1. Exodus 3:2 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

Who is the angel of the LORD appearing to Moses?

Exodus 3:2 (ESV)

2 And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.

The angel of the Lord appears to Moses. Angel means messenger. In the remaining verses of Exodus 3:1 – 4:31 it is not the angel but the Lord himself who speaks. The angel of the Lord has the power to speak the words of God. He is distinguished from God and at the same time identified with God. See, for example, Genesis 16, where the angel of the Lord is mentioned for the first time: The angel of the Lord said to her, (Genesis 16:9) and she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her (Genesis 16:13).

Some people think the angel of the Lord in the Old Testament is Christ before he was born—God the Son. However, this is not so clear from the Bible.