Angels In The Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible)

Introduction

In this paper I will survey many issues concerning angels as presented in the Tanakh (or as Christians would say, the Old Testament). Due to the extensive frequency of angels in the Tanakh, I will cover some of the most interesting passages. The first section will address the definition and word usage for angels. In the second, I will cite several passages, deal with varying interpretations, and sometimes add a few brief comments of my own. For my last section, I will address the main point of conflict between Christians and Jews concerning angels, as well as attempt to summarize the roles and themes concerning angels in the Tanakh.
Angels, Cherubim, and Seraphim, and ‘sons of God’

Before we begin addressing various passages, I want to address where the word angel comes from. Webster’s defines the word angel as “a spiritual being serving God especially as a messenger or as a guardian of people,” and gives Old French, Late Latin, and Greek roots. (3) The English transliteration for the Hebrew word for angel is ‘mal’ak’. Strong’s Bible Concordance defines it this way: “messenger, a human representative; angel, a supernatural representative of God, sometimes delivering messages, sometimes protecting God’s people; the “angel of the LORD,” sometimes shares divine characteristics and is sometimes thought to be an manifestation of God himself, or of the preincarnate Christ:” This Hebrew word is translated different ways depending on the passage: angel (101 times), messengers (74 times), messenger (24 times), angels (10 times), and ambassadors (4 times). (7)
What many consider the first “angel” mentioned in the Tanakh may or may not be an “angel” at all. Chapter 3 of Genesis records that “God placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden.” There is a different word used here in the text. The usual rendering of this Hebrew word (k’rub) is cherub (cherubim, pl). Strong’s defines these as, “…a class of supernatural beings that serve in the presence of God; used as ornamental figures in the atonement cover of the ark of the covenant and in the temple as well as on the walls and doors of the temple.” It seems that these creatures have similar standing in relationship to God, but have a different role.
Another group of beings in the Tanakh that are commonly lumped into the angel “genre” are seraphim. Strong’s defines the Hebrew word (sarap) as “venomous snake, seraph (six-winged being).” It is rendered three times as ‘fiery’, twice as ‘fiery serpent’, and twice as ‘seraphims’. Like cherubim, these beings appear to have similar makeup, but yet another distinct role. It appears that this role has to do with abiding in the presence of God and worshipping and singing to Him.
It is sometimes suggested that the “sons of God” in Genesis 6 are indeed angels or heavenly beings. It is doubtful in my opinion (and also from the Jewish perspective, I believe) that this could be likely for two main reasons. First, the same Hebrew word for son is used and therefore makes no reference to angels. Second, the fact that these “sons of God” “took wives” and had children bore to them. It appears that the passage is referring to ordinary men and the universal “fatherhood” of the Creator God.

The Angel of the LORD, or an angel of the LORD?

