SERAPH

SERAPH (Heb. שָׂרָף, saraf), the term seraph, whose etymology is obscure, appears in the Bible in two distinct contexts. It appears in the singular and plural as the name of a species of serpent (Num. 21:6; Deut. 8:15; Isa. 14:29; 30:6). In Numbers 21 the Lord sends "seraph-snakes" to punish the complaining Israelites (when the people complain the Lord tells Moses to make a "seraph" and place it on a standard, to serve as a homeopathic apotropaic device, whereupon Moses makes a copper serpent (snake, 21:9). In Isaiah 14:29 and 30:6, the word saraf is qualified by the word meʿofef, "flying," so that it appears that the seraph-snake is a purely legendary species. Seraphim in Isaiah 6:2, 6 must be distinguished from the foregoing. These are depicted as composite semidivine beings with three pairs of wings; they stand, fly, and proclaim God's ineffable holiness before the divine throne. As guardians of a throne they recall the cherubim in Ezekiel 1, although unlike the latter they do not serve as a divine chariot. Winged figures flank the throne depicted on the sarcophagus of Hiram of Tyre, and have been found on incense altars and ivories. A basalt relief from Tell Ḥalaf shows a composite deity with three pairs of wings, holding a snake in each hand. This figure resembles the seraphim of Isaiah 6, although it might be an apotropaic like the seraph/copper serpent in Numbers 21 and archaeological sources. The apotropaic intercessor function typologically connects the first and second cases of its appearance. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: G.B. Gray, Numbers (ICC, 1912), 277; idem, Isaiah 1–27 (ICC, 1912), 104ff. (Michael Fishbane)