The commander is the Divine Warrior who defeats Israel’s enemies (Joshua 21:44; Exodus 15:3).1 His appearance with a sword in his hand suggests that he can be associated also with the angel of the Lord (Numbers 22:23, Numbers 22:31; 1 Chronicles 21:16).2
Historically, Christians have understood the mysterious angel of the Lord to be the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ, due in part to the fact that an angel by this title ceases to appear after the incarnation of Jesus.3 The identity, however, cannot be established with certainty. It is best to see the angel as a self-manifestation of the Lord in a form that would communicate his immanence and direct concern to those to whom he ministered. This self-revelation of God anticipated Christ in a typological manner.4
14 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?”