Toscead betweox fadungum "Engel"

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<Big>Fuck bitches get money!
 
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Mr. Cheese Nacho, stay away!
 
 
For our Bible is not unaware that God governs this existence through the mediation of angels...(Maimonides then quotes discussions of angels from [[Genesis]], [[Plato]], and [[Midrash]] Bereshit Rabbah)...the import in all these texts is not—as a primitive mentality would suppose—to suggest any discussion or planning or seeking of advice on God's part. How could the Creator receive aid from the object of his creation? The real import of all is to proclaim that existence—including particular individuals and even the formation of the parts of animals such as they are—is brought about entirely through the mediation of angels.''
[[Image:Annunciation.jpg|right|250px|thumbnail|The Annunciation - se Engel [[Gabriel]] announces to Mary that she will bear Jesus ([[El Greco]], 1575)]]
In various human [[mythologies]] an '''angel''' is believed to be an ethereal creature whose duties are to assist and serve the [[God]] or gods of many [[religion|religious]] [[tradition|traditions]]. Þæt word ofcymþ þæt [[Lǣden]]e ''angelus'', itself derived from the [[Grēcisc sprǣc|Grēcisc]] αγγελος, ''āngelos'', meaning “messenger” (twifeald gamma "γγ" is gesægd "ng" on Grēcisce). Þæt nīehste [[Hebrēisc sprǣc|Hebrēisce]] word for engle is מלאך, ''mal'ach'' {{strong|4397}}, also meaning messenger. "Engel" is ēac gebrȳced in þǣre Engliscan Fadunge for þǣm folgendum Hebrēiscum wordum:
* אביר, ''abbir'' {{strong|47}}, Ps. 78:25 (lit. "mighty")
* אלהים, ''Elohim'' {{strong|430}}, Ps. 8:5
* the obscure אלהים, ''shin'an'' {{strong|8136}}, in Ps. 68:17
 
== Englas in þǣre Hebrēiscan Biblioþēcan ==
Se Biblioþēcan nama þæs engles, ''mal'akh'' (mǣnende "boda"), obtained the further signification of "angel" only þurh the addition Godes naman, swā "engel þæs Dryhtnes", oþþe "engel Godes" (Zech. xii. 8). Other appellations are "Suna Godes", (Gen. vi. 4; Job, i. 6 [R. V. v. 1]) and "þā Hālgan" (Ps. lxxxix. 6, 8).<!-- melekh, &#1502;&#1500;&#1498; = king, not messenger -->
 
According to Jewish religious thought in understanding the term, '' 'Elohim'' is almost entirely reserved for the one true God; but at times '' 'Elohim'' (powers), ''bnē 'Elohim'', ''bnē Elim'' (suna goda, ''i.e.'' members of the class of divine beings) were general terms for beings with great power i.e. Dēmeras oþþe alternately, some kind of super powerful human beings. Hence they came to be used collectively of superhuman beings, distinct from [[Yahweh]], and therefore inferior, and ultimately subordinate. (E.g. Gen. 6:2; Job 1:6; Ps. 8:5.)
 
So, too, the angels are styled "holy ones", (Zech. 14:5) and "watchers", (Dan. 4:13) and are spoken of as the "host of heaven" (Deut. 17:3) or of "Yahweh". (Josh. 5:14) The "hosts", צבאות ''Sebaoth'' in the title ''Yahweh Sebaoth'', Lord of Hosts, were probably at one time identified with the angels. (The identification of the "hosts" with the stars comes to the same thing; the stars were thought of as closely connected with angels. It is probable that the "hosts" were also identified with the armies of Israel.) The New Testament often speaks of "spirits", πνεύματα. (Rev. 1:4)
 
