What Are Angels in the Bible?

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What are angels in the Bible? Starting out, it’s helpful to clarify that the original words often translated as angel do not always refer to supernatural, angelic beings. The Hebrew (mal’āḵ (https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexic...) ) and Greek (angelos (https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexic...) ) words for angel appear 214 and 186 times, respectively, across the Old and New Testaments. These uses primarily serve to describe angelic messengers for God or manifestations of God’s will. Yet not all uses of these words imply supernatural beings; sometimes, often even in the Old Testament, the word is simply used to refer to a human messenger, an ambassador (Genesis 32:3, Luke 7:24).



As it pertains to the supernatural beings though, the Hebrew word appears in accounts like Jacob’s ladder (Genesis 28), the Psalms, and throughout the Major and Minor Prophets. Some well-known uses of the Greek word include Gabriel’s appearance to Mary in Luke 1 and then the subsequent appearance of an angel and the “heavenly host” before the shepherds of Bethlehem in Luke 2. These beings’ presence spans the entirety of Scripture, and their participation in the biblical narrative implies a divine and purposeful inclusion in humanity’s reconciliation to God and the redemption of all creation.



But who or what exactly are angels?



 



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