In the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible)
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.
The prophetic books, which usually do not write of angels, nonetheless mention Seraphim, Cherubim, and Ophanim, Chayot Ha Kodesh, Erelim, and Hashmallim. In the Book of Zechariah, several episodes explicitly contain Angels. In Daniel, angels gain some of the characteristics they would come to possess in the post-biblical Apocalyptic literature, such as each serving as personal patrons of peoples (Persia, Greece), and some having personal names (Gabriel, Michael).
The angel of the {{LORD}} and the origins of angels
The figure of "the angel of the " (מלאך יהוה) has been perceived by generations of exegetes and interpreters as obscure and perplexing. Almost every appearance of this figure in the Hebrew Bible complies with the following pattern:
- The narration introduces the angel of the ;
- He behaves as if he were a deity, e.g., promising fertility (Genesis 21:18), annihilating an army with a single blow (e.g., 2 Kings 19:32-36), or merely delivering a speech in which the angel presents himself as God (e.g., Exodus 3:2–4);
- The interlocutors of this figure address and revere him in a way reserved exclusively for a deity.
As such, the incident leaves the reader with the question whether it was an angel or the deity who had just appeared.
Angels and healing from impurity
There are instances in the Bible where angels have the ability to heal an individual from impurity; however, the question may arise whether seraphim are angels. For example, in the book of Isaiah, Isaiah sees seraphim praising the Lord. Their voices were so powerful that they made the pivots on the thresholds shake and filled the temple with smoke. (Book of Isaiah 6:3–4) All of this power made Isaiah feel unworthy and unclean, so he cried out:
For I am a man of impure lips
And I live among a people
Of impure lips;
Yet my own eyes have beheld
The Sovereign of Hosts.
Then one of the seraphs—who had taken a live coal from the altar with a pair of tongs, flew over to me,
touched it to my lips, and declared,
"Now that this has touched your lips,
Your guilt shall depart
And your sin be purged away.|Isaiah 6:5–6}}
In the Book of Zechariah, Joshua was standing before the angel of the Lord, and God. (Zechariah 3:3) He was "dressed in filthy clothes" when standing before them. The angel then commanded him to take off his filthy clothing and gave him "festal apparel" and a clean turban to put on. At the removal of Joshua's filthy clothing, the angel proclaimed, "See, I have taken your guilt away from you." (Zechariah 3:4–5) Thus, removing Joshua's filthy clothing was like healing him from his guilt.
Angels and prayer
In the Book of Zechariah, Zechariah hears from the that He had been angry with his ancestors due to their evil deeds. He promised them that if they "return[ed] to [Him], [He] would return to [them]." Then the angel of the Lord prayed to the Lord and said, "O GOD of Hosts! How long will You withhold pardon from Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, which You placed under a curse seventy years ago?"
Angels as warriors
In the Bible, there are some references to angels acting as warriors and protectors of all that is good. One of these references is the Book of Daniel, which contains four apocalyptic visions. However, Daniel 10:13 refers to a sort of battle between the prince of the kingdom of Persia and the speaker, who is believed to be Gabriel. Here, Gabriel tells Daniel that one of the chief princes, Michael, helped him in the opposition he was facing from the prince of the kingdom of Persia. Thus, both angels act as warriors for good against the bad opposition from the prince of the kingdom of Persia. In addition, in Daniel 12:1, the speaker, Gabriel says that the angel Michael is the protector of the Israelite people and is a great prince.
Angels as messengers
In many passages from the Tanakh, angels are utilized as messengers; indeed, there is no specific Hebrew equivalent for the English word "angel". Angels seem to have the appearance of ordinary humans; they are typically men and do not have wings in the mortal realm. The presence of an angelic messenger versus a human messenger must be determined by the context of the passage.
Regardless, messenger angels are a highly important part of preserving and strengthening the link, as well as necessary distance, of God to humans. The nature of the knowledge that angelic messengers carry is always heavenly; that is to say, it is divine, and only by sanction from God can it be transmitted to humans, and only for necessary reasons. When an angel delivers the knowledge of God, his own identity is effaced by that of his Lord; that is, he speaks directly for God.
Examples of this role can be seen in numerous famous passages from the Old Testament, including the three mysterious men in the story of Abraham and the destruction of Sodom in Genesis 18:1–19:23, as well as the angel who informs Samson's mother of the nature of the baby she carries in Judges 13:3–5. In these examples, the angels are disguised, their identities unimportant in relation to the heavenly magnitude of the knowledge they possess; they are entirely defined by their jobs.
Angels as teachers in Jewish apocalyptic literature
Angels in the roles of teachers become especially important in Jewish apocalyptic literature, in such books as Daniel, Zechariah, and 4 Ezra, which feature enigmatic and terrifying prophetic visions experienced by unknowing humans who need heavenly guidance to understand what they have witnessed; no longer does prophecy come with full or immediate understanding. Rather, a type of commentary or explanation of the vision is provided through the figure of an interpreting angel, whose teachings dispel the ignorance of the prophet and allow him to better understand, and thus better propagate, the knowledge of the end times that his vision contains.
Such knowledge of the apocalypse had both heavenly and earthly implications, and assumed a great deal of importance to the oppressed people of Israel at the time, who needed explanations for why God would let them go through so much hardship; thus, the knowledge was "good". Because of the bizarre features of the visions contained in such apocalyptic literature, interpreting angels assume the roles of teachers rather than just messengers; instead of just conveying information, they must explain it.
As teachers, they convey the full might and authority of heaven, while being able to comfort their distressed human charges in a more relatable way than if the prophets were directly spoken to by God. Thus, angels as teachers function as relatable interpreters and testaments to God's power, while also increasing His transcendence. Most of all, they were important in establishing human prophets in their proper role as comforters, with "good" knowledge, to the people of Israel.
In 4 Ezra, the interpreting or teaching angel is Uriel. When Ezra expresses his distress about issues that would be similarly preoccupying Jews of his time—namely, why God would allow His chosen people to suffer under the oppression of the Gentiles—Uriel is sent from heaven by God to help relieve his ignorance. In the passage, Ezra argues with Uriel about matters of justice in a way that he never could with God; however, the angel argues back with a series of riddles that eventually show Ezra the misguidedness of his thinking (4 Ezra 3:1–4:21). Importantly, Uriel does not simply transmit information or "speak at" Ezra; the two are engaged in an animated dialogue that reflects that of a teacher and a student, with the former guiding the latter to a realization. Ezra could never argue with God the way he argues with Uriel; however, this argument and its accompanying emotional catharsis is partially what leads him to discover the truth and main message of the passage on his own.
In Daniel, angels also assume the roles of interpreters and teachers, notably in their abilities to explain visions concerning the eschaton, and help human prophets unknot knowledge from it. In Daniel, it is the archangel Gabriel who is sent down from heaven by God to explain Daniel's perplexing visions and help relieve some of his distress (Daniel 8:16–17). In Daniel 7–12, the good knowledge that is transmitted to Daniel and thus to the rest of the population, is that the earthly events that have been so oppressing the Jewish people are being mirrored in heaven, and that justice will eventually reign in the form of a final battle pitting the armies of heaven against evil forces, which will be vanquished.
