What types of angels are in the Bible?

Answer 1

Some see the strangers who visited Abraham and Lot as angels, indeed many English translations of the Hebrew Bible use that word for them. However, the original Hebrew text uses the word, elohim, the Hebrew for gods. When these traditions were written down, they were not perceived to be angels, but gods.

The cherubim, such as those that guarded the path back to the Tree of Life and the images of cherubim that surrounded God's mercy seat in the Book of Exodus, were perceived as sphinx-like creatures with wings, similar to Mesopotamian depictions.

Described in Isaiah 6:2, seraphim were said to be part of God's retinue and it seems they were creatures of fire (seraph means 'burn'), with six wings.

Angels, such as we perceive today, were never mentioned in scriptures written before the Babylonian Exile. They were messengers of God and did not necessarily have wings. There are seven senior angels known as archangels. Jews appear to regard Satan as an angel. He is depicted in the Book of Job and in Jewish midrahim as the loyal assistant of God. Christians and Muslims also regard Satan as an angel, but one who has fallen from grace and is now an evil adversary of God.