In the earlier periods of the religion of Israel, the doctrine of [[monotheism]] had not been formally stated (if it indeed existed,) so that the idea of "angel" in the modern sense does not occur, but we find the ''Mal'akh Yahweh'', Angel of the Lord, or ''Mal'akh Elohim'', Angel of God. The ''Mal'akh Yahweh'' is an appearance or manifestation of Yahweh in the form of a man, and the term ''Mal'akh Yahweh'' is used interchangeably with Yahweh ([[cf.]] Exod. 3:2, with 3:4; 13:21 with 14:19). Those who see the ''Mal'akh Yahweh'' say they have seen God (Gen. 32:30; Judges 13:22). The ''Mal'akh Yahweh'' (or ''Elohim'') appears to [[Abraham]], [[Hagar]], [[Moses]], [[Gideon (Judges)|Gideon]], &c., and leads the Israelites in the Pillar of Cloud (Exod. 3:2). The phrase ''Mal'akh Yahweh'' may have been originally a courtly circumlocution for the Divine King; but it readily became a means of avoiding anthropomorphism, and later on, when the angels were classified, the ''Mal'akh Yahweh'' came to mean an angel of distinguished rank. The identification of the ''Mal'akh Yahweh'' with the ''[[Logos]]'', or [[Christology|Second Person]] of the [[Trinity]], is not indicated by the references in the Hebrew scriptures; but the idea of a Being partly identified with God, and yet in some sense distinct from him, illustrates a tendency of Hebrew religious thought to distinguish persons within the unity of the deity. Christians think that this foreshadows the doctrine of the Trinity, while Jews would deny that and might show how it develops into [[Kabbalah|kabbalistic]] theological thought and imagery.
 
In the earlier literature the ''Mal'akh Yahweh'' or ''Elohim'' is almost the only ''mal'akh'' ("angel") mentioned. There are, however, a few passages which speak of subordinate superhuman beings other than the ''Mal'akh Yahweh'' or ''Elohim''. There are the ''[[Cherub|cherubim]]'' who guard Eden. In Gen. 18, 19. (J) the appearance of Yahweh to Abraham and [[Lot (biblical)|Lot]] is connected with three, afterwards two, men or messengers; but possibly in the original form of the story Yahweh appeared alone (Cf. 18:1 with 18:2, and note change of number in 19:17). At [[Bethel (Israel)|Bethel]], [[Jacob]] sees the angels of God on the [[Jacob's Ladder (Bible)|ladder]] (Gen. 28:12), and later on they appear to him at [[Mahanaim]] (Gen. 32:1). In all these cases the angels, like the ''Mal'akh Yahweh'', are connected with or represent a [[theophany]]. Similarly the "man" who wrestles with Jacob at [[Peniel]] is identified with God (Gen. 32:24, 30). In [[Isaiah]] 6 the [[Seraph|seraphim]], superhuman beings with six wings, appear as the attendants of Yahweh. Thus the pre-exilic literature, as we now have it, has little to say about angels or about superhuman beings other than Yahweh and manifestations of Yahweh; the pre-exilic prophets hardly mention angels ("An angel" of I Kings 13:18 might be the ''Mal'akh Yahweh'', as in 19:5, cf. 7, or the passage, at any rate in its present form, may be exilic or post-exilic). Nevertheless we may well suppose that the popular religion of ancient Israel had much to say of superhuman beings other than Yahweh, but that the [[Biblical inspiration|inspired]] writers have mostly suppressed references to them as unedifying. Moreover such beings were not strictly angels.
 
Once the doctrine of monotheism was formally expressed in the period immediately before and during the Exile (in Deuteronomy 6:4-5 and Isaiah 43:10) we find angels prominent in [[Ezekiel]]. He, as a prophet of the Exile, may have been influenced by the hierarchy of supernatural beings in the [[Babylonian and Assyrian religion|Babylonian religion]], and perhaps even by the angelology of [[Zoroastrianism]] (It is not however certain that these doctrines of Zoroastrianism were developed at so early a date). Ezekiel 9 gives elaborate descriptions of cherubim; and in one of his visions he sees seven angels execute the judgment of God upon Jerusalem. As in Genesis they are styled "men", ''mal'akh'' for "angel" does not occur in Ezekiel. Somewhat later, in the visions of [[Zechariah]], angels play a great part; they are sometimes spoken of as "men", sometimes as ''mal'akh'', and the ''Mal'akh Yahweh'' seems to hold a certain primacy among them (Zech. 1:11). The [[Satan]] also appears to prosecute (so to speak) the High Priest before the divine tribunal (Zech. 3:1). Similarly in [[Job]] the ''bne Elohim'', sons of God, appear as attendants of God, and amongst them the Satan (Heb. ''ha satan''), again in the role of public prosecutor, the defendant being Job (Job 1, 2. Cf. I Chron 21:1). Occasional references to "angels" occur in the Psalter (Pss. 91:11, 103:20 &c.); they appear as ministers of God.
 
