Celestial being or Angles

Many religions and mythologies describe celestial beings or angels. Here are examples from several traditions.

Islamic Tradition

Malak or Malaika (Angels): In Islam, angels carry out God’s will. Among them are Jibril (Gabriel), Mikail (Michael) and Israfil, who is commonly seen as the counterpart of the archangel Raphael. Each angel has its own duties, such as delivering messages, recording deeds, or, in Israfil’s case, blowing the trumpet on the Day of Judgment.

Zoroastrian Tradition

Amesha Spentas: In Zoroastrianism, the Amesha Spentas are seven divine entities that emanate from Ahura Mazda, the highest god. They include Vohu Manah (Good Mind) and Asha Vahishta (Best Righteousness).

Hindu Tradition

Devas: In Hinduism, the Devas are celestial beings or gods, often tied to forces of nature. Examples are Indra, god of thunder and rain, and Agni, god of fire.

Buddhist Tradition

Devas: Buddhism also speaks of Devas. They live in different realms and stand at different levels of spiritual progress. They are not eternal or all-powerful.

Greek Mythology

Daimons (or Daemons): In Greek belief, daimons were spirits that stood between humans and the gods. Hesiod says the people of the Golden Age became daimones who watched over mortals. Later Greeks divided them into good spirits (agathodaimon) and evil ones (kakodaimon).

Norse Mythology

Aesir and Vanir: In Norse mythology, the Aesir and Vanir are two groups of gods, including Odin, Thor and Frigg. Other beings, such as the Valkyries and the Norns, also play large roles.

Shinto Tradition

Kami: In Shinto, kami are the spirits or gods present in nature, such as those of mountains, rivers and other parts of the natural world.

Native American Traditions

Spirit Guides and Totem Animals: Many Native American cultures speak of spirit guides or totem animals, spiritual beings that give guidance and protection.

Judaism and Christianity

Elohim, Seraphim, Cherubim

Judaism and Christianity name several classes of celestial beings. The medieval Jewish scholar Maimonides, in his Mishneh Torah, ranked angels in ten orders.

1. Elohim:
   • Elohim is a Hebrew word meaning “gods” or “godhood.” It is plural in form, yet in the Hebrew Bible it most often refers to one God, the God of Israel. In other verses it takes plural agreement and means gods in the plural. Maimonides also lists the Elohim as one of his ten angelic orders.
2. Seraphim:
   • The Seraphim appear in the book of Isaiah (Isaiah 6:1-7). They have six wings and stand above the throne of God, crying out his praise. The name comes from the Hebrew saraph, “burning” or “fiery.” Christian tradition places them in the highest rank of angels.

Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.

Isaiah 6:2 (KJV)

Isaiah sees six-winged seraphim standing above the throne.

3. Ophanim:
   • Ophanim means “wheels,” from the Hebrew ofan, “wheel.” They are the wheels seen in Ezekiel’s vision of the divine chariot, the merkabah. Maimonides ranks them second closest to God.
   • Ezekiel describes them as “a wheel in the middle of a wheel,” with rims full of eyes. In Christian writing they are sometimes linked with the “Thrones,” but in the Jewish and Kabbalistic hierarchies the thrones and the wheels are separate.

As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful; and their rings were full of eyes round about them four.

Ezekiel 1:18 (KJV)

The wheels of Ezekiel’s vision are covered in eyes.

4. Chayot (Chayyot):
   • Chayot means living creatures. The Chayot Ha-Kodesh, the “Holy Living Creatures,” are the beings that carry the divine chariot in Ezekiel’s vision. They have four faces and four wings each. Maimonides places them in the highest rank.
   • In Kabbalah they are seen as guardians of the divine throne. Their meaning is read in many ways across Kabbalistic texts.
5. Erelim:
   • Erelim means “valiant ones.” The class comes from a verse in Isaiah about the threatened invasion of Jerusalem by Sennacherib (Isaiah 33:7, “their valiant ones shall cry without”). In Jewish and Kabbalistic writings they are often linked with death and national tragedy. They rank first in the Berit Menuchah, second in the Zohar and third in Maimonides.
6. Hashmallim:
   • Hashmallim comes from the Hebrew hashmal, a word in Ezekiel 1:4 that the King James Bible renders “amber.” The Greek Septuagint uses elektron, and in modern Hebrew hashmal means “electricity.” The Hashmallim are beings of shining light and hold the fourth rank in Maimonides’ list.

And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire.

Ezekiel 1:4 (KJV)

Ezekiel’s vision opens with fire and a brightness “as the colour of amber.”

7. Malakim:
   • Malakim is the Hebrew word for angels, meaning “messengers.” It covers angels in general, whatever their order, and appears throughout the Bible for messengers or servants of God. Maimonides ranks them sixth of ten.
8. Ishim:
   • Ishim comes from the Hebrew אִישׁ (ish), “man,” and means “manlike beings.” Maimonides puts them in the tenth and lowest rank, the angels closest to the human world.
   • The order is tied to passages where angels appear as men, such as the three men who visit Abraham in Genesis 18:2.
   • This site holds the view that the “sons of God” in Genesis, who took wives from the daughters of men, can be identified with the Ishim.
   • Maimonides, however, lists the Bene Elohim, the “sons of God” of Genesis 6:2, as a separate order, ranked ninth.

That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

Genesis 6:2 (KJV)

Genesis says the sons of God took wives from the daughters of men.

For the named archangels, see Archangels. For the angels in the Enoch tradition, see the Book of Enoch.