Meaning of the word angel

Not to be confused with Angle.

This article is about the supernatural beings. For other uses, see Angel (disambiguation).

In various theistic religious traditions, an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God.

Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity.^[1][2] Other roles include protectors and guides for humans, such as guardian angels, and servants of God.^[3] Abrahamic religions describe angelic hierarchies, which vary by religion and sect. Some angels have specific names (such as Gabriel or Michael) or titles (such as seraph or archangel). Those expelled from Heaven are called fallen angels, distinct from the heavenly host.

Angels in art are usually shaped like humans of extraordinary beauty, though this is not always the case—sometimes, they can be portrayed in a frightening, inhuman manner.^[4] They are often identified in Christian artwork with bird wings,^[5] halos,^[6] and divine light.

Etymology[edit]

The word angel arrives in modern English from Old English engel (with a hard g) and the Old French angele.^[7] Both of these derive from Late Latin angelus, which in turn was borrowed from Late Greek ἄγγελος angelos (literally «messenger»).^[8] Τhe word’s earliest form is Mycenaean a-ke-ro, attested in Linear B syllabic script.^[9] According to the Dutch linguist R. S. P. Beekes, ángelos itself may be «an Oriental loan, like ἄγγαρος (ángaros, ‘Persian mounted courier’).»^[10]

The rendering of «ángelos» is the Septuagint’s default translation of the Biblical Hebrew term malʼākh, denoting simply «messenger» without connoting its nature. In the Latin Vulgate, this meaning becomes bifurcated: when malʼākh or ángelos is supposed to denote a human messenger, words like nuntius or legatus are applied. If the word refers to some supernatural being, the word angelus appears. Such differentiation has been taken over by later vernacular translations of the Bible, early Christian and Jewish exegetes and eventually modern scholars.^[11]

Zoroastrianism[edit]

In Zoroastrianism there are different angel-like figures. For example, each person has one guardian angel, called Fravashi. They patronize human beings and other creatures, and also manifest God’s energy. The Amesha Spentas have often been regarded as angels, although there is no direct reference to them conveying messages,^[12] but are rather emanations of Ahura Mazda («Wise Lord», God); they initially appeared in an abstract fashion and then later became personalized, associated with various aspects of creation.^[13]

Abrahamic religions[edit]

Judaism[edit]

In Judaism, angels (Hebrew: מַלְאָךְ‎ mal’āḵ; «messenger»), are understood through interpretation of the Tanakh and in a long tradition as supernatural beings who stand by God in heaven, but are strictly to be distinguished from God (YHWH) and are subordinate to him. Occasionally, they can show selected people God’s will and instructions.^[14] In the Jewish tradition they are also inferior to humans since they have no will of their own and are able to carry out only one divine command.^[15]

Hebrew Bible[edit]

The Torah uses the Hebrew terms מלאך אלהים (mal’āk̠ ‘ĕlōhîm; «messenger of God»), מלאך יהוה (mal’āk̠ Yahweh; «messenger of the Lord»), בני אלהים (bənē ‘ĕlōhîm; «sons of God») and הקודשים (haqqôd̠əšîm; «the holy ones») to refer to beings traditionally interpreted as angels. Later texts use other terms, such as העליונים (hā’elyônîm; «the upper ones»).^{[citation needed]}

The term ‘מלאך’ (‘mal’āk̠’) is also used in other books of the Hebrew Bible. Depending on the context, the Hebrew word may refer to a human messenger or to a supernatural messenger. A human messenger might be a prophet or priest, such as Malachi, «my messenger»; the Greek superscription in the Septuagint translation states the Book of Malachi was written «by the hand of his messenger» ἀγγέλου (angélu). Examples of a supernatural messenger^[16] are the «Malak YHWH,» who is either a messenger from God,^[17] an aspect of God (such as the logos),^[18] or God himself as the messenger (the «theophanic angel.»)^[16][19]

Michael D. Coogan notes that it is only in the late books that the terms «come to mean the benevolent semi-divine beings familiar from later mythology and art.»^[20] Daniel is the biblical book to refer to individual angels by name,^[21] mentioning Gabriel in Daniel 9:21 and Michael in Daniel 10:13. These angels are part of Daniel’s apocalyptic visions and are an important part of apocalyptic literature.^[20][22]

In Daniel 7, Daniel receives a dream-vision from God. […] As Daniel watches, the Ancient of Days takes his seat on the throne of heaven and sits in judgement in the midst of the heavenly court […] an [angel] like a son of man approaches the Ancient One in the clouds of heaven and is given everlasting kingship.^[23]

Coogan explains the development of this concept of angels: «In the postexilic period, with the development of explicit monotheism, these divine beings—the ‘sons of God’ who were members of the Divine Council—were in effect demoted to what are now known as ‘angels’, understood as beings created by God, but immortal and thus superior to humans.»^[20] This conception of angels is best understood in contrast to demons and is often thought to be «influenced by the ancient Persian religious tradition of Zoroastrianism, which viewed the world as a battleground between forces of good and forces of evil, between light and darkness.»^[20] One of these is hāššāṭān, a figure depicted in (among other places) the Book of Job.

Rabbinic Judaism[edit]

According to Rabbinic Judaism, the angels have no bodies, but are eternally living creatures created out of fire. The Babylonian Talmud reads as «The Torah was not given to ministering angels.» (לא נתנה תורה למלאכי השרת) usually understood as a concession to human’s imperfection, in contrast to the angels.^[24] Thus, they occasionally appear in Midrashim as competition with humans.^[25] The angels as heavenly beings, strictly following the laws of God, become jealous of God’s affection for man. Humans, by following the Torah, in prayer, by resisting evil instincts (yetzer hara) and by teshuva, are preferred to the flawless angels. As a result, they are also inferior to humans in the Jewish tradition. In the Midrash, the plural of El (Elohim) used in Genesis in relation to the creation of human beings is explained by the presence of angels: God therefore consulted with the angels, but made the final decision alone. This story serves as an example, teaching that the powerful should also consult with the weak. God’s own final decision highlights God’s undisputable omnipotence.^[25]

In post-Biblical Judaism,^{[clarification needed]} certain angels took on particular significance and developed unique personalities and roles. Although these archangels were believed to rank among the heavenly host, no systematic hierarchy ever developed. Metatron is considered one of the highest of the angels in Merkabah and Kabbalah mysticism and often serves as a scribe; he is briefly mentioned in the Talmud^[26] and figures prominently in Merkabah mystical texts. Michael, who serves as a warrior^[27] and advocate for Israel (Daniel 10:13), is looked upon particularly fondly.^[28] Gabriel is mentioned in the Book of Daniel (Daniel 8:15–17) and briefly in the Talmud,^[29] as well as in many Merkabah mystical texts. There is no evidence in Judaism for the worship of angels, but there is evidence for the invocation and sometimes even conjuration of angels.^[21]

Philo of Alexandria identifies the angel with the Logos inasmuch as the angel is the immaterial voice of God. The angel is something different from God himself, but is conceived as God’s instrument.^[30]

Four classes of ministering angels minister and utter praise before the Holy One, blessed be He: the first camp (led by) Michael on His right, the second camp (led by) Gabriel on His left, the third camp (led by) Uriel before Him, and the fourth camp (led by) Raphael behind Him; and the Shekhinah of the Holy One, blessed be He, is in the centre. He is sitting on a throne high and exalted^[31]

Later interpretations[edit]

According to Kabbalah, there are four worlds and our world is the last world: the world of action (Assiyah). Angels exist in the worlds above as a ‘task’ of God. They are an extension of God to produce effects in this world. After an angel has completed its task, it ceases to exist. The angel is in effect the task. This is derived from the book of Genesis when Abraham meets with three angels and Lot meets with two. The task of one of the angels was to inform Sara and Abraham of their coming child. The other two were to save Lot and to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah.^[21]

Jewish philosopher Maimonides explained his view of angels in his Guide for the Perplexed II:4 and II

… This leads Aristotle in turn to the demonstrated fact that God, glory and majesty to Him, does not do things by direct contact. God burns things by means of fire; fire is moved by the motion of the sphere; the sphere is moved by means of a disembodied intellect, these intellects being the ‘angels which are near to Him’, through whose mediation the spheres move … thus totally disembodied minds exist which emanate from God and are the intermediaries between God and all the bodies [objects] here in this world.

— Guide for the Perplexed II:4, Maimonides

Maimonides had a neo-Aristotelian interpretation of the Bible. Maimonides writes that to the wise man, one sees that what the Bible and Talmud refer to as «angels» are actually allusions to the various laws of nature; they are the principles by which the physical universe operates.

For all forces are angels! How blind, how perniciously blind are the naive?! If you told someone who purports to be a sage of Israel that the Deity sends an angel who enters a woman’s womb and there forms an embryo, he would think this a miracle and accept it as a mark of the majesty and power of the Deity, despite the fact that he believes an angel to be a body of fire one third the size of the entire world. All this, he thinks, is possible for God. But if you tell him that God placed in the sperm the power of forming and demarcating these organs, and that this is the angel, or that all forms are produced by the Active Intellect; that here is the angel, the «vice-regent of the world» constantly mentioned by the sages, then he will recoil.– Guide for the Perplexed II:4

Individuals[edit]

From the Jewish Encyclopedia, entry «Angelology».^[21]

• Michael (archangel) (translation: who is like God?), kindness of God, and stands up for the children of mankind
• Gabriel (archangel) (translation: God is my strength), performs acts of justice and power

(Only these two angels are mentioned by name in the Hebrew Bible; the rest are from extra-biblical tradition.)