In Ps. 78:49 the "evil angels" of the [[Authorized Version]] conveys a false impression; it should be "angels of evil", ''i.e.'' angels who inflict chastisement as ministers of God.
 
The seven angels of Ezekiel may be compared with the seven eyes of Yahweh in Zech. 3:9, 4:10. The latter have been connected by Ewald and others with the later doctrine of seven chief angels (Tobit 12:15; Rev. 8:2), parallel to and influenced by the Ameshaspentas ([[Amesha Spenta]]), or seven great spirits of the [[Persian mythology]], but the connexion is doubtful.
 
In the Priestly Code, c. 400 B.C., there is no reference to angels apart from the possible suggestion in the plural in Genesis 1:26.
 
During the Persian and Greek periods the doctrine of angels underwent a great development, partly, at any rate, under foreign influences. In Daniel, c. 160 B.C., angels, usually spoken of as "men" or "princes", appear as guardians or champions of the nations; grades are implied, there are "princes" and "chief" or "great princes"; and the names of some angels are known, [[Gabriel (archangel)|Gabriel]], [[Michael (archangel)|Michael]]; the latter is pre-eminent (Dan. 8:16; 10:13, 20-21), he is the guardian of [[Judah]]. Again in [[Tobit]] a leading part is played by [[Raphael (archangel)|Raphael]], "one of the seven holy angels". (Tob. 12:15.)
 
In Tobit, too, we find the idea of the [[demon]] or evil angel. In the canonical Hebrew/Aramaic scriptures, angels may inflict suffering as ministers of God and Satan may act as accuser or tempter; but they appear as subordinate to God, fulfilling his will and not as independent morally evil agents. The statement (Job 4:18) that God "charged his angels with folly" applies to all angels. In Daniel the princes or guardian angels of the heathen nations oppose Michael the guardian angel of Judah. But in Tobit we find [[Asmodai|Asmodaeus]] the evil demon, τὸ πονηρὸν δαιμόνιον, who strangles Sarah's husbands, and also a general reference to "a devil or evil spirit", πνεῦμα (Tobit 3:8, 17; 6:7).
 
The Fall of the Angels is not properly a scriptural doctrine, though it is based on Gen. 6:2, as interpreted by the [[Book of Enoch]]. It is true that the ''bnē Elohim'' of that chapter are subordinate superhuman beings (cf. above), but they belong to a different order of thought from the angels of Judaism and of Christian doctrine; and the passage in no way suggests that the ''bne Elohim'' suffered any loss of status through their act.
 
The guardian angels of the nations in Daniel probably represent the gods of the heathen, and we have there the first step of the process by which these gods became evil angels, an idea expanded by [[John Milton|Milton]] in ''[[Paradise Lost]]''. The development of the doctrine of an organized hierarchy of angels belongs to the Jewish literature of the period 200 B.C. to A.D. 100. In Jewish apocalypses especially, the imagination ran riot on the rank, classes and names of angels; and such works as the various books of [[Enoch]] and the [[Ascension of Isaiah]] supply much information on this subject.
 
 
=== Appearance of angels ===
In the [[Hebrew Bible]], angels often appear to people in the shape of humans of extraordinary beauty, and often are not immediately recognized as angels (Gen. xviii. 2, xix. 5; Judges, vi. 17, xiii. 6; II Sam. xxix. 9); some fly through the air; some become invisible; sacrifices touched by them are consumed by fire; and they may disappear in sacrificial fire, like [[Elijah]], who rode to heaven in a fiery chariot. Angels appeared in the flames of the [[Burning bush|thorn bush]] (Gen. xvi. 13; Judges, vi. 21, 22; II Kings, ii. 11; Ex. iii. 2). They are described as pure and bright as heaven; consequently they are said to be formed of fire and encompassed by light (Job, xv. 15), as the Psalmist said (Ps. civ. 4, R. V.): "Who makes winds his messengers; his ministers a flaming fire."
 
