angel
angelos denotes heavenly beings who may appear, speak, rescue, or carry out commands, and can also name Satan’s messenger.
The term most often identifies heavenly beings spoken of collectively or in relation to heaven, worship, judgment, and divine authority. It also identifies individual agents who appear to people, speak instructions, or intervene in events; one occurrence applies it to a messenger of Satan.
Senses in use
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Heavenly beings in collective settings · dominant
Plural forms identify beings associated with heaven or gathered in relation to divine authority: in Hebrews 1:6 the APB renders a command for “all angels of God” to worship, while 1 Peter 3:22 places them with authorities and powers subjected to him. They also appear as beings who long to look into reported things in 1 Peter 1:12 and as those whom humans will judge in 1 Corinthians 6:3.
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Individual agents who appear and act · common
Singular forms identify an agent who appears, speaks, directs, or intervenes. In Acts 12:7 the APB renders an angel appearing in Peter’s cell, striking him, speaking to him, and coinciding with the chains falling off; in Acts 10:3 an angel of God comes to Cornelius in a vision and speaks. Acts 5:19 and Acts 8:26 likewise place the agent in actions of release and spoken direction.
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A messenger associated with Satan · rare
In 2 Corinthians 12:7, the singular nominative term occurs in the clause describing a thorn in the flesh as “a messenger of Satan” that beats the speaker. The APB’s “messenger” is a contextual presentation in this verse rather than the usual rendering elsewhere.
In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB generally presents the term as “angel” or “angels,” including agents who speak and act in narrative scenes. In 2 Corinthians 12:7 it renders the clause “a messenger of Satan”; This variation is best read from that verse’s clause rather than as a separate fixed English equivalent.