The previous post that I made on angels may have been confusing for some because I noted at the end that angels resemble humans and, contrary to popular imagery, are never described as having wings. Yet, the Bible does describe certain heavenly beings as having wings. For that reason, I should clarify things a bit. Also, some of you may simply find this interesting.
People often use the term “angel” as a generic reference to any ‘heavenly’ or ‘celestial’ being. The Hebrew Bible actually describes three different types of heavenly beings: cherubim, seraphim, and malakim (in Hebrew, the ‘im’ ending denotes the plural form of a word). In the Greek New Testament, the malakim are called angeloi, and this is the word from which the term “angel” is taken. The word angeloi (or angelos) means “messenger,” as this is what we primarily find them doing in scripture: conveying messages or instructions from God. Thus, technically, “angels” are heavenly messengers, and they appear to be a class unto themselves. These are the “angels” that resemble humans and are never described as having wings. Gabriel—one of the few angels named in scripture—is a malakim or angelos: a messenger, and is described as appearing like a man.
Cherubim
The word “cherub” appears to come from the Akkadian language (an ancient land of Mesopotamia) and means “to bless” or “one who blesses.” Very little is known about the cherubim. They are mentioned a number of times in scripture, but most of those references have to do with images of them being made and placed in various locations, such as atop the Ark of the Covenant. The only detailed descriptions we have of them come from Ezekiel, chapters 1 and 10:
“Within it, there were figures resembling four living beings. And this was their appearance: they had human form. Each of them had four faces and four wings. Their legs were straight and their feet were like a calf’s hoof, and they gleamed like burnished bronze. Under their wings on their four sides were four human hands…As for the form of their faces: each had the face of a man; all four had the face of a lion on the right and the face of a bull on the left, and all four had the face of an eagle. Such were their faces.” – Ezekiel 1:5-8, 10-11
“Their whole body, their backs, their hands, their wings and the wheels [of God’s throne] were full of eyes all around.” – Ezekiel 10:12
Given that these physical descriptions came in the form of visions, I tend to think that they aren’t meant to be understood literally, but rather are meant to tell us something about the nature of the cherubim and they roles they serve. Lest anyone think this an unwarranted conclusion, I note that Ezekiel 10 also describes the throne of God as having “wheels,” which are also said to be full of eyes. I’ll leave it to you to decide whether it’s probable that God’s throne actually rolls around and has eyeballs built into it. Also, consider that Revelation 5:6 describes Christ as “a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God, sent out into all the earth.” Needless to say, this description tells us something about Christ and his work with regard to John’s vision, and is not meant to tell us what he literally looks like. It’s also worth noting here that scripture indicates that celestial beings can apparently alter their appearance at will (for instance: sometimes the malakim or angeloi appear as ordinary men, at other times they appear as overwhelmingly glorious beings).
So, what do the descriptions of the cherubim tell us about them?
The fact that they have four faces and four wings seems to reference the four cardinal directions, meaning that they travel back and forth over all of earth and heaven. The Bible makes a number of references to the four corners and winds of the earth and heaven (see Isaiah 11:12, Jeremiah 49:36, Ezekiel 37:9, Matthew 24:31, Revelation 7:1, and others), so this seems likely. The reference to them being “full of eyes” indicates that they watch over things on earth and in heaven on God’s behalf (“The eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth so that he may strongly support those whose heart is completely his.” – II Chronicles 16:9). Note that the cherubim have wings, which allow them to fly in the heavens, but are also described as having hooves, which would allow them to walk on the ground. Thus, they can bridge between heaven and earth.
The cherubim are always described as being in close proximity to the throne of God, and God is even said to “mount” and “ride upon” them (Psalm 99:1, Isaiah 37:16, Ezekiel 9:3, Hebrews 9:5), which dovetails with Ezekiel’s description of the “wheels” of God’s throne moving as the cherubim moved. Their description as having the faces of men, oxen, lions, and eagles is also interesting, and, I think, symbolic of their role. Lions are wild, untamed animals or “beasts of the field,” whereas oxen are beasts of burden and closely associated with man. Eagles fly in the heavens. Again, we have a union of heaven and earth represented in these beings. Also, all of these faces depict creatures that breathe air or, to put it in biblical language, “in whose nostrils is the breath of life.”
In Genesis, when God creates Adam, he “breathes” into his body “the breath of life,” and Adam is said to become “a living soul” or “a living being” as a result. In Hebrew, the “breath of life” is neshamah, and “soul” or “being” is nephesh. Adam’s lifeless body was given neshamah and he became nephesh as a result. Those who are not familiar with biblical languages may find this surprising, but these terms are also used with regard to animals that breathe air. Here are some examples:
“And God created great whales and every living creature [nephesh] that moves, which the waters brought forth abundantly.” – Genesis 1:21
“And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them to Adam…and whatever Adam called every living creature [nephesh], that was the name of it.” – Genesis 2:19
“All flesh that moved on the earth perished, birds and cattle and beasts and every swarming thing that swarms upon the earth, and all mankind; of all that was on the dry land, all in whose nostrils was the breath [neshamah] of the spirit of life, died.” – Genesis 7:21-22
Thus, going by the Genesis terminology, a “soul” is simply a living being—a term applied to both humans and animals. Both were formed from the dust and both were given life by the same neshamah. The fact that the cherubim bear the faces of terrestrial, air-breathing creatures indicates that they have some sort of relationship with the “soulish” creatures of heaven and earth—likely by watching over them (remember all of those “eyes”). Furthermore, their proximity to the throne of God indicates that God is keenly interested in the affairs of all of his creatures, both man and beast.