Though superhuman, angels assume human form; this is the earliest conception. Gradually, and especially in post-Biblical times, angels came to be bodied forth in a form corresponding to the nature of the mission to be fulfilled—generally, however, the human form. They bear drawn [[sword]]s or destroying weapons in their hands—one carries an ink-horn by his side—and ride on horses (Num. xxii. 23, Josh. v. 13, Ezek. ix. 2, Zech. i. 8 et seq.). A terrible angel is the one mentioned in I Chron. xxi. 16, 30, as standing "between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand". In the [[Book of Daniel]] reference is made to an angel "clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: his body also was like the [[beryl]], and his face as the appearance of [[lightning]], and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in color to polished [[brass]], and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude" (Dan. x. 5, 6). Angels are thought to possess wings (Dan. ix. 21) as they are described in the Bible, and depicted in Christian, Jewish and Zoroastrian art. They are commonly depicted with [[halo]]s.
 
Images of angels in Christian art are identical to prior depiction of gods such as [[Zeus]] and [[Nike (mythology)|Nike]], in pre-Christian classical art, and some divine beings in [[Mesopotamia]]n art. The use of wings suggests an original artistic convention merely intended to denote the figure as a [[spirit]].
 
Angels are portrayed as powerful and dreadful, endowed with wisdom and with knowledge of all earthly events, correct in their judgment, holy, but not infallible: they strive against each other, and God has to make peace between them. When their duties are not punitive, angels are beneficent to man (Ps. ciii. 20, lxxviii. 25; II Sam. xiv. 17, 20, xix. 28; Zech. xiv. 5; Job, iv. 18, xxv. 2).
 
Þæ engla gerīm is unmǣte. [[Iacob]] mētþ werod engla; [[Iosue]] siehþ the "captain of the host of the Lord"; God siteþ on His throne, "all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left"; the sons of God come "to present themselves before the Lord" (Gen. xxxii. 2; Josh. v. 14, 15; I Kings, xxii. 19; Job, i. 6, ii. 1; Ps. lxxxix. 6; Job, xxxiii. 23). The general conception is the one of [[Bōc Iobes|Job]] (xxv. 3): "Is there any number of his armies?"
 
[[Image:Angel_in_church.jpg|thumb|Engellīca in cirican in Belgium]]
 
Þēah þe þā ieldran wrītunga usually mention one angel of the Lord, embassies to men as a rule comprised several messengers. The inference, however, is not to be drawn that God Himself or one particular angel was designated: the expression was given simply to God's power to accomplish through but one angel any deed, however wonderful.
 
Angels are referred to in connection with their special missions as, for instance, the "angel which hath redeemed", "an interpreter", "the angel that destroyed", "messenger of the covenant", "angel of his presence", and "a band of angels of evil" (Gen. xlviii. 16; Job, xxxiii. 23; II Sam. xxiv. 16; Mal. iii. 1; Isa. lxiii. 9; Ps. lxxviii. 49, R. V.). When, however, the heavenly host is regarded in its most comprehensive aspect, a distinction may be made between [[cherub]]im, [[seraph]]im, ḥayyot ("living creatures"), ofanim ("wheels"), and arelim (the meaning of which term is unknown). God is described as riding on the cherubim and as "the Lord of hosts, who dwelleth between the cherubim"; while the latter guard the way of the [[Tree of Life]] (I Sam. iv. 4, Ps. lxxx. 2, Gen. iii. 24). The seraphim are described by [[Isaiah]] (vi. 2) as having six wings; and [[Ezekiel]] describes the ḥayyot (Ezek. i. 5 et seq.) and ''ofanim'' as heavenly beings who carry God's throne.
 
In post-Biblical times the heavenly hosts became more highly organized (possibly as early as Zechariah [iii. 9, iv. 10]; certainly in Daniel), and there came to be various kinds of angels; some even being provided with names, as will be shown below.
 