However, Daniel is only aware of this information due to the assistance of Gabriel, who teaches him the correct interpretation of his vision, and encouraging him when he falters (Daniel 8:15–27). This role of angels is mirrored in Zechariah, where angelic interpretation and teaching is necessary to unravel the bizarre visions that the prophet witnesses. In the passage, the angel literally walks through Zechariah's visions with him, explaining and teaching him as they go along so that Zechariah properly understands God's intended meaning (Zechariah 1:9–5:11).--
Second Temple period texts
The Dead Sea Scrolls, Biblical apocrypha, pseudepigrapha and the Book of Enoch are Second Temple period texts which have not been considered authoritative in Judaism, are not part of the Hebrew Bible, and should not be considered as part of the sacred literature of modern or medieval Judaism.
Jubilees
In the story of Mount Sinai, Exodus has no mention of angels at all while Jubilees chooses to include them. The inclusion of the angel in this passage indicates that the story had an, "interpretative artistry in both method and content; it also carries a message". In Exodus 19–20 God speaks to Moses directly, telling him to write the ten commandments and to follow God, but in Jubilees 1:26 and Jubilees 2:1 God speaks to an angel who then relays the message to Moses, sending quite a different message to readers about God’s role and His intentions. Not only is the message related to Moses by an angel, but it is the "angel of the presence who enjoys a special intimacy with God".
The text reveals the "authority of the specific, angelically licensed interpreters". The goal of the addition of the angel is for the "distancing of God from the everyday events of the world."
Angels are also used as voices in God’s court. In Genesis 21–22, God decides on his own accord that Abraham was faithful to Him and therefore needed to be tested. In Jubilees, however, "there were voices in heaven regarding Abraham, that he was faithful in all that He told him, and that he loved the Lord, and that in every affliction he was faithful" (Jubilees 17:15).
Second Temple era literature such as the Dead Sea scrolls, pseudepigrapha and in particular the Book of Enoch, begins to have extensive information about Fallen angels, Azazel, Shemihaza, and so on, though these did not become part of rabbinical orthodoxy later.
Healing from evil spirits in the pseudepigrapha
In Jubilees, God command angels to teach Noah how to physically cure illnesses, they told Noah about the healing of the diseases along with their seductions, and how to heal them using herbs of the earth. Noah wrote it out in a book, which he gave to his eldest son so he too could learn the use of medicine. This happened because Mastema had been given evil spirits to test man, try to make them stray from the path of righteousness, and cause them to succumb to diseases which they will cause. Mastema was given complete control over the spirits and thus Noah need some form of protection (Jub. 10:7–14).
Mastema helps the Egyptian’s magicians to counter and mimic the acts Moses was doing, but the angels did not give them the power of healing so that the Pharaoh’s problems would be due to the magicians’ mistakes. This shows how the angels have the ability to give the power of medicine and healing out to people, yet refrain from teaching it to just anyone, only appearing to use it when helping to fight against evil forces (Jub. 48:10–11).
In the Book of Tobit, God sends Raphael, who is thought of as the angel of healing, to aid Sara against the demon that is killing all her husbands (Tobit 3:17). Tobias follows Raphael’s instructions (Tobit 6:15–16) about the fish innards and scares away the demon terrorizing Sara thus making it possible for them to be together. Raphael passes the knowledge onto Tobias, instead of actually taking the spirit away from Sara (Tobit 8:2).
Healing from illness and disease in the pseudepigrapha
In 1 Enoch, the watchers (angels from heaven) made wives of some women on Earth and taught them medicine, incantations, and the usage of roots and plants. Although God did not approve of these actions, He actually punishes them for it; it still shows that angels have knowledge for healing diseases that they can pass on to people on Earth. It also shows that people are able to comprehend this knowledge, since it is not mentioned that the women struggled or were too overwhelmed by what they learned (1 Enoch 7:1–2).
In Tobit, God sends Raphael so that he could heal Tobit’s eyesight. Only angels, including Raphael, appear to know how to cure certain ailments (Tobit 3:17). Raphael instructs Tobias how to use the fish’s gall in order to cure Tobit’s eyesight. Tobias uses it on Tobit’s eyes and Tobit regains sight by causing the whiteness to fall from his eyes (Tobit 11:7–9).
Healing from impurity in the pseudepigrapha
In 1 Enoch 10:9, the Lord tells Gabriel to get rid of the children of impure relationships. That is, the children, also known as the giants, that were conceived from the relationships that the Watchers had with human women. The Lord tells Michael to tell the Watchers that they and all their children will die because of the defilement that they caused. He also tells Michael to punish them for their wrongdoing by binding them underneath rocks. (1 Enoch 10: 11–15) Both of these angels’ deed would essentially cleanse and heal the earth from all of the pollution, sin, plague, and suffering, caused by the giants, allowing everyone to become righteous once again.
In the Community Rule, those who are sons of light and walk with the Prince of Light are said to be given counsel in order to be holy, pure, humble, faithful and show great charity. It is also stated that for all who walk with the Prince of Light "it shall be healing." Thus, it seems as if it will be healing from anything that is not pure and holy.
The War Scroll is an apocalyptic text, which describes a battle between the Sons of Light, who are fighting alongside the angels, and the Sons of Dark, who are fighting alongside the demon Belial. This battle is ultimately between good and evil. The angels serve as warriors for good while Belial serves as a warrior for evil. In the battle, each side wins three phases, becoming a tie. At this point, God intervenes and destroys evil, allowing for good to triumph.
In the Community Rule in the Dead Sea Scrolls, it is said that there are two kinds of people, those who are "born of truth" and "spring from a mountain of light" and those who are "born of injustice" and "spring from a source of darkness." The Prince of Light rules those who are born of truth and the Angel of Darkness rules those born of injustice. The Angel of Darkness causes the sons of light to stray away from righteousness. But, God and the Angel of Truth, having favor for the sons of light, protect and help the sons of light. The "allotted spirits" of the Angel of Darkness "seek the overthrow of the sons of light." So there is a battle of power between the Prince of Light and his sons, and the Angel of Darkness and his sons.
Angels as teachers
In the Apocrypha
Since angels possess so much knowledge, they often assume the role of teachers to transfer this knowledge to humans. An example of this can be seen in the Book of Tobit. As stated earlier, God sends the angel Raphael to teach Tobias about different medicinal practices and things he can do to help both Tobit and Sarah. (Tobit 3:7) Raphael uses the good knowledge that he possesses to instruct Tobias on what to do. (Tobit 6:5) He acts as a teacher, guiding Tobias and showing him the way, sharing only good, holy knowledge with him.
