Jewish and Christian angelology literature flourished throughout Late Antiquity.
But were female angels ever a part of the discussion?
Let's look at one such female angel - Laila (לַיְלָה).
But were female angels ever a part of the discussion?
Let's look at one such female angel - Laila (לַיְלָה).
Genesis 14:14 "And he [Abraham] fought against them, he and his servants, "by night" [Hebrew 'lailah'] and smote them."
In the Babylonian Talmud: Sanhedrin 96a, this is interpreted by Rabbi Johanan as "The angel who was appointed to Abraham was named Lailah [Night]."
In the Babylonian Talmud: Sanhedrin 96a, this is interpreted by Rabbi Johanan as "The angel who was appointed to Abraham was named Lailah [Night]."
Rabbi Isaac the smith also related either God "He", or an angel "he", to the stars fighting against Sisera.
Starry imagery is a common Biblical allusion to the heavenly host of God's angelic court.
Starry imagery is a common Biblical allusion to the heavenly host of God's angelic court.
Angels were called 'sons of God' (Gen 6:2, Deut 32:8 Ps 82:6), a common semitic phrase meaning these were beings who stewarded His representative likeness (His will and character) in creation (Gen 1:26).
A female angel could be called a 'daughter of God' in this worldview.
A female angel could be called a 'daughter of God' in this worldview.
Also, in the Talmud (Niddah 16b), the 3rd cent CE Rabbi Hanina ben Pappa said that Lailah is an angel in charge of conception.
She takes the seed from the night of conception and places it before God, asking for the fate of the individual being conceived.
She takes the seed from the night of conception and places it before God, asking for the fate of the individual being conceived.
Later Babylonian literature says that Lailah also plucks souls out of the Garden of Eden and places them in the conceived fetus.
She is involved in giving these Edenic souls the choice between righteous or unrighteous futures, before wiping their memory of Paradise.
She is involved in giving these Edenic souls the choice between righteous or unrighteous futures, before wiping their memory of Paradise.
Subsequently, more mystical Jewish traditions such as Zohar Chadash 68:3 establish Lailah as the angel in charge of conception and pregnancy.
Lailah (לַיְלָה) - the female angel called "Night," who governs fertility!
Lailah (לַיְלָה) - the female angel called "Night," who governs fertility!
Do we know if Lailah was popularly invoked as an intercessory angelic 'daughter of God' in Late Antique Arabia (Q 53:27)?
Right now, we don't know either way!
This thread is only providing evidence that female angels weren't foreign to the Late Antique JudeoChristian worldview.
Right now, we don't know either way!
This thread is only providing evidence that female angels weren't foreign to the Late Antique JudeoChristian worldview.
For more reading:
Babylonian Talmud, Niddah 16a and 16b:
halakhah.com/niddah/niddah_…
Schwartz, Howard. Gabriels Palace: Jewish Mystical Tales. Oxford University Press, 1994.
books.google.com/books?id=jglAD…
Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Sanhedrin 96a:
come-and-hear.com/sanhedrin/sanh…
Babylonian Talmud, Niddah 16a and 16b:
halakhah.com/niddah/niddah_…
Schwartz, Howard. Gabriels Palace: Jewish Mystical Tales. Oxford University Press, 1994.
books.google.com/books?id=jglAD…
Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Sanhedrin 96a:
come-and-hear.com/sanhedrin/sanh…
Art from the Dura Europos Synogogue, 3rd cent CE, depicting the events of Ezekiel 37.
The angels here are wearing chitons (traditional Roman attire for women of high rank) displayed with distinctive mid-waist kolpos folds.
The angels here are wearing chitons (traditional Roman attire for women of high rank) displayed with distinctive mid-waist kolpos folds.
Davidson, Gustav. A Dictionary of Angels: Including the Fallen Angels. Free Press, 1971.
archive.org/details/ADicti…
archive.org/details/ADicti…
