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The Hebrew word "seraph" is a form of the word for fire, so the angelic beings called seraphim (plural) are generally considered to be fiery. According to Isaiah's brief and vague description of them (in chapter 6), their form is human (except for the wings): They stand on two feet, use their hands to manipulate tools, and speak.
But the word "seraph" is also used of serpents (Numbers 21:6-8), so they are sometimes depicted as dragon-like. (Note that the serpent in the creation story also seems rather human, until he is cursed to crawl on his belly.)
Moreover, in the story in Numbers 21, when Moses is told to make a "saraph" of copper (bronze?) to ward off the actual fiery serpents ("nachashim seraphim"), the word for copper, "nechoshet," is another form of "nachash" (serpent)! So I imagine the fieryness of the seraphim to look something like the glow of forged copper.
Finally, for comparison, see Chapter 1 of Ezekiel for that prophet's detailed description of his vision of the Divine. He doesn't mention seraphim (who, going by Isaiah, may have been higher up than Ezekiel was able to see), but he gives a more vivid depiction of the heavenly setting in which the seraphim appeared to Isaiah.
I'd love to see what you come up with! Post a photo?
Interesting question. Why do you ask? I only know what I've read about them and they are so 'fantastic' that I don't believe they exist. So their appearance would be whatever I imagined. But if they do exist, I suspect I'd see they have wings and maybe some kind of burning aura, and real faces, please. Their winged feathers would give off lots of aurora borealis colors when they flapped them.
The only thing I really know about seraphim is that they have 6 wings, two to cover their face, two to cover their feet, and two to fly with, but I'd like something more detailed as I'm trying to draw some pictures of them for a project I'm attempting.
In order to understand what a seraph is one would have to have the definition of that time. Then you would know.
haha, hey, I've been trying to find you on here, couldn't remember the name you had said
I don't know, but you posed a very good question....haha, wut up, this is ramU
Great description. I agree..