Angels assuming the role of teachers can also be seen in Jubilees 10. In Jubilees 10 the angels teach Noah about the different herbs and medicinal processes that he can use to help his grandsons. (Jubilees 10:12) The angels again use the good knowledge that they possess to help humans. They teach Noah this information so that he can then do or perform the medicinal practices on his own. (Jubilees 10:13) They act the same way teachers in a classroom do, instructing Noah on the best way to use the medicine to help his grandsons.
Angels and knowledge
Angels and good knowledge
Throughout many passages of the Bible and other religious texts examples of angels possessing good knowledge can be seen. Angels often acquire this good knowledge through God in heaven. God then sends the angels down to assist humans by sharing that knowledge, in this way connecting them to God. An example of this can be seen in the Book of Tobit. In the Book of Tobit, Tobit is blinded for illegally burying people. (Tobit 2:10) At the same time, a distant relative of Tobit, Sarah, keeps losing her husbands to a demon that is in love with her. (Tobit 3:8) God decides to send down the angel of healing, Raphael, to share his good knowledge on how to help both Tobit and Sarah, with Tobit’s son, Tobias.
(Tobit 3:17) Raphael teaches Tobias that he can use the heart, liver, and gallbladder of a fish to heal both Sarah and Tobit. (Tobit 6:5) In this story, the angel, Raphael uses the good knowledge that he possesses to heal Tobit and to free Sarah of the demons. The knowledge that he shares is good because not only does it help both Tobit and Sarah, but he had God’s permission to share this knowledge. Raphael only shares this precious and valuable information with Tobias because he was commanded by God to do so. God wants the humans in this passage to be aware of this, deeming this knowledge both good and helpful.
An example of angels possessing and sharing good knowledge can also be seen in Jubilees 10. In Jubilees 10 God tells the angels to help heal Noah’s grandsons who are being tempted by demons. (Jubilees 10:10) The angels show Noah the different herbs and medicines that he can use to help his grandsons, similarly to the medicinal knowledge that Raphael shares with Tobias in the Book of Tobit. (Jubilees 10:12) Noah can then use the knowledge that he acquires from the angels about the herbs to help his grandsons.
(Jubilees 10:13) The angels here are again sharing good knowledge. Like in the Book of Tobit, the information being shared can be deemed good knowledge because it is valuable information that can help protect Noah’s grandsons from the demons. The information shared is being used for a good, honorable cause. Also, the knowledge disclosed here is good knowledge because it is revealed by good angels who are obeying God and doing as He instructs them to do. They do not act on their own accord, and they are sharing this information with only pure, holy, and good intentions, hoping to help Noah, help his grandsons.
Angels and bad knowledge
Even though in many passages of both the Bible and other religious texts the angels share good knowledge with humans, in some passages the angels harbor bad knowledge and transfer that information on to humans. An example of this can be seen in the passages of 1 Enoch 6–16. These passages of Enoch follow the story of the fallen angels who decide to marry and impregnate female humans. (1 Enoch 6:2) The women then give birth to evil giant babies who cause much harm to the world. (1 Enoch 7:2) The fallen angels teach humans about many different medicinal practices.
(1 Enoch 7:2) Here, however, this knowledge is deemed bad knowledge because the knowledge that they share is associated with these bad angels. They are seen as evil angels, so any knowledge that they share is evil or bad as well. The fallen angels are sharing information with humans, that the humans should learn on their own. Also, the angels are sharing this information with humans, without God’s permission. God never sends them down like he does in Tobit and Jubilees 10. The angels are acting on their own accord, and God decides to punish them for this.
Angels with demonic qualities
During the second temple period, there began a blurring of the lines between the demonic and the divine. The nature of a demon was that of a "spirit" of malevolent nature and capabilities beyond that of a human. Angels of the period, being frequently tasked with temptation of man and punishment of sin, embody those qualities, thus forming representations of somewhat demonic angels. This strange intersection in behaviors of those expected to be good and those expected to be evil leads to a valid argument that in the second temple period, there were no demons at all, and that Angels may have filled the role entirely.
Sinning Watchers
The Watchers, who appear most extensively in 1 Enoch, are angels, but they seem more demonic through their actions. Their first evil act was to transgress God by taking wives on Earth. They acknowledge that this is wrong in the text, and know full well what they are doing. The Watchers were sinful and evil because they transgressed God’s commandments. The Watchers, while on Earth with their women, are said to have taught humans many things that humans were not supposed to know.
Azaz’el is mentioned as teaching the people about weapons, war, make-up, jewelry, and alchemy. His teachings, along with those of other sinning Watchers, were responsible for corrupting the whole Earth. The Watchers took wives, and had children by them. The children of the Watchers were giants who consumed all of the food, and then turned on the people and animals. An angel took them away from the humans and forced them to fight and eventually kill each other, but their spirits remained bound to the Earth.
These spirits are said to have corrupted Noah’s children and grandchildren, and were referred to as demons. Nine tenths of them were bound with the Watchers, but one tenth of them were left under Mastema’s control. The Watchers are the parents of what came to be known as demons. According to 1 Enoch 15:8–12, they are the origin of sin and evil on Earth.
Adversaries/Advocates
In texts from the Second Temple Period, there are three main adversary figures: Mastema, Belial, and Satan. These three figures are functionally the same, as they all fulfill the purpose of testing men’s faith. Satan mostly appears in the Bible, while Belial and Mastema mostly appear in the pseudepigrapha and Dead Sea Scrolls. All three figures are very powerful metaphysical beings that expose and sometimes command evil.
::Mastema
::*Belial*
::The word "belial" in Hebrew means "worthlessness" or "wickedness". Like the word "mastema", it is a noun that describes an abstract quality. However, the word "belial" is used many times in Qumran texts to refer to the figure Belial, without an attached prefix like with the word "mastema". When used to refer the specific figure, Belial is used as the name for the leader of the forces of evil. Belial has a host that includes both men and other heavenly beings (angels). In the War Scroll, Belial and Angel of Darkness and Angel of Mastema are used interchangeably. Belial is said to have corrupted humans through his three nets, which are: wealth, fornication, and defiling the sanctuary. Similarly to Mastema, Belial commands forces of evil, and also tempts people to transgress God’s commandments. He is also under God’s control, like Mastema. Belial was put in control of the angels of destruction, who like Belial were created by God to do evil. Belial is readily found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, where the word is used both to designate the abstract noun, and the specific figure.
::*Satan*
::"Satan" in Hebrew means "adversary". In Kings 11, the word "satan" is used to denote a military opponent of King Solomon. In Numbers 22, "satan" is used to denote an angel who was sent by God to prevent a human from doing a bad deed. The word devolved into the name of a specific figure, but during the Second Temple Period it never came to describe the modern Satan figure that is a fallen Lucifer who commands the forces of evil from Hell. The Satan of the Second Temple Period is the adversary of man. He operates within the heavenly court, and his job is to find and expose people that are not being faithful to God and following His commandments. If he believes that someone is not faithful to God, he can bring his case before God and ask for permission to test him. In his tests, Satan inflicts death, destruction, pain, and sickness upon people. Satan, like Belial and Mastema, has the job of exposing the sins of men to God so that they can be punished. The difference between Satan, and Belial and Mastema, is that Satan does his job alone and does not command the forces of evil.
