Wikipedia's first sentence called it “one of many terms in the hebrew bible”. Today it says “entity appearing repeatedly in the tanakh on behalf of the god of israel”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “The Angel of the Lord appearing to Hagar in the wilderness, as depicted by Nicolas Colombel (1644-1717) The (or an)”. It now reads “Entity in the Bible”.
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Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
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The opening as it read in 2025
Angel of the Lord (disambiguation) . The Angel of the Lord appearing to Hagar in the wilderness, as depicted by Nicolas Colombel in the mid 17th century The (or an) Angel of the Lord ( Hebrew : מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה mal’āḵ YHWH "messenger of Yahweh ") is an entity appearing repeatedly in the Tanakh on behalf of the God of Israel . The guessed term malakh YHWH , which occurs 65 times in the text of the Hebrew Bible, can be translated either as "the angel of the Lord" or "an angel of the Lord". The King James Version usually translates it as "the angel of the Lord"; less frequently as "an angel of the Lord". The Septuagint (LXX) sometimes uses ἄγγελος Κυρίου (an angel of the Lord), sometimes ὁ ἄγγελος Κυρίου (the angel of the Lord): in Genesis 16:7–11, it gives first the sounded word without a Greek article, then, in all the subsequent mentions with the article, as in the anaphoric use of the article. A closely related term is "angel of God" ( mal'akh Elohim ), mentioned 12 times (2 of which are plural). Another related expression, Angel of the Presence , occurs only once (Isaiah 63:9). The New Testament uses the term "angel of the Lord" ( ἄγγελος Κυρίου ) several times. In one instance (Luke 1:11–19) the angel's name is Gabriel , although described as "an" angel of the Lord. Judges 2:1; 6:11, 22; 13:16, 21 Genesis 16:7–11 "The anaphoric article is the article denoting previous reference. The first mention of the substantive is usually anarthrous because it is merely being introduced. But subsequent mentions of it use the article, for the article is now pointing back to the substantive [referent, abstract idea referenced] previously mentioned" ( The Berean Christian Bible Resources: Greek article and others ).
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 1285908436.
The opening as it stood in 2010
The Angel of the Lord (or the Angel of God ) is one of many terms in the Hebrew Bible (also: Old Testament ) used for an angel . The Biblical name for angel, מלאך mal'ach , which translates simply as "messenger," obtained the further signification of "angel" only through the addition of God's name, as ("angel of the Lord," or "angel of God", Zech. 12:8). Other appellations for angels are Benei Elohim , " Sons of God ," Gen. 6:4; Job 1:6; and k'doshim , "the Holy Ones". In the Hebrew Bible angelic messengers often appear to people in the shape of human beings of extraordinary beauty, and are not at once recognized as angels (Gen. 18:2, 19:5; Judges 6:17, 13:6; II Sam. 29:9). Some angels are said to fly through the air; they become invisible; sacrifices touched by them are consumed by fire; they disappear in sacrificial fire, like Elijah, who rode to heaven in a fiery chariot; and they appear in the flames of the thornbush (Gen. 16:13; Judges 6:21, 22; II Kings 2:11; Ex. 3:2). When a biblical character sees an angel identified as the angel of the Lord , this is often interpreted as a theophany .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 357023629.
The opening as it stood in 2015 4 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
The Angel of the Lord appearing to Hagar in the wilderness, as depicted by Nicolas Colombel (1644-1717) The Angel of the Lord (or the Angel of God ) is one of many terms in the Hebrew Bible (also: Old Testament ) used for an angel . The biblical word for angel, מלאך malakh (malach) , which translates simply as "messenger," obtained the further signification of "angel" only through the addition of God's name, as ("angel of the Lord," or "angel of God", Zech. 12:8).
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 669093222.
The opening as it stood in 2020 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
The Angel of the Lord appearing to Hagar in the wilderness, as depicted by Nicolas Colombel (1644-1717) The (or an) angel of the L ORD ( malakh YHWH "messenger of Yahweh ") is an entity appearing repeatedly in the Tanakh ( Old Testament ) on behalf of God ( Yahweh ).The term malakh YHWH , which occurs 65 times in the text of the Hebrew Bible, can be translated either as "the angel of the Lord" or "an angel of the Lord".The King James Version usually translates it as "the angel of the L ORD "; less frequently as "an angel of the L ORD ".The Septuagint (LXX) sometimes uses ἄγγελος Κυρίου (an angel of the Lord), sometimes ὁ ἄγγελος Κυρίου (the angel of the Lord): in Genesis 16:7–11, it gives first the form without the Greek article, then, in all the subsequent mentions with the article, as in the anaphoric use of the article.A closely related term is "angel of God" ( mal'akh 'Elohim ), mentioned 12 times (2 of which are plural).Another related expression, Angel of the Presence , occurs only once (Isaiah 63:9).The New Testament uses the term "angel of the Lord" (ἄγγελος Κυρίου) several times, once (Luke 1:11–19) identified with Gabriel .Judges 2:1; 6:11, 22; 13:16, 21 Genesis 16:7–11 "The anaphoric article is the article denoting previous reference.The first mention of the substantive is usually anarthrous because it is merely being introduced.But subsequent mentions of it use the article, for the article is now pointing back to the substantive previously mentioned" ( The Berean Christian Bible Resources: Greek article and others ).
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 960292177.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
Entity repeatedly mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament For other uses, see Angel of the Lord (disambiguation) .The Angel of the Lord appearing to Hagar in the wilderness, as depicted by Nicolas Colombel (1644-1717) The (or an) angel of the L ORD ( mal’āḵ YHWH "messenger of Yahweh ") is an entity appearing repeatedly in the Hebrew Bible on behalf of the God of Israel . The guessed term malakh YHWH , which occurs 65 times in the text of the Hebrew Bible, can be translated either as "the angel of the Lord" or "an angel of the Lord". The King James Version usually translates it as "the angel of the L ORD "; less frequently as "an angel of the L ORD ". The Septuagint (LXX) sometimes uses ἄγγελος Κυρίου (an angel of the Lord), sometimes ὁ ἄγγελος Κυρίου (the angel of the Lord): in Genesis 16:7–11, it gives first the sounded word without a Greek article, then, in all the subsequent mentions with the article, as in the anaphoric use of the article. A closely related term is "angel of God" ( mal'akh Elohim ), mentioned 12 times (2 of which are plural). Another related expression, Angel of the Presence , occurs only once (Isaiah 63:9). The New Testament uses the term "angel of the Lord" ( ἄγγελος Κυρίου ) several times, in one instance (Luke 1:11–19) the angel's name is Gabriel . Judges 2:1; 6:11, 22; 13:16, 21 Genesis 16:7–11 "The anaphoric article is the article denoting previous reference. The first mention of the substantive is usually anarthrous because it is merely being introduced. But subsequent mentions of it use the article, for the article is now pointing back to the substantive [referent, abstract idea referenced] previously mentioned" ( The Berean Christian Bible Resources: Greek article and others ).
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1173622212.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “one of many terms in the hebrew bible”. Today it says “entity appearing repeatedly in the tanakh on behalf of the god of israel”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “The Angel of the Lord appearing to Hagar in the wilderness, as depicted by Nicolas Colombel (1644-1717) The (or an)”. It now reads “Entity in the Bible”. Read the current article and compare.
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2010, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
one of many terms in the hebrew bible
Now
entity appearing repeatedly in the tanakh on behalf of the god of israel
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
