Septuagint - Angel #936488

The Book of the Angel is the most curious and debated of the Books of the Twelve minor prophets. The Greek manuscripts report it was given to humanity by the hand of an angel, while the Hebrew manuscripts report it was plural "messengers." Both the Greek and Hebrew terms could be interpreted as either one or more human messengers, or a supernatural angel; however, as the messenger was described as having wings, it supports the supernatural reading.

Most Jewish and Christian denominations treat the word “messengers” as the name of a prophet; however, the prophet Malachi was never mentioned by any other prophet, or Ezra the scribe. The 1st or 2nd century CE Targum Jonathan claims the book was written by Ezra the Scribe; however, this is not generally accepted. In the 9th or 10th century CE Septuagint manuscript 86, Malahiou was treated as the name of the angel in the book; however, this reading is unique.

The date the book was written is also a matter of debate, as the book does not include any of the usual references to the political situation. Angel does include references that can be used to date the work; however, they are not entirely clear.

Elijah the Tishbite was the prophet Elijah from 3rd and 4th Kingdoms (Masoretic Kings), and 2nd Paralipomenon (Masoretic Diḇrê Hayyāmîm) whose life is dated to between 900 and 849 BCE. However, Elijah was reported to have been taken to the sky by angels circa 849 BCE, and during the Neo-Babylonian era, the belief that he was about to return surfaced in Judea. Therefore, the Book of the Angel could date to any time after the destruction of the Temple of Solomon. Angel does mention a “Temple of the Lord”, which is mirrored in Messengers with “Palace of the Lord”, suggesting it may have been one of the early attempts to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. The Targum Jonathan refers to it as an “altar of Ān”, which indicates the setting was sometime during the late Neo-Assyrian or Neo-Babylonian era, supporting the later dating option in the early 6th century BCE.