term _Zebaoth_, Hosts, coupled with the Divine designations, points
to the official Person, the Messiah, evidently in many, and probably in
all instances. Thus He who, in Isaiah vi., is called Adonai, the King,
Jehovah Zebaoth, is by the apostle John referred to as the Messiah. He
who wrestled with Jacob as a _man_, Gen. xxxii., is called by Hosea
(chap. xii.) the Messenger, and Jehovah Elohe Zebaoth. It was the
Messiah who, with Moses, was with the church in the wilderness. (Acts
vii. 38.) The Melach, or Messenger, who dwelt in the cloud and between
the cherubim, (Exod. xiv. 19,) over the ark of Adonai (who is) Jehovah.
(Isa. iii. 15.) The ark of _the_ Elohim (who is) Jehovah that dwelleth
between the cherubim. (1 Chron. xiii. 6.) The ark of _the_ Elohim, whose
name is Jehovah Zebaoth. (2 Samuel vi. 2.) _The_ Adon (who is) Jehovah
Zebaoth. (Isa. iii. 1.) The Adon (who is) Adonai Zebaoth. (Isa. x. 16.)
The Adonai (who is) Jehovah Zebaoth. (Isa. x. 23, 24.)
This term is coupled with these designations more than three hundred
times, chiefly in the prophets after the defection of the tribes to the
worship of Baal as the Lord of the hosts of heaven, in opposition to
Jehovah Zebaoth.
A personal reference to the Messiah is evidently intended in numerous
instances by the term rendered in our version HOLY ONE; as is often
manifest from its connection with other designations, and from the
personal acts or relations mentioned. Thus Isaiah xliii.: "I am Jehovah,
thy Elohe, the _Holy One_ of Israel, thy _Saviour_: I gave Egypt for thy
ransom. Fear not, for I am with thee. (v. 3.) Thus saith Jehovah, your
_Redeemer_, [Goel,] the _Holy One_ of Israel, (v. 14,) I am Jehovah,
your _Holy One_, the Creator of Israel, your _King_," (15.) Chap. xli.
14: "I will help thee, saith Jehovah, thy _Redeemer_, [Goel,] the _Holy
One_ of Israel." v. 20: "The hand of Jehovah hath done this, and the
_Holy One_ of Israel hath created it." xlvii. 4: "As for our _Redeemer_,
[Goel,] Jehovah Zebaoth is his name, the _Holy One_ of Israel." xlviii.
17: "Thus saith Jehovah, thy _Redeemer_, [Goel,] the _Holy One_ of
Israel, I am Jehovah thy Elohe, which teacheth thee to profit, which
leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go." xlix. 7: "Thus saith
Jehovah, the _Redeemer_ [Goel] of Israel, his _Holy One_." liv. 5: "Thy
Maker is thy husband, Jehovah Zebaoth is his name, and thy _Redeemer_,
[Goel,] the _Holy One_ of Israel; the Elohe of the whole earth shall he
be called." lx. 14: "They shall call thee, The city of Jehovah, The Zion
of the _Holy One_ of Israel." 2 Kings xix.: "Whom hast thou reproached
and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted
up thine eyes on high? even against the _Holy One_ of Israel. By thy
messengers thou hast reproached Adonai." Ezek. xxxix. 7: "The heathen
shall know that I am Jehovah, the _Holy One_ in Israel." Ps. lxxxix. 18,
19: "Jehovah is our defence, and the _Holy One_ of Israel is our King.
Then thou spakest in vision to thy _Holy One_."
