{"id":55874,"date":"2019-05-21T15:47:17","date_gmt":"2019-05-21T12:47:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=55874"},"modified":"2022-12-14T07:51:39","modified_gmt":"2022-12-14T05:51:39","slug":"when-is-a-malakh-an-angel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/when-is-a-malakh-an-angel\/","title":{"rendered":"When is a Mal\u2019akh an Angel?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cThe Lord\u2019s angel (<\/span>mal\u2019akh<\/span><\/i>) did not continue to appear to Manoah and his wife; that\u2019s when Manoah knew that he was the Lord\u2019s angel. Then Manoah said to his wife, \u2018We will surely die for we have seen a divine being (<\/span>elohim<\/span><\/i>)\u2019\u201d (Judges 13:21-22).<\/span><\/p>\n

Mal\u2019akh<\/span><\/i>, usually rendered angel, and <\/span>elohim<\/span><\/i>, usually god, are frequently mistranslated. Some of the misunderstanding inheres in the Hebrew; the rest is the vicissitudes of English.<\/span><\/p>\n

The verbal root <\/span>L-\u2018-Kh<\/span><\/i> yields the noun <\/span>mela\u2019kha<\/span><\/i>, meaning labor, and a <\/span>mal\u2019akh<\/span><\/i> is one who performs a labor (the prefix <\/span>m<\/span><\/i> here indicating agency). While logic would dictate that human labors do not need divine performers, the tendency in Bible translations and commentaries has been to treat all appearances of <\/span>mal\u2019akh<\/span><\/i> as angels. While that would be fine in Greek, wherein <\/span>angelos<\/span><\/i> simply means a messenger, it fails in English wherein angel has come to mean a particular messenger, i.e., one dressed in white, wearing a halo, and, usually, outfitted with a harp. In this regard, the Aramaic version of Onkelos is more discriminating, using <\/span>mal\u2019akha<\/span><\/i> for an ethereal angel, and <\/span>izgeda<\/span><\/i> for a mortal one.<\/span><\/p>\n

Neither has <\/span>elohim<\/span><\/i> fared better, its ubiquitous translation as \u201cgod\u201d causing a host of theological difficulties of which <\/span>tzelem elohim<\/span><\/i> (Genesis 1:27) is just the most poignant. How can mankind be created \u201cin the image of God\u201d when Maimonides\u2019s second (of thirteen) articles of faith stipulates that \u201cthe blessed Creator is incorporeal\u201d? Here, too, both Hebrew and English are deceptive. <\/span>Elohim<\/span><\/i> is a homonymous noun whose various meanings include God (Gen. 1:1), anything regarded as a deity (Exodus 20:3), a court of law (Exodus 21:6, 22:7), and nobility (Gen. 6:2, 4). However, just as the English noun \u201cgod\u201d has an adjectival form: godly, so does <\/span>elohim<\/span><\/i> also serve as an adjective meaning divine, used as a form of hyperbole.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ru\u2019ah elohim<\/span><\/i> (Gen. 1:2) is a ferocious wind, <\/span>mar\u2019ot elohim<\/span><\/i> (Ezekiel 1:1) are incredible visions, and <\/span>har\u2019rei el<\/span><\/i> (Psalms 36:7) are majestic mountains. And, to return to our original problem, <\/span>tzelem elohim<\/span><\/i> is a godly image, godly and goodly being one and the same in Olde English. In comparison with God\u2019s other creatures, the image in which he cast mankind is truly divine.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":55881,"id":55881,"title":"Jud13-angel","filename":"Jud13-angel.png","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Jud13-angel.png","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/when-is-a-malakh-an-angel\/jud13-angel\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"jud13-angel","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":55874,"date":"2019-05-21 12:47:04","modified":"2022-05-30 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