The true appearance and nature of angels

In art, angels are depicted as winged humans in robes or Roman legionary armor, especially archangels. In contrast, incomprehensible portraits of various beings, such as seraphim, cherubim, ophanim and thrones, have been popularized on the web as the true appearance of angels, when they do not even share that category. That is why I think it is convenient to show how angels were believed to be.

Servants of Yahweh

In the Old Testament, in the oldest texts, Yahweh communicated directly with all existing human beings, such as Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel, or with the prophets. The Babylonian exile changed many things and Yahweh, despite his omnipotence, began to use intermediaries more frequently to accomplish his will. Thus, Satan was his negative aspect, while the angel of death was in charge of the deaths.

Legal and judicial functions

The functions of the angels reveal the structure around Yahweh and his nature. First, the angels were part of the divine council, composed of divine beings (ʾelōhı̂m). This detail (Deuteronomy 32:43) has been lost in some translations, where they may be referred to as servants. Furthermore, although the term is plural, it may be used in other cases as a capital plural to refer exclusively to Yahweh, their creator, whom they fear and show allegiance to (Psalms 89:5-7). In other cases, it can be used to speak of demons (Shedim) or spirits of the deceased. In other words, they would be equivalent to the Greek daimones.

In the divine council, Yahweh presents them with the opportunity to suggest methods of action, as in 1 Kings 22:19-23, where one of them lends himself to put the lie in the mouth of the prophets of King Ahab. Likewise, Yahweh also manifests his actions to them (Genesis 1:27), although they do not intervene.

The members of the divine council may be referred to as watchmen (Daniel 4:17, 24). This position could be connected to the Akkadian apkallus or Sumerian abgal, seven demigod sages whose figures were buried under buildings to ward off evil and who were also called "watchmen" in ritual texts. Like other Mesopotamian influences, they would become more prevalent after the Babylonian captivity in books such as 1 Enoch and The Book of the Giants of Mani that expanded on the passage in Genesis 6:1-4, where they are equated with archangels. These patrol the earthly world (Zechariah 1:10-11) to prevent chaos (Psalms 82:2-5), Satan in Job 1-2, where he observes the piety of humans, being the best known example.

Although they participate in issuing laws, they also transmit and explain them. This is their role as messenger (malʾāk, malʾāḵı̂m in the plural), a term that could be used equally for humans. Although not a unanimous interpretation, it is advocated that these messengers were spirits (rûḥôṯ, rûaḥ in the singular), a term that in Hebrew can also mean "winds" or "breath." Because of this, fragments such as Psalms 104:4, where Yahweh uses winds/spirits/breath as messengers, offer a multiple meaning. Since breath was synonymous with life, it makes sense that they are spirits not contained in a body. The function of messenger would also be transferred to the Greek angelos (Ἄγγελος), which also means "messenger" and coincides with the name of a daughter of Zeus and Hera.

When they conveyed the message with the divine decrees, they acted as mediators (malʾāk mēlı̂ṣ) explaining the divine activity (Job 33:19-24). It was they who had delivered to Israel (Acts 7:53; Galatians 3:19; Hebrews 2:2) the laws they had covenanted with Yahweh, to which they had been witnesses (Exodus 19:5-6; 24:1-8) as members of the divine council. Because Satan is considered mediator in the death of Job's sons, the angels of death are given the same role in the book of Job. Finally, in the legal realm, they also execute condemnations, especially in apocalyptic texts or to put an end to infidels.

Warfare functions

In Psalms 103:20, angels are also called "mighty ones" (gibborı̂m), a common term used of warriors and not of forces of nature. The same Psalms 104:4, mentioned above, points to them as ministers (mešortāyw) of fire, this being a common element in the servants of conflicting gods in Canaanite myths. This term only recurs again in Psalms 103:20, where it would be a position equivalent to priestly. Their membership in a host (ṣabaʾ) in the service of Yahweh groups them together as a multitude of warriors led by princes (sar). This rank would be the equivalent of archangel in the New Testament. In 2 Maccabees, they would be a striking force.

