The destroying angel passes through Egypt

In the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' plural The plural (sometimes abbreviated pl., pl, or ), in many languages, is one of the values of the grammatical category of number. The plural of a noun typically denotes a quantity greater than the default quantity represented by that noun. This de ...

: , ''mašḥīṯīm'', 'spoilers, ravagers'), is an entity sent out by

YHWH The Tetragrammaton (; ), or Tetragram, is the four-letter Hebrew theonym (transliterated as YHWH), the name of God in the Hebrew Bible. The four letters, written and read from right to left (in Hebrew), are ''yodh'', '' he'', '' waw'', and ...

on several occasions to kill the enemies of the

Hebrews The terms ''Hebrews'' (Hebrew: / , Modern: ' / ', Tiberian: ' / '; ISO 259-3: ' / ') and ''Hebrew people'' are mostly considered synonymous with the Semitic-speaking Israelites, especially in the pre-monarchic period when they were still ...

. These angels (''

mal'akh In Judaism, angels ( he, ''mal’āḵ'', plural: ''mal’āḵīm'', literally "messenger") are supernatural beings that appear throughout the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), rabbinic literature, apocrypha and pseudepigrapha, and traditional Jewish li ...

'') are also variously referred to as '' memitim'' (, 'executioners, slayers'), or

Angel of the Lord The (or an) angel of the ( he, מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה '' mal’āḵ YHWH'' "messenger of Yahweh") is an entity appearing repeatedly in the Tanakh (Old Testament) on behalf of the God of Israel. The guessed term ''YHWH'', which occurs ...

. The latter is found in Job 33:22, as well as in Proverbs 16:14 in the plural, "messengers of death". ''Mashchith'' was also used as an alternate name for one of the seven compartments of Gehenna. In 2 Samuel 24:15-16, the destroying angel kills the inhabitants of Jerusalem. In

I Chronicles The Book of Chronicles ( he, דִּבְרֵי־הַיָּמִים ) is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Chronicles) in the Christian Old Testament. Chronicles is the final book of the Hebrew Bible, concluding the third se ...

21:15, the same "Angel of the Lord" is seen by

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

to stand "between the earth and the heaven, with a drawn sword in his hand stretched out against Hebrews's enemies". Later, in II Kings 19:35, the angel kills 185,000

Assyria Assyria ( Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the ...

n soldiers. In the Book of Enoch, angels of punishment and destruction belong to a group of angels called ''satans'' with Satan as their leader. First they tempt, then accuse and finally punish and torment, both wicked humans and

fallen angel In the Abrahamic religions, fallen angels are angels who were expelled from heaven. The literal term "fallen angel" never appears in any Abrahamic religious texts, but is used to describe angels cast out of heaven"Mehdi Azaiez, Gabriel Said ...

s. In

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in t ...

, such angels might be seen as created by one's sins. As long as a person lives, God allows him to

repent Repentance is reviewing one's actions and feeling contrition or regret for past wrongs, which is accompanied by commitment to and actual actions that show and prove a change for the better. In modern times, it is generally seen as involving a co ...

. However, after death, the angels of destruction are allowed to execute the sentence proclaimed in the heavenly court. Israel Meir Ha-Kohen. 2005. ''Above All Else: The Chofetz Chaim on Torah Study: Collected from His Writings,'' Volume 1. Feldheim Publishers. . p. 112

References

External links

Jewish Encyclopedia Angel of Death

Samael, Lilith, and the Destroyer
{{Hebrew-Bible-stub

Death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

Angels of death Angels in Christianity Angels in Judaism Classes of angels

See also

References

External links