#### Destructive angels
Angels, while typically thought of as benevolent entities, are also often employed by God or by an angel of higher authority to wreak destruction on mortals. The official name for such an "evil" angel in the original Hebrew is: mal'akhei habbalah, which more literally means "destroying agent". Originally, this phrase actually referred to demons, but this changed in the Gaonic period when mal’akhei began to be interpreted normally as "angel".
::*"Angels of Destruction"*
::"Angels of Destruction" is a specific phrase used in the Dead Sea Scrolls to describe the angels directly under the rule of Belial. In the War Scroll, such angels are mentioned as fighting side by side with the spirits and humans that make up the Sons of Darkness, Belial’s army.
::*Angels Against Humanity*
::In the book of Job, Satan recommends to God that Job’s faith be tested, suggesting that suffering will cause Job to lose faith in God. God then sends satan to afflict Job by destroying his family, possessions, and health. Satan brings about these sufferings himself, as an angel against Humanity, even though God Ultimately sent him to do so.
::In the passages of 4QpseudoJubilees, angels, specifically those under Mastema, are shown to be actively seeking the demise of the son of Abraham. These represent accusing angels, a recurring variety that begins appearing in Jubilees. Unlike Satan, this prompting by the angels for such punishment is not justified and is wholly malevolent.
::*Destroying Angels*
::Even the more conventional agents of God are often far from benevolent protectors. Angels can be brutal while fulfilling the will of God, often depicted as killing off thousands of people to do His bidding.
::* In 2 Kings 19, an angel is tasked with the destruction of an entire Assyrian army, and kills them all in one night.
::* In 1 Chronicles 21, an angel is tasked with visiting punishment upon Israel as a penalty for David’s numbering of the people.
::*God sends an "evil spirit", specifically not referred to as demons in the text so as to mean angels, against Saul for having looted the Amalekites instead of destroying them.
--
## In rabbinic literature
As a subcategory of heavenly beings, *mal’akim* occupy the sixth rank of ten in Maimonides' Jewish angelic hierarchy.
### Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, and Raphael
*Numbers Rabbah* names four angels who would later be known as archangels, surrounding God's throne:
::quote[attribution="Michael]], [[Gabriel]], [[Uriel]] and [[Raphael (archangel)"]
As the Holy One blessed be He created four winds (directions) and four banners (for Israel's army), so also did He make four angels to surround His Throne—[Michael (archangel)
::
### Affinities between angels and sages in the rabbinic literature
The [Babylonian Talmud contains a reworked ancient tradition of the myth of the fallen angels – here, this narrative is invested with new significance and accordingly, these are the distinguished rabbis who are portrayed as the heavenly messengers' offspring. The most explicit presentation of this notion is found in Tractate Shabbat. The text recounts the sages' halakhic discussion in which Rabbi Hizkiya praises Rabbi Yohanan's competencies by exclaiming "this is not a human!". Right after his remark a following passage appears.Rabbi Zeira said that Rava bar Zimuna said: If the early generations are characterized as sons of angels, we are the sons of men. And if the early generations are characterized as the sons of men, we are akin to donkeys. And I do not mean that we are akin to either the donkey of Rabbi Ḥanina ben Dosa or the donkey of Rabbi Pinḥas ben Yair, who were both extraordinarily intelligent donkeys; rather, we are akin to other typical donkeys.Although on the façade this appears to be a humorous allegory, this passage represents a broader tradition of associating angels and rabbis that manifests in other passages dispersed in the Babylonian Talmud. This tendency has two components, and, on the one hand, the text compares the sages to angels in various respects such as knowledge (e.g., the sages should be good teachers playing the function of the angel of the Lord in Hagigah, some of their halakhic decisions are labeled as angelic in origins in Pesachim), or appearance (e.g., according to Shabbat Rabbi Yehudah bar Ilai's Sabbath attire resembles the garments of the angel of the Lord, in Kiddushin the Babylonian scholars are compared to the ministering angels). On the other hand, the Babylonian Talmud portrays the angels as highly reminiscent of the rabbis themselves: they are proficient halakhists (e.g., in Menachot an angel disputes the laws of fringes with Rabbi Kattina, in Avodah Zarah the angel of death betrays his deep familiarity with the rules of ritual slaughter), linguists (e.g., in Bava Batra Gabriel and Michael scrutinize the semantics of the term *kadkod* known from Isa. 54:12), and teachers (e.g., in Megillah and Sanhedrin an angelic prince admonishes Joshua for neglecting his Torah studies). On the whole, the quantitative data show that the sages are frequently juxtaposed with angels, and the main dimension of comparison is their intellectual proficiency. When it comes to the mapping of specific rabbinic competencies onto the angels, the most popular is the ability to engage in halakhic scrutiny and teaching. In sum, this presentation of the sages as angels can be taken as an expression of the sense of elitism entertained by the Babylonian sages.
## Angelic hierarchy
### Rankings
Maimonides, in his *Mishneh Torah*, counted ten ranks of angels in the Jewish angelic hierarchy. The *Zohar*, in *Exodus 43a*, also lists ten ranks of angels. Jacob Nazir, in his *Maseket Atzilut*, also listed ten ranks of angels. Abraham ben Isaac of Granada, in his *Berit Menuchah*, also listed ten ranks of angels.
All of them are ranked with 1 being the highest, and all subsequent numbers being lower ranks.
::data[format=table]
| Rank | Angelic Class | Notes | References | *Zohar* | *Mishneh Torah* | *Maseket Atzilut* | *Berit Menuchah* | *Reshit Chochmah* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 9 | *Malakhim/Malakim* | Messengers, angels | | |
| 2 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 5 | *Erelim* | | See | |
| 3 | 5 | 1 | 10 | 3 | *Seraphim* | | See | |
| 4 | 1 | N/A | N/A | 1 | *Chayot Ha Kodesh*/Chayot | | See and | |
| 5 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 2 | *Ophanim* | | See and | |
| 6 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 7 | *Hashmallim* | | See | |
| 7 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 8 | *Elim* | Gods who are not the Supreme God | | |
| 8 | 7 | N/A | N/A | N/A | *Elohim* | "Godly beings", Powerful, supernatural beings distinct from other angels | | |
| 9 | 8 | 9 | 3 | N/A | *Bene Elohim* | "Sons of God" | | |
| 10 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 10 | *Ishim* | "manlike beings" | See | |
| N/A | 9 | 3 | 8 | 4 | *Cherubim* | | See [Hagigah](http://halakhah.com/pdf/moed/Chagigah.pdf) 13b | |
| N/A | N/A | 4 | 7 | N/A | *Shinanim* | "guardians of the 70 nations/70 angelic princes" | See , Zohar 2:254a | |
| N/A | N/A | 5 | 6 | 6 | *Tarshishim* | | See Zohar 1:231a | |
::
### In Kabbalah
The Kabbalah describes the angels at length. Angels are described in Kabbalah literature as forces that send information and sensations between mankind and the Tetragrammaton. They are analogized to atoms, wavelengths, or channels that help God in his creation, and it is therefore reasoned that they should not be worshipped, prayed to, nor invoked. They are not physical in nature but spiritual beings, like spiritual atoms. Therefore, the Kabbalah reasons, when they appear in the Hebrew Bible their description is from the viewpoint of the person that received the vision, prophesy, or occurrence, which will be anthropomorphic. However, they are not material beings but are likened to a single emotion, feeling, or material, controlled by God for his purpose of creation.