• Jophiel (translation: Beauty of God), expelled Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden holding a flaming sword and punishes those who transgress against God
• Metatron, heavenly scribe of God
• Raphael (archangel) (translation: It is God who heals), God’s healing force
• Uriel (archangel) (translation: God is my light), leads humanity to destiny
• Samael (archangel) (translation: Venom of God), angel of death—see also Malach HaMavet (translation: the angel of death)
• Sandalphon (archangel) (translation: bringing together), battles Samael and brings mankind together

Christianity[edit]

Christians inherited Jewish understandings of angels, which in turn may have been partly inherited from the Egyptians.^[32] In the early stage, the Christian concept of an angel characterized the angel as a messenger of God. Later came identification of individual angelic messengers: Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, and Uriel.^[33] Then, in the space of little more than two centuries (from the 3rd to the 5th) the image of angels took on definite characteristics both in theology and in art.^[34] Ellen Muehlberger has argued that in late antiquity, angels were conceived of as one type of being among many, whose primary purpose was to guard and to guide Christians.^[35]

Christian Bible[edit]

Angels are represented throughout Christian Bibles as spiritual beings intermediate between God and humans: «Yet you have made them [humans] a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor.» (Psalms 8:4–5). Christians believe that angels are created beings, based on (Psalms 148:2–5; Colossians 1:16). Greek translations of the Hebrew Bible refer to intermediary beings, as angels, instead of daimons, thus giving raise to a distinction between demons and angels.^{[citation needed]} In the Old Testament, both benevolent and fierce angels are mentioned, but never called demons. The symmetry lies between angels sent by God, and intermediary spirits of foreign deities, not in good and evil deeds.^[36]

In the New Testament, the existence of angels, just like that of demons, is taken for granted.^[37] They can intervene and intercede on behalf of humans. Angels protect the righteous (Matthew 4:6, Luke 4:11). They dwell in the heavens (Matthew 28:2, John 1:51), act as God’s warriors (Matthew 26:53) and worship God (Luke 2:13).^[38] In the parable of the Rich man and Lazarus, angels behave as psychopomps. The Resurrection of Jesus features angels, telling the woman that Jesus is no longer in the tomb, but has risen from the dead.^[39]

Interaction with humans[edit]

Forget not to show love unto strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.—Hebrews 13:2

Three separate cases of angelic interaction deal with the births of John the Baptist and Jesus. In Luke 1:11, an angel appears to Zechariah to inform him that he will have a child despite his old age, thus proclaiming the birth of John the Baptist. In Luke 1:26 Gabriel visits Mary in the Annunciation to foretell the birth of Jesus. Angels proclaim the birth of Jesus in the Adoration of the shepherds in Luke 2:10.^[40]

According to Matthew 4:11, after Jesus spent 40 days in the desert, «…the Devil left him and, behold, angels came and ministered to him.» In Luke 22:43 an angel comforts Jesus during the Agony in the Garden.^[41] In Matthew 28:5 an angel speaks at the empty tomb, following the Resurrection of Jesus and the rolling back of the stone by angels.^[40]

In 1851 Pope Pius IX approved the Chaplet of Saint Michael based on the 1751 reported private revelation from archangel Michael to the Carmelite nun Antonia d’Astonac.^[42] In a biography of Gemma Galgani written by Germanus Ruoppolo, Galgani stated that she had spoken with her guardian angel.

Pope John Paul II emphasized the role of angels in Catholic teachings in his 1986 address titled «Angels Participate In History Of Salvation», in which he suggested that modern mentality should come to see the importance of angels.^[43]

According to the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, «The practice of assigning names to the Holy Angels should be discouraged, except in the cases of Gabriel, Raphael and Michael whose names are contained in Holy Scripture.»^[44]

Theology[edit]

According to Augustine of Hippo, «‘Angel’ is the name of their office, not of their nature. If you seek the name of their nature, it is ‘spirit’; if you seek the name of their office, it is ‘angel’: from what they are, ‘spirit’, from what they do, ‘angel’.»^[45] Gregory of Nazianzus thought that angels were made as «spirits» and «flames of fire», following Hebrews 1, and that they can be identified with the «thrones, dominions, rulers and authorities» of Colossians 1.^[35]

By the late 4th century, the Church Fathers agreed that there were different categories of angels, with appropriate missions and activities assigned to them. There was, however, some disagreement regarding the nature of angels. Some argued that angels had physical bodies,^[46] while some maintained that they were entirely spiritual. Some theologians had proposed that angels were not divine but on the level of immaterial beings subordinate to the Trinity. The resolution of this Trinitarian dispute included the development of doctrine about angels.^[47]

Forty Gospel Homilies by Pope Gregory I (c. 540 – 12 March 604) noted angels and archangels.^[48] The Fourth Lateran Council’s (1215) Firmiter credimus decree (issued against the Albigenses) declared that the angels were created beings and that men were created after them. The First Vatican Council (1869) repeated this declaration in Dei Filius, the «Dogmatic constitution on the Catholic faith».

Thomas Aquinas (13th century) relates angels to Aristotle’s metaphysics in his Summa contra Gentiles,^[49] Summa Theologica,^[50] and in De substantiis separatis,^[51] a treatise on angelology. Although angels have greater knowledge than men, they are not omniscient, as Matthew 24:36 points out.^[52] According to the Summa Theologica, angels were created instantaneously by God in a state of grace in the Empyrean Heaven (LXI. 4) at the same time when he created all the contents of the corporeal world (LXI. 3). They are pure spirits whose life consists in knowledge and love. Being bodiless, their knowledge is intellectual and not through senses (LIV. 5). Differently from humans, their knowledge is not acquired from the exterior world; moreover they attain to the truth of a thing at a single glance without need of reasoning (LV. a; LVIII. 3,4). They know all that passes in the external world (LV. 2) and the totality of creatures, but they don’t know human secret thoughts that depends on human free will and thereby are not necessarily linked up with external events (LVII. 4). They don’t know also the future unless God reveals it to them (LVII. 3).^[53]

According to Aquinas, angels are the closest creatures to God. Therefore, like God, they are constituted by pure form without matter.^[54] Each angel is a species which a unique individual belongs to; angels differ one from another by way of their unique and irrepetible form. In other words, form -and not matter- is their principle of individuation.^[55]

The New Church (Swedenborgianism)[edit]

The New Church denominations that arose from the writings of theologian Emanuel Swedenborg have distinct ideas about angels and the spiritual world in which they dwell. Adherents believe that all angels are in human form with a spiritual body, and are not just minds without form.^[56] There are different orders of angels according to the three heavens,^[57] and each angel dwells in one of innumerable societies of angels. Such a society of angels can appear as one angel as a whole.^[58]

All angels originate from the human race, and there is not one angel in heaven who first did not live in a material body.^[59] Moreover, all children who die not only enter heaven but eventually become angels.^[60] The life of angels is that of usefulness, and their functions are so many that they cannot be enumerated. However each angel will enter a service according to the use that they had performed in their earthly life.^[61] Names of angels, such as Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, signify a particular angelic function rather than an individual being.^[62]

While living in one’s body an individual has conjunction with heaven through the angels,^[63] and with each person, there are at least two evil spirits and two angels.^[64] Temptation or pains of conscience originates from a conflict between evil spirits and angels.^[65] Due to man’s sinful nature it is dangerous to have open direct communication with angels^[66] and they can only be seen when one’s spiritual sight has been opened.^[67] Thus from moment to moment angels attempt to lead each person to what is good tacitly using the person’s own thoughts.^[68]

Latter Day Saints[edit]

The Latter Day Saint movement views angels as the messengers of God. They are sent to mankind to deliver messages, minister to humanity, teach doctrines of salvation, call mankind to repentance, give priesthood keys, save individuals in perilous times, and guide humankind.^[69]

Latter Day Saints believe that angels either are the spirits of humans who are deceased or who have yet to be born, or are humans who have been resurrected or translated and have physical bodies of flesh and bones.^[70] Joseph Smith taught that «there are no angels who minister to this earth but those that do belong or have belonged to it.»^[71] As such, Latter Day Saints also believe that Adam, the first man, was and is now the archangel Michael,^[72][73][74] and that Gabriel lived on the earth as Noah.^[70] Likewise the Angel Moroni first lived in a pre-Columbian American civilization as the 5th-century prophet-warrior named Moroni.

Smith described his first angelic encounter in the following manner:

While I was thus in the act of calling upon God, I discovered a light appearing in my room, which continued to increase until the room was lighter than at noonday, when immediately a personage appeared at my bedside, standing in the air, for his feet did not touch the floor.

He had on a loose robe of most exquisite whiteness. It was a whiteness beyond anything earthly I had ever seen; nor do I believe that any earthly thing could be made to appear so exceedingly white and brilliant …

Not only was his robe exceedingly white, but his whole person was glorious beyond description, and his countenance truly like lightning. The room was exceedingly light, but not so very bright as immediately around his person. When I first looked upon him, I was afraid; but the fear soon left me.^[75]

Most angelic visitations in the early Latter Day Saint movement were witnessed by Smith and Oliver Cowdery, who both said (prior to the establishment of the church in 1830) they had been visited by the prophet Moroni, John the Baptist, and the apostles Peter, James, and John. Later, after the dedication of the Kirtland Temple, Smith and Cowdery said they had been visited by Jesus, and subsequently by Moses, Elias, and Elijah.^[76]

Others who said they received a visit by an angel include the other two of the Three Witnesses: David Whitmer and Martin Harris. Many other Latter Day Saints, both in the early and modern church, have said they had seen angels, although Smith posited that, except in extenuating circumstances such as the restoration, mortals teach mortals, spirits teach spirits, and resurrected beings teach other resurrected beings.^[77]

Islam[edit]

Belief in angels is fundamental to Islam. The Quranic word for angel (Arabic: ملاك Malāk) derives either from Malaka, meaning «he controlled», due to their power to govern different affairs assigned to them,^[78] or from the root either from ʼ-l-k, l-ʼ-k or m-l-k with the broad meaning of a «messenger», just like its counterparts in Hebrew (malʾákh) and Greek (angelos). Unlike their Hebrew counterpart, the term is exclusively used for heavenly spirits of the divine world, but not for human messengers. The Quran refers to both angelic and human messengers as «rasul» instead.^[79] Contrary to popular belief, angels are never described as agents of revelation in the Quran, although interpretation credits Gabriel with that.^[80]

The Quran is the principal source for the Islamic concept of angels.^[81] Some of them, such as Gabriel and Michael, are mentioned by name in the Quran, others are only referred to by their function. In hadith literature, angels are often assigned to only one specific phenomenon.^[82] Angels play a significant role in Mi’raj literature, where Muhammad encounters several angels during his journey through the heavens.^[83] Further angels have often been featured in Islamic eschatology, Islamic theology and Islamic philosophy.^[84] Duties assigned to angels include, for example, communicating revelations from God, glorifying God, recording every person’s actions, and taking a person’s soul at the time of death.

In Islam, just like in Judaism and Christianity, angels are often represented in anthropomorphic forms combined with supernatural images, such as wings, being of great size or wearing heavenly articles.^[85] The Quran describes them as «messengers with wings—two, or three, or four: He [God] adds to Creation as He pleases…»^[86] Common characteristics for angels are their missing needs for bodily desires, such as eating and drinking.^[87] Their lack of affinity to material desires is also expressed by their creation from light: Angels of mercy are created from nur (cold light) in opposition to the angels of punishment created from nar (hot light).^[88] Muslims do not generally share the perceptions of angelic pictorial depictions, such as those found in Western art.