Restructuring

In the intertestamental period, after the Babylonian captivity, external influences on religious and philosophical beliefs are observed, with a special emphasis on angels. In addition to naming and enumerating them, their structure is interpreted and categorized. In this period, angels of presence, angels of sanctification, guardian angels, archangels, archons, rulers of the stars, satans, powers, principalities and dominions are presented. In the texts of this era, angels are more active and have greater independence, being more present in the lives of humans. Some angels and humans, because of their spatial position with respect to God, their name, functions or virtues, acquire a rank of divine viceroy that co-identifies them with Yahweh.

On the contrary, in the New Testament, by focusing on Christ, all beings in the service of Yahweh are grouped together as angels and lose their specific categories, except that of archangel. For Paul, the principalities, thrones, dominions and powers (Colossians 2:15; Ephesians 1:21) are those who rule the nations on behalf of God.

Location

Although little we know about them will seem like a truism, they are called the celestials (šamayim) and are situated in the visible sky above the Earth. As such, they are also referred to as stars (kōḵeḇı̂m) and "sons of God," as when Yahweh speaks to Job about creation (Job 38:5-7). In fact, the term for hosts is common with that used for heavenly bodies. Therefore, it is established that they were created on the first day.

Regardless of the fact that Lucifer is not a Hebrew name, Satan was not originally a fallen angel, and the angels are called "morning stars," there may indeed be a relationship between the stars and a heavenly rebellion. In Isaiah 14:13, the arrogance of the king of Babylon is compared to one who ascends above the stars of God. This could be a mention of a rebellion known from Ugaritic texts, where the council of the god El is referred to as a "gathering of stars".

Appearance

Although messengers in the Bible could be both human and heavenly beings, the latter could have the appearance of men (Genesis 18:2; Daniel 8:15), as is also the case with Yahweh himself (Genesis 18-19). Nevertheless, as prince of hosts, prince of princes and angel of Yahweh, he is described as a man whose size reached to the heavens, clothed in linen with gold of Uphaz girded on his loins, a body like beryl, a face like lightning, with eyes like flaming torches, limbs of burnished bronze and thunderous words (Daniel 10:5-6). When speaking of their immaterial body, angels are described as winds or flames of fire devoid of gender. In the New Testament, it is expressed that they have no need to procreate, although they can acquire human form, inferior to the spiritual one. In the New Testament, although they appear in human form, they do so with light (Luke 29:2, 13) and dazzling white clothing (Matthew 28:3).

In Zechariah 5:9, angels with the appearance of women and stork wings seem to be described, the only occasion in which these characteristics appear, but the angel is mentioned in masculine form in the following verse. They would be another type of celestial being that serves to contrast with the wicked woman of the previous verses. In the Bible, angels are never mentioned as having wings. Although their descent from heaven has sometimes been interpreted as suggesting their presence, so does Jesus or the Holy Spirit without their need for them.

Nor need they manifest themselves, for they can convey their message as a voice (Genesis 22:17; 22:11), burning bushes (Exodus 3:2; Judges 13:20), in a cloud (Exodus 14:9), the wind (Psalms 104:4), in the stars (Psalms 148:2) or simply as a human messenger (Malachi 3:1).

The angels earned their wings

Satan as a blue angel in the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo

In Christian art, angels began to appear with wings from the 5th century A.D. However, the Hellenic influence on Judaism began to be felt a millennium earlier. In Greek mythology, Nike acts as Zeus' messenger to announce victory in battle. In ancient depictions, due to Eastern influence, beings such as Nike had six wings, later reduced to two. In addition, the Romans had genii, winged beings who acted as guardian spirits of both people and places, including entire nations, such as princes (Sar).

