Are the destroying angels of Psalm 78:49 evil spirits/demons? ~ Femi Temilola, Nigeria
One commentary explains the meaning of “evil angels” in Psalm 78:49 (KJV) that they “are not wicked angels…but angels that bring misfortune” (Keil & Delitzsch). The context pertains to the plagues that God brought upon Egypt at the time of the Jewish Exodus, and the angelic servants of God who at the direction of God caused these plagues to occur. Barnes’ Notes expands upon this explanation with these excellent observations.
There is reference here undoubtedly to the slaying of the first-born in Egypt. Ex 11:4-5; 12:29-30. This work is ascribed to the agency of a destroyer (Ex 12:23; compare Heb 11:28), and the allusion seems to be to a destroying angel, or to an angel employed and commissioned to accomplish such a work. Compare 2 Sam 24:16; 2 Kings 19:35. The idea here is not that the angel himself was evil or wicked, but that he was the messenger of evil or calamity; he was the instrument by which these afflictions were brought upon them.
Works Cited
Barnes’ Notes. CD-ROM. Seattle: Biblesoft, 1997.
Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament. CD-ROM. Peabody: Hendrickson, 1996.