Although believing in angels remain one of Six Articles of Faith in Islam, one can not find a dogmatic angelology in Islamic tradition. Despite this, scholars had discussed the role of angels from specific canonical events, such as the Mi’raj, and Quranic verses. Even if they are not in focus, they have been featured in folklore, philosophy debates and systematic theology. While in classical Islam, widespread notions were accepted as canonical, there is a tendency in contemporary scholarship to reject much material about angels, like calling the Angel of Death by the name Azra’il.^[89]

In Folk Islam, individual angels may be evoked in exorcism rites, whose names are engraved in talismans or amulets.^[90]

Some modern scholars have emphasized a metaphorical reinterpretation of the concept of angels.^[91]

Baháʼí faith[edit]

In his Kitáb-i-Íqán Baháʼu’lláh, founder of the Baháʼí Faith, describes angels as people who «have consumed, with the fire of the love of God, all human traits and limitations», and have «clothed themselves» with angelic attributes and have become «endowed with the attributes of the spiritual». ʻAbdu’l-Bahá describes angels as the «confirmations of God and His celestial powers» and as «blessed beings who have severed all ties with this nether world» and «been released from the chains of self», and «revealers of God’s abounding grace». The Baháʼí writings also refer to the Concourse on High, an angelic host, and the Maid of Heaven of Baháʼu’lláh’s vision.^[92]

I raised my hand another time, and bared one of Her breasts that had been hidden beneath Her gown. Then the firmament was illumined by the radiance of its light, contingent beings were made resplendent by its appearance and effulgence, and by its rays, infinite numbers of suns dawned forth, as though they trekked through heavens that were without beginning or end. I became bewildered at the pen of God’s handiwork, and at what it had inscribed upon Her temple. It was as though She had appeared with a body of light in the forms of the spirit, as though She moved upon the earth of essence in the substance of manifestation. I noticed that the houris had poked their heads out of their rooms and were suspended in the air above Her. They grew perplexed at Her appearance and Her beauty and were entranced by the raptures of Her song. Praise be to Her creator, fashioner, and maker—to the one Who made Her manifest.

Then she nearly swooned within herself, and with all her being she sought to inhale My fragrance. She opened Her lips, and the rays of light dawned forth from Her teeth, as though the pearls of the cause had appeared from Her treasures and Her shells.

She asked, «Who art Thou?»

I said, «A servant of God and the son of his maidservant.»^[93]

Neoplatonism[edit]

Philo of Alexandria already identified the Neo-Platonic interpretation of daemons as angels. The daemons were thought to be intermediary between the supernatural and earthly realm, interpreted by Philo as the Greek term for angels.^[36]

In the commentaries of Proclus (4th century) on the Timaeus of Plato, Proclus uses the terminology of «angelic» (aggelikos) and «angel» (aggelos) in relation to metaphysical beings. According to Aristotle, just as there is a Prime Mover,^[94] so, too, must there be spiritual secondary movers.^[95]

Ibn Sina, who drew upon the Neo-Platonistic emanation cosmology of Al-Farabi, developed an angelological hierarchy of Intellects, which are created by «the One». Therefore, the first creation by God was the supreme archangel followed by other archangels, who are identified with lower Intellects. From these Intellects again, emanated lower angels or «moving spheres», from which in turn, emanated other Intellects until it reaches the Intellect, which reigns over the souls. The tenth Intellect is responsible for bringing material forms into being and illuminating the minds.^[96][97]

Sikhism[edit]

The poetry of the holy scripture of the Sikhs – the Sri Guru Granth Sahib – figuratively mentions a messenger or angel of death, sometimes as Yama (ਜਮ – «Yam») and sometimes as Azrael (ਅਜਰਾਈਲੁ – «Ajraeel»):

ਜਮ ਜੰਦਾਰੁ ਨ ਲਗਈ ਇਉ ਭਉਜਲੁ ਤਰੈ ਤਰਾਸਿ
The Messenger of Death will not touch you; in this way, you shall cross over the terrifying world ocean [ru], carrying others across with you.

— Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Siree Raag, First Mehl, p. 22.^[98]

ਅਜਰਾਈਲੁ ਯਾਰੁ ਬੰਦੇ ਜਿਸੁ ਤੇਰਾ ਆਧਾਰੁ
Azraa-eel, the Messenger of Death, is the friend of the human being who has Your support, Lord.

— Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Tilang, Fifth Mehl, Third House, p. 724.^[99]

In a similar vein, the Sri Guru Granth Sahib talks of a figurative Chitar (ਚਿਤ੍ਰ) and Gupat (ਗੁਪਤੁ):

ਚਿਤ੍ਰ ਗੁਪਤੁ ਸਭ ਲਿਖਤੇ ਲੇਖਾ ॥

ਭਗਤ ਜਨਾ ਕਉ ਦ੍ਰਿਸਟਿ ਨ ਪੇਖਾ

Chitar and Gupat, the recording angels of the conscious and the unconscious, write the accounts of all mortal beings, / but they cannot even see the Lord’s humble devotees.

— Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Aasaa, Fifth Mehl, Panch-Pada, p. 393.^[100]

However, Sikhism has never had a literal system of angels, preferring guidance without explicit appeal to supernatural orders or beings.^{[citation needed]}

Esotericism[edit]

Hermetic Qabalah[edit]

According to the Kabbalah as described by the Golden Dawn there are ten archangels, each commanding one of the choirs of angels and corresponding to one of the Sephirot. It is similar to the Jewish angelic hierarchy.

Rank	Choir of Angels	Translation	Archangel	Sephirah
1	Hayot Ha Kodesh	Holy Living Ones	Metatron	Keter
2	Ophanim	Wheels	Raziel	Chokmah
3	Erelim	Brave ones[101]	Tzaphkiel	Binah
4	Hashmallim	Glowing ones, Amber ones[102]	Tzadkiel	Chesed
5	Seraphim	Burning Ones	Khamael	Gevurah
6	Malakim	Messengers, angels	Raphael	Tipheret
7	Elohim	Godly Beings	Uriel	Netzach
8	Bene Elohim	Sons of Elohim	Michael	Hod
9	Cherubim	[103]	Gabriel	Yesod
10	Ishim	Men (man-like beings, phonetically similar to «fires»)	Sandalphon	Malkuth

Theosophy[edit]

In the teachings of the Theosophical Society, Devas are regarded as living either in the atmospheres of the planets of the Solar System (Planetary Angels) or inside the Sun (Solar Angels) and they help to guide the operation of the processes of nature such as the process of evolution and the growth of plants; their appearance is reputedly like colored flames about the size of a human. It is believed by Theosophists that devas can be observed when the third eye is activated. Some (but not most) devas originally incarnated as human beings.^[104]

It is believed by Theosophists that nature spirits, elementals (gnomes, undines, sylphs, and salamanders), and fairies also can be observed when the third eye is activated.^[105] It is maintained by Theosophists that these less evolutionarily developed beings have never been previously incarnated as humans; they are regarded as being on a separate line of spiritual evolution called the «deva evolution»; eventually, as their souls advance as they reincarnate, it is believed they will incarnate as devas.^[106]

It is asserted by Theosophists that all of the above-mentioned beings possess etheric bodies that are composed of etheric matter, a type of matter finer and more pure that is composed of smaller particles than ordinary physical plane matter.^[106]

Other[edit]

The Greek magical papyri, a set of texts forming into a completed grimoire that date somewhere between 100 BC and 400 AD, also list the names of the angels found in monotheistic religions, but they are presented as deities.^[107]

Numerous references to angels present themselves in the Nag Hammadi Library, in which they both appear as malevolent servants of the Demiurge and innocent associates of the aeons.^[108]

Brahma Kumaris[edit]

The Brahma Kumaris uses the term «angel» to refer to a perfect, or complete state of the human being, which they believe can be attained through a connection with God.^[109][110] It is expanded as a state of being rather than an entity.^[109]

Yazidism[edit]

In Yazidism, there are seven Divine Beings (often called ‘angels’ in the literature) who were created by God prior to the creation of this world. God appointed Tawûsî Melek as their leader and assigned all of the world’s affairs to these seven Divine Beings.^[111] These Divine Beings are referred to as Tawûsî Melek, Melek Şemsedîn, Melek Nasirdîn, Melek Fexredîn, Melek Sicadîn, Melek Şêxsin and Melek Şêxûbekir.

In art[edit]

According to mainstream Christian theology, angels are wholly spiritual beings and therefore do not eat, excrete or have sex, and have no gender. Although their different roles, such as warriors for some archangels, may suggest a human gender, Christian artists were careful not to given them specific gender attributes, at least until the 19th century, when some acquire breasts for example.^[112]

In an address during a General Audience of 6 August 1986, entitled «Angels participate in the history of salvation», Pope John Paul II explained that «[T]he angels have no ‘body’ (even if, in particular circumstances, they reveal themselves under visible forms because of their mission for the good of people).»^[43] Christian art perhaps reflects the descriptions in Revelation 4:6–8 of the Four Living Creatures (Greek: τὰ τέσσαρα ζῷα) and the descriptions in the Hebrew Bible of cherubim and seraphim (the chayot in Ezekiel’s Merkabah vision and the Seraphim of Isaiah). However, while cherubim and seraphim have wings in the Bible, no angel is mentioned as having wings.^[113]
The earliest known Christian image of an angel—in the Cubicolo dell’Annunziazione in the Catacomb of Priscilla (mid-3rd century)—is without wings. In that same period, representations of angels on sarcophagi, lamps and reliquaries also show them without wings,^[114] as for example the angel in the Sacrifice of Isaac scene in the Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus (although the side view of the Sarcophagus shows winged angelic figures).

The earliest known representation of angels with wings is on the «Prince’s Sarcophagus», attributed to the time of Theodosius I (379–395), discovered at Sarigüzel, near Istanbul, in the 1930s.^[115] From that period on, Christian art has represented angels mostly with wings, as in the cycle of mosaics in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major (432–440).^[116] Four- and six-winged angels, drawn from the higher grades of angels (especially cherubim and seraphim) and often showing only their faces and wings, are derived from Persian art and are usually shown only in heavenly contexts, as opposed to performing tasks on earth. They often appear in the pendentives of church domes or semi-domes. Prior to the Judeo-Christian tradition, in the Greek world the goddess Nike and the gods Eros and Thanatos were also depicted in human-like form with wings.

John Chrysostom explained the significance of angels’ wings:

They manifest a nature’s sublimity. That is why Gabriel is represented with wings. Not that angels have wings, but that you may know that they leave the heights and the most elevated dwelling to approach human nature. Accordingly, the wings attributed to these powers have no other meaning than to indicate the sublimity of their nature.^[117]

Angels are typically depicted in Mormon art as having no wings based on a quote from Joseph Smith («An angel of God never has wings»).^[118]

In terms of their clothing, angels, especially the Archangel Michael, were depicted as military-style agents of God and came to be shown wearing Late Antique military uniform. This uniform could be the normal military dress, with a tunic to about the knees, an armour breastplate and pteruges, but was often the specific dress of the bodyguard of the Byzantine Emperor, with a long tunic and the loros, the long gold and jewelled pallium restricted to the Imperial family and their closest guards.

The basic military dress was shown in Western art into the Baroque period and beyond (see Reni picture above), and up to the present day in Eastern Orthodox icons. Other angels came to be conventionally depicted in long robes, and in the later Middle Ages they often wear the vestments of a deacon, a cope over a dalmatic. This costume was used especially for Gabriel in Annunciation scenes—for example the Annunciation in Washington by Jan van Eyck.

Some types of angels are described as possessing more unusual or frightening attributes, such as the fiery bodies of the Seraphim, and the wheel-like structures of the Ophanim.

