The Seraphim

[Susanne]

In Isaiah 6, the seraphims appear, and I was curious to know more about them. We touched upon them in Bible Study, and I thought this was interesting from my old Peloubet Bible Dictionary:

“Seraphim (burning, glowing), an order of celestial beings, whom Isaiah beheld in vision standing above Jehovah as he sat upon his throne. Isa. 6:2. They are described as having each of them three pairs of wings, with one of which they covered their faces (a token of humility); with the second they covered their feet (a token of respect); while with the third they flew. They seem to have borne a general resemblance to the human figure. ver. 6. Their occupation was twofold–to celebrate the praises of Jehovah’s holiness and power, ver.3, and to act as the medium of communication between heaven and earth. ver.6.”

I was struck that they exude humility and respect, as they are also considered as the highest order of angels. We are constantly emphasizing the importance of humility in this church as an essential trait of spiritual growth, and respect goes hand in hand with love as one of the most valued of characteristics (one of the definitions in the 1828 Webster’s Dictionary defines respect as “To view or consider with some degree of reverence; to esteem as possessed of real worth.”) Due respect is also linked to obedience, as in obeying God’s commandments. The Seraphim are occupied celebrating the praises of God’s holiness and power, hearts burning with the refining flame of Love.

[Michael Pupko]

Thank you for the additional info!! It caused me to look at the seraphim once again (have prayed and pondered about them quite a bit through reading this week’s Lesson:). This is the only place this word appears in the Bible.

Isaiah 6:3 “And one cried unto another,”
I was curious because to me ‘another’ is singular. Checking in Strong’s Concordance ‘another’ is 2088 (Hebrew translation) which is a rarer usage (in the Old Testament) of this word. This specific word is masculine but also derived from/associated with a feminine usage. It refers to a like/similar yet specific entity.

2088 is used also in Ps. 75:7 “But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.”

There are a number of places where ‘two messengers’ appear in the Bible; always seems to me to be very ‘special’ messengers rather than exotic, mythical creatures just like Mrs. Eddy strikes down angels as merely, feathered winged beings. One example is two cherubim in the inner sanctum of the tabernacle Moses was directed to build Ex. 25:18 on either side of the ‘mercy seat.’

The covering of their faces and feet with their wings reminds me of Psalm 91:4 “He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.”

[Author]

Posts