## In Jewish liturgy
*Shalom Aleichem* is a Jewish hymn, first documented in the 17th century, that is commonly sung on the eve of Shabbat, either upon returning home from services, or at the dinner-table.
Peace be unto you, *Malakhei HaSharet* (Angels of Service)
Angels of the Most High
From the King of the kings of kings
The Holy One Blessed Be He}}
Before going to sleep, many Jews recite a traditional prayer naming four archangels, "To my right Michael and to my left Gabriel, in front of me Uriel and behind me Raphael, and over my head God's Shekhinah ['the presence of God']." The formula of this prayer appears on incantation bowls and amulets, and may have originally come from folk magic practices. Michael and Gabriel appear in these incantations on the right and left (though sometimes their positions are swapped), but the name's of the angels in front and behind the speaker or subject vary.
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).
::quote[attribution="[[Book of Genesis"]
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.
::
## In popular belief
In the ancient Near East, Jews understood the sun, moon, and stars to be angels, just as others in the same region viewed them as divine beings. Philo of Alexandria identified angels in Judaism to be the same being as daemons in Hellenistic thought. In Late Antiquity, the two most popularly invoked angels among Jews were Michael and Gabriel. Some Jews seem to have understood pagan deities or figures, such as Abraxas, Helios, and Hermes, to actually be angels. Figures who "entered heaven alive", such as Elijah, are sometimes interpreted by Jews as having been transformed into angels (historically and currently).
In the ancient world, there were many different understandings of angels among Jews, some of which are quite different to modern ideas. For example, some magical texts demonstrate that practitioners believed they could control angels. In the modern day, angels are usually understood in Judaism as being controlled solely by God, to the point of not really being understood as having personalities. However, even in those times, a few common elements emerge. One is the body of angels, who were understood to be made of fire, likely following their description in Daniel: "a body like beryl [or topaz, in any case of yellow color] and a face with the appearance of lightening and eyes like torches of fire and arms and legs like gleaming bronze" (Dan 10:6). Some stories say angels are made from a firey river. Others say they are created with every word God speaks. Some say angels are all long lived/immortal, and others say there are angels who are born and die the same day. While there is a significant amount of Jewish literature concerned with heaven and angels, historically there has not been a systematized angelology that a majority or plurality of Jews believe in.
The Qumran community believed that humans should try to act like angels, particularly by practicing circumcision and observing Shabbat. The author of Jubilees, one of the texts found in the Qumran library, believed that angels were created already circumcised. Other texts indicate that some Jews in the first century (before the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple) believed angels were present in the congregation during prayer. This view became increasingly common in late Antiquity, and was influential for early Christians. One of the prayers developed in late Antiquity (and still used today) is the Qedushah, a prayer which quotes the angels in a prophetic vision. Jews during Yom Kippur services are especially likened to angels, even today, by wearing white (alternatively, this is also associated with the dead), fasting (angels do not need to eat or drink), standing straight up (a posture attributed to angels), setting aside differences and co-existing, and devoting the whole day to prayer.
Yannai, a Jewish Late Antique poet, composed several liturgical poems building on this idea. His works, being a kind of popular literature, indicate that for many Jews, seeing themselves as angel-like in prayer was important. He thought of and taught ways for people to be angel-like through his poetry, while also being a supporter of the relatively young Rabbinic movement. He agreed with Rabbinic opinion on angels (though only the most contemporary strata, which by his time was more accepting of angels) while engaging with the religious imagination of lay people. The genre of poetry Yannai created is called "qedushta", owing to its emphasis on using the central phrase of the Qedushah. In qedushta, the Qedushah is treated as the climax of prayer, and generally emphasized as something said by both angels and the current congregation (a small number of Yannai's qedushta'ot refer to only angels reciting, and another small number mention angels and biblical figures but not the congregation). Some of these prayers emphasize the presence of Levites, elders, and women among the congregation, perhaps implying they are especially angel-like. The development of the qedushta seems to have been driven by popular desire, not by rabbis. Unfortunately, rabbinic literature makes no direct comment on the qedushta or the development of liturgy in synagogues overall.
While Yannai's work heavily focuses on identification with angels, he does not have any invocations toward angels (as seen in historic folk practice and a handful of currently used Jewish prayers). Instead, humans and angels are always subordinates praying together to God. However, Yannai was clearly aware of ritual practices where such prayers were said. In one of his poems, he lists the many things which can be accomplished with God's name, such as healing and driving out demons (in many ritual incantations, both God and angels are invoked as powerful beings that can heal and protect). In doing so, he acknowledges ritual practices using God's name and affirms them as valid, placing them alongside Moses' parting of the Red Sea.
Beyond the imitation of angels in prayer, some Rabbis believed that humans were created in the image of angels, such as Rabbi Pappais (Rabbi Akiva's opinion that humans were made in the image of God and God alone has enjoyed greater official popularity). Some of Yannai's poems also record his belief that human beings were made in the likeness of angels, though they also reference the rabbinic midrashim about angels being jealous of humans.
Some Late Antique Jewish incantation bowls (found around the region of modern Iraq) would mention angels and call on their aid, but would not mention God. Currently, it is thought that people who made incantation bowls thought it was inappropriate to invoke God for certain things (like business deals) but that angels would be available for help with such issues. Other incantations do mention God and stress the angels' subordinate status to God. Angels on these bowls were invoked to help with cantankerous in-laws, business, countering curses, protection from supernatural forces (such as demons or Zoroastrian devas), healing, desire for children, and increased affection in one's marriage. The imagery of how the angels act in these incantations includes loving and gentle behavior.
Some incantation bowls also invoke humans of the past, such as Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Solomon, Rabbi Joshua ben Perahia, and Rabbi Hanina ben Dosa. The former group, being biblical figures, were often the subject of myths and folktales that made them even more heroic than their scriptural depiction. Solomon notably, was well known for his magical power, and Rabbi Perahia was said to have created a "writ of divorce" ritual for dealing with demons. Rabbi Dosa was the subject of a folktale where he recited part of Psalm 104 ("You make the darkness and it is night, wherein all animals of the forest creep") to control a malicious spirit by reminding it of God's authority.
Angels are noted as speaking to women in the Torah, commentaries of the Torah, and on the incantation bowls. In the case of the former two, this historically was often done to downgrade women's status by claiming God never speaks to women (it is notable that a variety of Jewish literature talks about men talking to angels, but also God and prophets such as Elijah). In the incantation bowls, women portrayed their relationship to angels in positive and intimate terms.