• 

  Italian Gothic adorning angel, circa 1395–1396, lunense marble from Carrara (Italy), overall: 118.7 x 28.6 x 32.4 cm, Metropolitan Museum of Art

• 

  Italian Gothic angel of the annunciation, circa 1430–1440, Istrian limestone, gesso and gilt, 95.3 x 37.5 cm, Metropolitan Museum of Art

• 

  Southern German Baroque angel, by Ignaz Günther, circa 1760–1770, lindenwood with traces of gesso, 26.7 x 18.4 cm, Metropolitan Museum of Art

• 

  Corinthian capital with an angel who wolds a festoon with his wings, in Stiftskirche Mariae Himmelfahrt in Schlägl (Austria)

• 

  An angel in the former coat of arms of Tenala

• 

  The Kind Angel of Peace monument (Donetsk, Ukraine)

• 

  Angel in Sao Paulo.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Sources[edit]

• — (2002b). What Everyone Needs to Know about Islam. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-515713-0.

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

• Coptic Doxology of Heavenly Order
• Zoroastrian angels
• Jewish Encyclopedia entry on angels
• Directory on popular piety and the liturgy. Principles and guidelines Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. Directory of Popular Piety and the Liturgy, §§ 212–217, «The Holy Angels, Vatican City, December 2001]
• Angels, BBC Radio 4 discussion with Martin Palmer, Valery Rees & John Haldane (In Our Time, Mar. 24, 2005)

An angel is a spiritual being of light that serves as a messenger and servant of God in the pantheons of both Abrahamic and Zoroastrian traditions.

Some magic-users of various traditions call upon angels for advice, protection or to help them achieve certain tasks.

The Enochian magick system is based upon communication with angels.

Origin of the word Angel

The word angel comes from the Late Greek ἄγγελος (transl) aggelos meaning “messenger”, which may have been borrowed from Persian ἄγγαρος (transl) ángaros “Mounted courier”.

The original Hebrew writings gave a few names to the divine messengers and servants of God, including מלאך אלהים (transl) mal’āk̠ ‘ĕlōhîm “messenger of God”, מלאך יהוה, mal’āk̠ YHWH “Messenger of YHWH”, בני אלהים , bənē ‘ĕlōhîm “sons of God”, הקודשים, (transl) haqqôd̠əšîm “holy ones”, and later, העליונים hā’elyônîm “the upper ones”.

The idea of a guardian angel appears in Zoroastrian tradition with the Fravashi.

About Morningbird (Witchipedia’s Founder)

I am a homesteading hearth witch who grew up along the shores of the Hudson River and has lived among the Great Lakes for the past 20 years. Together with my musical husband and youngest child, I steward a one-acre mini homestead with herb, vegetable and flower gardens, chickens, ducks, geese and rabbits, and areas reserved for native plants and wildlife. 

I have three children; two are grown, and I have been practicing magick alone and with family and friends for over 30 years.

Last Updated:
13 Apr 2023
— Updated example sentences

An angel is an ethereal being found in many religions, whose duties are to assist and serve God. They typically act as messengers, as believed in the three main monotheistic religions; Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Etymology

The English word originated from Latin, angelus, which is itself derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, ángelos, meaning «messenger» (double gamma «γγ» is pronounced «ng» in Greek). The closest Hebrew word for angel is מלאך, mal’ach Hebrew word #4397 in Strong’s

, also meaning «messenger». «Angel» is also used in the English Version of the Bible for the following three Hebrew words:

• אביר, abbir Hebrew word #47 in Strong’s

, Psalm 78:25 (lit. «mighty»)

• אלהים, Elohim Hebrew word #430 in Strong’s

, Psalm 8:5

• the obscure שנאן, shin’an Hebrew word #8136 in Strong’s

, in Psalm 68:17

Angelology

Angelology is a branch of theology that deals with a hierarchical system of angels, messengers, celestial powers or emanations, and the study of these systems. It primarily relates to Judaism, whose system is kaballistic, and Christianity, where it is one of the ten major branches of theology, albeit a neglected one.

Some people believe that Zoroastrianism had an influence on Jewish angelology, and therefore modern Christian angelology, due to the appearance of supposed elements from Zoroastrianism in Judaism following Israel’s extended contact with Persia while in exile in Babylon, such as Satan as a supreme head over the powers of evil, in contrast to God, comparing Satan to Angra Mainyu (also known as Ahriman) of Zoroastrian faith, who contrasted with Ahura Mazda, the supreme deity. Satan’s title of «Prince of Darkness» may also have come from Zoroastrian faith, though this is unlikely. Angels, perhaps for the first time, may have appeared in Zoroastrianism as God’s helpers, and their hierarchy is comparable to modern Angelology’s hierarchy.

In contrast, some critics believe that it was Judaism and Christianity that had an influence on Zoroastrianism. They purport that similarities, such as those between Zoroaster and Jesus, and the incorporation of other motifs, were created by priests in an attempt to exalt Zoroaster, and deter those of Zoroastrian faith from converting to other faiths.

Angels in the Hebrew Bible

The Biblical name for messenger, מלאך (‘malakh»), obtained the further signification of «angel» only through the addition of God’s name, as «angel of the Lord,» or «angel of God» (Zech. xii. 8). Other appellations are «Sons of God», (Genesis vi. 4; Job, i. 6 [R. V. v. 1]) and «the Holy Ones» (Psalms lxxxix. 6, 8).

According to Jewish interpretation, ‘Elohim is almost entirely reserved for the one true God; but at times ‘Elohim (powers), bnē ‘Elohim, bnē Elim (sons of gods)(i.e. members of the class of divine beings) were general terms for beings with great power (i.e. judges or alternately, some kind of super powerful human beings). Hence they came to be used collectively of super-human beings, distinct from Yahweh and, therefore, inferior and ultimately subordinate (e.g. Genesis 6:2; Job 1:6; Psalms 8:5). (See also: Names of God in Judaism)

Angels are referred to as «holy ones» (Zechariah 14:5) and «watchers» (Daniel 4:13). They are spoken of as the «host of heaven» (Deuteronomy 17:3) or of «Yahweh» (Joshua 5:14). The «hosts,» צבאות Sebaoth in the title Yahweh Sebaoth (alternatively, Adonai Tzivo’ot), Lord of Hosts, were probably at one time identified with the angels. The identification of the «hosts» with the stars comes to the same thing; the stars were thought of as being closely connected with angels. However, YHWH is very jealous of the distinction between Himself and angels, and consequently, the Hebrews were forbidden by Moses to worship the «host of heaven». It is probable that the «hosts» were also identified with the armies of Israel, whether this army is human, or angelic. The New Testament often speaks of «spirits,» πνεύματα (Revelation 1:4).

Prior to the emergence of monotheism in Israel the idea of an angel was the Mal’akh Yahweh, Angel of the Lord, or Mal’akh Elohim, Angel of God. The Mal’akh Yahweh is an appearance or manifestation of Yahweh in the form of a man, and the term Mal’akh Yahweh is used interchangeably with Yahweh (c.f.  Exodus 3:2, with 3:4; 13:21 with 14:19). Those who see the Mal’akh Yahweh say they have seen God (Genesis 32:30; Judges 13:22). The Mal’akh Yahweh (or Elohim) appears to Abraham, Hagar, Moses, Gideon, etc., and leads the Israelites in the Pillar of Cloud (Exodus 3:2). The phrase Mal’akh Yahweh may have been originally a courtly circumlocution for the Divine King; but it readily became a means of avoiding anthropomorphism, and later on, when angels were classified, the Mal’akh Yahweh meant an angel of distinguished rank. The identification of the Mal’akh Yahweh with the Logos, or Second Person of the Trinity, is not indicated by the references in the Hebrew scriptures; but the idea of a Being partly identified with God, and yet in some sense distinct from him, illustrates a tendency of Jewish religious thought to distinguish persons within the unity of the deity. Christians think that this foreshadows the doctrine of the Trinity, whereas Kabbalist Jews would show how it developed into kabbalistic theological thought and imagery.

In earlier literature the Mal’akh Yahweh or Elohim is almost the only angel mentioned. However, there are a few passages which speak of subordinate superhuman beings other than the Mal’akh Yahweh or Elohim. There are the cherubim who guard Garden of Eden. In Genesis 18, 19. (J) the appearance of Yahweh to Abraham and Lot is connected with three, afterwards two, men or messengers; but possibly in the original form of the story Yahweh appeared alone (Cf. 18:1 with 18:2, and note change of number in 19:17). At Bethel, Jacob sees the angels of God on the ladder (Genesis 28:12), and later on they appear to him at Mahanaim (Genesis 32:1). In all these cases the angels, like the Mal’akh Yahweh, are connected with or represent a theophany. Similarly the «man» who wrestles with Jacob at Peniel is identified with God (Genesis 32:24, 30). In Isaiah 6 the seraphim, superhuman beings with six wings, appear as the attendants of Yahweh. Thus, the pre-exilic literature rarely mentions angels, or other superhuman beings other than Yahweh and manifestations of Yahweh; the pre-exilic prophets hardly mention angels. An angel of I Kings 13:18 might be the Mal’akh Yahweh, as in 19:5, cf. 7, or the passage, at any rate in its present form, may be exilic or post-exilic. Nevertheless we may well suppose that polytheists in ancient Israel believed in superhuman beings other than Yahweh, but that the inspired writers have mostly suppressed references to them as unedifying.

Once the doctrine of monotheism was formally expressed, in the period immediately before and during the Exile (Deuteronomy 6:4-5 and Isaiah 43:10), we find angels prominent in the Book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel, as a prophet of the Exile, may have been influenced by the hierarchy of supernatural beings in the Babylonian religion, and perhaps even by the angelology of Zoroastrianism (it is not, however, certain that these doctrines of Zoroastrianism were developed at so early a date). Ezekiel 9 gives elaborate descriptions of cherubim (a class, or type of angels); and in one of his visions, he sees seven angels execute the judgment of God upon Jerusalem. As in Genesis, they are styled «men»; mal’akh, for «angel», does not occur in Ezekiel. Somewhat later, in the visions of Zechariah, angels play a great part; they are sometimes spoken of as «men», sometimes as mal’akh, and the Mal’akh Yahweh seems to hold a certain primacy among them (Zecharias 1:11). The Satan also appears to prosecute (so to speak) the High Priest before the divine tribunal (Zecharias 3:1). Similarly in the Job the bne Elohim, sons of God, appear as attendants of God, and amongst them, Satan (Hebrew ha satan), again in the role of public prosecutor, the defendant being Job (Job 1, 2. Cf. I Chronicles 21:1). Occasional references to «angels» occur in the Psalter (Pss. 91:11, 103:20 &c.); they appear as ministers of God.

In Psalms 78:49 the «evil angels» of the Authorized Version conveys a false impression; it should be «angels of evil», i.e. angels who inflict chastisement as ministers of God.

The seven angels of Ezekiel may be compared with the seven eyes of Yahweh in Zecharias 3:9, 4:10. The latter have been connected by Ewald and others with the later doctrine of seven chief angels (Tobit 12:15; Revelations 8:2), parallel to and influenced by the Ameshaspentas (Amesha Spenta), or seven great spirits of the Persian mythology.

