Equal to Angels: The Early Reception History of the Lukan ἰσάγγελοι (Luke 20:36)

Abstract:This article argues that the Lukan rewriting of Mark's ὡς ἄγγελοι ("like angels," Mark 12:25) as ἰσάγγελοι (Luke 20:36) indicates a more robust idea of physical and moral transformation. In short, believers have the capability of being transformed into angels or into entities ontologically and morally on a par with angels. This thesis is argued mainly by a reception-historical investigation of Luke 20:36 up to and including the fourth century CE. Ultimately, I recommend that future editions of the NRSV not translate ἰσάγγελοι in Luke 20:36 as "like (the) angels," as if ἰσάγγελοι and ὡς ἄγγελοι (Mark 12:25 // Matt 22:30) meant the same thing. The ἰσ- prefix expresses more than the vague term "like," and translations of ἰσάγγελοι should reflect the more daringly transformational sense of the term: "they are equal to angels."