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Angels in Judaism
In Judaism, angels (Hebrew: מַלְאָךְ, romanized: mal’āḵ, lit. 'messenger', plural: מַלְאָכִים mal’āḵīm) are supernatural beings that appear throughout the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), Rabbinic literature, Jewish apocrypha, Christian pseudepigrapha, Jewish philosophy, Jewish mysticism, and traditional Jewish liturgy as agents of the God of Israel. They are categorized in different hierarchies. Their essence is often associated with fire. The Talmud describes their very essence as fire.
Hebrew mal’ākh is the standard word for "messenger", both human and divine, in the Hebrew Bible; it is also related to the words for "angel" in Arabic (malāk ملاك), Aramaic and Ethiopic. It is rarely used for human messengers in Modern Hebrew as the latter is usually denoted by the term shaliyakh (שליח). The noun derives from the verbal consonantal root l-’-k (ל-א-ך), meaning specifically "to send with a message" and with time was substituted with more applicable sh-l-h.
In Biblical Hebrew this root is attested only in this noun and in the noun מְלָאכָה məlʾāḵā́, meaning "work", "occupation" or "craftsmanship".
The morphological structure of the word mal’ākh suggests that it is the maqtal form of the root denoting the tool or the means of performing it. The term mal’ākh therefore simply means the one who is sent, often translated as "messenger" when applied to humans; for instance, mal’ākh is the root of the name of the prophet Malachi, whose name means "my messenger". In Modern Hebrew, mal’akh is the general word for "angel". In the same manner, apparently, the prophet Haggai is described as "the messenger of the Lord with the message of the Lord" (malʾakh ʾElohim be-malʾakhut ʾElohim; Book of Haggai 1:13).
The Hebrew Bible reports that angels appeared to each of the Patriarchs, to Moses, Joshua, and numerous other figures. They appear to Hagar in Genesis 16:9, to Lot in Genesis 19:1, and to Abraham in Genesis 22:11, they ascend and descend Jacob's Ladder in Genesis 28:12 and appear to Jacob again in Genesis 31:11–13. God promises to send one to Moses in Exodus 33:2, and sends one to stand in the way of Balaam in Numbers 22:31.
Isaiah speaks of מַלְאַךְ פָּנָיו "the Angel of the Presence" ("In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them: in His love and in His pity He redeemed them; and He bore them, and carried them all the days of old") (Isaiah 63:9).
The Book of Psalms says, "For He Will give His Angels Charge over you, to keep you in all your ways" (Psalms 91:11).
Different parts of the Bible deal with angels to different degrees. In numerous locations, the Bible introduces the idea of a Heavenly host or "host of heaven", and the related divine epithet "Lord of Hosts". While sometimes depicted militarily, the assembly also serves to praise God, in descriptions reminiscent of a kingly court. Genesis has Elohim, Bene Elohim (Sons of God), as does the Book of Job; Psalms has the related bənê ēlîm and bənê elîon, as well as Shinnan and Qedoshim.
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Angels in Judaism
In Judaism, angels (Hebrew: מַלְאָךְ, romanized: mal’āḵ, lit. 'messenger', plural: מַלְאָכִים mal’āḵīm) are supernatural beings that appear throughout the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), Rabbinic literature, Jewish apocrypha, Christian pseudepigrapha, Jewish philosophy, Jewish mysticism, and traditional Jewish liturgy as agents of the God of Israel. They are categorized in different hierarchies. Their essence is often associated with fire. The Talmud describes their very essence as fire.
Hebrew mal’ākh is the standard word for "messenger", both human and divine, in the Hebrew Bible; it is also related to the words for "angel" in Arabic (malāk ملاك), Aramaic and Ethiopic. It is rarely used for human messengers in Modern Hebrew as the latter is usually denoted by the term shaliyakh (שליח). The noun derives from the verbal consonantal root l-’-k (ל-א-ך), meaning specifically "to send with a message" and with time was substituted with more applicable sh-l-h.
In Biblical Hebrew this root is attested only in this noun and in the noun מְלָאכָה məlʾāḵā́, meaning "work", "occupation" or "craftsmanship".
The morphological structure of the word mal’ākh suggests that it is the maqtal form of the root denoting the tool or the means of performing it. The term mal’ākh therefore simply means the one who is sent, often translated as "messenger" when applied to humans; for instance, mal’ākh is the root of the name of the prophet Malachi, whose name means "my messenger". In Modern Hebrew, mal’akh is the general word for "angel". In the same manner, apparently, the prophet Haggai is described as "the messenger of the Lord with the message of the Lord" (malʾakh ʾElohim be-malʾakhut ʾElohim; Book of Haggai 1:13).
The Hebrew Bible reports that angels appeared to each of the Patriarchs, to Moses, Joshua, and numerous other figures. They appear to Hagar in Genesis 16:9, to Lot in Genesis 19:1, and to Abraham in Genesis 22:11, they ascend and descend Jacob's Ladder in Genesis 28:12 and appear to Jacob again in Genesis 31:11–13. God promises to send one to Moses in Exodus 33:2, and sends one to stand in the way of Balaam in Numbers 22:31.
Isaiah speaks of מַלְאַךְ פָּנָיו "the Angel of the Presence" ("In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them: in His love and in His pity He redeemed them; and He bore them, and carried them all the days of old") (Isaiah 63:9).
The Book of Psalms says, "For He Will give His Angels Charge over you, to keep you in all your ways" (Psalms 91:11).
Different parts of the Bible deal with angels to different degrees. In numerous locations, the Bible introduces the idea of a Heavenly host or "host of heaven", and the related divine epithet "Lord of Hosts". While sometimes depicted militarily, the assembly also serves to praise God, in descriptions reminiscent of a kingly court. Genesis has Elohim, Bene Elohim (Sons of God), as does the Book of Job; Psalms has the related bənê ēlîm and bənê elîon, as well as Shinnan and Qedoshim.