In the Priestly Code, c. 400 BCE, there is no reference to angels, apart from the possible suggestion in the plural in Genesis 1:26.

During the Persian and Greek periods, the doctrine of angels underwent a great development, partly, at any rate, under foreign influences. In Daniel, c. 160 BCE, 71 angels, usually spoken of as «men» or «Angel-princes«, appear as guardians or champions of the individual nations, defending them as God sits in council with them over the world; grades are implied, there are «princes» and «chief» or «great princes»; and the names of some angels are known, Gabriel, Michael; the latter is pre-eminent (Dan. 8:16; 10:13, 20-21), he is the guardian of Israel’s leading Kingdom of Judah. Again in Tobit a leading part is played by Raphael, «one of the seven holy angels». (Tob. 12:15.)

In Tobit, too, we find the idea of the demon or evil angel. In the canonical Hebrew/Aramaic scriptures, angels may inflict suffering as ministers of God, and Satan may act as accuser or tempter; but they appear as subordinates to God, fulfilling His will, and not as independent, morally evil agents. The statement (Job 4:18) that God «charged his angels with folly» applies to all angels. In Daniel, the princes, or guardian angels, of the heathen nations oppose Michael, the guardian angel of Judah. But in Tobit, we find Asmodeus the evil demon, τὸ πονηρὸν δαιμόνιον, who strangles Sarah’s husbands, and also a general reference to «a devil or evil spirit», πνεῦμα (Tobit 3:8, 17; 6:7).

The Fall of the Angels is not properly a scriptural doctrine, though it is based on Gen. 6:2, as interpreted by the Book of Enoch. It is true that the bnē Elohim of that chapter are subordinate superhuman beings (cf. above), but they belong to a different order of thought from the angels of Judaism and of Christian doctrine; and the passage in no way suggests that the bne Elohim suffered any loss of status through their act.

The guardian angels of the nations in Daniel probably represent the gods of the heathen, and we have there the first step of the process by which these gods became evil angels, an idea expanded by Milton in Paradise Lost. The development of the doctrine of an organized hierarchy of angels belongs to the Jewish literature of the period 200 BCE to 100 CE. In Jewish apocalypses especially, the imagination ran riot on the rank, classes and names of angels; and such works as the various books of Enoch and the Ascension of Isaiah supply much information on this subject.

Appearance of angels

In the Hebrew Bible, angels often appear to people in the shape of humans of extraordinary beauty, and often are not immediately recognized as angels (Gen. xviii. 2, xix. 5; Judges, vi. 17, xiii. 6; II Sam. xxix. 9); some fly through the air; some become invisible; sacrifices touched by them are consumed by fire; and they may disappear in sacrificial fire, like Elijah, who rode to heaven in a fiery chariot. Angels, or the Angel, appeared in the flames of the thorn bush (Gen. xvi. 13; Judges, vi. 21, 22; II Kings, ii. 11; Ex. iii. 2). They are described as pure and bright as Heaven; consequently, they are said to be formed of fire, and encompassed by light (Job, xv. 15), as the Psalmist said (Ps. civ. 4, R. V.): «Who makes winds his messengers; his ministers a flaming fire.» Some verses in the
Apocrypha depict angels wearing blue or red robes but no such reference occurs in the
Protestant books.

Though superhuman, angels can assume human form; this is the earliest conception. Gradually, and especially in post-Biblical times, angels came to be bodied forth in a form corresponding to the nature of the mission to be fulfilled—generally, however, the human form. Angels bear drawn swords or other destroying weapons in their hands—one carries an ink-horn by his side—and ride on horses (Num. xxii. 23, Josh. v. 13, Ezek. ix. 2, Zech. i. 8 et seq.). It is worth noting that these angels carry items that are contemporary to the time in which they visit (perhaps angels are bound by the technology which humans have achieved). A terrible angel is the one mentioned in I Chron. xxi. 16, 30, as standing «between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand». In the Book of Daniel, reference is made to an angel «clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: his body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in color to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude» (Dan. x. 5, 6). This imagery is very similar to the description of Jesus in the book of Revelation. Angels are thought to possess wings (Dan. ix. 21), as they are described in the Bible, and depicted in Christian, Jewish and Zoroastrian art. They are commonly depicted with halos.

In Christian iconography, the use of wings is an iconographic convention that is intended to denote the figure as a spirit. Depictions of angels in Christian art as winged human forms, unlike classical pagan depictions of the major deities, follow the iconic conventions of lesser winged gods, such as Eos, Eros, Thanatos and Nike.

Angels are portrayed as powerful and dreadful, endowed with wisdom and with knowledge of all earthly events, correct in their judgment, holy, but not infallible: they strive against each other, and God has to make peace between them. When their duties are not punitive, angels are beneficent to man (Ps. ciii. 20, lxxviii. 25; II Sam. xiv. 17, 20, xix. 28; Zech. xiv. 5; Job, iv. 18, xxv. 2).

The number of angels is enormous. Jacob meets a host of angels; Joshua sees the «captain of the host of the Lord»; God sits on His throne, «all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right hand and on his left»; the sons of God come «to present themselves before the Lord» (Gen. xxxii. 2; Josh. v. 14, 15; I Kings, xxii. 19; Job, i. 6, ii. 1; Ps. lxxxix. 6; Job, xxxiii. 23). The general conception is the one of Job (xxv. 3): «Is there any number of his armies?» In the book of Revelation, the number is «a thousand thousands, and many tens of thousands».

Though the older writings usually mention one angel of the Lord, embassies to men as a rule comprised several messengers. The inference, however, is not to be drawn that God Himself or one particular angel was designated: the expression was given simply to God’s power to accomplish through but one angel any deed, however wonderful.

Angels are referred to in connection with their special missions as, for instance, the «angel which hath redeemed,» «an interpreter,» «the angel that destroyed,» «messenger of the covenant,» «angel of his presence,» and «a band of angels of evil» (Gen. xlviii. 16; Job, xxxiii. 23; II Sam. xxiv. 16; Mal. iii. 1; Isa. lxiii. 9; Ps. lxxviii. 49, R. V.). When, however, the heavenly host is regarded in its most comprehensive aspect, a distinction may be made between cherubim, seraphim, Hayyoth («living creatures»), Ofanim («wheels»), and Arelim (another name for Thrones). God is described as riding on the cherubim and as «the Lord of hosts, who dwelleth between the cherubim»; while the latter guard the way of the Tree of Life (I Sam. iv. 4, Ps. lxxx. 2, Gen. iii. 24). The seraphim are described by Isaiah (vi. 2) as having six wings; and Ezekiel describes the ḥayyot (Ezek. i. 5 et seq.) and ofanim as heavenly beings who carry God’s throne.

In post-Biblical times, the heavenly hosts became more highly organized (possibly as early as Zechariah [iii. 9, iv. 10]; certainly in Daniel), and there came to be various kinds of angels; some even being provided with names, as will be shown below.

Purpose

In the Bible, angels are a medium of God’s power; they exist to execute God’s will. Angels reveal themselves to individuals as well as to the whole nation, in order to announce events, either good or bad, affecting humans. Angels foretold to Abraham the birth of Isaac, to Manoah the birth of Samson, and to Abraham the destruction of Sodom. Guardian angels were mentioned, but not, as was later the case, as guardian spirits of individuals and nations. God sent an angel to protect the Hebrew people after their exodus from Egypt, to lead them to the Promised Land, and to destroy the hostile tribes in their way (Ex. 23.20, Num. 20.16).

In Judges (ii. 1) an angel of the Lord—unless here and in the preceding instances (compare Isa. xlii. 19, Ḥag. i. 13, Mal. iii. 1), a human messenger of God is meant—addressed the whole people, swearing to bring them to the promised land. An angel brought Elijah meat and drink (I Kings, xix. 5); and as God watched over Jacob, so is every pious person protected by an angel, who cares for him in all his ways (Ps. xxxiv. 7, xci. 11). There are angels militant, one of whom smites in one night the whole Assyrian army of 185,000 men (II Kings, xix. 35); messengers go forth from God «in ships to make the careless Ethiopians afraid» (Ezek. xxx. 9); the enemy is scattered before the angel like chaff (Ps. xxxv. 5, 6).

Avenging angels are mentioned, such as the one in II Sam. xxiv. 15, who annihilates thousands. It would seem that the pestilence was personified, and that the «evil angels» mentioned in Ps. lxxviii. 49 are to be regarded as personifications of this kind. «Evil» is here to be taken in the causative sense, as «producing evil»; for, as stated above, angels are generally considered to be by nature beneficent to man. They glorify God, whence the term «glorifying angels» comes (Ps. xxix. 1, ciii. 20, cxlviii. 2; compare Isa. vi. 2 et seq.).

They constitute God’s court, sitting in council with Him (I Kings, xxii. 19; Job, i. 6, ii. 1); hence they are called His «council of the holy ones» (Ps. lxxxix. 7, R. V.; A. V. «assembly of the saints»). They accompany God as His attendants, when He appears to man (Deut. xxxiii. 2; Job, xxxviii. 7). This conception was developed after the Exile; and in the Zechariah, angels of various shapes are delegated «to walk to and fro through the earth» in order to find out and report what happens (Zech. vi. 7).

In the prophetic books, angels appear as representatives of the prophetic spirit, and bring to the prophets God’s word. Thus the prophet Haggai was called God’s messenger (angel); and it is known that «Malachi» is not a real name, but means «messenger» or «angel». In I Kings, xiii. 18, an angel brought the divine word to the prophet.

In some places, it is implied that angels existed before the Creation (Gen. i. 26; Job, xxxviii. 7). The earlier Biblical writings did not speculate about them; simply regarding them, in their relations to man, as God’s agents. Consequently, they did not individualize or denominate them; and in Judges, xiii. 18, and Gen. xxxii. 30, the angels, when questioned, refuse to give their names. In Daniel, however, there occur the names Michael and Gabriel. Michael is Israel’s representative in Heaven, where other nations—the Persians, for instance—were also represented by angelic princes. More than three hundred years before the Book of Daniel was written, Zechariah graded the angels according to their rank, but did not name them. The notion of the seven eyes (Zech. iii. 9, iv. 10) may have been affected by the representation of the seven archangels and also possibly by the seven amesha spentas of Zoroastrianism (compare Ezek. ix. 2).

Jewish views

Angels appear in several Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) stories, in addition to the ones previously mentioned above. These include the warning to Lot of the imminent destruction of Sodom. Many Bible chapters mention an «angry God» who sends His angel to smite the enemies of the Israelites. Traditional Jewish biblical commentators have a variety of ways of explaining what an angel is. The earliest Biblical books present angels as heavenly beings created by God, some of whom apparently are endowed with free will. Later biblical books in the Tanakh present a stunningly different view of angels, as the Jewish beliefs about such things developed over the many years covered in the Bible. Such a differing perspective on angels is discovered in the Book of Ezekiel, where these angels bear no relation whatsoever to the former understanding of what an angel was.

