UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament

Sense 1: messenger

Semantic entry: 33.195

Semantic domains: Communication

Subdomains: Inform, Announce

Definition: (derivative of ἀγγέλλω ‘to tell, to inform,’ 33.189: ἀγγέλλω) a person who makes an announcement{N:001}

Sense 2: angel

Semantic entry: 12.28

Semantic domains: Supernatural Beings and Powers

Subdomains: Supernatural Beings

Definition: a supernatural being that attends upon or serves as a messenger of a superior supernatural entity

Notes: In many languages a term for ‘angels’ is borrowed from another dominant language, but in other instances a somewhat descriptive phrase may be employed. The most common expressions for the ‘angels of God’ are ‘messengers’ and ‘messengers from heaven.’ Sometimes these angels are called ‘spirit messengers’ and even ‘flying messengers.’ In some instances they have been called ‘the holy servants of God,’ but an expression such as ‘servants of God’ or even ‘messengers of God’ tends to overlap in meaning with expressions used to characterize the role and function of the prophets who were sent as messengers from God. In some languages a term for ‘angels’ is contrasted with that for ‘prophets’ by calling angels ‘messengers from heaven’ and prophets ‘messengers from God.’ The ‘angels of the Devil’ are often called ‘the Devil’s servants.’|One cannot avoid problems involved in the rendering of ‘angel’ merely by borrowing a term. In some instances such a borrowing may already exist in the language and with a different meaning. For example, in one instance 'angel' had already been borrowed but with a meaning of babies who died at childbirth or shortly thereafter.