"
583
THE JEWISH EXCYCLOPEDIA
methods and organization, the Jewish public edura tionul system in England was of the erudest. Angel came loVward as the neeiled administrator, and wTtli untiring energy rem edied this tern
in
as
Denomi
sys degree,
hat Ills advice was sub seiiuently sought even by the National Edu cational Department
INfjO.
nation.
t
itself.
He
published.
(1)
A
book
entitled "The 1-aw of 8inai and Its
Appointed Times" being a com mentar}- on the Penta teneh. (2) A series of (1858),
Moses (From a
Anv'fi.
articles entitled
"The
Pentateuch, "
written fur the "Jewish RecAngel was one of the first editors of the ord." "Jewish ( 'hnniide" in 1841, having been associated in that position with the Rev. David Meldola, haham of the Spanish and Portuguese congregation. Subse qucntly, he occasionally contributed articles and letters to the "Jewish Chronicle." |thotograph.)
Bini.inc.RAPHY: T'ning I»rnfl. Lomion. June, 1898; ilirim. uniljiu'. Warld. SepteintxT. 1SU8.
Jtu'.
G. L.
ANGEL, SHEMAIAH
Banker and philanthropist of Damascus: died in 1KT4. He was a great benefactor to his l)rethrcn in Syria and to the inhabitants of Damascus. After the su|>i)ression of the Druse outbreak in 18(i(l he distributed among the jioor of all denominations in Damascus IJ.uoo Turkish pounils. At his own expense he provisioned for a time the Imperial troops in Damascus. In recognition of his services, the sultan Abdul-Aziz conferred upon him the Order of the ^Medjidie of the first class. His son. Eleazar Angel, who lives at ('onstantino|)le, follows tlir i-.am|ilr set bv his
father
M. k.
ANGELO DI MANUELE. ANGELOLOGY.— Biblical, Post-Talmudical
Angelology
See
Mani
ki.k.
Talmudical, and is
that
branch of
theology which t realsot angels. Angels (from u;}f/j)f = nies,senger, Greek equivalent of the Hebrew "^N^O) are according to the usual conception suiierhuiiian beings dwelling in lieaven, wlio, on occasion, reveal to man God's will an<l execute His commands. In one form or another, the belief in angels appears in the earliest stages of Jewish history, and continues to live in the spiritual world of lhc"jcws anil those professing the nligions that sprang from Judaism: namely, Christianity and Mohanunedanism. It can not be denied that the belief in such beings was also held by other i)eoples and other religions; but here the concern is only with Jewish Angelology, which can hardly be .said to have ever been reduced to a complete system, such as is maintained bv the Catholic Church (Oswald, " Angelologie. dicLehre von <len Guten unci H<')sen Engelii im Simie der Katholischen Kirche," Paderborn, XK). To admit of a comprehensive survey of the historical ilevelopment of Angelology, the subject mav best bi- treatid ae cording to three i)iTiods: (I) the Biblical. (-') the Talmudical and .Midrashic. and i:i) the Medieval. 1. The Biblical Period: The Biblical name for angel. 1S?0. meaning, acionliiig to derivation, sim l)ly "messenger," obtained tln> further siu'iiilicalion of "angel " only through the addition of GimI's name.
D'nkx IsSo ("angel of the Lord." or .ii Other appellations 8). are U^rh^ 'J3. or D'^X 'J3 ("Sons of God." Gen. vi. 4; Job. i. (J [R, y. v. 1]; Ps. x.i.. 1 [11. V, margin]); and D'trnp C'the Holy Ones" [perhaps
"angel of God.' Z<(h.
wantof
siieh
mn'
Angel, Abraham AugelologT-
equivalent to "tiery ones," "unapiiroachable"; see Hoi.iNEss. IC], Ps. Ixxxix. 6, 8 [R. V. 5, 7]). Angels appear to man in the shape of human beings of extraordinary beautv. anil are not at once recognized as angels (Gen. xv'iii. 2, xix. r>: Judges, vi. 17, xiii. (i; I Sam. xxix. U); they lly throui;h the air; they become iuvisiiile; sacritices touched by them are consumed by fire; they disjippear in Siicrificial tire, like Elijah, who rode" to heaven in a liery chariot; and they appear in the flames of the thoinbush (Gen. xvi. 13; Judges, vi. 21, 22; II Kings, ii. 11: Ex. iii. 2). They are pure and bright as heaven consccjuently they are fonned of fire and are eucompas.se<l by light (Job, xv. l.j). as the Psalmist s;ivs (P.S. civ. 4, R. "V.): "Who maketh winds his messengers; his inini.sters a tiaming fire." Although they have intercourse with the daughters of men (Gen. vi.), and eat heavenly bread (Ps. Ixxviii. 2.")), they are inunaterial, not being subject to the limitations of time and space. Though sujieihuman. they assume human form. This is the earliest conception. Graduallv. and especially in post Biblical limes, they come to"be bodied forth in a form corresponding to the nature of the mission to be fulfilled— generally, however, the human form. They bear di-awn swords or destroving weapons in their hands— one carries an ink-horii by his side— and ride on horses (Num, xxii, 23, Josli, V, 13, Ezek. ix. 2, Zech. i. 8 H neq.). A terrible angel is the one mentioned in I Chron. Appearxxi. Ki. ;i(). as standing "between the ance of earth and the heaven, having a drawn Angels. sword in his hand." In the Book of Daniel, probably written IGf) n.c, reference is made to an angel "clothed in linen, whose loins were .girded with fine gold of I'pliaz: his body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamjis 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, (i). It is an open question whether at that time angels were imagined to possess wines o 6 (Dan. ix. 21). Angels are powerful and dreadful, endowed with wisdom and with knowledge of all earthly events, correct in their judgment, holy, but not infallible; for they strive with each other, and God has to make peace between them. When their duties are not
"
II
Sam.
man (Ps. ciii. 20, xiv. 17, 20, xix. 28; Zech. xiv!
iv. 18.
XXV.
2).
punitive, angi'ls are beneficent to Ixxviii. .j;
Job,
2.">;
The number of angels
is
enormous.
Jacob meets
a host of angels; Joshua sees the "captain of the host of the Lord"; God sits on His throne, "all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left " the sons of God come " lo present themselves before the Lord " (Gen. xxxii. 2; Josh. v. 14. lo: I Kings, xxii. 19; Job. i. (i, ii. 1 Ps. Ixxxix. 0; Job, xxxiii. 23). The general conception is the one of Job (.xv. 3): "Is there any number of his
armies?
Though
the older writings usually mention one embassies to men'as a nih' comprised several messengers. The infirence. however,
angc'l of the Lord,
drawn that by rnrv ^X^^^ <ioil Himone )mrlicular angel was designated; the expression was given simply to God's power to is
not to be
self or