The archangels named in post-exile Judaism are Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, Uriel, Raguel, Sariel, and Jerahmeel. Gabriel and Michael are mentioned in the book of Daniel, Raphael in the book of Tobit (from the Protestant Apocrypha or Catholic and Orthodox Deuterocannon) and the remaining four in the book of Enoch from the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha (considered canonical by the Ethiopian Orthodox).

Maimonides and rationalism

In the Middle Ages, some Jews developed a rationalist view of angels that is still accepted by many Jews today. The rationalist view of angels, as held by Maimonides, Gersonides, Samuel Ibn Tibbon, etc., states that God’s actions are never mediated by a violation of the laws of nature. Rather, all such interactions are by way of angels. Even this can be highly misleading: Maimonides harshly states that the average person’s understanding of the term «angel» is ignorant in the extreme. Instead, he says, the wise man sees that what the Bible and Talmud refer to as «angels» are actually metaphors for the various laws of nature, or the principles by which the physical universe operates, or kinds of platonic eternal forms. This is explained in his Guide of the Perplexed II:4 and II:6.

“

…This leads Aristotle in turn to the demonstrated fact that God, glory and majesty to Him, does not do things by direct contact. God burns things by means of fire; fire is moved by the motion of the sphere; the sphere is moved by means of a disembodied intellect, these intellects being the ‘angels which are near to Him’, through whose mediation the spheres [planets] move….thus totally disembodied minds exist which emanate from God and are the intermediaries between God and all the bodies [objects] here in this world. …Aristotle’s doctrine that these disembodied spheres serve as the nexus between God and existence, by whose mediation the sphere are brought into motion, which is the cause of all becoming, is the express import of all the Scriptures. For you will never in Scripture any activity done by God except through an angel. And «angel», as you know, means messenger. Thus anything which executes a command is an angel. So the motions of living beings, even those that are inarticulate, are said explicitly by Scripture to be due to angels. …Our argument here is concerned solely with those «angels» which are disembodied intellects. For our Bible is not unaware that God governs this existence through the mediation of angels…(Maimonides then quotes discussions of angels from Genesis, Plato, and Midrash Bereshit Rabbah)…the import in all these texts is not—as a primitive mentality would suppose—to suggest any discussion or planning or seeking of advice on God’s part. How could the Creator receive aid from the object of his creation? The real import of all is to proclaim that existence—including particular individuals and even the formation of the parts of animals such as they are—is brought about entirely through the mediation of angels. For all forces are angels! How blind, how perniciously blind are the naïve?! If you told someone who purports to be a sage of Israel that the Deity sends an angel who enters a woman’s womb and there forms an embryo, he would think this a miracle and accept it as a mark of the majesty and power of the Deity—despite the fact that he believes an angel to be a body of fire one third the size of the entire world. All this, he thinks, is possible for God. But if you tell him that God placed in the sperm the power of forming and demarcating these organs, and that this is the angel, or that all forms are produced by the Active Intellect—that here is the angel, the «vice-regent of the world» constantly mentioned by the sages—then he will recoil. For he [the naïve person] does not understand that the true majesty and power are in the bringing into being of forces which are active in a thing although they cannot be perceived by the senses. The sages of blessed memory state clearly—to those who are wise themselves—that every bodily power (not to mention forces at large in the world) is an angel and that a given power has one effect and no more. It says in Midrash Bereshit Rabbah «We are given to understand that no angel performs two missions, nor do two angels perform one mission.»—which is just the case with all forces. To confirm the conclusion that individual physical and psychological forces are called «angels», there is the dictum of the sages, in a number of places, ultimately derived from Bereshit Rabbah, «Each day the Holy One creates a band of angels who sing their song before him and go their way.» Midrash Bereshit Rabbah, LXXVIII. When this midrash was countered with another which suggests that angels are permanent…the answer given was that some are permanent and other perish. And this is in fact the case. Particular forces come to be and pass away in constant succession; the species of such forces, however, are stable and enduring….[Giving a few more examples of the mention of angels in rabbinic writings, Maimonides says] Thus the Sages reveal to the aware that the imaginative faculty is also called an angel; and the mind is called a cherub. How beautiful this will appear to the sophisticated mind—and how disturbing to the primitive.

”

One can perhaps say that Maimonides thus presents a virtual rejection of the «classical» Jewish view of miracles; he and others substitute a rationalism that seems more appropriate for 20th and 21st century religious rationalists.

Others might perhaps view Maimonides’s statements as being perfectly in keeping with the continued evolvement of Jewish thought over a period of several millennia.

Christian views

In the New Testament angels appear frequently as the ministers of God and the agents of revelation (E.g. Matthew 1:20 (to Joseph), 4:11. (to Jesus), Luke 1:26 (to Mary), Acts 12:7 (to Peter)); and Jesus speaks of angels as fulfilling such functions (E.g. Mark 8:38, 13:27), implying in one saying that they neither marry nor are given in marriage (Mark 12:25). Angels are most prominent in the Apocalypse. The New Testament takes little interest in the idea of the angelic hierarchy, but there are traces of the doctrine. The distinction of good and bad angels is recognized, with the good angels Gabriel (Luke 1:19), Metatron (Rev. 10:1), and Michael (Daniel 12:1), and the evil angels Beelzebub, (Mark 3:22) Satan (Mark 1:13), and Apollyon (Rev. 9:11); ranks are implied, archangels (Michael, Jude 9), principalities and powers (Rom. 8:38; Col. 2:10), thrones and dominions (Col 1:16). Angels occur in groups of four or seven (Rev 7:1). The Angels of the Seven Churches of Asia Minor are described in Rev. 1-3. These are probably guardian angels, standing to the churches in the same relation that the angel-princes in Daniel stand to the nations; practically the angels are personifications of the churches.

The archangel Gabriel appeared to Mary in the traditional role of messenger to inform her that her child would be the Messiah, and other angels were present to herald his birth. In Matt. 28:2, an angel appeared at Jesus’ tomb, frightened the Roman guards, rolled away the stone from the tomb, and later told the myrrh-bearing women of Jesus’s resurrection. Alternately, in Mark 16:5, the angel is not seen until the women enter the already-opened tomb, and he is described simply as «a young man.» In Luke’s version of the resurrection tale (Luke 24:4), two angels suddenly appear next to the women within the tomb; they are described as being clothed in «shining apparel.» This is most similar to the version in John 20:12, where Mary alone speaks to «two angels in white» within the tomb of Jesus.

Two angels witnessed Jesus’s ascent into Heaven and prophesied his return. When Peter was imprisoned, an angel put his guards to sleep, released him from his chains, and led him out of the prison. Angels fill a number of different roles in the Book of Revelation. Among other things, they are seen gathered around the Throne of the Triple-God singing the thrice-holy hymn.

Angels are frequently depicted as human in appearance, though many theologians have argued that they have no physical existence, but can incarnate.Seraphim are often depicted as having six wings radiating from a center concealing a body, as depicted in the Bible. Starting with the end of the 4th century, angels were depicted with wings, presumably to give an easy explanation for them travelling to and from heaven. This is also heavily implied by the Scriptures. Scholastic theologians teach that angels are able to reason instantly, and to move instantly. They also teach that angels are intermediaries to some forces that would otherwise be natural forces of the universe, such as the rotation of planets and the motion of stars. Angels possess the beatific vision, or the unencumbered understanding of God (the essence of the pleasure of heaven). Furthermore, there are more angels than there are anything else in the universe (although when first written this would have probably not included atoms since atomic structure was not known).

Religious thought about the angels during the Middle Ages was much influenced by the theory of the angelic hierarchy set forth in The Celestial Hierarchy, a work of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, an unknown 5th century author or authors writing in the style of Dionysius the Areopagite. The creeds and confessions do not formulate any authoritative doctrine of angels; and agnostics have tended to deny the existence of such beings, or to regard the subject as one on which we can have no certain knowledge. The principle of continuity, however, seems to require the existence of beings intermediate between man and God.

Some Christian traditions hold that angels are organized into three major hierarchies which are subdivided into orders called Choirs, and list as many as ten orders of angels. The Celestial Hierarchy is the source of the names that have become part of tradition: Angels, Archangels, Principalities, Powers, Virtues, Dominions, Thrones, Cherubim, and Seraphim. In this hierarchy, the Cherubim and Seraphim are typically closest to God, while the Angels and Archangels are most active in human affairs. Many of these names come from verses in the Bible which would appear at first to be referencing a literal thing, although retroactively suggesting that they really mention angels can also make sense in the context. For example, the verse in Paul «our struggle is not with earthly things but with principalities and powers» (meaning according to most theologians the fallen angels of those choirs, used as an example of all the fallen angels).

Some Christian traditions also hold that angels play a variety of specific roles in the lives of believers. For instance, each Christian may be assigned a guardian angel at their baptism (although never defined by the Anglican, Catholic, or Orthodox churches, nevertheless it is personally held by many church members and most theologians). Each consecrated altar has at least one angel always present offering up prayers, and a number of angels join the congregation when they meet to pray. In the story of the 40 martyrs of Sebaste, in which 40 Christian Roman soldiers were made to stand naked on a frozen lake in the snow until they renounced their faith, angels were seen descending from Heaven placing the crowns of martyrs on their heads.

Certain Christian traditions, especially the Reformed tradition within Protestantism and the Anglican Church hold that references to the «Angel of the Lord» are references to pre-Incarnation appearances of Jesus.

Some medieval Christian philosophers were influenced by the views of Maimonides, and accepted his view of angels. Today, these views of angels are still technically acceptable within many mainstream Christian denominations.

Satan, Beelzebub, and the rest of the demons are thought by Christians to be angels who rebelled against God and were expelled from Heaven. Christianity also considers other religions’ gods as rebellious celestial spirits who oppose the Triple-God, the Trinity.

In many informal folk beliefs among Christians concerning the afterlife, the souls of the virtuous dead ascend into Heaven to be converted into angel-like beings. The Bible does state that at the resurrection, people will be like the angels with regard to marriage and immortality (Luke 20:35-36), and teaches such a transformation, for instance, at 1Cor 15:51, it states that the saints will judge angels (1 Cor 6:3). Flavius Josephus in Discourse to the Greeks concerning Hades, VI, teaches of resurrected men and woman. Zechariah 5:9 could be interpreted that there are also female angels. The statement of 1Cor 11:10 could be interpreted as if male angels could be vulnerable to female attractiveness by raping woman—which would produce a giant (Gen. 6) or bring about the end of the world by conceiving the Antichrist. Official doctrines of most Christian churches teach that the virtuous are resurrected at the end of time, having a physical body again, unlike angels.

Latter-Day Saint views

Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Latter Day Saint movement (Mormonism), and several of his associates, claimed that they were visited by angels on multiple occasions and for a variety of purposes in conjunction with the restoration of the gospel of Jesus.

