In some Judeo-Christian traditions, the Angel of the Presence / Face (lit. "faces",

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: ''Mal'akh HaPanim'', ) or Angel of his presence / face (Hebrew: ''Mal'akh Panav'', ) refers to an entity variously considered

angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles inc ...

ic or else identified with

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

himself. The phrase occurs in the Book of Isaiah (), which states that, throughout the history of the

Israelites The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan. The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele o ...

, God has loved and been

merciful Mercy (Middle English, from Anglo-French ''merci'', from Medieval Latin ''merced-'', ''merces'', from Latin, "price paid, wages", from ''merc-'', ''merxi'' "merchandise") is benevolence, forgiveness, and kindness in a variety of ethical, relig ...

to that nation and shared in its distresses, saving Israel with "the angel of his presence". The

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond t ...

translation of the Book of Isaiah explains the term in the most explicit language as a reference to God: "not an ambassador, nor an angel, but the Lord Himself (Greek: αὐτὸς κύριος) saved them". In the

Book of Jubilees The Book of Jubilees, sometimes called Lesser Genesis (Leptogenesis), is an ancient Jewish religious work of 50 chapters (1,341 verses), considered canonical by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church as well as Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews), where it is ...

, the Angel of the Presence explains to Moses the history of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. Jubilees depicts this entity as one of God's special agents and does not provide him with a specific name. In the

Testament of Judah The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs is a constituent of the apocryphal scriptures connected with the Bible. It is believed to be a pseudepigraphical work of the dying commands of the twelve sons of Jacob. It is part of the Oskan Armenian Ort ...

, Judah states that he has received blessing from the Angel of the Presence. In the book of Enoch, four angels that stand before the Lord of Spirits are given as:

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual ...

Gabriel In Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብ� ...

, and

Phanuel Phanuel ( ''Phanouēl'') or Penuel ( ''Pənū’êl'') was the father of Anna the prophetess. He is mentioned once only in the New Testament, in . He was a member of the Tribe of Asher and his name means "Face of God". Theologian John Gill s ...

. According to some scholars, the

Second Book of Enoch The Second Book of Enoch (abbreviated as 2 Enoch and also known as Slavonic Enoch, Slavic Enoch or Secrets of Enoch) is a pseudepigraphic text in the apocalyptic genre. It describes the ascent of the patriarch Enoch, ancestor of Noah, through ten ...

identifies

Uriel Uriel or Auriel ( he, אוּרִיאֵל ''ʾŪrīʾēl'', " El/God is my flame"; el, Οὐριήλ ''Oúriēl''; cop, ⲟⲩⲣⲓⲏⲗ ''Ouriēl''; it, Uriele; Geʽez and Amharic: or ) is the name of one of the archangels who is menti ...

, known in various traditions under the names of Phanuel or Sariel, as the Angel of the Presence or else as one of the Angels of the Presence.

Bible

A related term is "angel of his Presence" used just once, in Isaiah 63:9. There it says that throughout the history of Israel, God has loved and been

to that nation and shared in its distresses, saving Israel with "the angel of his presence". Some theologians believe that the

translation (ἄγγελος ἀλλ᾽ αὐτὸς κύριος) demonstrates that "angel of his presence" is simply a way of referring to God, not a regular or created angel. "Not an elder or an angel, but the Lord Himself saved them..." is a current Septuagint translation.

Second Temple period

In the second century BC

Book of Tobit The Book of Tobit () ''Tōbith'' or ''Tōbit'' ( and spellings are also attested) itself from he, טובי ''Tovi'' "my good"; Book of Tobias in the Vulgate from the Greek ''Tōbias'', itself from the Hebrew ''Tovyah'' "Jah, Yah is good", al ...

, which is regarded as canonical by Catholics and Orthodox Christians, Raphael is described as one of the seven angels who see God's glory: "I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who stand ready and enter before the glory of the Lord." In the

Pseudepigrapha Pseudepigrapha (also anglicized as "pseudepigraph" or "pseudepigraphs") are falsely attributed works, texts whose claimed author is not the true author, or a work whose real author attributed it to a figure of the past.Bauckham, Richard; "Pseu ...

, in the

, the Angel of the Presence explains to Moses the history of

. Jubilees depicts this entity as one of God's special agents and does not provide him with a specific name. In the

, Judah states that he has received blessing from the Angel of the Presence. The

identifies

as the Angel of the Presence or else as one of the Angels of the Presence. In the

, angels of the presence and

angels of Sanctification The Book of Jubilees, sometimes called Lesser Genesis (Leptogenesis), is an ancient Jewish religious work of 50 chapters (1,341 verses), considered canonical by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church as well as Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews), where it is ...

are the two highest orders of

angels In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...

. They were created on the first day, so that they could participate in the keeping of the Sabbath with

in heaven and on earth. God instructed one of these angels (thought to be

St. Michael Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...

), to write the history of creation for Moses. The angel took the tablets of history and law, and in a long revelation, recited them to Moses with instructions to write them down. In the

Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs is a constituent of the apocryphal scriptures connected with the Bible. It is believed to be a Pseudepigrapha, pseudepigraphical work of the dying commands of the twelve sons of Jacob. It is part of the Osk ...

, Judah, one of the 12 sons of

Jacob Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam ...

and Leah, testifies that he was blessed by an angel of the presence.

New Testament

In the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke, the priest Zechariah is visited by an angel. After Zechariah receives a prophecy about the birth of John the Baptist, the angel identifies himself: "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God. . . ." Commentators have interpreted this statement to imply high rank. For example,

Matthew Henry Matthew Henry (18 October 166222 June 1714) was a Nonconformist minister and author, who was born in Wales but spent much of his life in England. He is best known for the six-volume biblical commentary ''Exposition of the Old and New Testaments' ...

writes "He is Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, an immediate attendant upon the throne of God. The prime ministers of state in the Persian court are described by this, that they saw the king's face". Gabriel is not called an

archangel Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the hierarchy of angels. The word ''archangel'' itself is usually associated with the Abrahamic religions, but beings that are very similar to archangels are found in a number of other re ...

in the Bible, but is so called in

Intertestamental period The intertestamental period (Protestant) or deuterocanonical period (Catholic and Eastern Orthodox) is the period of time between the events of the protocanonical books and the New Testament. Traditionally, it is considered to cover roughly four h ...

sources like the Book of Enoch.

References

{{reflist

Bible

Second Temple period

New Testament

See also

References

Further reading