=== Purpose ===
In the [[Bible]], angels are the medium of God's power; they exist to execute God's will. Angels reveal themselves to individuals as well as to the whole nation, in order to announce events, either good or bad, affecting them. Angels foretold to [[Abraham]] the birth of [[Isaac]], to [[Manoah]] the birth of [[Samson]], and to Abraham the destruction of [[Sodom]]. Guardian angels were mentioned, but not, as was later the case, as guardian spirits of individuals and nations. God sent an angel to protect the [[Hebrews|Hebrew people]] after their [[exodus]] from [[Egypt]], to lead them to the [[promised land]], and to destroy the hostile tribes in their way (Ex. xxiii. 20, Num. xx. 16).
 
In [[Book of Judges|Judges]] (ii. 1) an angel of the Lord—unless here and in the preceding instances (compare Isa. xlii. 19, Ḥag. i. 13, Mal. iii. 1) a human messenger of God is meant—addressed the whole people, swearing to bring them to the promised land. An angel brought [[Elijah]] meat and drink (I Kings, xix. 5); and as God watched over [[Jacob]], so is every [[piety|pious]] person protected by an angel who cares for him in all his ways (Ps. xxxiv. 7, xci. 11). There are angels militant, one of whom smites in one night the whole [[Assyria]]n army of 185,000 men (II Kings, xix. 35); messengers go forth from God "in ships to make the careless [[Ethiopia]]ns afraid" (Ezek. xxx. 9); the enemy is scattered before the angel like chaff (Ps. xxxv. 5, 6).
 
Avenging angels are mentioned, such as the one in II Sam. xxiv. 15, who annihilates thousands. It would seem that the pestilence was [[Anthropomorphism|personified]], and that the "evil angels" mentioned in Ps. lxxviii. 49 are to be regarded as personifications of this kind. "Evil" is here to be taken in the causative sense, as "producing evil"; for, as stated above, angels are generally considered to be by nature beneficent to man. They glorify God, whence the term "glorifying angels" (Ps. xxix. 1, ciii. 20, cxlviii. 2; compare Isa. vi. 2 et seq.).
 
They constitute God's court, sitting in council with him (I Kings, xxii. 19; Job, i. 6, ii. 1); hence they are called His "council of the holy ones" (Ps. lxxxix. 7, R. V.; A. V. "assembly of the saints"). They accompany God as His attendants when He appears to man (Deut. xxxiii. 2; Job, xxxviii. 7). This conception was developed after the Exile; and in [[Book of Zechariah|Zechariah]] angels of various shapes are delegated "to walk to and fro through the earth" in order to find out and report what happens (Zech. vi. 7).
 
In the prophetic books angels appear as representatives of the prophetic spirit, and bring to the prophets God's word. Thus the prophet [[Haggai]] was called God's messenger (angel); and it is known that "Malachi" is not a real name, but means "messenger" or "angel". It is noteworthy that in I Kings, xiii. 18, an angel brought the divine word to the prophet.
 
In some places it is implied that angels existed before the Creation (Gen. i. 26; Job, xxxviii. 7). The earlier Biblical writings did not speculate about them; simply regarding them, in their relations to man, as God's agents. Consequently, they did not individualize or denominate them; and in Judges, xiii. 18, and Gen. xxxii. 30, the angels, when questioned, refuse to give their names. In Daniel, however, there occur the names [[Michael (archangel)|Michael]] and [[Gabriel (archangel)|Gabriel]]. Michael is [[Israel]]'s representative in heaven, where other nations—the [[Iran|Persia]]ns, for instance—were also represented by angelic princes. More than three hundred years before the Book of Daniel was written, Zechariah graded the angels according to their rank, but did not name them. The notion of the seven eyes (Zech. iii. 9, iv. 10) may have been affected by the representation of the seven archangels and also possibly by the seven ''[[amshaspands]]'' of [[Zoroastrianism]] (compare Ezek. ix. 2).
 
== Iudēisc views ==
Angels appear in several [[Tanakh|Old Testament]] (Hebrew Bible) stories, in addition to the ones previously mentioned above. These include the warning to [[Lot (biblical)|Lot]] of the imminent destruction of [[Sodom]]. Many Bible chapters mention an "angry God" who sends His angel to smite the enemies of the Israelites. Traditional Jewish biblical commentators have a variety of ways of explaining what an angel is. The earliest Biblical books present angels as heavenly beings created by God, some of whom apparently are endowed with free will. Later biblical books in the [[Tanakh]] present a stunningly different view of angels, as Jewish thought and understanding of such things developed over the many years covered in the Bible. Such a differing perspective on angels is discovered in the [[Book of Ezekiel]], where these angels bear no relation whatsoever to the former understanding of what an angel was.
 
