Angels: Christianity vs. Judaism (part 2)

Another interesting passage in the study of angelology is Genesis 18: “Then the LORD appeared to [Abraham] by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him.” (Gen.18:1-2) It quickly becomes apparent that the men are no ordinary men, and they are called angels later in the passage. However, the passage is confusing; the connection between the LORD and the appearance of the three men is unclear. Christianity generally fastens on to this as an appearance of the trinity: each member of the Godhead took on human form for a day. This is also related to the understanding of the phrase “Angel of the LORD” as a theophany – an appearance of the pre-incarnate Christ. Judaism, however, has no need or wish for such an understanding. Whereas Christianity unites the vision of God with the appearance of the three men, Judaism keeps them separate: “He saw the Shechinah and saw the angels.” (Gen. Rab. XLVIII 9, emphasis added) Furthermore, the angels are given the names Michael, Rafael, and Gabriel and are said to have appeared disguised as a Saracen, a Nabatean, and an Arab. No similar description of the Shechinah is offered. As these three “men” are considered angels (and in no way divine), so in Judaism the designation “Angel of the LORD” seems to have no special meaning beyond that of simply an angel. This is demonstrated in the commentary on Genesis16 where the angel of the LORD appears to Hagar. The phrase “angel of the LORD” is used four times in this passage and each instance is taken to be a different angel by some Rabbis. (Gen. Rab. XLV 7). Christianity would connect the phrase “angel of the LORD” and the statement that the LORD spoke to Hagar (Gen. 16:13) and conclude that this juxtaposition argues for the deity of the Angel. Rabbis take it the other direction and argue that the LORD himself did not actually speak to Hagar; it was only his messenger(s). (Gen. Rab. XLV 10)

Another “angel” (though never actually called an angel in the passage) visits the patriarch Jacob at Peniel and wrestles with him. (Gen. 32:22-32) Again, in Christianity, the combination of a mysterious being and divine terms (“the face of God”) point to a divine being, while Judaism again gives less credence to the references to God and accepts the being as a mere angel. “R. Hama b. R. Hanina said: It was the guardian Prince [angel] of Esau. TO this Jacob alluded when he said to him [Esau]: Forasmuch as I have seen thy face, as one seeth the face of Elohim, and thou wast pleased with me (Gen. 33:10).” (Gen. Rab., LXXVII 3) God warns the angel wrestling with Jacob that Jacob has “five amulets” – his own merit, and the merit of his parents and grandparents. God tells the angel that Jacob’s own merit is more than the angel can stand against. (LXXVII 3) Later, as Jacob refuses to let the angel go without a blessing, the angel eventually gives in and reveals a bit of the future to Jacob: another meeting with God at Bethel and a name change. The text says “you have struggled with Elohim” (Genesis 32:28). Though “Elohim” is usually translated as “God” the worldview of the Rabbis seems to forbid this understanding in this passage, so they understand it as referring simply to an angel. When Jacob asks for the name of the being, the angel refuses to tell him, from which the Rabbis imply that the names of angels are changeable from day to day. Most of them, at least, have no permanent name. (Gen. Rab. LXXVII 4) Christians, with the understanding that Jacob wrestled with God who somehow took on human form, postulate instead that God simply refused to reveal his divine name to Jacob at that time.

In only these few passages, the differences between the Christian and Jewish understandings of angels, as based upon differences in their whole worldviews, begin to be readily apparent. Though both understandings claim to be based in scripture, the divide between them widens as Rabbinic commentaries on other passages without scriptural reference to angels are considered.