That "The Holy One," "Jehovah," and "The Messiah," are the same, is
taught in various other passages. Thus in the first instance in which
the title occurs, Deut. xxxiii. 8, constituting in part the blessing on
the sacerdotal tribe, and containing a reference to other passages: "And
of Levi he said, Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy HOLY ONE, whom
thou didst prove at Massah, and with whom thou didst strive at the
waters of Meribah." But He whom they proved at Massah, and with whom
they strove at Meribah, was Jehovah. "And Moses called the name of the
place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of
Israel, and because they tempted Jehovah, saying, Is Jehovah among us or
not?" Exod. xvii. 7. "Ye shall not tempt Jehovah your Elohe, as ye
tempted him in Massah." Deut. vi. 16. "This is the water of Meribah,
because the children of Israel strove with Jehovah." Numb. xx. 13. "At
... Massah ... ye provoked Jehovah to wrath." Deut. ix. 22. Now, we
learn from 1 Cor. x. and Heb. iii., compared with Ps. lxxviii., xcv.,
and cvi., that it was the Messiah whom they tempted: "Neither let us
tempt Christ as some of them also tempted." ... "Harden not your hearts
as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness, where
your fathers tempted me;" that is, Christ, as the context shows.
"Thou wilt not suffer thine _Holy One_ to see corruption," Ps. xvi. 10;
quoted with the context, Acts ii., as designating Christ: "For David
speaketh concerning Him," Jesus of Nazareth, "I foresaw the Lord always
before my face.... Neither wilt thou suffer thine _Holy One_ to see
corruption." Again, Acts xiii., in proof of the resurrection of Christ
as predicted: "Wherefore he saith also in another Psalm, Thou shalt not
suffer thine _Holy One_ to see corruption." So the Christ is recognized
in various other passages as the _Holy One_. "I know thee who thou art,
the _Holy One_ of God." Mark i. 24, Luke iv. 34. "But ye denied the
_Holy One_ and the Just, ... and killed the Prince of Life." Acts iii.
14.
Of the passages, besides those above cited, in which he is identified
with Jehovah, the Creator, the Redeemer, Saviour, and King, a few are
subjoined. The remnant of Israel "shall stay upon Jehovah, the _Holy
One_ of Israel." Isaiah x. 20. "At that day shall a man look to his
Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the _Holy One_ of Israel."
Ibid. 17. "Thus saith the _Holy One_ of Israel.... Thus saith Jehovah
Elohim, the _Holy One_ of Israel." Ibid. 30. "The hand of Jehovah hath
done this, and the _Holy One_ of Israel hath created it." Ibid. 41.
"Thus saith Jehovah, the _Holy One_ of Israel, and his Maker." Ibid. 45.
It is thus evident that the appellations, Jehovah, Elohim, Elohe,
Jehovah Zebaoth, Redeemer, Saviour, King, Creator, Maker, the Holy One,
and the Christ, are indifferently applied to designate one and the same
Person. The term Messiah, the Anointed, though familiar to the Jews of
ancient and modern times, occurs but a few times in the Hebrew
Scriptures as a designation of him. The appropriation of the term seems
to have arisen from the custom of anointing the Levitical priests to a
ministry typical of the sacerdotal ministry of Christ, and that of
anointing their kings to their office as typical of his regal office.
With reference to those priests and kings it is therefore often used;
but as a designation of the Christ not perhaps more than five or six
times: as in 1 Sam. ii. 10, 35; Ps. ii. 2, lxxxiv. 9; Dan, ix. 25, 26.
The import of the phrase "Holy One" is so nearly similar, as very
probably to have been employed in place of this. This designation occurs
in about thirty instances in the prophecies of Isaiah, and frequently
elsewhere. Like several other appellations, it is employed exclusively
as a designation of the Christ, and is not, like "Messiah," applied to
those who are anointed and consecrated to typify his offices.
El-Shadai, Almighty, in like manner designates the Messiah. The
Messenger Jehovah who appeared to Moses in the bush, and who speaking to
him afterwards is called Jehovah and Elohim, said, Exod. vi. 3: "I
appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name
El-Shadai." "Jacob said unto Joseph, El-Shadai appeared unto me at Luz,
... and blessed me." Gen. xlviii. 3. But when he was first at Luz,
Jehovah _visibly_ appeared to him in the vision of a ladder. Gen.
xxviii. It was an appearance doubtless of the Messenger Jehovah. And in
a subsequent instance, Gen. xxxv., the Elohim _appeared_ to him, blessed
him, and changed his name to Israel. "And the Elohim said unto him, I
am El-Shadai.... And the Elohim went up from him in the place where he
talked with him." This, therefore, was a local personal appearance of
the Messenger of the Covenant. _Shadai_ was a familiar designation in
the patriarchal period. It occurs frequently in Job. In the New
Testament it is applied to Christ. "I am Alpha and Omega, ... saith the
Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty." Rev.
i. 8, iv. 8, and xi. 17.
