Well while i was working on my writing the following question came to mind.
If i was an incorporeal being who just landed on earth IE an angel what human concepts might i not grasp right away?
Because right now i'm toying with the idea of an icy female kuudere angel who doesn't have a grasp on certain concepts, at least at first...
The most obvious perverted on is of course MODESTY!
:P
That sounds like a chicken and egg question.
My understanding is angels were once human, so they would be familiar with all of the concepts of what it means to be human. The only way to get around that is to have a preteen human die and become an angel that has no experience with interfacing with adult humans.
So think of the human concepts a child doesn't understand.
Not in Judeo-Christian mythology, but this might be possible in some Eastern systems.
The word Angel, in Biblical Hebrew, translates as "messenger" (or, more accurately, "one who is sent"). The references to angels in the Tanakh are not personified at all. No names, no imagery, nothing. It's very functional: angels sent to hear prayers, angels sent to help good people fight bad people, angels sent to teach mankind of the Lord's ways.
Most of the personification of angels, such as giving them names, each having a specific function, creating a hierarchy, etc. comes from medieval Christian mythology, though there's a bit in medieval Jewish texts as well.
You might be thinking of the Nephilim:
The Nephilim were in the earth in those days, and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bore children to them; the same were the mighty men that were of old, the men of renown. (Genesis 6:1-4)
Sources about the Nephilim are few and contradictory, so it's unclear what they were, but hybrids of angel and human seems to be the consensus. Some scholars think this might be a reference to fallen angels, others that it was an attempt to explain the Greco-Roman hero myths from a Jewish viewpoint (ie, how could demigods exist?).
If i was an incorporeal being who just landed on earth IE an angel what human concepts might i not grasp right away?
Life, death, mortality.
A being with with a life span in millions of years (assuming it isn't outright immortal) would perceive time very differently than we do.
It is highly unlikely that the race from which such a being comes would reproduce sexually, so even if it appears to mimic a human form, sex(gender), and sex(the activity) are things it would likely not understand.
so even if it appears to mimic a human form, sex(gender), and sex(the activity) are things it would likely not understand
Nephilim (at least, under some interpretations.)
Nephilim (at least, under some interpretations.)
And as I understand it, under those interpretations, the Nephilim are not "incorporeal beings".
No, they are the result of a union between angels and human females. I was suggesting that this countered the idea that angels would be unaware of sex. Again, under just some interpretations. An approach that suggested they were like fish out of water if brought into the physical realm -- Debra Dunbar's approach -- also fits with many story traditions about angels.
No, they are the result of a union between angels and human females. I was suggesting that this countered the idea that angels would be unaware of sex. Again, under just some interpretations.
Such unions would not be possible under interpretations where angels are incorporeal, and the OP explicitly calls for an incorporeal being.
Such unions would not be possible under interpretations where angels are incorporeal,
So angels do not in fact live forever, but being unable to fuck they do feel it drag on endlessly...
:)
Ah, yes. I was thinking generally incorporeal, but able to take a physical form when I'm this realm. If not, then, as you say, no union, no progeny.
Ah, yes. I was thinking generally incorporeal, but able to take a physical form when I'm this realm.
Assume that such a incorporeal being could assume a physical human form.
That doesn't actually change anything.
If it's own species doesn't reproduce sexually in it's natural state, it's not going to naturally understand sex(gender) or sex(reproductive/pleasure activity) without studying us for a while.
Again, go back to the OP's request. There is a built in assumption that it's the being's first time on/in our world/universe.
Shades of gray. Physical pleasures. Debra Dunbar's Imp Series (traditionally published) has a nice take on this. Plus, the early books, at least, are really enjoyable. Lost track when I mostly quit buying traditionally published books.
I would say "not much".
Angels are not like mortals or humans.
They have existed for all of time since the beginning.
They see and know all things
They see and know all things
Under Christian and AFIK Jewish theology, only God himself is either omnipotent or omniscient. Angels are neither.