According to the official doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, (Bible Dictionary entry on «Angels»):

“

These are the messengers of the Lord, and are spoken of in the epistle to the Hebrews as ‘ministering spirits’. We learn from latter-day revelation that there are two classes of heavenly beings who minister for the Lord: those who are spirits and those who have bodies of flesh and bone. Spirits are those beings who either have not yet obtained a body of flesh and bone (unembodied), or who have once had a mortal body and have died, and are awaiting the resurrection (disembodied). Ordinarily the word ‘angel’ means those ministering persons who have a body of flesh and bone, being either resurrected from the dead (reembodied), or else translated, as were Enoch, Elijah, etc. (D&C 129).

”

Joseph Smith, Jr. described his first angelic encounter thus (Joseph Smith History 1:31-33):

“

While I was thus in the act of calling upon God, I discovered a light appearing in my room, which continued to increase until the room was lighter than at noonday, when immediately a personage appeared at my bedside, standing in the air, for his feet did not touch the floor. He had on a loose robe of most exquisite whiteness. It was a whiteness beyond anything earthly I had ever seen; nor do I believe that any earthly thing could be made to appear so exceedingly white and brilliant. His hands were naked, and his arms also, a little above the wrist; so, also, were his feet naked, as were his legs, a little above the ankles. His head and neck were also bare. I could discover that he had no other clothing on but this robe, as it was open, so that I could see into his bosom. Not only was his robe exceedingly white, but his whole person was glorious beyond description, and his countenance truly like lightning. The room was exceedingly light, but not so very bright as immediately around his person. When I first looked upon him, I was afraid; but the fear soon left me.

”

People who claimed to have received a visit by an angel include Joseph Smith, Jr., Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer and Martin Harris. Although Cowdery, Whitmer, and Harris all eventually became disaffected with Smith and left the church, none of them retracted their statement that they had seen and conversed with an angel of the Lord, and indeed, even defended their claim of angelic visitation to their deaths.

According to Mormon belief, known angels who have appeared are Moroni, Nephi, Peter, James, John the Apostle and John the Baptist. Michael the archangel was Adam (the first man) when he was mortal, and Gabriel lived on the Earth as Noah.

Named angels and archangels

• Barachiel
• Belial
• Chamuel
• Gabriel
• Haniel
• Jegudiel
• Jophiel
• Metatron
• Michael
• Phanuel
• Raguel
• Raphael
• Raziel
• Remiel
• Sandalphon
• Shamsiel
• Sariel
• Uriel
• Zadkiel

Bibliography

• Cheyne, James Kelly (ed.) (1899). Angel. Encyclopædia biblica. New York, Macmillan.
• Driver, Samuel Rolles (Ed.) (1901) The book of Daniel. Cambridge UP.
• Hastings, James (ed.) (1898). Angel. A dictionary of the Bible. New York: C. Scribner’s sons.
• Oosterzee, Johannes Jacobus van. Christian dogmatics: a text-book for academical instruction and private study. Trans. John Watson Watson and Maurice J. Evans. (1874) New York, Scribner, Armstrong.
• Smith, George Adam (1898) The book of the twelve prophets, commonly called the minor. London, Hodder and Stoughton.
• Bamberger, Bernard Jacob, (March 15, 2006). Fallen Angels: Soldiers of Satan’s Realm. Jewish Publication Society of America. ISBN 0827607970
• Bennett, William Henry. Angel. 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica
• Briggs, Constance Victoria, 1997. The Encyclopedia of Angels : An A-to-Z Guide with Nearly 4,000 Entries. Plume. ISBN 0452279216.
• Bunson, Matthew, (1996). Angels A to Z : A Who’s Who of the Heavenly Host. Three Rivers Press. ISBN 0517885379.
• Cruz, Joan C. 1999. Angels and Devils. Tan Books & Publishers. ISBN 0895556383.
• Davidson, Gustav. A Dictionary of Angels: Including the Fallen Angels. Free Press. ISBN 002907052X
• Graham, Billy, 1994. Angels: God’s Secret Agents. W Pub Group; Minibook edition. ISBN 0849950740
• Guiley, Rosemary, 1996. Encyclopedia of Angels. ISBN 0816029881
• Kreeft, Peter J. 1995. Angels and Demons: What Do We Really Know About Them? Ignatius Press. ISBN 0898705509
• Lewis, James R. (1995). Angels A to Z. Visible Ink Press. ISBN 0787606529
• Melville, Francis, 2001. The Book of Angels: Turn to Your Angels for Guidance, Comfort, and Inspiration. Barron’s Educational Series; 1st edition. ISBN 0764154036
• Ronner, John, 1993. Know Your Angels: The Angel Almanac With Biographies of 100 Prominent Angels in Legend & Folklore-And Much More! Mamre Press. ISBN 0932945406.

External links

• Angels at Wikimedia Commons
• Catholic Encyclopedia entry on angels
• Jewish Encyclopedia entry on angels
• Judaism FAQs: What about angels, demons, miracles, and the supernatural?
• Contemplation of the Angels of Merkabah Mysticism
• Angels on the Web (resource and art directory))

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

This article was forked from Wikipedia on March 26, 2006

English[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

• (surname): Angell

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /ˈeɪn.d͡ʒəl/
• Rhymes: -eɪndʒəl

Noun[edit]

Angel (plural Angels)

1. Alternative letter-case form of angel.

   • 1858, Frederick William Faber, Ethel’s Book; or, Tales of the Angels, page 59:

     When men are impatient with children, it is extremely displeasing to the Angels;

   • 2011, James A. Oleson, In Their Own Words — the Final Chapter, page 93:

     But alas, we were directed to climb over the ship to Angels 12 to provide protection to the ship.

Proper noun[edit]

Angel (plural Angels)

1. A male given name from Latin Angelus [in turn from Ancient Greek], used since 16th century; or an anglicized spelling of Ángel.
   • 1973 Roald Dahl, More Tales of the Unexpected: Mr Botibol:

     «What is your first name, Mr Botibol? What does the A stand for?» «Angel,» he answered. «Not Angel.» «Yes,» he said irritably. «Angel Botibol,» she murmured and she began to giggle. But she checked herself and said, «I think it’s a most unusual and distinguished name.»

2. A surname transferred from the nickname originating as a nickname or, rarely, as a patronymic.

   • 1892 October 14, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “The Adventure of a Case of Identity”, in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, London: George Newnes, […], →OCLC, page 61:

     At last, when nothing else would do, he went off to France upon the business of the firm, but we went, mother and I, with Mr. Hardy, who used to be our foreman, and it was there I met Mr. Hosmer Angel.

3. A female given name from English of modern usage from the English noun angel.
4. (baseball) A player on the team the «Los Angeles Angels» or one of its predecessor «Angels» teams.
   • Smith became an Angel as a result of a pre-season trade.

Translations[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

• -angle, Angle, Elgan, Galen, Lange, Legan, Nagle, agnel, angle, genal, glean, lenga

Cebuano[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From English Angel.

Proper noun[edit]

Angel

1. a female given name from English

Etymology 2[edit]

From Spanish Ángel.

Proper noun[edit]

Angel

1. a male given name from Spanish

Dutch[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Ultimately from Latin Anglus.

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /ˈɑ.ŋəl/
• Hyphenation: An‧gel

Noun[edit]

Angel m (plural Angelen)

1. (historical, chiefly plural) Angle

German[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /ˈaŋəl/, [ˈʔaŋl̩]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle High German angel, from Old High German angul, from Proto-Germanic *angulō, hook, angle, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂enk- (“something bent, hook”). Compare Dutch angel, hengel, English angle.

Noun[edit]

Angel f (genitive Angel, plural Angeln)

1. tackle, fishing rod (angler’s tool consisting of hook, line and rod)
2. (obsolete) fishhook

   Synonym: Angelhaken

3. hinge (a jointed or flexible device that allows the pivoting of a door, window, etc.)

   Synonym: Scharnier

   • 2003, Franz Eugen Schlachter, Die Bibel (“Schlachter 2000”), Genfer Bibelgesellschaft, Kings I 7:50:

     Auch die Angeln an den Türen des inneren Hauses, des Allerheiligsten, und an den Türen der Tempelhalle waren aus Gold.

     Also the hinges on the doors of the inner house, the Holy of Holies, and on the doors of the temple hall, were of gold.

4. tang (of a sword or knife)

Declension[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

Noun[edit]

Angel m (weak, genitive Angeln, plural Angeln)

1. (historical, chiefly in the plural) Angle (member of historic Germanic tribe)

Usage notes[edit]

• The modern inhabitants of Angeln are called Angelner.

Declension[edit]

[edit]

• Angeln
• Angelsachse

Further reading[edit]

• “Angel” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Angel” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
• “Angel” in Duden online

Old English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From or related to Engle.

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /ˈɑn.ɡel/, [ˈɑŋ.ɡel]

Proper noun[edit]

Angel f

1. Anglia (peninsula in Jutland, in Schleswig in northermost Germany, where the Angles are supposed to have originated)

Declension[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

• Angel-

Tagalog[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Spanish Ángel.

Proper noun[edit]

Angel

1. a male given name from Spanish

Etymology 2[edit]

From English Angel.

Proper noun[edit]

Angel

1. a female given name from English

1	1   0 An investment-grade bond. Antithesis to fallen angel. In the context of venture capital, the first investor.

2	1   0 Angel A messenger of God. They are usually depicted with wings and wearing dazzling white clothes. Many assume that they are without gender or may be celibate because Jesus implied that they do not marry. ( [..]

3	0   0 Angel 1 a spirit that in some religions is believed to live in heaven with God. In pictures, angels are shown as people with wings.Synonyms and related words Beliefs and teachings common to more than o [..]

4	0   0 Angel 14c. fusion of Old English engel (with hard -g-) and Old French angele, both from Latin angelus, from Greek angelos «messenger, envoy, one that announces,» possibly related to angaros » [..]

5	0   0 Angel Angel [B]a word signifying, both in the Hebrew and Greek, a «messenger,» and hence employed to denote any agent God sends forth to execute his purposes. It is used of an ordinary messenger ( [..]

6	0   0 Angel spiritual being attendant upon God saint: person of exceptional holiness invests in a theatrical production the highest waterfall; has more than one leap; flow varies seasonally Angels are messengers [..]

7	0   0 Angel a messenger from God

8

0   0 Angel Heavenly being, usually a messenger from God. May take a human form, which is anthropomorphic. However, it’s original form may not be human like. The angel, a heavenly being with a flaming sword that expelled Adam and Eve from Eden is here considered to be some type of celestial body such as a comet. The “expulsion” may hide the destruction of t [..]

9	0   0 Angel  a coin, so called because it bore the image of.

10	0   0 Angel a word signifying, both in the Hebrew and Greek, a «messenger,» and hence employed to denote any agent God sends forth to execute his purposes. It is used of an ordinary messenger (Job 1:14: [..]

11	0   0 Angel malekh (malokhim)

12	0   0 Angel A guide (more)

13	0   0 Angel   A wealthy individual who invests in entrepreneurial firms or more typically a successful entrepreneur, who has built up a business, sold it and now brings not just money but experience to a young d [..]

