Seraphim

The name is one with cherubim. See Cherub. It is derived from Sharaph, or Seraph, to burn. Hence the burning serpents were called Seraphim. (Num. xxi. 6.)

Ser´aphim, or Seraphs, the plural of the word saraph, ’burning,’ or ’fiery:’ celestial beings described in Isa 6:2-6, as an order of angels or ministers of God, who stand around his throne, having each six wings, and also hands and feet, and praising God with their voices. They were therefore of human form, and, like the Cherubim, furnished with wings as the swift messengers of God.

There is much symbolical force and propriety in the attitude in which the Seraphim are described as standing; while two of their wings were kept ready for instant flight in the service of God, with two others they hid their face, to express their unworthiness to look upon the divine Majesty (comp. Exo 3:6), and with two others they covered their feet, or the whole of the lower part of their bodies—a practice which still prevails in the East, when persons appear in a monarch’s presence.

Burning ones, celestial beings surrounding the throne of God. Compare Deu 4:24 Heb 12:29 . They appear to be distinguished from the cherubim, Eze 1:5-12 . The prophet Isaiah, Isa 6:2,3, represents them as reverently adoring the triune God, and burning with zeal to fly and execute his will. Each one had six wings, with two of which he covered his face, with two his feet, and with the two others he flew. They cried to one another, and said, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!"\par

Seraphim. (burning, glowing). An order of celestial beings, whom Isaiah beheld in vision, standing above Jehovah, as he sat upon his throne. Isa 6:2. They are described as having, each of them, three pairs of wings, with one of which. They covered their faces. (a token of humility); with the second. They covered their feet. (a token of respect); while. With the third. They flew. They seem to have borne a general resemblance to the human figure. Isa 6:6. Their occupation was two fold; to celebrate the praises of Jehovah’s holiness and power, Isa 6:3, and to act as the medium of communication between heaven and earth. Isa 6:6.

Isa 6:2-3. ("God’s attendant angels".) Seraphim (plural) in Num 21:6 means the "fiery flying (not winged, but rapidly moving) "serpents" which bit the Israelites; called so from the poisonous inflammation caused by their bites. Burning (from saraph "to burn") zeal, dazzling brightness of appearance (2Ki 2:11; 2Ki 6:17; Eze 1:13; Mat 28:3) and serpent-like rapidity in God’s service, always characterize the seraphim. Satan’s "serpent" (nachash) form in appearing to man may have some connection with his original form as a seraph (singular) of light. The serpent’s head symbolized wisdom in Egypt (2Ki 18:4). Satan has wisdom, but wisdom not sanctified by the flame of devotion. The seraphim with six wings and one face differ from the cherubim with four wings (in the temple only two) and four faces (Eze 1:5-12); but in Rev 4:8 the four living creatures (zooa) have each six wings. The "face" and "feet" imply a human form.

Seraphim however may come from sar, "prince" (Dan 10:13); "with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain He did fly." Two wings alone of the six were kept ready for instant flight in God’s service; two veiled their faces as unworthy to look on the holy God or pry into His secret counsels which they fulfilled (Exo 3:6; Job 4:18; Job 15:15; 1Ki 19:13). Those in the presence of Eastern monarchs cover the whole of the lower part of their persons (which the "feet" include). Service consists in reverent waiting on, more than in active service for, God. Their antiphonal anthem on the triune God’s holiness suggests the keynote of Isaiah’s prophecies, "Holy, holy, holy is Jehovah of hosts; the fullness of the whole earth (is) His glory" (Psa 24:1; Psa 72:19).

Besides praising God they are secondly the medium of imparting spiritual fire from God to His prophet; when Isaiah laments alike his own and the people’s uncleanness of lips, in contrast to the seraphim chanting in alternate responses with pure lips God’s praises, and (Isa 6:5-7) with a deep sense of the unfitness of his own lips to speak God’s message to the people, one of the seraphim flew with a live coal which he took from off the altar of burnt offering in the temple court, the fire on it being that which God at first had kindled (Lev 9:24), and laid it upon Isaiah’s mouth, saying, "lo, this hath touched thy lips, and thine iniquity is taken away and thy sin purged." Thus he was inaugurated in office, as the disciples were by the tongues of fire resting on them, the sign of their speaking of Jesus in various languages; his unfitness for the office, as well as his personal sin, were removed only by being brought into contact with the sacrificial altar, of which Messiah is the antitype.

Seraphim, princes. The name given by Isaiah to the spirits waiting on the Lord, and which axe apparently the most exalted of the angelic host. Isa 6:2; Isa 6:6.