A similar illustration is furnished by the designations, Mighty God,
Living God, God of Israel, High God, Most High God, God of heaven, Lord
God, and other formulas of frequent occurrence.
There are a considerable number of instances in which the Personal Word
appears to be designated by the phrase _Dabar_ Jehovah, translated the
_Word_ of the Lord. The "_Dabar_ Jehovah _came_ unto Abram in a vision,
saying, Fear not, _I am thy shield_, &c. And Abram said, Adonai Jehovah,
what will thou give me?... And behold Dabar Jehovah (came) unto him,
saying." (The word CAME in this clause is not in the original. "Dabar
Jehovah said unto him," would perhaps be more correct.) "And he [Dabar
Jehovah] brought, him forth abroad and said, Look now towards heaven....
And he believed in Jehovah," (in the Word Jehovah, _Chaldee Par._) Gen.
xv. Here personal acts appear to be ascribed to _Dabar_--the Word. It
was a person who conversed with Abram and brought him forth abroad; as
is observed on a subsequent occasion.
"_Dabar_ Jehovah came to Jacob, saying, Israel shall be thy name." 1
Kings xviii. 31. But in Gen. xxxii. we read that "there wrestled a man
with Jacob, and he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but
Israel." Here, then, the visible person who, in the form of man,
wrestled with Jacob, and who is, by Hosea, chap. xii., denominated the
Messenger and the Jehovah Zebaoth, is called _Dabar_ Jehovah, the
Personal Word.
"Now Dabar Jehovah came unto Jonah, ... saying, [or, and said,] Arise,
go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it, for their wickedness
is come up before me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from _the
presence of_ Jehovah, and he found a ship and went down into it to go
unto Tarshish _from the presence of_ Jehovah." Chap. i. "And Dabar
Jehovah came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go unto
Nineveh." iii. 1, 2. These passages indicate a personal and visible
presence. How else could Jonah attempt to conceal himself by flight? In
the context the Personal Word who thus came is identified with Jehovah,
who speaks and is addressed as one locally and visibly present.
"Now Samuel did not yet know Jehovah, neither was _Dabar_ Jehovah yet
revealed unto him." 1 Sam. iii. 7. No manifestation of the Personal Word
had been made to him. "And Jehovah _appeared_ again in Shiloh: for
Jehovah revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by _Dabar_ Jehovah." Ibid.
v. 21. "Then came _Dabar_ Jehovah to Samuel, saying, It repenteth me,
&c." Ibid. xv. 10. "It was charged me by _Dabar_ Jehovah.... It was said
to me by _Dabar_ Jehovah." 1 Kings xiii. 9, 17. "And Elijah came to a
cave and lodged there; and behold, _Dabar_ Jehovah came to him, and _he_
said unto him, What dost thou here, Elijah?... And _he_ said, Go forth
and stand upon the mount _before_ Jehovah. And behold, Jehovah _passed_
by." 1 Kings xix. 9, 11. "_Dabar_ Jehovah came to Jeremiah, saying,
Before I formed thee, I knew thee.... Then said I, Ah, Adonai Jehovah!
behold I cannot speak.... Then Jehovah put forth _his hand_ and touched
my mouth.... Moreover, _Dabar_ Jehovah _came_ unto me, saying, [or, and
said,] What seest thou?... And _Dabar_ Jehovah came unto me the second
time," &c. Jer. i.
Such are some of the instances in which this term appears to be employed
as a personal designation. The meaning and reference of such use of it
appear to have been familiar both to the earlier and later Jews. See the
chapters relating to the Chaldee Paraphrases.