14	0   0 Angel (n) spiritual being attendant upon God(n) person of exceptional holiness(n) invests in a theatrical production(n) the highest waterfall; has more than one leap; flow varies seasonally

15	0   0 Angel (1) A winged paragon of supernatural power. (2) A mortal who writes large checks to children wearing flip-flops.

16	0   0 Angel Half a sovereign in gold; so called because, at one time, it bore the figure of the archangel Michael slaying the dragon.

17	0   0 Angel Among American Military Medical personnel in Iraq, a soldier killed in combat.

18	0   0 Angel A person who gives more than you expect. One who takes an interest without trying to reform you.

19	0   0 Angel a coin, so called because it bore the image of an angel

20	0   0 Angel From Greek aγγελος angelos «messenger, envoy, one that announces.»

21

0   0 Angel The English word comes from the Greek «angelos» (messenger). In the Bible they were described as an intelligent and immortal species, usually presented as being visually indistinguishable from humans — i.e. with a human body and without wings. They delivered messages from God, and either harmed or helped humans. Satan is described in the [..]

22	0   0 Angel  an individual who makes direct investments into early stage businesses. Due to the nascent characteristics of these companies, angel investing is a high-risk, high-reward endeavor.

23	0   0 Angel <operating system> A single address space, micro-kernel operating system for multiprocessor computers, developed at Imperial College and City University, London, UK. [Ariel Burton] (01 Mar 1995)

24

0   0 Angel 1. A messenger. «The dear good angel of the Spring, The nightingale.» (B. Jonson) 2. A spiritual, celestial being, superior to man in power and intelligence. In the Scriptures the angels appear as God’s messengers. «O, welcome, pure-eyed Faith, white-handed Hope, Thou hovering angel, girt with golden wings.» (Milton) 3. One [..]

25	0   0 Angel The carrier’s rescue helicopter, which hovers off the starboard (that’s "right" to landlubbers) side of the ship during all launch and landing (recovery) operations. Every [..]

26	0   0 Angel In radar meteorology, an echo caused by physical phenomena not discernible to the eye; they have been observed when abnormally strong temperature and/or moisture gradients were known to exist; sometim [..]

27	0   0 Angel An angel in alchemical treatises symbolizes sublimation or the ascension of the volatile principle.

28	0   0 Angel 1. Devine attendant or messenger from god 2. Very kind or beautiful person

29	0   0 Angel used since 16th century, fromAngelus or an anglicized spelling of , »More Tales of the Unexpected: Mr Botibol»: *: «What is »your» first name, Mr Botibol? What does the A stand for?» «Angel,» he [..]

30	0   0 Angel An investment-grade bond. Antithesis to fallen angel. In the context of venture capital, the first investor.

31	0   0 Angel From the medieval Latin masculine name Angelus, which was derived from the name of the heavenly creature (itself derived from the Greek word ἄγγελος (angelo [..]

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Word	ANGEL
Character	5
Hyphenation	an gel
Pronunciations	/ˈeɪn.dʒəl/

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What do we mean by angel?

A typically benevolent celestial being that acts as an intermediary between heaven and earth, especially in Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and Zoroastrianism. noun

A representation of such a being, especially in Christianity, conventionally in the image of a human figure with a halo and wings. noun

The last of the nine orders of angels in medieval angelology. From the highest to the lowest in rank, the orders are: seraphim, cherubim, thrones, dominations or dominions, virtues, powers, principalities, archangels, and angels. noun

A guardian spirit or guiding influence. noun

A kind and lovable person. noun

One who manifests goodness, purity, and selflessness. noun

A financial backer of an enterprise, especially a dramatic production or a political campaign. noun

In modern theat. slang, one who advances money to put a new play on the boards: a financial backer. noun

Same as angelfish. noun

In theology, one of an order of spiritual beings, attendants and messengers of God, usually spoken of as employed by him in ordering the affairs of the universe, and particularly of mankind. noun

Hence — In a sense restricted by the context, one of the fallen or rebellious spirits, the devil or one of his attendants, said to have been originally among the angels of God. noun

An attendant or guardian spirit; a genius. noun

A person, especially a woman, having qualities such as are ascribed to angels, as beauty, brightness, innocence, and unusual graciousness of manner or kindliness of heart. noun

A human being regarded as a messenger of God; one having a divine commission; hence, in the early Christian church, the pastor or bishop of the church in a particular city; among the Irvingites, a bishop. noun

A messenger. noun

A conventional figure accepted as a representation of the spiritual beings called angels, having a human form endowed with the highest attributes of beauty, clothed in long flowing robes, and furnished with wings attached behind the shoulders. noun

An English gold coin, originally of the value of 6s. 8d. sterling, afterward of 8s. and 10s., first struck by Edward IV. in 1465, last by Charles I. in 1634. noun

A messenger. noun

A spiritual, celestial being, superior to man in power and intelligence. In the Scriptures the angels appear as God’s messengers. noun

An incorporeal and sometimes divine messenger from a deity, or other divine entity, often depicted in art as a youthful winged figure in flowing robes.

(Abrahamic tradition) One of the lowest order of such beings, below virtues.

A person having the qualities attributed to angels, such as purity or selflessness.

Attendant spirit; genius; demon.

(possibly obsolete) An official (a bishop, or sometimes a minister) who heads a Christian church, especially a Catholic Apostolic church.

An English gold coin, bearing the figure of the archangel Michael, circulated between the 15th and 17th centuries, and varying in value from six shillings and eightpence to ten shillings.

(originally Royal Air Force) An altitude, measured in thousands of feet.

An unidentified flying object detected by air traffic control radar.

An affluent individual who provides capital for a startup, usually in exchange for convertible debt or ownership equity; an angel investor.

The person who funds a show.

Angel is funny and strong. Angel is a person youll laugh with all day. Angel is a love magnet he can get girls quick. Angel is caring for his girl and would leave anything for her. Urban Dictionary

A person that u love so much that u cant stop thinking about them no matter what. everything they do is perfect to u and u love the very thought of them. no one can take away the happiness u feel when ur with them. its like god sent u some1 so perfect…they’re ur guardian angel. Urban Dictionary

An amazing guy that any girl would be lucky to have. he will make you smile with everything he does without no intention of doing so. he will make you feel amazing and wonderful and spectacular and magnificent. he’s the best guy you will every know and you will never meet another person like him. you’ll never forget him either. Urban Dictionary

Angel is funny and athletic. Angel is a guy you would laugh with all day. Girls go crazy for an angel. Angel will always be loyal to his girl. Angel would do anything for his girl he would not leave leave his phone for her. Angel is super cute. Urban Dictionary

The girl who makes your heart jump when she enters the room.
The girl who breaks it as she leaves.
The girl you’ll need for a long time, wherever you go. Urban Dictionary

A person that you can truly love and trustl sweet, kind, caring, quiet, calm, mellow. He/She is amazing in every way, and in your eyes, there is no one better. You may either be best friends with him/her and/or fall in love with him/her. Find an angel; find a friendship, fall in love. You will never forget them. Urban Dictionary

An·gel (ān′jəl)
noun;
1)found to be the warriors of god.
2)messengers and protectors of the innocent.
3)guardians of peace and truth.
4)a supernatural being, either good or bad, to whom are attributed greater than human power, intelligence, etc.
(described as winged signs of god himself beautifully blessed with a significant halo) Urban Dictionary

1. a girl who can brighten up the worst day with only a smile.
2. a girl who can make life bearable only with the sound of her voice.
3. a girl who will go through so much, more than anybody else to show you that she loves you unconditionally.
4. the girl who you have come to love and cannot, would not, and will not let go no matter what life throws at you. Urban Dictionary

1. One who is thought to be so nice and sweet, they must be from heaven
2. A very sweet, nice, attractive, sometimes shy girl who a guy finds to be completely irresistable. Urban Dictionary

A blessed figure that lives in heaven:)😇♥️✨ Urban Dictionary

angel

a heavenly creature: Your mother is such an angel.

Not to be confused with:

angle – a geometric figure; an angular projection; a projecting corner: the angles of a building; a viewpoint; standpoint: He looked at the situation from every angle.

Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree

an·gel

 (ān′jəl)

n.

1. A typically benevolent celestial being that acts as an intermediary between heaven and earth, especially in Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and Zoroastrianism.

2. A representation of such a being, especially in Christianity, conventionally in the image of a human figure with a halo and wings.

3. angels Christianity The last of the nine orders of angels in medieval angelology. From the highest to the lowest in rank, the orders are: seraphim, cherubim, thrones, dominations or dominions, virtues, powers, principalities, archangels, and angels.

4. A guardian spirit or guiding influence.

5.

a. A kind and lovable person.

b. One who manifests goodness, purity, and selflessness.

6. A financial backer of an enterprise, especially a dramatic production or a political campaign.

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[Middle English aungel, from Old English engel or Old French angele, both from Late Latin angelus, from Late Greek angelos, from Greek, messenger.]

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an·gel′ic (ăn-jĕl′ĭk), an·gel′i·cal adj.

an·gel′i·cal·ly adv.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

angel

(ˈeɪndʒəl)

n

1. (Theology) theol one of a class of spiritual beings attendant upon God. In medieval angelology they are divided by rank into nine orders: seraphim, cherubim, thrones, dominations (or dominions), virtues, powers, principalities (or princedoms), archangels, and angels

2. (Theology) a divine messenger from God

3. a guardian spirit

4. a conventional representation of any of these beings, depicted in human form with wings

5. informal a person, esp a woman, who is kind, pure, or beautiful

6. (Theatre) informal an investor in a venture, esp a backer of a theatrical production

7. (Currencies) Also called: angel-noble a former English gold coin with a representation of the archangel Michael on it, first minted in Edward IV’s reign

8. (Aeronautics) informal an unexplained signal on a radar screen

[Old English, from Late Latin angelus, from Greek angelos messenger]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

an•gel

(ˈeɪn dʒəl)

n.

1. a celestial attendant of God; one of a class of spiritual beings who, in medieval angelology, were the lowest of the nine celestial orders (seraphim, cherubim, thrones, dominations, virtues, powers, principalities, archangels, and angels).

2. a conventional representation of such a being, in human form, with wings.

3. a messenger, esp. of God.

4. a person having qualities generally attributed to an angel, as beauty, purity, or kindliness.

5. an attendant or guardian spirit.

6. a deceased person whose soul is regarded as having been accepted into heaven.

7. Informal. one who provides financial backing for some undertaking, as a play or political campaign.

8. Slang. an image on a radar screen caused by a low-flying object, as a bird.

v.t.

9. Informal. to provide financial backing for.

[before 950; Middle English a(u)ngel (< Anglo-French, Old French), Old English engel < Late Latin angelus < Greek ángelos messenger]

an•gel•ic (ænˈdʒɛl ɪk) an•gel′i•cal, adj.

an•gel′i•cal•ly, adv.

Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

angel

— The word angel was one of the earliest Germanic adoptions from Latin; originally from Greek aggelos, «messenger,» it first meant «hireling» or «messenger.»

See also related terms for messenger.

Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.

angel

A form of good spirit residing in heaven.

Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited

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