Symbolical celestial beings seen by Isaiah standing above the Lord on His throne (Adonai, but many MSS read Jehovah ). Each had three sets of wings: with one pair he covered his face, in token of reverence; with another he covered his feet, in token of humility; and with the third he flew to accomplish his mission.

Gesenius and Fürst give to the word saraph the meanings ’to burn,’ and ’to be exalted.’ They trace the seraphim to the latter signification, as ’exalted ones.’ The word occurs only in Num 21:6; Deu 8:15, translated ’fiery;’ and in Num 21:8; Isa 14:29; Isa 30:6, translated ’fiery serpent.’ In Isa 6:2-7 (the plural) the seraphim are exalted beings, but the only actions recorded there are that one brought a live coal from off the altar and laid it upon the prophet’s mouth, and said, "Thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged." They cried to one another, "Holy, holy, holy is Jehovah of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory."

The distinction between seraphim and cherubim may be that, while the former bear witness to God’s holiness (that is, to His nature), in the latter are exhibited the principles of His righteous government on the earth. The ’living creatures’ of Rev 4 combine the characteristics of both cherubim and seraphim.

Angels of the highest order

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By: Emil G. Hirsch, Immanuel Benzinger

Vision of Isaiah.

Class of heavenly beings, mentioned only once in the Old Testament, in a vision of the prophet Isaiah (vi. 2 et seq.). Isaiah saw several seraphim, their exact number not being given, standing before the throne of Yhwh. They were winged beings, each having six wings—two covering their faces, two covering their feet, and two for flying. The seraphim cry continually to each other, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory" (vi. 3). The "foundations of the thresholds" (R. V.) of the Temple were moved by the sound of their voices. One of the seraphim flew to Isaiah with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar, and with which he touched the lips of the prophet to purge him from sin. Isaiah gives no further description of the form and appearance of the seraphim; he apparently assumes that his readers are acquainted with them. Nevertheless, it may be concluded from the description that the seraphim were conceived as having human faces, human hands, and human voices. However, one should not too hastily conclude that the seraphim were winged human forms. At least this was not the original conception, although later Judaism pictured them so. The seraphim are frequently mentioned in the Book of Enoch (xx. 7, lxi. 10, lxxi. 7), where they are designated as δράκονες ("serpents"), and are always mentioned, in conjunction with the cherubim, as the heavenly creatures standing nearest to God. In Rev. iv. 6-8 four animals are pictured as standing near the throne of God; each has six wings, and, as in Isaiah, they sing the "Trisagion."

Meaning.

The passages cited furnish conclusive evidence against the idea, popular for a time, that the seraphim belong to the same category as angels. They have nothing whatever to do with the "messengers of God"; in the Jewish conception the two have always been distinguished. Dan. x. 13, the Book of Tobit, and other sources, afford information concerning a series of "chief" angels, but allusions to the seraphim are entirely lacking, and an etymological connection of the name "seraf" with the Arabic "sharif" (to be exalted or distinguished) is equally valueless.

On the other hand, there is a striking similarity between the seraphim and cherubim. Both are winged creatures, half human, half animal; both stand near the throne of God, and appear as its guardians; and, as has already been stated, they are always mentioned together in the Book of Enoch. This, however, by no means proves that the origin of the two was the same; it only shows that in later Jewish conception, as well as in the conception of the contemporaries of Isaiah, these two classes of heavenly beings were closely related.

Some authorities hold that the seraphim had their origin in the Egyptian "seref," a composite, winged creature, half lion and half eagle, which guarded graves, carried dead kings up to heaven, and transmittedprayers thither. The form and office of the seref, however, suggest rather the Jewish cherubim.

Babylonian Origin.

According to other investigators, the conception was of Babylonian origin. Friedrich Delitzsch and Hommel associate the seraphim with the Assyrian "sharrapu," a name which, in Canaan, designated the Babylonian fire-god Nergal. The seraphim, then, would be the flames in which this god manifested himself. An argument against this theory is that until now no one has been able to show that the word "seraph" was ever used as a name of a god. According to a third and more probable theory, the seraphim originally were serpents, as the name implies. Among many peoples of antiquity serpents played an important part in myth and folk-lore. For instance, there were Tiamat in the Babylonian legend of the Creation, and the Uræus serpent in Egypt. Consequently, since the Jews shared the superstitious ideas of surrounding nations in other respects, it should not be a matter of wonder if they adopted this notion as well. That the serpent filled a special rôle among them as a demoniacal being may be seen from the story of Adam’s fall (Gen. iii.). In this connection the names "Dragon Spring" and "Serpent Pool" (places in the vicinity of Jerusalem) are worthy of being noted. A brazen serpent brings relief from the effects of the bite of the fiery serpents (Num. xxi. 9 et seq.) which Yhwh sent among his disobedient people in the wilderness. Isaiah (xiv. 29, xxx. 6) speaks of fiery, flying serpents and dragons; and a brazen serpent, Nehushtan, stood in the Temple at Jerusalem, and was an object of worship until the time of Hezekiah, who destroyed it as being idolatrous (II Kings xviii. 4 et seq.). The worship of Nehushtan was plainly a remnant of ancient superstition, and was reconciled with the worship of Yhwh by connecting Nehushtan with the scourge of snakes in the wilderness and the rescue from them (Num. xxi. 9 et seq.). Therefore the theory seems possible, even probable, that the seraphim have their counterpart in the flying serpents of Isaiah (comp. also II Esd. xv. 29). It is only natural that these winged guardians of Yhwh’s throne were soon ranked as higher beings and invested with the human form or with some features of the human body; and it was because of the very fact that they were adopted into the Yhwh cult that they were, in process of time, ennobled and spiritualized.