Feminists might find it interesting that the first mention of an angel is an appearance to a woman. It is found in Genesis 16, where Hagar (Sarai’s maid) had fled away from Sarai. This is the first of many passages in the Tanakh in which the angel (Angel?) speaks as the LORD himself, and is even called so by those who interact with him (Him?). The indications that this is a manifestation of the LORD himself are many in this passage. For example, in the same fashion as the LORD called to Adam in the garden, “Where are You…” the Angel calls to Hagar, “…where have you come from, and where are you going?” He (Himself) also promised Hagar to “multiply your descendants exceedingly,” which (in chapter 17:20) is an action claimed by God Himself. Even more indicative is when she (Hagar) calls “the name of the LORD who spoke to her, You Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, ‘Have I also here seen Him who sees me?’” (8)
Shortly after this passage is another, more puzzling, lengthier, passage. Beginning in Chapter 18, this passage describes the LORD appearing to Abraham, him seeing three men, addressing them (or one of them) as their (His) servant, feeding them, them asking about Sarah and telling Abraham that she would bear a son, ‘catching’ Sarah when she laughed about it, the men going toward Sodom, and Abraham and the LORD bargaining over the punishment of Sodom and Gomorrah. Chapter 19 records two of the ‘men’ (now called angels) meeting up with Lot, avoiding capture by men with ‘wicked’ desires, and rescuing Lot and some of his family before the city is destroyed. Several interesting points are addressed by Rav Elchanan Samet in an online article named, “PARASHAT VAYERA: Rashbam's Interpretation of the Story of Avraham and the Angels.” He posits the following: “when God seeks to treat a person as His "friend," out of an intimacy that allows even for free argument, then He does so through the agency of His angels. On one hand, the agent represents his Master, and the emissary is considered like the One who sent him…” (6) He suggests that the angel was not a manifestation of God, but a man-like angel who bore the exact message of God. My personal interpretation is that the three men that Abraham initially saw were two angels and the Angel of the LORD. The Angel of the LORD is the one who speaks as God (since He is), and He is the one who converses with Abraham after the two ‘men’ head for Sodom and Gomorrah. This would explain Abraham’s reverence in communicating how he does.
Once more, the Angel of the LORD shows up in Chapter 22. This time, it is when God is testing Abraham to offer his son as a burnt offering. Right as Abraham takes up the knife to slay his son, the Angel of the LORD calls to him, this time from heaven, and stops him. Abraham finds a ram, offers it instead, and names the place YHWH Yireh (The LORD Will Provide). The Angel of the LORD has a couple of interesting things to say the second time He calls from heaven. First, he says, By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, …I will bless…I will multiply…” Second, He says, “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” The Angel swears by Himself, calls Himself the LORD, and blesses Abraham’s descendants for obeying His voice.
Another familiar passage concerning an appearance of God is in Genesis 32, where a “Man” wrestles with Jacob until dawn. The “Man” tells Jacob that he will now be called Israel, because he had “struggled with God and with men…” Later Jacob declares the name of that location to be Peniel (Face of God), because he had “seen God face to face,” and his life was preserved. Clearly this is not a ‘man’ but God in this instance. Jacob has several other ‘face to face’ encounters with God in the following passages.
Gideon has yet another encounter with the Angel of the LORD in Judges 6. He asks the Angel, “show me a sign that it is You who talk with me.” The Angel does indeed give Gideon a sign (consuming meat and bread with fire) to prove who He is. The following text is paramount: “Now Gideon perceived that He was the Angel of the LORD. So Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord GOD! For I have seen the Angel of the LORD face to face.”
Probably the most apparent passage testifying to the Angel of the LORD being God is in Judges 13. Manoah and his wife were pondering who the ‘Man of God’ who had a ‘countenance like the countenance of the Angel of God’ who had appeared to his wife was. The third time He appeared to them both. They asked Him what His name was, and He replied, “Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?” After another sign with fire consuming an offering, the Angel ascended in the flame. The passage states that, “then Manoah knew that He was the Angel of the LORD. And Manoah said to his wife, ‘We shall surely die, because we have seen God!’”
Indeed, the Rash bam, quoted by Rav Elchanan Samet is (in my opinion) just off base in saying that – "When an angel appears, he is called in the name of the Shekhina.” My only question is why can’t the Angel be who He says He is?
Obviously, the Angel is at times speaking the exact words of God, and the text states that people talked to, ‘stood’ or ‘bowed’ before God. In light of these passages (and others), I am led to interpret the Angel of the LORD as a theophany (a direct appearance/manifestation of the LORD Himself). Every time this ‘Angel’ shows up, people tend to see it as a life-altering event, evidenced by the fact that they build altars, bow and pray, etc. To take it further, one would not be foolish at all in suggesting that every (or most) appearance of the LORD in the Tanakh is indeed in the form of the ‘man-Angel’ of the LORD. What a practical and memorable way to communicate with His people.

Angels with free will? Fallen angels?

Jewish doctrine holds that all angels are perfectly in sync with God. Here is a quote from Philip Birnbaum: “The myth of the fallen angels has been degrade in midrashic literature because of their sensuality. The Persian idea of two opposing empires, with Satan as God’s enemy, has persisted only in non-Jewish literature, in which Lucifer is identified with the rebel archangel, Satan. The so-called ‘fallen-angels’ appear in the Midrash under seven designations…all of which characterize their gigantic size and limitless boldness.” (1) This is very interesting in contrast to Christian popularization of nearly universal idea that Satan is the eternal “bad guy”. For many Christians it is hard to picture the serpent in the Garden as an agent of God, or Satan as portrayed in the book of Job as a servant of the LORD.

