Seraph 174545 226172916 2008-07-17T04:03:33Z Team Leader 1463958 /* Seraphim in Popular Culture */ {{otheruses}} A '''seraph''' ([[Hebrew language|Heb]]. '''שׂרף''', pl. '''שׂרפים''' ''Seraphim'', [[Latin|lat]]. ''seraph[us]'', pl. ''seraphi[m]'') is one of a class of celestial beings mentioned once in the [[Hebrew Bible]] ([[Tanakh]] or [[Old Testament]]), in ''[[Book of Isaiah|Isaiah]]''. Later Jewish imagery perceived them as having human form, and in that way they passed into the ranks of Christian [[angel]]s. In the [[Christian angelic hierarchy]], seraphim represent the highest known rank of angels. ==Seraphim in ''Isaiah''== [[Image:Seraphim - Petites Heures de Jean de Berry.jpg|thumb|250px|Seraphim surround the divine throne in this illustration from the ''Petites Heures de Jean de Berry'', a 14th-century [[illuminated manuscript]].]] ''[[Book of Isaiah|Isaiah]]'' (6:1–3) records the prophet's vision of the Seraphim: :''"... I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and His train filled the [[Hekhal]] (sanctuary). Above Him stood the Seraphim; each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew."'' In the vision 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" of the Temple were moved by the sound of their voices. All though this is the sole occurrence of the word "seraphim" in the canonic [[Hebrew Bible]] , the description is identical to Cherubim and would lead one to logically conclude they are the same being. Non Biblical sources insist on declaring the two as separate ranks of Angelic classes. Seraph is translated "fiery flying serpent" from the Hebrew (it adheres with to burn to burn out) and is the word used for the serpents that bit the Israelites in the wilderness. Num. 21:6 "So the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died." == Seraphim in Judaism == Seraphim are part of the angelarchy of [[Orthodox Judaism]], and Isaiah's vision is repeated several times in daily [[Jewish services]], including at [[Kedushah]] prayer added as part of the repetition of the [[Amidah]] and in several other prayers as well. Seraphim occupy the fifth rank of ten ranks of angels in [[Maimonides]]' exposition of the [[Jewish angelic hierarchy]]. [[Conservative Judaism]] retains the traditional belief in angels, including references in the liturgy, although a literal belief in angels is by no means universal among Conservative Jews. [[Reform Judaism]] and [[Reconstructionist Judaism]] generally do not believe in angels, although they may retain references for metaphorical purposes. == Seraphim in Christianity == The Seraphim and the [[Cherubim]] are, in [[Christian theology]], two separate types of angels. The descriptions of the Seraphim, Cherubim and Ophanim are often similar, but still distinguishable. ===Seraphim in Christianity=== [[Image:Giotto - Legend of St Francis - -19- - Stigmatization of St Francis.jpg|thumb|right|250px|[[Francis of Assisi|St. Francis']] vision of a seraph (fresco attributed to [[Giotto]])]] [[Image:Vrubel Azrail.jpg|thumb|250px|Six winged Seraphim (after [[Pushkin]]'s poem "[[Prophet]]"), [[1905]]. By [[Mikhail Vrubel]].]] In [[medieval]] Christian [[neo-Platonism|neo-Platonic]] [[theology]], the Seraphim belong to the highest order, or angelic choir, of the [[Christian angelic hierarchy|hierarchy of angels]]. They are said to be the caretakers of [[God|God's]] throne, continuously singing ''Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh'', i. e. "holy, holy, holy"—cf. ''"Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts, the whole earth is full of His Glory"'' (Isaiah 6:3). This chanting is referred to as the [[Trisagion|'''Trisagion''']]. Dionysius the Areopagite in his ''Celestial Hierarchy'' (vii), helped fix the fiery nature of seraphim in the medieval imagination. It is here that the Seraphim are described as being concerned with keeping Divinity in perfect order, and not limited to chanting the ''trisagion''. Taking his cue from writings in the Rabbinic tradition, he gave an etymology for the ''Seraphim'' as "those who kindle or make hot": :"The name seraphim clearly indicates their ceaseless and eternal revolution about Divine Principles, their heat and keenness, the exuberance of their intense, perpetual, tireless activity, and their elevative and energetic assimilation of those below, kindling them and firing them to their own heat, and wholly purifying them by a burning and all-consuming flame; and by the unhidden, unquenchable, changeless, radiant and enlightening power, dispelling and destroying the shadows of darkness" ([http://www.esoteric.msu.edu/VolumeII/CelestialHierarchy.html ''Celestial Hierarchy'', vii]) [[Thomas Aquinas|St. Thomas Aquinas]] in his ''[[Summa Theologiae]]'' offers a description of the nature of the Seraphim: :"The name 'Seraphim' does not come from charity only, but from the excess of charity, expressed by the word '''ardor''' or '''fire'''. Hence Dionysius (Coel. Hier. vii) expounds the name 'Seraphim' according to the properties of fire, containing an excess of heat. Now in fire we may consider three things. :"First, the movement which is upwards and continuous. This signifies that they are borne inflexibly towards God. :"Secondly, the active force which is 'heat,' which is not found in fire simply, but exists with a certain sharpness, as being of most penetrating action, and reaching even to the smallest things, and as it were, with superabundant fervor; whereby is signified the action of these angels, exercised powerfully upon those who are subject to them, rousing them to a like fervor, and cleansing them wholly by their heat. :"Thirdly we consider in fire the quality of clarity, or brightness; which signifies that these angels have in themselves an inextinguishable light, and that they also perfectly enlighten others." With the revival of neo-Platonism in the academy formed around [[Lorenzo de' Medici]], the seraphim took on a mystic role in [[Pico della Mirandola]]'s ''Oration on the Dignity of Man'' (1487), the epitome of [[Renaissance humanism]]. Pico took the fiery Seraphim—"they burn with the fire of charity"—as the highest models of human aspiration: "impatient of any second place, let us emulate dignity and glory. And, if we will it, we shall be inferior to them in nothing", the young Pico announced, in the first flush of optimistic confidence in the human capacity that is the coinage of the Renaissance. "In the light of intelligence, meditating upon the Creator in His work, and the work in its Creator, we shall be resplendent with the light of the Cherubim. If we burn with love for the Creator only, his consuming fire will quickly transform us into the flaming likeness of the Seraphim." [http://www.angelfire.com/wizard/regulus_antares/pico_della_mirandola.htm] [[Bonaventure|St. Bonaventure]], a [[Franciscan]] theologian who was a contemporary of St. Thomas Aquinas, uses the six wings of the seraph as an important analogical construct in his mystical work ''The Journey of the Mind to God''. Seraphim are also mentioned in the [[Book of Revelation]] to be forever in God's presence and praising Him constantly: "Day and night they never stop saying: 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.'" As they were developed in Christian theology, seraphim are beings of pure light and have direct communication with God. They resonate with the fire symbolically attached to both purification and love. The etymology of "seraphim" itself comes from the word ''saraph''. ''Saraph'' in all its forms is used to connote a burning, fiery state. Seraphim, as classically depicted, can be identified by their having six wings radiating from the angel's face at the center. ==Seraphim in Popular Culture== <b>The Matrix</b> The character [[Seraph (The Matrix)|Seraph]], is named for this class of Angel. <b>Neon Genesis Evangelion</b> in the manga and anime, the [[Angels (Evangelion)|Angels]] who are the main superhuman antagonists of NERV, are named after the Seraphim. Also, during <b>[[The End of Evangelion]]</b>, the Eva's display Seraph wing configuration , the wings being of pure energy. As in mythology, they are golden in colour, and translucent. The furling out of the wings symbolises the beginning of Judgement, the Sacrifice. *in the videogame "Demikids", Seraphim is the name of a demon that appears in old tower. It is a large being with two hands, six wings, and a large crystal ball in it's chest, and is one of the strongest demons one can find in the game. ==External links== *[http://www.angelfocus.com/dionysius%20hierarchy.htm (AngelFocus.com) "Dionysius Hierarchy of Angels"] Popularized scheme adapted from [[Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite]], ''Celestial Hierarchy'' *[http://www.faqs.org/faqs/judaism/FAQ/06-Jewish-Thought/section-14.html Judaism FAQs: What about angels, demons, miracles, and the supernatural?] *[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=488&letter=S ''JewishEncyclopedia'':] Seraphim *{{CathEncy|wstitle=Seraphim}} {{Christian angelic hierarchy}} [[Category:Angels in Judaism]] [[Category:Angels in Christianity]] [[Category:Hebrew Bible]] [[Category:Classes of angel]] [[Category:Deities in the Hebrew Bible]] [[bg:Серафим]] [[ca:Serafí]] [[cs:Seraf]] [[da:Seraf]] [[de:Seraph]] [[el:Σεραφείμ]] [[es:Serafín]] [[fr:Séraphin (Bible)]] [[ko:사랍]] [[it:Serafino]] [[he:שרף (מלאך)]] [[la:Seraphim]] [[lt:Serafimas]] [[nl:Serafijn]] [[ja:熾天使]] [[no:Serafer]] [[nn:Serafar]] [[pl:Serafin (anioł)]] [[pt:Serafim]] [[ru:Серафимы]] [[sk:Seraf]] [[fi:Serafi]] [[sv:Serafim]] [[zh:熾天使]]