Most people from the West assume that all religions have angels since they are such an essential part of most Western religions but is this true of Jews?
Yes, Jews Believe In Angels. In Judaism, angels are superhuman entities that represent the God of Israel in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), rabbinic writings, Apocrypha and pseudepigrapha, and customary Jewish ritual.
Let’s learn about some types of angels Jewish people believe in, from warriors to messages to healers.
Jewish Angels and Healing Impurities
Though it may be questioned if seraphim are angels, the Bible contains situations where angels have the power to cleanse a person of impurities.
For instance, Isaiah witnesses seraphim worshiping the Lord in the book of Isaiah. Their shouts were so loud that they caused smoke to flood the temple and caused the pivots on the thresholds to tremble.
Isaiah shouted that all this power had made him feel worthless and dirty! He was lost because he was an unclean man and dwelled among filthy people, yet he had seen the King, the Lord of hosts, with his own eyes in Isaiah 6:5.
A lump of live coal removed off the altar with a pair of tongs was placed in Isaiah’s mouth by one seraph as he flew to him.
The seraph remarked that now that this has touched his lips, his guilt has fled, and his sin is blotted away after placing the coal on Isaiah’s lips.
Joshua was in front of the Lord’s angel and God in the Book of Zechariah. Standing before them, he was wearing dirty clothing.
The angel then provided him with festive attire and a clean turban after ordering him to remove his unclean garments.
The angel said that Joshua’s guilt had been removed as soon as his dirty clothes were removed. Joshua was, therefore, likened to being healed from shame when his filthy garment was removed.
Jewish Angels and Prayers
Zechariah learns from the Lord in the Book of Zechariah that He was furious with his forefathers because of their terrible activities, and he assured them that he would return to them if they did.
Then the Lord’s angel cried out to the Lord in prayer, asking: Lord of hosts, how long would He withhold pity from Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, against whom He has been wrathful these seventy years?” As a result, the Lord’s angel pleaded to God on behalf of the populace.
Jewish Warrior Angels
There are several allusions in the Bible to angels serving as guards and soldiers of everything good. One of these allusions is to the Book of Daniel, which has four end-of-the-world visions.
However, Daniel 10:13 mentions a conflict between the prince of the Persian realm and the speaker, who is thought to be Gabriel.
In this passage, Gabriel informs Daniel that the prince in charge, Michael, stood up for him against the prince of the Persian realm.
As a result, both angels are fighting for good against the evil resistance from the Persian ruler. Additionally, the speaker Gabriel claims in Daniel 12:1 that the angel Michael is a powerful ruler and the guardian of the Israelite people.
Jewish Messanger Angels
There is no unique Hebrew term for “angel”; angels are used as messengers in various texts from the Tanakh. Angels resemble regular people in appearance; they are primarily male and lack wings (unlike seraphim).
The passage’s context must be considered to distinguish between a heavenly and a human messenger.
Messenger angels play a crucial role in upholding and deepening the bond between God and humanity while maintaining the required distance.
The information that angelic messengers provide is always of a heavenly or divine character and may only be imparted to people with God’s permission and for strictly essential purposes.
When an angel speaks for God, he relates directly to God, and that of his Lord obscures his identity.
Examples of this function can be found in several well-known Old Testament passages, such as the three enigmatic men who appear in the account of Abraham and the ruination of Sodom in Genesis 18:1–19:23 and the angel who tells Samson’s mother the nature of the child she is carrying in Judges 13:3-5.
In these instances, the angels are covered up; their true identities are inconsequential compared to the celestial scope of the information they possess; instead, their roles serve as the sole determinants of who they are.
Final Thoughts
The God of Israel is represented by angels in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), rabbinic literature, Apocrypha and pseudepigrapha, and traditional Jewish ritual.
The Jewish faith has many different types of angels who fulfill important roles without religion.