The [[archangel (beings)|archangels]] named in post-exile Judaism are [[Gabriel (archangel)|Gabriel]], [[Michael (archangel)|Michael]], [[Raphael (angel)|Raphael]], [[Uriel (archangel)|Uriel]], [[Raguel (archangel)|Raguel]], [[Sariel (archangel)|Sariel]], and [[Jerahmeel (archangel)|Jerahmeel]]. Gabriel and Michael are mentioned in the book of [[Daniel]], Raphael in the [[book of Tobit]] (from the [[Protestantism|Protestant]] [[Apocrypha]] or [[Catholicism|Catholic]] and [[Eastern Orthodoxy|Orthodox]] [[Deuterocanonical books|Deuterocanon]]) and the remaining four in the [[book of Enoch]] from the [[Old Testament]] [[Pseudepigrapha]] (considered canonical by the [[Ethiopian Church|Ethiopian Orthodox]]).
 
===Maimonides and rationalism===
In the [[Middle Ages]], some Jews developed a [[rationalism|rationalist]] view of angels that is still accepted by many Jews today. The rationalist view of angels, as held by [[Maimonides]], [[Gersonides]], [[Samuel Ibn Tibbon]], asf., states that God's actions are never mediated by a violation of the laws of nature. Rather, all such interactions are by way of angels. Even this can be highly misleading: Maimonides harshly states that the average person's understanding of the term "angel" is ignorant in the extreme. Instead, he says, the wise man sees that what the [[Bible]] and [[Talmud]] refer to as "angels" are actually metaphors for the various laws of nature, or the principles by which the physical universe operates, or kinds of platonic eternal forms. This is explained in his ''Guide of the Perplexed'' II:4 and II:6.
 
<small>
 
:II:4
 
:: ''"...This leads [[Aristotle]] in turn to the demonstrated fact that God, glory and majesty to Him, does not do things by direct contact. God burns things by means of fire; fire is moved by the motion of the sphere; the sphere is moved by means of a disembodied intellect, these intellects being the 'angels which are near to Him', through whose mediation the spheres [planets] move....thus totally disembodied minds exist which emanate from God and are the intermediaries between God and all the bodies [objects] here in this world."''
 
:II:6
 
:: ''"...Aristotle's doctrine that these disembodied spheres serve as the nexus between God and existence, by whose mediation the sphere are brought into motion, which is the cause of all becoming, is the express import of all the Scriptures. For you will never in Scripture any activity done by God except through an angel. And "angel", as you know, means messenger. Thus anything which executes a command is an angel. So the motions of living beings, even those that are inarticulate, are said explicitly by [[Scripture]] to be due to angels.''
 
::''...Our argument here is concerned solely with those "angels" which are disembodied intellects. For our Bible is not unaware that God governs this existence through the mediation of angels...(Maimonides then quotes discussions of angels from [[Genesis]], [[Plato]], and [[Midrash]] Bereshit Rabbah)...the import in all these texts is not—as a primitive mentality would suppose—to suggest any discussion or planning or seeking of advice on God's part. How could the Creator receive aid from the object of his creation? The real import of all is to proclaim that existence—including particular individuals and even the formation of the parts of animals such as they are—is brought about entirely through the mediation of angels.''
 
::''For all forces are angels! How blind, how perniciously blind are the naïve?! If you told someone who purports to be a sage of Israel that the Deity sends an angel who enters a woman's womb and there forms an embryo, he would think this a miracle and accept it as a mark of the majesty and power of the Deity—despite the fact that he believes an angel to be a body of fire one third the size of the entire world. All this, he thinks, is possible for God. But if you tell him that God placed in the sperm the power of forming and demarcating these organs, and that this is the angel, or that all forms are produced by the Active Intellect—that here is the angel, the "vice-regent of the world" constantly mentioned by the sages—then he will recoil. For he [the naïve person] does not understand that the true majesty and power are in the bringing into being of forces which are active in a thing although they cannot be perceived by the senses.''