Late Antique angelic invocations were not unique to the Babylonian region, however. In the Levant, not only were amulets invoking angels common, but it is thought by some scholars that the Sefer Ha Razim was composed in Palestine (others say Egypt). Both forms of text provide evidence of how a large segment of the Jewish population viewed angels. In Palestinian amulets, a particularity of the region is that angels are given specific spheres of influence, such as parts of the landscape (roads, rivers, seas, clouds, Sheol, the moon), ailments, or body parts. This focus may have been a Greco-Roman influence. There is also evidence that ritual practitioners traveled from region to region, bringing ideas and customs with them that were adopted by Jews in different areas. Jews also developed a belief that each nation had an angel presiding over it, and that angels of different nations sometimes battled each other. Rabbinic interpretations sometimes alluded to this belief as well.
The angelic names used in different regions during Late Antiquity vary slightly, including both well known figures and regionalized names. The reasons for invoking angels also vary. In Palestine, angels were most commonly invoked for specific health issues.
From the Sefer Ha Razim it has been analyzed that angels had a few more common characteristics for many Jews in Antiquity. It was believed that timing was very important in angelic rituals, as certain years, seasons, and times of day were better for invoking certain angels. There are overseers in heaven (the Sefer Ha Razim counts 7) who angels are under the supervision of, and who angels must be given permission from in order to leave the heavens. Angelic abilities are also outlined. Angels are understood to know the movements of the celestial bodies, have free movement through the seven heavenly realms, have proficiency in the hierarchies of the angels and their overseers, know how to correctly interpret dreams, have power over spirits and demons (ruhot and pegaim), comprehend natural phenomena (storms, lightning), know the future and know the heavenly liturgy.
In the preamble of the Sefer Ha Razim (likely composed separately from the spells, then combined with them later) it specifically remarks on command of demons and spirits, but not of angels. However, some of the spells do seek to command angels, adjuring and commanding them (especially in erotic binding spells). Some of the other spells are "in the name of the angels" or make requests of them. Each approach to angelic invocation likely reflects two different contemporary views of angels among Jews: those who thought angels should be respected as divine messengers, and those who pragmatically viewed angels as powerful beings to help achieve goals.
Other magical instruction manuals with angelic invocations circulated at the time, and even beyond into the medieval period (just as the Sefer Ha Razim did). Fragments of these texts have been found in the Cairo Genziah, as have artifacts (in various places) corresponding to the instructions in those texts.
Gendered tensions exist in these texts of Jewish angelic magic. On one hand, while angels were often invoked on behalf of women and women did rituals using angelic magic, the instructional texts were written by men. Because of this, the practitioner is often cautioned of the "impurity of women" which may impact his own ritual impurity (contrasting other contemporary attitudes where angels did not care if a woman was pure or impure). This eventually led to later Jewish magical traditions excluding women entirely. On the other hand, even though men and women both took part in magic, women are stereotyped as the ones most likely to do it and put under suspicion. Practices associated with women in a negative context (such burning incense for magic rituals) are even described in the texts produced by men, without mention of male practitioners as also doing them in these condemnations.
Many rabbis, particularly in their earlier history, have tried to downplay the role of angels in Judaism. While angelic invocations and other ritual practices were popular among Jews for centuries, early rabbis often stood out in the community for their discomfort with these practices. This discomfort is often caused by the popularity and power of beliefs and practices around angels in folk Judaism. Prior to the rise of rabbis as an institution, belief in angels was very popular in Judaism, and angels were beginning to be seen as an intermediary between humans and the divine. This was an attitude some rabbis found offensive (or in some cases outright heretical). It also threatened the rabbis own position as intermediaries. While this has led to lasting impacts on Judaism (such as some Passover Haggadah overwriting the text of the Torah to claim angels did not help lead the Hebrews and Erev Rav out of Egypt), ultimately these attempts failed, as angels remained popular among Jews for centuries.
Angels in the Mishnah are mentioned only subtextually, and often in the context of condemnation. For example, at one point the Mishnah says a sacrifice in the name of mountains, hills, seas, rivers, or wilderness is invalid. While angels are not directly mentioned, it is evident from contemporary literature that angels were sometimes associated with all these things. A parallel condemnation is found in the Tosefta, where it is explicitly mentioned that sacrifices to the angel Michael are invalid. Rituals invoking angels for amulets may have involved sacrifice. Jewish laity may have seen this as acceptable because in Judges 6, Gideon offers a sacrifice to an angel as a test to prove it's divine status, which is accepted by the angel making the sacrifice be consumed by sudden magical fire.
On another occasion, the Palestinian Talmud instructs people not to pray to angels, but to God (possibly out of worry people would stop praying to the latter at all). The Mishnah, however, says that a prayer praising God and angels is acceptable. Both of these indicate that praying to angels alone and to angels and God were both common practices when these texts were written. The Palestinian Talmud also mentions other popular beliefs about angels, which are not always condemned, such as the belief that one intercessing angel is more powerful than a thousand accusatory angels in the court of God.
Another practice extant archeologically and condemned rabbinically is the making of an image of anything in the heavens. This prohibition included the sun, stars, and moon, but also angels. However, in ancient synagogues we find elaborate mosaics, including mosaics depicting Helios as an angel. This indicates that lay Jews understood the supporting scripture differently (which would not have been difficult to do).
The view of angels, even among early rabbis, was not a monolith. There were two broad attitudes toward angels: the allegorizing school, who viewed any anthropomorphic mention of God as actually being an angel acting on God's behalf (as a subordinate) and took their presence as a given; and the literalizing school which had no issue with God being described in anthropomorphic terms and saw angels as undermining the rhetoric of God's devotion to Jews and Israel. The allegorical school emphasized the transcendence of God, and sometimes added in or erased angels from its discussion of scripture.
Over time, rabbis eventually came to embrace angels and even use them to their own ends. Angels were added into old stories where they had been absent, and there was an increased focus on ideas such as guardian angels. It is both historically and currently believed that good people have guardian angels. In the past, it was also believed that each person has a good angel and a bad angel assigned to them, or that good people have good angels and bad people have "angels of satan" ("satan" here used generically to refer to an ill intentioned person). These beliefs were also recorded in Rabbinic literature. There are also "evil angels" that generally punish misdeeds of a people. Angels historically were not understood to be "good" as an entire group, and "evil angels" were never equated to demons. There is no known evidence of God using demons (mazikin) as messengers or servants in scripture or ritual texts. These beliefs lead to the development of prayers to angels (such as those said before going to the bathroom), though people were cautioned not to pray in Aramaic. It is believed that angels do not understand Aramaic, though this was likely a practical measure to encourage prayer in Hebrew.
