For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
All Commentaries on Isaiah 9:6 Go To Isaiah 9
Augustine of Hippo
AD 430
The fact that the one who talked to Moses is called both the angel of the Lord and the Lord raises a big problem, which calls not for hasty assertion but for careful investigation. There are two opinions that can be put forward about it, of which either may be true, since they both fit the faith. When I say that either may be true, I mean whichever of them was intended by the writer. When we are searching the Scriptures, we may of course understand them in a way in which the writer perhaps did not; but what we should never do is understand them in a way which does not square with the rule of faith, with the rule of truth, with the rule of piety. So I am offering you both opinions. There may be yet a third that escapes me. Anyway, of these two propositions, choose whichever you like. Some people say that the reason why he is called both the angel of the Lord and the Lord is that he was in fact Christ, of whom the prophet says plainly that he is “the angel of great counsel.” “Angel” is a word signifying function, not nature. “Angel” is Greek for the Latin nuntius. So “Messenger” is the name of an action: you are called a messenger for doing something, namely, for bringing some message. Now who would deny that Christ brought us a message about the kingdom of heaven? And then an angel, that is to say, a messenger, is sent by the one who wants to give a message by him. And who would deny that Christ was sent? So often did he say, “I did not come to do my own will but the will of him who sent me,” that he of all people is the one who was sent. After all, that pool at Siloam “means Sent.” That is why he told the man whose eyes he anointed with mud to wash his face there. No one’s eyes are opened except those of the person who is cleansed by Christ. So then, the angel and the Lord are one and the same.
