I was just reading through Judges last week and thought that this was interesting. I compared the NIV text with the NWT. When "Jehovah's Angel" appears to Gideon while he is threshing wheat (Judges 6:12) he says "Jehovah is with you, you valiant, mighty one" (NWT)
Then in Judges 6:14 the scripture reads (NWT) "Upon that Jehovah faced him and said: "Go in this power of yours and you will certainly save Israel out of Midian's palm. Do I not send you? 15. In turn he said to him: "Excuse me, Jehovah. With what shall I save Israel? Look! My thousand is the least in Manasseh, and I am the smallest in my father's house. But Jehovah said to him: "Because I shall prove to be with you, and you will certainly strike down Midian as if one man." In the interest of space, I'll let you read on in your NWT, but Gideon prepares a gift (offering) to Jehovah (Jehovah's Angel) and the offering is accepted on a rock which Jehovah's Angel sets on fire with a thrust of the tip of the staff that was in his hand. In verse 22,23 we see that Gideon believed he saw "Jehovah's angel face to face" and would die. What do JWs believe about this? Do they believe that Jehovah himself appeared face to face with Gideon as the scripture clearly shows? As I understand they believe that nobody has ever seen God.
Continuing in Judges 13, Jehovah's angel appeared to Manoah and his wife. in 17 Manoah asked what his name was and "Jehovah's angel said to him: "Just why should you ask about my name, when it is a wonderful one?"(NWT) in the NIV it reads this way: "18 He replied, "Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding." When Manoah and his wife prepared a burnt offering, Jehovah's angel (angel of the LORD) ascended in the flame heavenward while they were watching. "At once they fell upon their faces to the earth." When they saw this Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the earth. In 22 "Consequently Manoah said to his wife: "We shall positively die, because it is God that we have seen." 23 But his wife said to him: "If Jehovah had ben delighted only to put us to death, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hand, and he would not have shown us all these things, and he would not as now have let us hear anything like this." They believed they saw God and that he accepted the burnt offering. I also find it interesting that the scripture reads "the angel of the LORD" and "Jehovah's angel" and doesn't say "one of Jehovah's angels" or "an angel of the LORD" When asked his name he did not give it, yet the scripture leads us to believe it was God. A manifestation of Jehovah, LORD, God? There are other scriptures similar to these in regards to God appearing to man and not referencing his name when asked (ex. saying to Moses "I AM" when asked who it was that was sending Moses. ex.2 appearing to Abraham) What are your thoughts and how would a typical JW or does the Watchtower view these scriptures?

SeekandShare