There are multiple, slightly different beliefs about if angels have their own will, thoughts, and emotions. Some Jews think of angels as something like divine automatons. Some think that while angels cannot act directly against divine will, they may protest or have emotional reactions towards commands given by God. They especially may feel fondly for the mortals they are in charge of, and seek to protect them. There are also apocryphal writing where angels are depicted as able to disobey God, such as the Watchers, and more mainstream (but still not well known) stories of angels fulfilling orders, but doing so in a way that purposely circumvents the reason the order was given (such as Gabriel not completely burning Jerusalem). Angels in Rabbinic Judaism are usually understood as immune to sin or as lacking yetzer hara (evil inclination, something akin to a part of the soul in some traditions).
Angels names often indicate what they have power over and when it is appropriate to invoke them. Raphael is one of the most well known, with a name that has connotations of healing. Another common example is 'Anael, who Late Antique Jews invoked as someone who listens to prayers and answers them (the verb '-n-h means "to answer" in Aramaic). 'Anael was also understood as being partial to women and especially responsive to them. Localized angels may have names like Nahariel ("nahar" for river) as well as more abstract concepts like Sadqiel ("justice").
## References
## References
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2. David Albert Jones ''Angels: A History'' Oxford University Press, 2010 {{ISBN. 978-0199582952 p. 36
3. Oxford Hebrew-English Dictionary
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5. Kosior, Wojciech. (June 2013). ["The Angel in the Hebrew Bible from the Statistic and Hermeneutic Perspectives. Some Remarks on the Interpolation Theory"](https://www.academia.edu/4426250). *The Polish Journal of Biblical Research*.
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12. Erik Eynikel, "The Angel in Samson’s Birth Narrative," in Angels: The Concept Of Celestial Beings – Origins, Development And Reception, ed. Friedrich V. Reiterer et al. (Walter de Gruyter: Berlin, 2007), 117
13. Erik Eynikel, "The Angel in Samson’s Birth Narrative," in Angels: The Concept Of Celestial Beings – Origins, Development And Reception, ed. Friedrich V. Reiterer et al. (Walter de Gruyter: Berlin, 2007), 110–121
14. Karin Shöpflin, "God's Interpreter" in Angels: The Concept Of Celestial Beings, ed. Friedrich V Reiterer, Tobias Nicklas, and Karin Schopflin (Berlin: de Gruyter, 2007), 198
15. George W.E. Nickelsburg. Jewish Literature between the Bible and the Mishnah (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2005), 270
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17. George W.E. Nickelsburg. Jewish Literature between the Bible and the Mishnah (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2005), 271
18. Matthias Albani, Frey Jorg, and Lange Armin, ''Studies in the Book of Jubilees''. (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1997).
19. Hindy Najman, ''Angels at Sinai: Exegesis, Theology and Interpretive Authority'' (Dead Sea Discoveries, 7, 2000), 316.
20. Hindy Najman, ''Angels at Sinai: Exegesis, Theology and Interpretive Authority'' (Dead Sea Discoveries, 7, 2000), 320.
21. Michael Segal, ''The Book of Jubilees: Rewritten Bible, Redaction, Ideology and Theology'' (Leiden: Brill, 2007), 5.
22. John C. Reeves ''Tracing the threads: studies in the vitality of Jewish pseudepigrapha'' 1994 "88 Appendix: Azazel/ Azaziel The literature of Azazel and the fallen angels in Judaism is too vast to treat adequately here."
23. Bernard J. Bamberger ''Fallen Angels'' Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1952
24. Stone, Michael. "The Book(s) Attributed to Noah". *BRILL*.
25. ["Compare Talmud to U.S. law in course open to everyone"](http://search.silive.com/Compare+Talmud+to+U.S.+law+in+course+open+to+everyone/).
26. ["Brisbane Joins Worldwide Synchronized Lecture Series in Honour of the Jewish "Year of Gathering""](https://www.jlicentral.com/news.php?task=fullstory&NID=130).
27. Charlesworth, edited by James H.. (2009). "The Old Testament pseudepigrapha". *Hendrickson Publishers*.
28. Vermes], [translated with an introduction by Geza. "The complete Dead Sea scrolls in English". *Penguin*.
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31. George W.E. Nickelsburg. Jewish Literature between the Bible and the Mishnah (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2005), 29–37.
32. Struckenbruck, ''The Book of Jubilees and the Origin of Evil'', 305.
33. ["Tobit 6:5–7 Common English Bible (CEB)"](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Tobit+6%3A5-7&version=CEB).
34. Stuckenbruck, “The Book of Jubilees and the Origin of Evil,”in ''Enoch and the Mosaic Torah: The Evidence of Jubilees'', ed. G. Boccaccini and G.Ibba (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2009)305.
35. Stuckenbruck, “The Book of Jubilees and the Origin of Evil,” 305.
36. [[Dale Basil Martin]], “When did Angels Become Demons?” ''[[Journal of Biblical Literature]]'' (2010): 657–677.
37. James VanderKam, “The Angel Story in the Book of Jubilees,” in Pseudepigraphic Perspectives: The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha in Light of the Dead Sea Scrolls, edited by E. Chazon, M. Stone, and A. Pinnick (Leiden: Brill, 1999), 151.
38. T.R. Hanneken, “Angels and Demons in the Book of Jubilees and Contemporary Apocalypses,” Henoch 28 no. 2 (2006): 14–15.
39. John Collins, Seers, Sibyls, and Sages in Hellenistic-Roman Judaism (Boston: Brill Academic, 2001), “Origin of Evil,” 290.
40. 1 Enoch 8:1–2.
41. 1 Enoch 10:8–9.
42. 1 Enoch 15:9–10.
43. Jubilees 10:1–5.
44. Jubilees 10:7–9.
45. Michael Mach, “Demons” in Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea Scrolls, ed. James C. VanderKam and Lawrence H. Schiffman, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000).
46. Devorah Dimant, “Between Qumran Sectarian and Non-Sectarian Texts: The Case of Belial and Mastema,” in The Dead Sea Scrolls and Contemporary Culture, ed. A. Roitman, L. H. Schiffman, and S. Tzoref (Leiden: Brill, 2011), 247.
47. Devorah Dimant, “Between Qumran Sectarian and Non-Sectarian Texts: The Case of Belial and Mastema,” in The Dead Sea Scrolls and Contemporary Culture, ed. A. Roitman, L. H. Schiffman, and S. Tzoref (Leiden: Brill, 2011), 250.
48. Jubilees 10:8.
49. T.R. Hanneken, “Angels and Demons in the Book of Jubilees and Contemporary Apocalypses,” Henoch 28 no. 2 (2006): 16.
50. Devorah Dimant, “Between Qumran Sectarian and Non-Sectarian Texts: The Case of Belial and Mastema,” in The Dead Sea Scrolls and Contemporary Culture, ed. A. Roitman, L. H. Schiffman, and S. Tzoref (Leiden: Brill, 2011), 237–238.