SERAPHIM.—The seraphim are mentioned only in a single passage of Scripture (Isa 6:2 ff.). In his inaugural vision, Isaiah sees these supernatural creatures grouped about Jehovah’s throne in His heavenly palace. The prophet furnishes no elaborate description of the form of these beings, and apparently assumes that his readers will be able to fill in what he omits; but he does make clear that they are six-winged creatures. With one pair of wings they hover around Jehovah’s throne; and with the other two they cover their faces and their feet,—actions symbolical of humility and adoration. The seraphim are arranged in an antiphonal choir, singing the Trisagion, and their chorus is of such volume that the sound shakes the foundations of the palace. In the prophet’s vision they have human voices and hands (v. 6), but it cannot be asserted with equal certainty that they possess human bodies. The prophet leaves us in no doubt about the function of these creatures. They are ministers of Jehovah, occupied in singing the praises of their Sovereign, and in protecting Him from the approach of sin and evil. The seraphim may be traced in the Imagery and symbolism of the NT Apocalypse, where the four living creatures, in both their function and their form, are a combination of the seraphim with the cherubim of Ezekiel’s vision (cf. Isa 6:2 ff., Eze 1:1-28; Eze 2:1-10, and Rev 4:8).

It was customary with the prophets to transform and purify popular conceptions, by bringing them into relation with their ethical idea of God. The seraphim are an illustration of this process. The popular mythical seraphim were a personification of the serpent-like flash of lightning. The usage and meaning of the singular sârâph (= ‘fiery serpent,’ Num 21:6, Isa 14:29), as well as the etymology of the word, suggest this view of the origin of the seraphim. The later Jewish tradition, according to which they are serpents, points in the same direction (Enoch 20. 7, 61. 10 et al.). The brazen serpent, Nehushtan, which was removed from the Temple by Hezekiah, was a relic probably connected with the popular mythical conception, and it may have suggested the seraphim of the heavenly palace to Isaiah’s mind.

Two other theories of the origin of the prophetic conception have been advanced, but there is little that can be said in their favour. Some would derive the name from the Babylonian Sharrapu, a name for Nergal the fire-god, and consequently would regard the seraphim as the flames that enveloped this deity. Others have endeavoured to associate them with the Egyptian griffins (seref), half-lion and half-eagle, which are represented as guardians of graves. According to the latter view, the duty of guarding the threshold of the Temple would be the function that must be assigned to the seraphim of Isaiah’s vision. In criticism, it may be remarked that the Egyptian griffin is more akin to the Hebrew cherub, and the latter should be sharply distinguished from the seraph (cf. art. Cherub).

James A. Kelso.

Those angels who compose the highest of the nine choirs. The word, masculine plural in form, is taken ftom the Hebrew and is probably derived from a root which means "to consume with fire," indicating the intensity of their love of God. In Scripture (Isaiah 6), they are pictured as the immediate attendants at the throne of God.

