Why was the Angel Of The Lord worshiped by Joshua if he was just an angel?

Question

Joshua 5:14

And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?

Answer 1

Let us list the facts about this fascinating encounter described in Josh 5:13 - 6:5 -

• the person is described as "a man" in Josh 5:13, NOT an angel
• The person describes Himself as "commanded of the LORD's army" (V14)
• Joshua falls down in reverence
• Joshua is instructed to remove his sandals (V15) because the place where he is standing is holy ground (compare Ex 3:5, 6)
• In Josh 6:2 this person is described as 'the LORD" who then proceeds to give Joshua instructions about how Jericho was to be conquered.

Thus, by the explicit declaration of the text, confirmed by the instruction to remove sandals, etc, the person speaking with Joshua was the LORD/YHWH Himself.

Now, whether this was Christ or not in another matter - but in view of the following, the incident in Josh 5:13 - 6:5 is likely to have been a Christophany

• -John 1:18 - No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
• John 5:37 - You have never heard His voice nor seen His form
• John 6:46 - No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. (See also Matt 18:10.)
• 1 John 4:12 - No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God remains in us, and His love is perfected in us

This "theophany" is similar to other places in the OT where the LORD appeared to people such as in Gen 18:1, 10, 32:30, Judges 6:14, Job 42:4, etc.

See also my answer to this question: In what sense did Jesus descend/come from heaven? John 3:13 & 3:31

Answer 2

To understand this ‘behaviour’ you need to understand the Hebraic mindset. In this case ‘representation’. The Pentateuch were Hebrew books, written by a Hebrew, for Hebrews…. In their thinking, if a representative of an official stood before you, it was as if that official themselves was standing there. If they spoke, it was as if that official was speaking. And when you replied, you were replying directly to that official (through the representative).

So irrespective of whether this angel was a christophany (pre incarnation), or theophany, or not, Joshua needed to bow and worshiped this entity as Yahweh. This was the right thing to do.

Nowhere in the Old Testament are saints told not to worship angels. This is only found in the New Testament. And the person bowing (John) was a Jew (Hebrew), so natural ‘thing’ to do - but - John forgot that he was born again, and now a son of God - just the same as the angel was - soJohn was admonished.

Answer 3

Why was the angel of the LORD worshipped by Joshua if he was just and angel?

In the same verse Joshua 5:14 of this question, notice that Joshua addressed the angel "my lord" (adoni) which is a form of the word lord which is used for human and angelic superiors but never once means God. Also, in Zechariah 1:12-13, the Angel of the LORD asked the the LORD for information and received comforting words which shows that he is not equal with God in knowledge and power.

The word worship here does not mean sacred service. וַיִּשְׁתָּ֔חוּ (way·yiš·tā·ḥū) means Strong's 7812: To depress, prostrate. If the word "worship' has taken on a different meaning in todays age, the shift should be considered and modern translations should use modern language. The verse does not say that Joshua did sacred service to the only true God of the bible.

Answer 4

Why was the Angel Of The Lord worshiped by Joshua if he was just an angel?

The word "angel" is not in Joshua 5. Joshua saw a man, Joshua 5:

13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”

Did Joshua worship the man?

Joshua 5:14 New International Version

“Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?”

English Standard Version

And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the LORD. Now I have come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?”

The operative Hebrew word here is ambiguous.

Keil and Delitzsch:

for the word השׁתּחוה, which is connected with the falling down, does not always mean divine worship, but very frequently means nothing more than the deep Oriental reverence paid by a dependant to his superior or king (e.g., 2 Samuel 9:6; 2 Samuel 14:33), and Joshua did not address the person who appeared to him by the name of God, but simply as אדני, "My lord."

If you interpret this being as just an angel, then Joshua didn't worship him.

If you interpret this being as a theophany, then Joshu did worship him.

Both interpretations have received supports from different translations.