In Judaism, angels (, plural: מַלְאָכִים mal’āḵīm) are supernatural beings that appear throughout The Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), rabbinic literature, apocrypha and pseudepigrapha, Jewish philosophy and mysticism, and traditional Jewish liturgy as agents of the God of Israel. They are categorized in different hierarchies. Their essence is often associated with fire. The Talmud describes their very essence as fire.

Etymology

Hebrew mal’ākh is the standard word for "messenger", both human and divine, in the Hebrew Bible; it is also related to the words for "angel" in Arabic (malāk ملاك), Aramaic and Ethiopic. It is rarely used for human messengers in Modern Hebrew as the latter is usually denoted by the term shaliyakh (שליח). The noun derives from the verbal consonantal root l-’-k (ל-א-ך), meaning specifically "to send with a message" and with time was substituted with more applicable sh-l-h. In Biblical Hebrew this root is attested only in this noun and in the noun מְלָאכָה məlʾāḵā́, meaning "work", "occupation" or "craftsmanship". The morphological structure of the word mal’ākh suggests that it is the maqtal form of the root denoting the tool or the means of performing it. The term mal’ākh therefore simply means the one who is sent, often translated as "messenger" when applied to humans; for instance, mal’ākh 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". In the same manner, apparently, the prophet Haggai is described as "the messenger of the Lord with the message of the Lord" (malʾakh ʾElohim be-malʾakhut ʾElohim; Book of Haggai 1:13).

In the Tanakh (Hebrew biblical texts)

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. On 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 in military fashion, 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, that 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).

<!--Moved to hidden note as it reads like a (not irrelevant) essay: ## The angel of the 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 to the following pattern: 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 make the pivots on the thresholds shake and filled the temple with smoke. ([Book of Isaiah](https://bliptext.com/articles/book-of-isaiah) 6:3–4) All of this power made Isaiah feel unworthy and unclean so he cried out: ""Woe is me; I am lost! 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](https://bliptext.com/articles/book-of-zechariah), [Joshua](https://bliptext.com/articles/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, the removal of Joshua's filthy clothing was like healing him from his guilt. ## Angels and prayer In the [Book of Zechariah](https://bliptext.com/articles/book-of-zechariah), [Zechariah](https://bliptext.com/articles/zechariah-hebrew-prophet) 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, in Daniel 10:13, it makes reference 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 are acting as warriors for the 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](https://bliptext.com/articles/book-of-daniel), Zechariah, and [4 Ezra](https://bliptext.com/articles/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](https://bliptext.com/articles/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). --> <!-- The following section has no place in an article related specifically to Judaism.

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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).

Dead Sea Scrolls and in the Book of Enoch

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.

Angels and healing in Jubilees and the Dead Sea Scrolls

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.

Angels as warriors in the War Scroll

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.

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.” -->

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: "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, Gabriel, Uriel and Raphael. Michael is on its right, corresponding to the tribe of Reuben; Uriel on its left, corresponding to the tribe of Dan, which was located in the north; Gabriel in front, corresponding to the tribe of Judah as well as Moses and Aaron who were in the east; and Raphael in the rear, corresponding to the tribe of Ephraim which was in the west."

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

Maimonides

Maimonides, in his Mishneh Torah, counted ten ranks of angels in the Jewish angelic hierarchy, beginning from the highest:

Zohar

The Zohar, in Exodus 43a, also lists ten ranks of angels, beginning from the highest:

Maseket Atzilut

Jacob Nazir, in his Maseket Atzilut, also listed ten ranks of angels, beginning from the highest:

Berit Menuchah

Abraham ben Isaac of Granada, in his Berit Menuchah, also listed ten ranks of angels, beginning from the highest:

Reshit Chochmah

Eliyahu de Vidas, in his Reshit Chochmah, also listed ten ranks of angels, beginning from the highest:

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 or 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. 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']." 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

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 Micheal and Gabriel.