Although the common form was that of the wingless angel, they were occasionally present. Some images represented beings that had no equivalents in Judaism, such as the seasons or the cardinal winds, are shown as winged angels. In the synagogue of Dura Europos the cardinal winds can be seen (Ezekiel 37:9), since rûḥôṯ means both wind and spirit, used equivalently to angel. However, in the same place a wingless male angel can be seen acting as a messenger.

The presence of wings was a variable feature. While in the Bible none had them, in the Ethiopic version of the book of Enoch they could acquire them (Enoch 61:1), in the later Slavonic version they were permanent (Enoch 1:4-5). These limbs would gain acceptance over time, as seen with the church father Tertullian, who argued that all spirits, both angels and demons, possessed wings.

Female angels

Angels have no gender, but may present it when they materialize. They usually do so as young men, but in some traditions they may do so as women. In addition to the cardinal winds in the Dura Europos synagogue, the case of Laylah (לַיְלָה, "night"), the angel of the night in charge of conception, is well known. In her legend, she brings the sperm before God, who chooses what kind of person it will be and selects a soul for the embryo. In pregnancy, she cares for and teaches the Torah to the fetus. At birth, he fills the baby's nose so that it forgets its knowledge about its future. Because of this, she is considered an opposite of the demonic Lilith who daily claimed the lives of thousands of children.

Limitations

Although they are considered holy (qedōšı̂m), in the eyes of Yahweh, the divine council is impure and imperfect, which would explain the existing rebellions (Genesis 3; 6:1-4; Psalms 82). As each nation of the world is assigned a son of God considered a prince (sar), those belonging to nations that oppose Yahweh will also be judged (Deuteronomy 32:8-9) for rebellion and corruption (Psalms 82). Thus, among both humans and angels there would be variability, for the former were created in the likeness of the beings of the heavens (Genesis 1:26). That imperfection is related to the ability to be tempted by women, whose hair served to cover them. The incident of the watchmen would have been interpreted as the trigger for human depravity, thus justifying the need to cover their heads.

Since the angels would have been created, they would have had a beginning and, as Psalms 82:6-7 indicates, their end would depend on the will of Yahweh. However, in the intertestamental period it was considered that, without divine intervention, the duration of their lives was indefinite. Nor are they omniscient or infallible, so they do not know when Jesus will return (Matt. 24:36; Mark 13:32), how exactly salvation will unfold (1 Pet. 1:10-12).

Therefore, because of their limitations, angels refuse to receive worship. 

Names

In the Old Testament only Michael and Gabriel are named, but the intertestamental period saw a sudden interest in angels in the apocryphal literature. From the four creatures around the divine throne (Ezekiel 1-2) there are said to be four archangels (1 Enoch 9-10), which would later increase to seven (1 Enoch 20-36, 81), named Michael Sariel, Raphael, Gabriel, Uriel, Reuel and Remiel. Through interpretations or exegesis, new names would be created. In the magical aspect, the names were important, because each angel had a specific function, such as fevers (Abraxas) or liminal places, such as rivers (Yashar Temanuel) or roads (Yequmiel). It is believed that the need to name them was due to external influences; magical practices, where their protection had to be invoked in amulets; the inaccessibility of God, for which intermediaries were required for him to act; the sects and Gnostic formulations and the development of Judaism itself.

Sources

• Heiser, M. S. (2018). Angels: What the Bible Really Says About God’s Heavenly Host. Lexham Press.
• Human, D. J. (2021). Portraits of ‘angels’: Some Ancient Near Eastern and Old Testament perspectives in relation to ATR belief.
• Landsberger, F. (1947). The origin of the winged angel in Jewish art. Hebrew Union College Annual, 20, 227-254.
• Oliver, E. D., & Lewis, J. R. (2008). Angels A to Z. Visible Ink Press.
• Schwartz, H. (Ed.). (1991). Lilith's cave: Jewish tales of the supernatural. Oxford University Press. 
• Ahuvia, M. (2021). On My Right Michael, On My Left Gabriel. In On My Right Michael, On My Left Gabriel. University of California Press.