Angel
An angel is a spiritual heavenly, or supernatural entity, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God and humanity in various traditions like the Abrahamic religions. Other roles include protectors and guides for humans, such as guardian angels and servants of God. In Western belief-systems the term is often used to distinguish benevolent from malevolent intermediary beings.
Emphasizing the distance between God and mankind, revelation-based belief-systems require angels to bridge the gap between the earthly and the transcendent realm. Angels play a lesser role in monistic belief-systems, since the gap is non-existent. However, angelic beings might be conceived as aid to achieve a proper relationship with the divine.
Abrahamic religions describe angelic hierarchies, which vary by religion and sect. Some angels are indicated with names or are of a specific kind or rank . Malevolent angels are often believed to have been expelled from heaven and are called fallen angels. In many such religions, the devil are identified with such angels.
File:The Wounded Angel - Hugo Simberg.jpg|right|thumb|The Wounded Angel, Hugo Simberg, 1903, voted Finland's "national painting" in 2006
Angels in art are often identified with bird wings, halos, and divine light. They are usually shaped like humans of extraordinary beauty, though this is not always the case sometimes, they are portrayed as being frightening or inhuman.
Etymology, names
The word angel arrives in modern English from Old English engel and the Old French angele. Both of these derive from Late Latin angelus, which in turn was borrowed from Late Greek ἄγγελος angelos. Τhe word's earliest form is Mycenaean a-ke-ro, attested in Linear B syllabic script. According to the Dutch linguist R. S. P. Beekes, ángelos itself may be "an Oriental loan, like ἄγγαρος."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.
Background
The concept of angels is historically best to be understood from different ideas of the concept of God throughout history. In polytheistic and animistic worldviews, supernatural powers were assigned to different natural phenomena. Within a monotheistic framework, these powers were reconsidered to be servants of the supreme deity, turning autonomous supernatural beings into "angels".By that, supernatural powers controlling or influencing humanity's perception of the world, including natural phenomena and humans, are ultimately under control of a supreme God. Prominent angels, such as Michael and Gabriel, reflect a connection to the Chief Semitic deity El. Even "bad" angels such as Satan, Samael, Iblis etc., can be understood as an operating force within the nature of humans, as responsible for selfish tendencies.
The idea of angels in early Hebrew scripture as supernatural agents is absent. Instead, the Hebrew deity intervenes in human affairs, mostly by means of punishment. Only in later thought of post-exilic and prophetic writings, the Biblical deity is conceptualized as distant and more merciful, his interventions replaced by the idea of angels. However, such angels still carry out the gruesome attributes of God and can be both benevolent and malevolent. The notion of angels as embodiment of good emerges only under influence of Zoroastrianism, in which the Devil is conceived as the principle of evil, with a hosts of demons, in battle with the holy entities created by Ahura Mazda.
The influence of dualistic tendencies and replacement of divine powers by angels is evident in the Qumram writings. In the Angelic Liturgy, the Hebrew term elim is used for angelic beings and not for God. The War Scroll speaks about angels of light fighting against demonic beings of darkness.
Zoroastrianism
In Zoroastrianism there are different angel-like figures. They patronize human beings and other creatures, and also manifest God's energy.The Amesha Spentas, although rather emanations of Ahura Mazda than distinct messengers, have often been compared to angels. Similar to angels in Abrahamic tradition, Vohu Manah reveals to Zoroaster the true nature of God.
Additionally to the Amesha Spentas, the Fravashi have often been compared to angels, functioning as a guardian angel, and have been adopted as such by Zoroastrians themselves since the 19th century. Unlike the Amesha Spentas, the Fravashi appear as individualized warriors of Ahura Mazda's celestial army, descending from heaven to aid those who summon them against demons.
Judaism
In Judaism, angels, 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 and are subordinate to him. Occasionally, they can show selected people God's will and instructions. 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.Hebrew Bible
The Torah uses the Hebrew terms מלאך אלהים, מלאך יהוה, בני אלהים and הקודשים to refer to beings traditionally interpreted as angels.The term 'מלאך' is also used in other books of the Hebrew Bible. In the early stages of Hebrew writings, the term refers to human messengers, not to supernatural entities. 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. Examples of a supernatural messenger are the "Malak YHWH", who is either a messenger from God, an aspect of God, or God himself as the messenger
In the early writings of the Hebrew Bible, both as well as the are aspects of God. In the earliest records, the Bənē hāʾĔlōhīm are in heaven. They are depicted as the heavenly court or the pantheon of religious belief-system of their time. They reflect the transcendent aspect of the Divine, but become progressively differentiated from the good aspect of the Divine. The mal’āḵ on the other hand, expresses the Divinties' interaction with the world. As such the mal’āḵ functions as the voice of the Divine, the Divine spirit, or as God himself. In Exodus 3:2-4, it is both Yahweh as well as a mal’āḵ Moses is addressed by. The fusion of the Bənē hāʾĔlōhīm with the mal’āḵ is evident in the Book of Hiob. Here, Satan is both one of the Bənē hāʾĔlōhīm in the heavenly court, as well as a mal’āḵ expressing God's interaction with humanity.
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." Daniel is the biblical book to refer to individual angels by name, 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.
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 like a son of man approaches the Ancient One in the clouds of heaven and is given everlasting kingship. Jeffrey Burton Russel writes that "the more the banim and the mal'ak were seen as distinct from the God, the more it was possible to thrust upon the evil elements in the divine character that Yahweh had discarded.".
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." 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." One of these is hāššāṭān, a figure depicted in the Book of Job.
Rabbinic Judaism
has been an orthodox form of Judaism since the 6th century CE, after the codification of the Babylonian Talmud. In post-Biblical Judaism, certain angels took on particular significance and developed unique personalities and roles. 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." usually understood as a concession to human's imperfection, in contrast to the angels. Thus, they occasionally appear in Midrashim as competition with humans.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 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 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.
Although 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 and figures prominently in Merkabah mystical texts. Michael, who serves as a warrior and advocate for Israel, is looked upon particularly fondly. Gabriel is mentioned in the Book of Daniel and briefly in the Talmud, 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.
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.
Bill Rebiger wrote that the naming of angels are a post-exilic phenomenon, and before they are anonymous messengers, protectors and accusers. He also highlighted rabbinical traditions such as Yerushalmi Rosh Hashanah 56d, which states: "Even the names of the angels came up with them from Babylon. At first it is written ‘then one of the seraphim flew to me’, and ‘seraphim stood above Him’. But from then on it is written ‘the man Gabriel’, and ‘Michael your prince’."