For one last point here, when Adam fell God dispatched cherubim to block the way of the Tree of Life, thus enforcing the death sentence God had pronounced against Adam (Genesis 3:24). This dovetails with the rest of what we’ve seen about the cherubim when you understand that the Garden of Eden was more than just an idyllic place to live: it also represented the place of God’s presence and favor, set apart as it was from the rest of creation. Canaan later came to represent the same thing (consider how Abraham was relocated there from Chaldea, and how Israel was given the land contingent on obedience), and Jerusalem in the Kingdom Age is described in similar language (see Isaiah 11:9, 27:13 65:25; Ezekiel 34:36; Zechariah 8:3; and Revelation 21:24-27). Adam is said to have been created outside of the garden and moved into it at some later time (Genesis 2:7-8), and God is said to have directly communed with him there (Genesis 2:15-25, and 3:8). When he fell, Adam was expelled from the garden, indicating the loss of God’s favor and presence. He was then barred from reentering the garden by celestial beings are who closely associated with the throne, glory, and presence of God.
Seraphim
The seraphim are mentioned only a few times in scripture. Consequently, we know very little about them. They are mentioned by name only in Isaiah 6, although they are described in Revelation 4 as well. The word seraph (or seraf) means “burning one,” and scholars are uncertain as to why this is. The word is translated as “serpent” a number of times in the Hebrew Old Testament (see Numbers 21:6, 8; Deuteronomy 8:15; Isaiah 14:29, and 30:6), and they are actually depicted as serpentine beings in ancient Near Eastern iconography. Some think that “burning” may refer to either the brightly-colored scales of certain snakes or else to the potency of their venom, most likely the cobra, which was the most feared snake of the region). Interestingly, in Hebrew the word for the serpent of Eden is nachash, not seraph, but the verb and adjectival forms of nachash (as well as the related word nechosheth), have to do with divination and a shining, bronze-like aspect. Thus, the concepts of the seraph and the nachash are related. Further, this demonstrates that the “serpent” of Eden was not a talking snake: it was a celestial being with a bright, and apparently serpentine, appearance.
The seraphim are described as follows in Isaiah 6:
“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him where the seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory. At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.” – Isaiah 6:1-2
The seraphim are mentioned again in Revelation 4, although we might confuse them with cherubim were it not for the mention of their six wings:
“In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had the face of a man, and the fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night, they never stop saying, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.’” – Revelation 4:6-8
In both passages, the seraphim are located close to the throne of God, they have six wings, and they appear to be leading the praise of God or else announcing his presence on the throne. Again, I have to point out that the seraphim appear in visions, so it is likely that their appearance is meant to tell us something about their function; we shouldn’t assume that this is a literal physical description. Like the cherubim, they are described as being “full of eyes” and they bear the faces of “soulish” creatures, indicating that they somehow bridge the affairs of heaven and earth. In Isaiah’s vision, one of them takes a coal from the altar before the throne of God and touches it to Isaiah’s lips, telling him that his sin is purged. Beyond this, the Bible is silent about the seraphim.
Conclusion
I hope this will help to clarify what the Bible teaches about “angels.” As a whole, celestial beings are mysterious. We’re told relatively little about them and what we do know is mainly related to specific incidents in which they appear. We’re not given any sort of general, encyclopedic entries on them in scripture.
Also, it should be noted that the cherubim and seraphim are not unique to the Hebrew Bible. They are also mentioned in other ancient Near Eastern documents (such as the Book of Enoch), and they are pictured in the iconography of the region. They were well known to the people of the time and were thought of as divine throne guardians, like a sort of palace guard. Obviously, God would not need anyone to defend him, so we shouldn’t confuse the idea of a throne guardian with the modern conception of a body guard. In the Bible, their role seems to be one of presiding over who is permitted access to God, and I imagine this has to do with how the spiritual realm is governed. As I mentioned in the previous post, we know very little about the spiritual realm, but we do know that celestial beings have various areas of authority and responsibility, and they bring reports on occasion and even war amongst themselves. They do not ordinarily interact directly with human beings, so whatever culture and infrastructure they have is not primarily designed with us in mind.
Attached are some ancient depictions of cherubim and seraphim from ancient Near Eastern cultures (note the Egyptian seraph as being serpentine in appearance).
*All scriptures are taken from the NASB.
