Angel (Judaism)

For other uses, see Malach.

Main article: angel

In Judaism an angel (Hebrew: מַלְאָךְ‎ malakh, plural malakhim) is a messenger of God, an angelic envoy or an angel in general who appears throughout the Hebrew Bible, Rabbinic literature, and traditional Jewish liturgy.

Etymology

Hebrew "mal'akh" (מַלְאָךְ) is the standard Hebrew Bible word for "messenger", both human and divine, though it is less used for human messengers in Modern Hebrew.^[1] In the King James Bible the noun malakh is rendered "angel" 111x, "messenger" 98x, "ambassadors" 4x.^[2] The noun derives from the verbal consonantal root l-'-k (ל-א-ך), meaning "to send". This root is attested in Hebrew only in this noun and in the noun "Melakha" (מְלָאכָה), meaning "work". The term "Mal'akh" therefore simply means one who is sent, often translated as "messenger" when applied to humans; for instance, "Mal'akh" 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"; it is also the word for "angel" in Arabic (malak ملاك), Aramaic and Ethiopic.

In the Hebrew Bible

The Hebrew Bible reports that angels appeared to each of the Patriarchs (Bible), 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 23:31.

Isaiah speaks of malakh panov, "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 his angels will charge for you, to protect you in all your ways" (Psalms 91:11)

In Rabbinic literature

As a subcategory of heavenly beings, malakhim occupy the sixth rank of ten in the famous medieval Rabbinic scholar Maimonides' Jewish angelic hierarchy.

In Jewish liturgy

On returning home from services on Friday night, the eve of Shabbat, or at the dinner-table before dinner Friday night, it is customary in Orthodox Judaism and Conservative Judaism to greet ones guardian angels (Angels of Service or Ministering Angels) with a traditional hymn beginning with:

Peace be unto you, Malachai HaSharet (Angels of Service)

Angels of the Most High

From the King of the kings of kings

The Holy One Blessed Be He

On the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, it is customary to call all the boys (in some synagogues, all the children) to the Torah reading and for the whole congregation to recite a verse from Jacob's blessing to Ephraim and Manasheh (Manassas).

May the angel who redeems me from all evil, bless the children, and let my name be named in them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and let them flourish like fish for multitude in the midst of the land (Genesis 48:16)

See also

Angel Lailah

References

1. ^ Oxford Hebrew-English Dictionary
2. ^ Strong's Lexicon

• Jewish Encyclopedia, "Angelology"
• Siddur Simchas Yehoshua: The ArtScroll Interlinear Siddur for the Sabbath and Festivals. Mesorah Publications Ltd. 2002.