If you believe that the earliest recording of the Bible was during the time of Moses, then the Bible introduced the concept of angels to the world where they were first mentioned in the book of Genesis. According to the biblical record, angels were described as real beings that may appear to take on physical form.

If you believe some scholars who hold that the Bible was written after 1000 B.C., then the conceptual source of angels is attributed to an ancient religion called Zoroastrianism, which originated in Iran and started around 1500-1000 B.C. Angels of this religion personified abstract ideas and virtues, or concrete objects of nature analogous to later Greek or Roman deities.

These scholars, who do not believe in supernatural causes, rationalize that the Bible was a later composition of myths and traditions from other religions. This line of reasoning has been used in other instances as well such as the Flood.

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