Aramaic word · H4398
מַלְאַךְ
mal'akheh
angel
'One who is sent': a messenger or envoy. The Hebrew and Aramaic word is the same, from the root l-ʾ-k, 'to send on a mission' (attested in Ugaritic). It is used for human envoys and, often, for heavenly beings who carry out God's errands.
A Biblical Aramaic word, from the parts of the Old Testament written in Aramaic. Why Aramaic?
Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Aramaic of the Old Testament. ·
What it means
angel
Aramaic of ma.le.akh (מַלְאָךְ ": messenger" H4397)
Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
- Range of meaning
'One who is sent': a messenger or envoy. The Hebrew and Aramaic word is the same, from the root l-ʾ-k, 'to send on a mission' (attested in Ugaritic). It is used for human envoys and, often, for heavenly beings who carry out God's errands.
- Against the English
KJV/BSB/WEB/ESV/NIV 'angel'; YLT 'messenger.' 'Angel' is right for the being involved. 'Messenger' shows the idea of being sent that is built into the word and fits the verb 'sent.'
- How it drifted
'Angel' comes through Greek angelos, which also simply meant 'messenger.' Later art gave the English word a stock picture of wings and halos that the text doesn't supply.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Biblical Aramaic only here and Daniel 3:28 ('who sent his angel and rescued his servants'). Daniel's later visions name heavenly figures such as Gabriel (8:16; 9:21) and Michael (10:13, 21; 12:1), which reflects the growing interest in named angels found in other Second Temple writings (e.g. 1 Enoch, Tobit). Compare Psalm 34:7: 'The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him and rescues them.'
- Range of meaning
Messenger or envoy, human or heavenly: someone sent to act or speak for another. When the sender is God, it means a heavenly agent, an "angel."
- Against the English
"Angel" (most versions) is fine if the reader keeps its root sense, "one sent." YLT's "messenger" keeps that sense visible.
- How it drifted
Popular modern images of angels (winged, sometimes feminine, or dead loved ones who have "become angels") come from later art and folk belief. In the text the figure looks like a man (3:25, "four men") and is defined by being sent.
- Used elsewhere in the period
The Hebrew equivalent malʾāḵ is used for both human and divine messengers throughout the Old Testament. Daniel 6:22 is the closest parallel: "My God sent his angel and shut the lions' mouths." Daniel later names angels (Gabriel 8:16, 9:21; Michael 10:13, 21; 12:1), reflecting the more developed belief in angels of the Second Temple period, the era of Judaism between the return from exile and AD 70.
Where it appears
Daniel · 2
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Daniel 3:28 מַלְאֲכֵהּ֙ angel his
Nebuchadnezzar declared, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him. They violated the king’s command and risked their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.
Here: "His messenger," an agent sent from God. This is the king's own reading of the fourth figure he saw walking in the fire, whom he had described as "like a son of the gods" (3:25), meaning a divine being.
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Daniel 6:22 מַלְאֲכֵ֗הּ angel his
My God sent His angel and shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, for I was found innocent in His sight, and I have done no wrong against you, O king.”
Here: 'His messenger.' The word describes a job: someone sent on another's behalf. In Daniel the job is done by a heavenly being acting for God. The verse doesn't describe the angel's appearance. What it stresses is that the angel was sent.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.