SERAPHIM (Heb. Iāraph, pl. Iēraphim). - The only biblical text that speaks of S. is the vision with which Isaiah's prophetic ministry is inaugurated: the S. surround the throne of God, to whom they sing with the thrice-holy "Holy! Holy! Holy!"; one of them symbolically purifies the prophet (Is. 6:2-7). These are celestial beings, represented in human form with six wings.

There has been much discussion about the meaning of the name and about the nature of these mysterious beings. The Hebrew term, according to the most probable opinion, is connected with the root iārāph "to burn, to be burning." This concept can also be applied to the serpents, which kill the rebellious Israelites in the desert (Num. 21:4-7; Deut. 8:15); because of their deadly venom they would be conceived as "breathing fire." No allusion of Isaiah, however, permits the supposition that the beings he saw also had some connection with serpents or dragons, or that they were partly theriomorphic, as they were represented

(phot. Anderson)
SERAPH - Three circles of Angels around Christ the judge. The first, inner circle is made up of the S., painted in red. Detail of the Last Judgment by G. di Paolo (15th cent.) - Siena, Pinacoteca.

the Cherubim (v.) in Babylon. The only possible interpretation is that the S. are angelic creatures, as ancient Judaism already explained. According to the book of Enoch (61:10; 71:7) the S., together with the Cherubim and the 'Ophannim, are the spirits that constantly watch around the throne of God.

Pseudo-Dionysius (De coelesti hierarchia, 7: PG 3, 205) assigns to the S. the most sublime place in the angelic hierarchy: they are the first choir; he therefore attributes the symbolic act on the prophet's lips to a spirit of lower order (ibid., 13: PG 3, 299-320). St. Gregory the Great (In Evangelia hom., XXXIV, 7: PL 76, 1249) presents the same hierarchical order, which remained traditional thereafter (cf. Dante, Paradiso, XXVIII, 99).

For the theological part v.: ANGELI. For art v.: CHERUBINO. - See plate XXI.

Plate XXI THE NINE ANGELIC CHOIRS. THE SERAPHIM, ILLUMINATED IN RED, OCCUPY THE LAST RED HEAVEN WITH GOLDEN STARS. Miniature of the French school of the first half of the 15th cent., placed at the beginning of Book II of Le miroir historial by Vincent of Beauvais, translated by Jean de Vignay - Biblioteca Vaticana, cod. Reg. lat. 538, f. 10².(fot. Enc. Catt.)

Bibliography3 works

BIBL.: H. Lesêtre, Séraphin, in DB. V, col. 1670; J. Nikel, Die Lehre des Alt. Test. über die Cherubim und Seraphim. Münster 1890; P. Heinisch, Teologia del Vecchio Testamento, trad. it., Torino 1950, p. 146 ff.

Angelo Penna

@incollection{ec11_serafino_ebr_iaraph_plur_ierap, author = {Penna, Angelo}, title = {Serafino (Ebr. IĀRĀPh, plur. iērāphim)}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {XI}, pages = {374--375}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1953}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/serafino-ebr-iaraph-plur-ieraphim} }

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