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{{Short description|Biblical figure sent to kill enemies of the Israelites}}
{{Short description|Biblical figure sent to kill enemies of the Israelites}}
[[File:The destroying angel passes through Egypt.jpg|alt=The destroying angel passes through Egypt|thumb|326x326px|The destroying angel passes through Egypt.<ref name=":0">Foster, Charles. c. 1879. ''[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112065792167&view=1up&seq=116&q1=destroying The Story of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation Told in Simple Language for the Young]''. PA: Fifty Second Thousand.</ref>]]
[[File:The destroying angel passes through Egypt.jpg|alt=The destroying angel passes through Egypt|thumb|326x326px|The destroying angel passes through Egypt.<ref name=":0">Foster, Charles. c. 1879. ''[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112065792167&view=1up&seq=116&q1=destroying The Story of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation Told in Simple Language for the Young]''. PA: Fifty Second Thousand.</ref>]]
In the [[Hebrew Bible]], the '''destroying angel''' ({{Lang-he|מַלְאָך הַמַשְׁחִית}}, ''mal'ak ha-mashḥit''), also known as '''mashḥit''' ({{Lang-he|מַשְׁחִית|label=none}}, 'destroyer'; <small>[[plural]]:</small> {{Lang-he|מַשְׁחִיתִים|label=none}}, ''mashḥitim'', 'spoilers, ravagers'), is an entity sent out by [[YHWH]] on several occasions to kill the enemies of the [[Hebrews]].
In the [[Hebrew Bible]], the '''destroying angel''' ({{Lang-he|מַלְאָך הַמַשְׁחִית}}, ''malʾāḵ hamašḥīṯ''), also known as '''mashḥit''' ({{Lang-he|מַשְׁחִית|label=none}} ''mašḥīṯ'', 'destroyer'; <small>[[plural]]:</small> {{Lang-he|מַשְׁחִיתִים|label=none}}, ''mašḥīṯīm'', 'spoilers, ravagers'), is an entity sent out by [[YHWH]] on several occasions to kill the enemies of the [[Hebrews]].


These angels (''[[mal'akh]]'') are also variously referred to as ''[[memitim]]'' ({{Lang-he|מְמִיתִים|label=none}}, 'executioners, slayers'){{Citation needed|date=April 2021}}, or [[Angel of the Lord]]. The latter is found in [[Book of Job|Job 33:22]], as well as in [[Book of Proverbs|Proverbs 16:14]] in the plural, "messengers of death". ''Mashchith'' was also used as an alternate name for one of the [[Hell#Judaism|seven compartments]] of [[Gehenna]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Heavenly Realms and Earthly Realities in Late Antique Religions|date=2004|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0521121774|editor-last1=Boustan|editor-first1=Ra'anan S.|location=Cambridge, England|editor-last2=Reed|editor-first2=Annette Yoshiko}}</ref><ref>Raphael, Simcha Paull. 2019. ''Jewish Views of the Afterlife''. Rowman & Littlefield. {{ISBN|978-1-538-10346-3}} p. 150</ref>
These angels (''[[mal'akh]]'') are also variously referred to as ''[[memitim]]'' ({{Lang-he|מְמִיתִים|label=none}}, 'executioners, slayers'){{Citation needed|date=April 2021}}, or [[Angel of the Lord]]. The latter is found in [[Book of Job|Job 33:22]], as well as in [[Book of Proverbs|Proverbs 16:14]] in the plural, "messengers of death". ''Mashchith'' was also used as an alternate name for one of the [[Hell#Judaism|seven compartments]] of [[Gehenna]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Heavenly Realms and Earthly Realities in Late Antique Religions|date=2004|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0521121774|editor-last1=Boustan|editor-first1=Ra'anan S.|location=Cambridge, England|editor-last2=Reed|editor-first2=Annette Yoshiko}}</ref><ref>Raphael, Simcha Paull. 2019. ''Jewish Views of the Afterlife''. Rowman & Littlefield. {{ISBN|978-1-538-10346-3}} p. 150</ref>

Revision as of 17:00, 7 March 2022

The destroying angel passes through Egypt
The destroying angel passes through Egypt.[1]

In the Hebrew Bible, the destroying angel (Template:Lang-he, malʾāḵ hamašḥīṯ), also known as mashḥit (Template:Lang-he mašḥīṯ, 'destroyer'; plural: Template:Lang-he, mašḥīṯīm, 'spoilers, ravagers'), is an entity sent out by YHWH on several occasions to kill the enemies of the Hebrews.

These angels (mal'akh) are also variously referred to as memitim (Template:Lang-he, 'executioners, slayers')[citation needed], or Angel of the Lord. 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.[2][3]

In 2 Samuel 24:15-16, the destroying angel kills the inhabitants of Jerusalem. In I Chronicles 21:15, the same "Angel of the Lord" is seen by David 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 Assyrian 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 angels.[4]

In Judaism, such angels might be seen as created by one's sins. As long as a person lives, God allows him to repent. However, after death, the angels of destruction are allowed to execute the sentence proclaimed in the heavenly court.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ Foster, Charles. c. 1879. The Story of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation Told in Simple Language for the Young. PA: Fifty Second Thousand.
  2. ^ Boustan, Ra'anan S.; Reed, Annette Yoshiko, eds. (2004). Heavenly Realms and Earthly Realities in Late Antique Religions. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521121774.
  3. ^ Raphael, Simcha Paull. 2019. Jewish Views of the Afterlife. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-538-10346-3 p. 150
  4. ^ Caldwell, William (1913). "The Doctrine of Satan: II. Satan in Extra-Biblical Apocalyptical Literature". The Biblical World. 41 (2): 98–102. doi:10.1086/474708. JSTOR 3142425. S2CID 144698491.
  5. ^ Israel Meir Ha-Kohen. 2005. Above All Else: The Chofetz Chaim on Torah Study: Collected from His Writings, Volume 1. Feldheim Publishers. ISBN 9781583308004. p. 112