The Book of Daniel

The Angel of the LORD makes yet another appearance in the Book of Daniel. King Nebuchadnezzar, in the famous passage, has built an image of gold that was 60 cubits (90 feet) high, and all the people were called to the dedication ceremony. Shadrach, Meshach, and AbedNego would not bow down at the que, so the king threw them into a blazing furnace. Take a look at the King’s astonishment at what he sees shortly after putting them in: “…he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, ‘Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?’ They answered and said to the king, ‘True, O king.’ ‘Look!’ he answered, ‘I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” Later, in repentance, the king spoke: “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and AbedNego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him…” So here we have yet another mysterious Angel, this time labeled as being ‘like the Son of God, making an appearance.
Traditionally, the Book of Daniel is said to contain at least two angels whom are given names. Gabriel is described as ‘one having the appearance of a man’ and is asked by another voice to ‘make this man understand this vision’. The next mentioning of Gabriel is when Daniel is still in his ‘vision’, and he was praying and the ‘man’ Gabriel was ‘caused to fly swiftly’ and reached him ‘about the time of the evening offering.
The second angel is traditionally named Michael. He shows up in Daniels second vision. “But the Prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia.” He is apparently much help to Daniel, because Daniel later writes “No one upholds me against these, except Michael your prince.” Daniel paints a symbolic picture of the end times. He puts Michael in the signaling role of the end of the age: “At that time Michael shall stand up, The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people.” Due to the nature of the context of both of these accounts, and their visionary content and interpretation, it is difficult to sum-up the consensus as to what these texts intend to say.

Regular Old Angels

After reading thus far in this paper one could easily deduce that the only angels that exist are not even angels at all, but God Himself or another type of heavenly being. That of course is not the case in Jewish or Christian theology. Many ‘average’ angels appear in the Tanakh.
Psalm 91 declares that God gives ‘His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. They shall bear you up in their hands, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’
Psalm 103 elaborates on their prescribed duty: “Bless the LORD, you His angels, Who excel in strength, who do His word, heeding the voice of His word.”
From these two passages alone, we get the picture that ‘regular old angels’ are created to care for humans and obey God in everything as well.

Jewish Angel v. Christian Angel?

As we discussed earlier, one point of conflict between Jews and Christians on angels is that Jews believe that all angels are good, and they worship and serve God just as He intends to. More specifically, they don’t ever rebel or act against God. Several Jewish writers have no problem identifying God as the creator of evil. For example, Satan is seen as an obedient servant in the Book of Job as he takes away every precious and good thing from Jobs’ life. Of course, we don’t have the time, nor is it the purpose of this paper to delve into the origin of the problem of pain and suffering, but this contrast of philosophy is noteworthy.
Of course, the main point of conflict between Jews and Christians that is relevant to this paper is not concerning many angels but one. Jewish doctrine on the angel of the LORD seems to be that it is merely an angel that is speaking for God. Many Christians, however, see the Angel of the LORD as the preincarnate Jesus Christ. Some Christians could care less who the Angel is, and others find it vital to the defense of their faith.
At best I will say that the Jewish view of “the angel” seems to be very consistent with the rest of their beliefs. God remains intact, and simply chooses to send messengers to reveal Himself. Also, the Christian view of “the Angel” is a nice fit with the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of Jesus Christ. For Christians, there is absolutely only one God, but that one God is eternally revealed in three persons. The Father, the Son (Angel), and the Holy Spirit. It is exciting for Christians to think about the pre-existence of their Savior. And the theophanies provided in the Tanakh (Old Testament) are a handy way of explaining what Jesus was doing before His incarnation (according to Christian theology).

Roles and Themes

As we have discussed, angels take on various tasks and are called different names in the Tanakh. They range from messengers of divine truth appointed and created specifically for that purpose, to fiery creatures that are simply created for the sole purpose of singing and existing in the presence of God. When they fulfill this task, they give glory to God, their creator. Some are ‘guardian’ angels, per se. Their job is simply to look out for humans, protect and guide us as we live our lives.
I have enjoyed learning more about the varying roles of angels in the Tanakh, as well as gaining a more full understanding of the points of contrast between Jewish and Christian angelology. I am grateful for the opportunity to study this topic.

Bibliography

Birnbaum, Philip. “A Book of Jewish Concepts.” Hebrew Publishing Co. New York, Revised Edition, 1975
Jewish Heritage Online Magazine, Angels: Angels in the Bible http://www.jhom.com/topics/angels/bible.htm Viewed 5/12/04
“Merriam Webster’s American English Dictionary.” Merriam Webster, Inc. 2003
Moore, George Foot. “Volume 1, Judaism In The First Centuries of The Christian Era, The Age of The Tannaim.” President and Fellows of Harvard College, 1927
Rabbi Melanie Aron, http://www.shirhadash.org/rabbi/970905-angels.html
Rav Elchanan Samet, Virtual Beit Midrashhttp://www.vbm-torah.org/parsha.63/04vayera.htm
Strong, James. “The Strongest Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible.” Zondervan. 2001
The Holy Bible, New King-James Version. Thomas Nelson, Inc. 1984
TutorGig.Com Encyclopedia. Angel TutorGig.com http://www.tutorgig.com/encyclopedia/getdefn.jsp?keywords=Angel