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מַלְאָךְ

malach · messenger, angel

Hebrew word · Strong’s number H4397 · appears 213 times in the Bible

What is the Strong number?Strong’s number identifies this word: use it to find the same word in other study tools.

What it means

malach (מַלְאָךְ) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “messenger, angel”.

Messenger: someone sent with a task. It can be a human being or one sent by God, that is, an angel. "The angel of YHWH" is a messenger who speaks in God's name, and in several passages the text treats him as God himself (Genesis 16:13; Exodus 3:2-6).

How to say it

ma·lach

Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.

Its senses in the Bible

  1. Someone sent on an errand.
  2. A messenger from God, a heavenly being.

From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)

Word study

Messenger: someone sent with a task. BDB: a messenger; especially of God, that is, an angel. It is related to מְלָאכָה, “work”.

Historical and cultural background

After speaking with the angel of YHWH, Hagar calls YHWH, “who was speaking to her”, by a name: “You are El Roi” (Genesis 16:13).

How we translate it

“Angel” 100 times, “angels” 6, “messengers” 82, “messenger” 25. This edition's glossary sets “messenger” and allows “angel” only in “angel of YHWH / of Elohim” and for clearly heavenly beings; that is why the two visitors of Genesis 19 are “messengers”. In the Aramaic chapters of Daniel the word appears in its Aramaic form, מַלְאַךְ.

How it is translated

The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.

  • angel ×100
  • messengers ×82
  • messenger ×25
  • angels ×6

Related words

Words that come from it

Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.

Where it appears

  • Genesis 16:7

    The angel of YHWH found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur.

  • Genesis 16:9

    The angel of YHWH said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.”

  • Genesis 16:10

    The angel of YHWH said to her, “I will greatly multiply your offspring, so that it cannot be counted because of its multitude.”

  • Genesis 16:11

    And the angel of YHWH said to her, “Look, you are pregnant and will bear a son, and you will call his name Ishmael, for YHWH has heard your affliction.

  • Genesis 19:1

    The two messengers came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground.

  • Genesis 19:15

    As the dawn came up, the messengers urged Lot, saying, “Get up, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the iniquity of the city.”

  • Genesis 21:17

    Elohim heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of Elohim called to Hagar from the heavens and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Do not be afraid, for Elohim has heard the voice of the boy where he is.

  • Genesis 22:11

    But the angel of YHWH called to him from the heavens and said, “Abraham! Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”

  • Genesis 22:15

    The angel of YHWH called to Abraham a second time from the heavens

  • Genesis 24:7

    YHWH, the Elohim of the heavens, who took me from the house of my father and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ he will send his angel before you, and you will take a wife for my son from there.

  • Genesis 24:40

    He said to me, ‘YHWH, before whom I have walked, will send his angel with you and make successful your journey, and you will take a wife for my son from my family and from the house of my father.

  • Genesis 28:12

    He dreamed, and look, a ladder set on the earth, and its top reaching to the heavens; and look, the angels of Elohim were going up and coming down on it.

  • Genesis 31:11

    Then the angel of Elohim said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob!’ And I said, ‘Here I am.’

  • Genesis 32:1

    Now Jacob went on his way, and angels of Elohim met him.

  • Genesis 32:3

    Then Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to Esau his brother, to the land of Seir, the country of Edom.

  • Genesis 32:6

    The messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother, to Esau, and he is also coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.”

  • Genesis 48:16

    the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the young men; and in them let my name be called, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them teem in multitude in the midst of the earth.”

  • Exodus 3:2

    The angel of YHWH appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of the bush. He looked, and look, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed.

  • Exodus 14:19

    Then the angel of Elohim, who was going before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them,

  • Exodus 23:20

    Look, I am sending an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared.

  • Exodus 23:23

    For my angel will go before you and bring you to the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Canaanite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, and I will wipe them out.

  • Exodus 32:34

    But now go, lead the people to the place of which I have spoken to you. Look, my angel shall go before you. But on the day when I call to account I will call them to account for their sin.”

  • Exodus 33:2

    And I will send before you an angel, and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.

  • Numbers 20:14

    And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom: “Thus says your brother Israel: You know all the hardship that has found us:

  • Numbers 20:16

    And we cried out to YHWH, and he heard our voice and sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt. And look, we are in Kadesh, a city at the edge of your territory.

  • Numbers 21:21

    And Israel sent messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, saying,

  • Numbers 22:5

    And he sent messengers to Balaam son of Beor at Pethor, which is by the River, in the land of the sons of his people, to call him, saying, “Look, a people has come out of Egypt; look, they cover the face of the earth, and they are settling opposite me.

  • Numbers 22:22

    But the anger of Elohim burned because he was going, and the angel of YHWH took his stand in the road as an opponent to him. Now he was riding on his donkey, and his two young men were with him.

  • Numbers 22:23

    And the donkey saw the angel of YHWH standing in the road, with his sword drawn in his hand; and the donkey turned aside from the road and went into the field. And Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back to the road.

  • Numbers 22:24

    Then the angel of YHWH stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side.

  • Numbers 22:25

    And the donkey saw the angel of YHWH and pressed herself against the wall and pressed Balaam’s foot against the wall; and he struck her again.

  • Numbers 22:26

    And the angel of YHWH went ahead again and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn to the right or to the left.

  • Numbers 22:27

    And the donkey saw the angel of YHWH and lay down under Balaam; and Balaam’s anger burned, and he struck the donkey with the stick.

  • Numbers 22:31

    Then YHWH uncovered the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of YHWH standing in the road, with his sword drawn in his hand; and he bowed and prostrated himself on his face.

  • Numbers 22:32

    And the angel of YHWH said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Look, I have come out as an opponent, because your way is reckless before me.

  • Numbers 22:34

    And Balaam said to the angel of YHWH, “I have sinned, for I did not know that you were standing in the road against me. And now, if it is displeasing in your eyes, I will turn back.”

  • Numbers 22:35

    And the angel of YHWH said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but only the word that I speak to you, that you shall speak.” So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.

  • Numbers 24:12

    And Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not also tell your messengers whom you sent to me, saying,

  • Deuteronomy 2:26

    So I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying,

  • Joshua 6:17

    The city shall be a thing devoted to destruction, it and all that is in it, to YHWH. Only Rahab the prostitute shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers whom we sent.

And 173 more times.