Christian Pure

Angela Is Not in the Bible — but Angelos Means Messenger

Christian Pure Team

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Summary

  • Angela is not a name in the Bible, but the Greek angelos behind it appears hundreds of times and simply means messenger.
  • The word describes a job rather than a species. Hebrews 1:14 calls angels “ministering spirits sent to serve,” and Gabriel introduces himself by where he stands and that he was sent (Luke 1:19).
  • Scripture never suggests anyone becomes an angel after death, and twice records an angel refusing worship (Revelation 19:10).
  • They are not reassuring to meet. The first thing they say, repeatedly, is do not be afraid.
  • Hebrews 13:2 says some have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it — the instruction is to treat strangers well, not to look out for angels.

Angela is not a name in the Bible. The word behind it is, several hundred times, and it does not mean what most people think. What the name means Angela comes from the Greek angelos, which means messenger. That is the whole of it. The word had no religious content on its own. A runner carrying news was an angelos. The word describes a job. What that changes When the New Testament calls a being an angel, it is naming…

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Bibliography (Click to show)

Sources: Behind the Name entry for Angela (Greek angelos, “messenger”); Scripture quotations from the NIV via BibleGateway (Hebrews 1:14; 13:2; Luke 1:19; Revelation 19:10; 22:8-9). Angela of Foligno’s Memorial was dictated rather than written, which is standard in accounts of her life.

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