Wikipedia's first sentence called it “one of a class of celestial beings mentioned once in the old testament”. Today it says “celestial or heavenly being originating in ancient judaism”.
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Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
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The opening as it read in 2005
A seraph ( Hebrew שרף, SRF ; in the plural seraphim , שרפים, SRFYM ) is one of a class of celestial beings mentioned once in the Old Testament ( Tanakh ), in Isaiah .1Later Jewish imagery perceived them as having human form, and in that way they passed into the ranks of Christian angels .2
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 17973872.
The opening as it stood in 2010
A seraph ( Heb. שׂרף , pl. שׂרפים Seraphim , Lat. seraph[us] , pl. seraphi[m] , Gr. Σεραφείμ) is one of a class of celestial beings mentioned once in the Hebrew Bible ( Tanakh or Old Testament ), in Isaiah . Later Jewish imagery perceived them as having human form, and in that way they passed into the ranks of Christian angels . In the Christian angelic hierarchy , seraphim represent the highest rank of angels.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 368875953.
The opening as it stood in 2015 3 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Francis' vision of a seraph (fresco attributed to Giotto ) A seraph ( / ˈ s ɛr . ə f / ; pl. seraphs or seraphim / ˈ s ɛr . ə . f ɪ m / , in the King James Version also seraphims (plural) ; Hebrew : שָׂרָף śārāf , plural שְׂרָפִים śərāfîm ; Latin : seraphim and seraphin (plural) , also seraphus (-i, m.) ; serapheím ) is a type of celestial or heavenly being in Christianity and Judaism .Tradition places seraphs in the highest rank in the Christian angelic hierarchy and in the fifth rank of ten in the Jewish angelic hierarchy .A seminal passage in the Book of Isaiah ( Isaiah 6:1–8 ) used the term to describe six-winged beings that fly around the Throne of God crying "holy, holy, holy".This throne scene, with its triple invocation of holiness (a formula that came to be known as the Trisagion ), profoundly influenced subsequent theology , literature and art .Its influence is frequently seen in works depicting angels , heaven and apotheosis .Seraphs are mentioned as celestial beings in an influential Hellenistic work, the Book of Enoch , and the Book of Revelation . e.g.Schellers lateinisch-deutsches und deutsch-lateinisches Handlexicon vornehmlich für Schulen.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 662421651.
The opening as it stood in 2020
Type of angel in Abrahamic religions For other uses, see Seraph (disambiguation) . Francis' vision of a seraph (fresco attributed to Giotto ) A seraph ( / ˈ s ɛr ə f / , "the burning one"; or seraphim / ˈ s ɛr ə f ɪ m / , in the King James Version also seraphims (plural) ; Hebrew : שָׂרָף śārāf , plural שְׂרָפִים śərāfîm ; Latin : seraphim and seraphin (plural) , also seraphus (-i, m.) ; serapheím Arabic : مشرفين Musharifin ) is a type of celestial or heavenly being originating in Ancient Judaism . The term plays a role in subsequent Judaism , Christianity , and Islam .The singular "seraph" is a back-formation from the Hebrew plural-form "seraphim", whereas in Hebrew the singular is "saraph".Tradition places seraphim in the highest rank in Christian angelology and in the fifth rank of ten in the Jewish angelic hierarchy . A seminal passage in the Book of Isaiah ( Isaiah 6:1–8 ) used the term to describe six-winged beings that fly around the Throne of God crying "holy, holy, holy". This throne scene, with its triple invocation of holiness (a formula that came to be known as the Trisagion ), profoundly influenced subsequent theology , literature and art. Its influence is frequently seen in works depicting angels, heaven and apotheosis . Seraphim are mentioned as celestial beings in an influential Hellenistic work, the Book of Enoch , and the Book of Revelation . Schellers lateinisch-deutsches und deutsch-lateinisches Handlexicon vornehmlich für Schulen.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 963990239.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 2 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Type of angel in Abrahamic religions For other uses, see Seraph (disambiguation) . Bas relief of a seraph carrying a hot coal on the walls of the Jerusalem International YMCA .A seraph ( / ˈ s ɛr ə f / , "burning one"; pl. : seraphim / ˈ s ɛr ə f ɪ m / ) is a celestial or heavenly being originating in Ancient Judaism . The term plays a role in subsequent Judaism , Christianity , and Islam . Tradition places seraphim in the highest rank in Christian angelology and in the fifth rank of ten in the Jewish angelic hierarchy . A seminal passage in the Book of Isaiah ( Isaiah 6:1–8 ) used the term to describe six-winged beings that fly around the Throne of God crying " holy, holy, holy ". This throne scene, with its triple invocation of holiness, profoundly influenced subsequent theology , literature and art. Its influence is frequently seen in works depicting angels, heaven and apotheosis . Seraphim are mentioned as celestial beings in the semi-canonical Book of Enoch and the canonical Book of Revelation . Schellers lateinisch-deutsches und deutsch-lateinisches Handlexicon vornehmlich für Schulen. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language .There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ).
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1177924661.
The opening as it stood in 2025
Type of angel in Abrahamic religions For other uses, see Seraph (disambiguation) . Bas relief of a seraph carrying a hot coal on the walls of the Jerusalem International YMCA . A seraph ( Hebrew : שָׂרָף , romanized : saraf / ˈ s ɛr ə f / ; pl.: Hebrew : שְׂרָפִים , romanized : seraphim / ˈ s ɛr ə f ɪ m / ) is a celestial or heavenly being originating in Ancient Judaism .The term plays a role in subsequent Judaism , Islam and Christianity . Tradition places seraphim in the highest rank in Christian angelology and in the fifth rank of ten in the Jewish angelic hierarchy . A seminal passage in the Book of Isaiah ( Isaiah 6:1–8 ) used the term to describe six-winged beings that fly around the Throne of God crying " holy, holy, holy ". This throne scene, with its triple invocation of holiness, profoundly influenced subsequent theology , literature and art. Its influence is frequently seen in works depicting angels, heaven and apotheosis . Seraphim are mentioned as celestial beings in the semi-canonical Book of Enoch and the canonical Book of Revelation . Schellers lateinisch-deutsches und deutsch-lateinisches Handlexicon vornehmlich für Schulen. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language . There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ).
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1298086417. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “one of a class of celestial beings mentioned once in the old testament”. Today it says “celestial or heavenly being originating in ancient judaism”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
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What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2005, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
one of a class of celestial beings mentioned once in the old testament
Now
celestial or heavenly being originating in ancient judaism
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
