May 29th, 2021

The focus for the first Sunday after Pentecost is dedicated to a significant teaching in the Christian Church, that of the Trinity. One Old Testament passage that has been connected to the Trinity is in Isaiah, chapter 6[:1-8], since there is a threefold call from one angel to the other.

The topic of angels is often popular, and the word ‘angel’ appears in many places in scripture. We will be looking at some more of them in the weeks ahead. This angelic appearance in Isaiah 6 is a significant one, since it is actually the Hebrew word ‘seraphim’ that appears here. And that word seems to describe a unique type of angel that is only found here.

You might think that this word for angels appears at least a few more times in the Bible, since it appears in SEVEN hymns within the Lutheran Service Book [507:2, 624:7, 670:2, 939:1, 940:2, 941:1, 960:1, and if you include the word in the singular of the Hebrew—the word ‘seraph(s)’—then you may also add two more hymns, 621:4 and 670:1]!

You can probably imagine that people have guessed throughout the centuries about what these seraphim looked like. This particular Hebrew word appears at other times in the Bible, but it means ‘to burn’. This is certainly significant. And it also seems to be the case that its use is somewhat negative.

In the discussion of this word in the Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, [volume 14, article by Rüterswörden, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, page 219], the author writes the following concerning Genesis 11:3, the burning of bricks to make the tower of Babel: ‘This is the only passage using the verb to write about a constructive rather than a destructive act.’ But a point could also be made that this action was ultimately and definitely destructive to the human race. Either way, one of the common negative uses is that of a snake which, after biting someone, causes a ‘burning’ sensation, and this is quite understandable—although, thankfully, I have never experienced such a thing.

Some have said that these ‘burning ones’ are snakes with six wings. There is some archaeological evidence to make this a possibility. If this interests you, and if you are familiar with the German, you may wish to look at the following book: Othmar Keel, Jahwe-Visionen und Siegelkunst: Eine neue Deutung der Majestätsschilderungen in Jes 6, Ez 1 und 10 und Sach 4 (Stuttgart, Germany: Verlag Katholisches Bibelwerk, 1977).

What these particular angels are looking like does not seem to be important in the text. The first thing that seems important in this text is the contrast between the king, Uzziah, who just died (and is probably lying down in a grave somewhere), and THE King, the Lord, who is described as sitting on a throne (see verse 5). In the twenty-first century, the idea of sitting does not mean a position of authority to us; it usually means a position of rest. But the idea of sitting is an important one and should not be forgotten.
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The second thing that seems to be important in this Isaiah 6 text is the position of the others who are involved. After a quick description of the Lord, there is some detail as to the position of the seraphim, and note that they are described in relation to the Lord. The following is the first part of that Isaiah text, in a somewhat-literal translation, but the positions of those involved are capitalized:

In the year of the death of the king, Uzziah, and I saw the Lord, sitting upon a throne, HIGH, and LIFTED UP, and his robes, ones filling the temple. Seraphim, ones STANDING, FROM ABOVE TO HIM, six wings, six wings to each, with two, he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he FLEW.

Being high and lifted up, like the position of the Lord, is a pretty amazing thing. But then, the seraphim are still above him! That position above the Lord does not seem to be a position of authority, since they are covering some significant body parts. The head is important as the highest thing on a person’s body; the feet are important as the lowest thing. In Joshua 10:24 there is the time that the feet of those who won the battle were placed on the necks of those who lost. The Lord is definitely in charge, and those particular angels, the seraphim, were definitely subject to him.

We will be looking at another type of angel, the cherubim, next time.