Angel in the Old Testament

In the Old Testament there are different groups of heavenly beings that are later called “angels”:

Heavenly beings that serve God are usually called malakim (singular: malak) in Hebrew. This primarily means “messenger”. The accepted name for such heavenly messengers has become “angel”. These heavenly messengers have various duties in the Old Testament:

The heavenly messengers usually appear on earth looking like human beings. They are often not recognised as angels (see for example Genesis 18). They look impressive (for example Judges 13:6), and know about everything that happens on earth (2 Samuel 14:20).

In the Old Testament there are also other names for heavenly beings that belong to God, such as “the sons of God/the gods” (Genesis 6:2; Job 38:7, ESV), “the holy ones” (Deuteronomy 33:2; Job 15:15; Psalm 89:6-8; Zechariah 14:5, ESV), “ten thousands of holy ones” (Deuteronomy 33:2, ESV) and “children of the Most High” (Psalm 82:6).
In some cases, “gods” are mentioned (for example Genesis 6:1-4; Psalm 82:6), where the biblical text actually downplays their divine character. In other cases God’s divine servants are mentioned.

Later all these creatures were grouped into the category of “angels”.

Cherubim and seraphim are heavenly creatures who, in contrast to the heavenly messengers, are described as having wings. In the Bible itself cherubim and seraphim are not counted among the angels, but in later Jewish and Christian traditions they are.