51. Devorah Dimant, “Between Qumran Sectarian and Non-Sectarian Texts: The Case of Belial and Mastema,” in The Dead Sea Scrolls and Contemporary Culture, ed. A. Roitman, L. H. Schiffman, and S. Tzoref (Leiden: Brill, 2011), 246–247.
52. Devorah Dimant, “Between Qumran Sectarian and Non-Sectarian Texts: The Case of Belial and Mastema,” in The Dead Sea Scrolls and Contemporary Culture, ed. A. Roitman, L. H. Schiffman, and S. Tzoref (Leiden: Brill, 2011), 239.
53. Devorah Dimant, “Between Qumran Sectarian and Non-Sectarian Texts: The Case of Belial and Mastema,” in The Dead Sea Scrolls and Contemporary Culture, ed. A. Roitman, L. H. Schiffman, and S. Tzoref (Leiden: Brill, 2011), 240–241.
54. Devorah Dimant, “Between Qumran Sectarian and Non-Sectarian Texts: The Case of Belial and Mastema,” in The Dead Sea Scrolls and Contemporary Culture, ed. A. Roitman, L. H. Schiffman, and S. Tzoref (Leiden: Brill, 2011), 238.
55. Ryan Stokes, “The Devil Made David Do It ... Or Did He? The Nature, Identity, and Literary Origins of the Satan in 1 Chronicles 21:1.” Journal of Biblical Literature 128 (2009): 93.
56. Ryan Stokes, “The Devil Made David Do It . . . Or Did He? The Nature, Identity, and Literary Origins of the Satan in 1 Chronicles 21:1.” Journal of Biblical Literature 128 (2009): 96.
57. Ryan Stokes, “The Devil Made David Do It ... Or Did He? The Nature, Identity, and Literary Origins of the Satan in 1 Chronicles 21:1.” Journal of Biblical Literature 128 (2009): 94.
58. Ryan Stokes, “The Devil Made David Do It ... Or Did He? The Nature, Identity, and Literary Origins of the Satan in 1 Chronicles 21:1.” Journal of Biblical Literature 128 (2009): 92.
59. Ryan Stokes, “The Devil Made David Do It ... Or Did He? The Nature, Identity, and Literary Origins of the Satan in 1 Chronicles 21:1.” Journal of Biblical Literature 128 (2009): 99.
60. Job 1:8–12.
61. Job 1:13 – 2:10.
62. “Angel” in Britannica Concise Encyclopedia.
63. Philip Alexander, “Notes: Chapter 2” in Aramaic bible 17A Canticles: Volume 17A, (The Order of Saint Benedict, Collegeville Minnesota, 2003), 107.
64. Maxwell Davidson, “Chapter 8: Rule of the Community” in Angels at Qumran: A Comparative Study of 1 Enoch 1–36; 72–108 and Sectarian Writings from Qumran, (Sheffield Academic Press, 1992), 158.
65. Collins, John J., "The Mythology of Holy War in Daniel and the Qumran War Scroll. A Point of Transition in Jewish Apocalyptic", ''Vetus Testamentum'', 25, 1975, p. 609.
66. Job 1:6–12
67. Job 1:13–22, Job 2:1–10.
68. Job 1:12
69. 4QpseudoJubilees: 10–13
70. Moshe J. Bernstein, “Angels at the Aqedah: A Study in the Development of a Midrashic Motif” Dead Sea Discoveries Vol 7 (2000): 267.
71. Moshe J. Bernstein, “Angels at the Aqedah: A Study in the Development of a Midrashic Motif” Dead Sea Discoveries Vol 7 (2000): 267–271.
72. 2 Kings 19: 35.
73. 1 Chronicles 21: 14–15.
74. 1 Samuel 16:14
75. (Numbers Rabbah 2:10). See http://jhom.com/topics/angels/talmud_fourangels.htm {{Webarchive. [link](https://web.archive.org/web/20120831082248/http://jhom.com/topics/angels/talmud_fourangels.htm). (2012-08-31)
76. ["Shabbat 112b:8"](https://www.sefaria.org/Shabbat.112b.8?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en).
77. ["Chagigah 15b"](https://www.sefaria.org/Chagigah.15b?lang=bi).
78. ["Pesachim 33a"](https://www.sefaria.org/Pesachim.33a?lang=bi).
79. ["Shabbat 25b"](https://www.sefaria.org/Shabbat.25b?lang=bi).
80. ["Kiddushin 72a"](https://www.sefaria.org/Kiddushin.72a?lang=bi).
81. ["Menachot 41a"](https://www.sefaria.org/Menachot.41a).
82. ["Avodah Zarah 20b"](https://www.sefaria.org/Avodah_Zarah.20b?lang=bi).
83. ["Bava Batra 75a"](https://www.sefaria.org/Bava_Batra.75a?lang=bi).
84. ["Megillah 3a"](https://www.sefaria.org/Megillah.3a?lang=bi).
85. ["Sanhedrin 44b"](https://www.sefaria.org/Sanhedrin.44b?lang=bi).
86. Kosior, Wojciech. (2023-06-12). ["The Angelized Rabbis and the Rabbinized Angels. The Reworked Motif of the Angelic Progeny in the Babylonian Talmud (bShabb 112b)"](https://czasopisma.kul.pl/index.php/vv/article/view/15570). *Verbum Vitae*.
87. Davidson, Gustav. (1994). "Dictionary of Angels: Including the Fallen Angels". *Free Press*.
88. ["Yesohei haTorah 2:7"](https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/904962/jewish/Yesodei-haTorah-Chapter-Two.htm).
89. ["The Mishneh Torah, 2:7 by Maimonides"](https://www.sefaria.org/Mishneh_Torah%2C_Foundations_of_the_Torah.2.7?ven=The_Mishneh_Torah_by_Maimonides._trans._by_Moses_Hyamson,_1937-1949&lang=bi).
90. Dennis, Geoffrey W.. (2016). "The Encyclopedia of Jewish Myth, Magic, and Mysticism: Second Edition.". *Llewellyn*.
91. Davidson, Gustav. (1994). "Dictionary of Angels: Including the Fallen Angels". *Free Press*.
92. ["Torah and Torts..."](http://chicagojewishnews.com/).
93. See any [[siddur]] (Jewish prayer book), ''Kriyat Shema She'al Hamitah'', (קריאת שמע שעל המיטה, Reading of the [[Shema]] before retiring to sleep)
94. ["What to Expect at Simchat Torah Services"](http://www.chabad.org/holidays/JewishNewYear/template_cdo/aid/3076274/jewish/What-to-Expect-at-Simchat-Torah-Services.htm).
95. Ahuvia, Mika. "On My Right Michael, On My Left Gabriel".
96. Ahuvia, Mika. "On My Right Michael, On My Left Gabriel".
97. Ahuvia, Mika. "On My Right Michael, On My Left Gabriel".
98. Ahuvia, Mika. "On My Right Michael, On My Left Gabriel".
99. Ahuvia, Mika. "On My Right Michael, On My Left Gabriel".
100. Ahuvia, Mika. "On My Right Michael, On My Left Gabriel".
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