The name, a Hebrew masculine plural form, designates a special class of heavenly attendants of Yahweh’s court. In Holy Writ these angelic beings are distinctly mentioned only in Isaias’s description of his call to the prophetical office (Isaiah 6:2 sqq.). In a vision of deep spiritual import, granted him in the Temple, Isaias beheld the invisible realities symbolized by the outward forms of Yahweh’s dwelling place, of its altar, its ministers, etc. While he stood gazing before the priest’s court, there arose before him an august vision of Yahweh sitting on the throne of His glory. On each side of the throne stood mysterious guardians, each supplied with six wings: two to bear them up, two veiling their faces, and two covering their feet, now naked, as became priestly service in the presence of the Almighty. His highest servants, they were there to minister to Him and proclaim His glory, each calling to the other: "Holy, holy, holy, Yahweh of hosts; all the earth is full of His glory." These were seraphim, one of which flew towards Isaias bearing a live coal which he had taken from the altar, and with which he touched and purified the Prophet’s lips, that henceforth these might be consecrated to the utterances of inspiration. Such, in substance, is Isaias’s symbolical vision from which may be inferred all that Sacred Scripture discloses concerning the seraphim. Although described under a human form, with faces, hands, and feet (Isaiah 6:2, 6), they are undoubtedly existing spiritual beings corresponding to their name, and not mere symbolic representations as is often asserted by advanced Protestant scholars. Their number is considerable, as they appear around the heavenly throne in a double choir and the volume of their chorus is such that the sound shakes the foundations of the palace. They are distinct from the cherubim who carry or veil God, and show the presence of His glory in the earthly sanctuary, whilst the seraphim stand before God as ministering servants in the heavenly court. Their name too, seraphim, distinguishes them from the cherubim, although it is confessedly difficult to obtain from the single Scriptural passage wherein these beings are mentioned a clear conception of its precise meaning. The name is oftentimes derived from the Hebrew verb saraph ("to consume with fire"), and this etymology is very probable because of its accordance with Isa., vi, 6, where one of the seraphim is represented as carrying celestial fire from the altar to purify the Prophet’s lips. Many scholars prefer to derive it from the Hebrew noun saraph, "a fiery and flying serpent", spoken of in Num., xxi, 6; Isa., xiv, 29, and the brazen image of which stood in the Temple in Isaias’s time (2 Kings 18:4); but it is plain that no trace of such serpentine form appears in Isaias’s description of the seraphim. Still less probable are the views propounded of late by certain critics and connecting the Biblical seraphim with the Babylonian Sharrapu, a name for Nergal, the fire-god, or with the Egyptian griffins (séréf) which are placed at Beni-Hassan as guardians of graves. The seraphim are mentioned at least twice in the Book of Enoch (lxi, 10; lxxi, 7), together with and distinctly from the cherubim. In Christian theology, the seraphim occupy with the cherubim the highest rank in the celestial hierarchy (see CHERUBIM), while in the liturgy (Te Deum; Preface of the Mass) they are represented as repeating the Trisagion exactly as in Isa., vi.-----------------------------------Commentaries on Isaias: KNABENBAUER (Paris, 1887); DELITSCH (tr. Edinburgh, 1890); DURM (Gottingen, 1892); SKINNER (Cambridge, 1896); MARTI (Tubingen, 1900); CONDAMIN (Paris, 1905). Theology of the Old Testament: OEHLER (tr. New York, 1883); DILLMANN-KITTEL (Leipzig, 1895); SCHULTZ (tr. Edinburgh, 1898).FRANCIS E. GIGOT Transcribed by Michael T. Barrett Dedicated to all the angels of God The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XIIICopyright © 1912 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, February 1, 1912. Remy Lafort, D.D., CensorImprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York

ser´a-fim (שׂרפים, s^erāphı̄m): A plural word occurring only in Isa 6:2 ff - Isaiah’s vision of Yahweh. The origin of the term in Hebrew is uncertain. Sārāph in Num 21:6; Isa 14:29, etc., signifies a fiery serpent. A Babylonian name for the fire-god, Nergal, was Sharrapu. In Egypt there have been found eagle-lion-shaped figures guarding a grave, to which is applied the name seref. The equivalent English term is “griffin.”

It is probable enough that popular mythology connected fire with the attendants of the deity in various ways among different peoples, and that burning lies at the base of the idea in all these suggested etymologies. It remains, however, that in Isaiah’s use there is nothing of the popular legend or superstition. These seraphim are august beings whose forms are not at all fully described. They had faces, feet, hands and wings. The six wings, in three pairs, covered their faces and feet in humility and reverence, and were used for sustaining them in their positions about the throne of Yahweh. One of them is the agent for burning (with a coal off the altar, not with his own power or person) the sin from the lips of the prophet.

Seraphim are in Jewish theology connected with cherubim and ophanim as the three highest orders of attendants on Yahweh, and are superior to the angels who are messengers sent on various errands. As the cherubim in popular fancy were represented by the storm-clouds, so the seraphim were by the serpentine flashes of the lightning; but none of this appears in Isaiah’s vision.

In the New Testament the only possible equivalent is in “the living ones” (“beasts” of the King James Version) in Rev 4:1-11; Rev 5:1-14, etc. Here, as in Isaiah, they appear nearest Yahweh’s throne, supreme in praise of His holiness.

It seems that seraphim (plural of seraph) are angelic beings of one of the higher heavenly orders. They appear to be similar to cherubim and, like cherubim, are heavenly guardians who serve the Almighty. In the only biblical reference to them they have a special concern for holiness and morality (Isa 6:1-7; see CHERUBIM).