![The destroying angel passes through Egypt](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/The_destroying_angel_passes_through_Egypt.jpg)
In the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;["Tanach"](_blank)
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...
, the destroying angel (, ''malʾāḵ hamašḥīṯ''), also known as mashḥit ( ''mašḥīṯ'', 'destroyer';
plural
The plural (sometimes abbreviated pl., pl, or ), in many languages, is one of the values of the grammatical category of number. The plural of a noun typically denotes a quantity greater than the default quantity represented by that noun. This de ...
: , ''mašḥīṯīm'', 'spoilers, ravagers'), is an entity sent out by
YHWH
The Tetragrammaton (; ), or Tetragram, is the four-letter Hebrew theonym (transliterated as YHWH), the name of God in the Hebrew Bible. The four letters, written and read from right to left (in Hebrew), are ''yodh'', '' he'', ''waw'', and '' ...
on several occasions to kill the enemies of the
Hebrews
The terms ''Hebrews'' (Hebrew: / , Modern: ' / ', Tiberian: ' / '; ISO 259-3: ' / ') and ''Hebrew people'' are mostly considered synonymous with the Semitic-speaking Israelites, especially in the pre-monarchic period when they were still no ...
.
These angels (''
mal'akh
In Judaism, angels ( he, ''mal’āḵ'', plural: ''mal’āḵīm'', literally "messenger") are supernatural beings that appear throughout the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), rabbinic literature, apocrypha and pseudepigrapha, and traditional Jewish li ...
'') are also variously referred to as ''
memitim
Death is frequently imagined as a personified force. In some mythologies, a character known as the Grim Reaper (usually depicted as a berobed skeleton wielding a scythe) causes the victim's death by coming to collect that person's soul. Other b ...
'' (, 'executioners, slayers'), or
Angel of the Lord
The (or an) angel of the ( he, מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה '' mal’āḵ YHWH'' "messenger of Yahweh") is an entity appearing repeatedly in the Tanakh (Old Testament) on behalf of the God of Israel.
The guessed term ''YHWH'', which occurs ...
. 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
The Valley of Hinnom ( he, , lit=Valley of the son of Hinnom, translit=Gēʾ ḇen-Hīnnōm) is a historic valley surrounding Ancient Jerusalem, Ancient Jerusalem from the west and southwest. The valley is also known by the name Gehinnom ( ...
.
In
2 Samuel
The Book of Samuel (, ''Sefer Shmuel'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Samuel) in the Old Testament. The book is part of the narrative history of Ancient Israel called the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books (Book ...
24:15-16, the destroying angel kills the inhabitants of Jerusalem. In
I Chronicles
The Book of Chronicles ( he, דִּבְרֵי־הַיָּמִים ) is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Chronicles) in the Christian Old Testament. Chronicles is the final book of the Hebrew Bible, concluding the third sec ...
21:15, the same "Angel of the Lord" is seen by
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
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
The Book of Kings (, '' Sēfer Məlāḵīm'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Kings) in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. It concludes the Deuteronomistic history, a history of Israel also including the books ...
19:35, the angel kills 185,000
Assyria
Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the A ...
n soldiers.
In the
Book of Enoch, angels of punishment and destruction belong to a group of angels called ''satans'' with
Satan
Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as Devil in Christianity, the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an non-physical entity, entity in the Abrahamic religions ...
as their leader. First they tempt, then accuse and finally punish and torment, both wicked humans and
fallen angel
In the Abrahamic religions, fallen angels are angels who were expelled from heaven. The literal term "fallen angel" never appears in any Abrahamic religious texts, but is used to describe angels cast out of heaven"Mehdi Azaiez, Gabriel Said R ...
s.
In
Judaism
Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...
, such angels might be seen as created by one's sins. As long as a person lives, God allows him to
repent
Repentance is reviewing one's actions and feeling contrition or regret for past wrongs, which is accompanied by commitment to and actual actions that show and prove a change for the better.
In modern times, it is generally seen as involving a co ...
. However, after death, the angels of destruction are allowed to execute the sentence proclaimed in the heavenly court.
[ Israel Meir Ha-Kohen. 2005. ''Above All Else: The Chofetz Chaim on Torah Study: Collected from His Writings,'' Volume 1. Feldheim Publishers. . p. 112]
See also
*
Abaddon
The Hebrew term Abaddon ( he, אֲבַדּוֹן ''’Ăḇaddōn'', meaning "destruction", "doom"), and its Greek equivalent Apollyon ( grc-koi, Ἀπολλύων, ''Apollúōn'' meaning "Destroyer") appear in the Bible as both a place of de ...
*
Azrael
Azrael (; , 'God has helped'; ) is the angel of death in some Abrahamic religions, namely Islam, Christian popular culture and some traditions of Judaism. He is also referenced in Sikhism.
Relative to similar concepts of such beings, Azrael ...
*
Punishment of the Grave
Punishment of the Grave ( ar, عذاب القبر ''ʿAdhāb al-Qabr'', also translated torment of the grave) is a Judeo-Islamic concept about the time between death and resurrection on the Day of Judgement. According to some hadiths, the souls ...
*
Dumah (angel)
Dumah ( Heb. ''dūmā'', "silence") is an angel mentioned in Rabbinical and Islamic literature as an angel who has authority over the wicked dead. Dumah is a popular figure in Yiddish folklore. I. B. Singer's ''Short Friday'' (1964), a collection ...
*
Death (personification)
Death is frequently imagined as a personified force. In some mythologies, a character known as the Grim Reaper (usually depicted as a berobed skeleton wielding a scythe) causes the victim's death by coming to collect that person's soul. Other b ...
*
Mot
Mot or MOT may refer to:
Media
* Ministry of Truth, the propaganda ministry in George Orwell 1949 novel ''Nineteen Eighty-Four''
* ''mot'' (magazine), former German car magazine
* Mot (Star Trek), a minor character in ''Star Trek: The Next Gene ...
*
Samael
Samael ( he, סַמָּאֵל, ''Sammāʾēl'', "Venom/Poison of God"; ar, سمسمائيل, ''Samsama'il'' or ar, سمائل, label=none, ''Samail''; alternatively Smal, Smil, Samil, or Samiel) is an archangel in Talmudic and post-Talmudic ...
*
Zabaniyah
In Islam the Zabaniyah ( ar, الزبانية, link=no) (also spelled Zebani) are the tormentors of the sinners in hell. They appear namely in the Quran in verse . Identified with the ''Nineteen Angels of Hell'' in and , they are further calle ...
References
External links
Jewish Encyclopedia Angel of DeathSamael, Lilith, and the Destroyer
{{Hebrew-Bible-stub
Death
Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
Angels of death
Angels in Christianity
Angels in Judaism
Classes of angels