Seraph vs. Cherub — What's the Difference?

A seraph (, "the burning one"; plural seraphim ) is a type of 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 cherub (; plural cherubim; Hebrew: כְּרוּב‎ kərūv, pl. כְּרוּבִים kərūvîm, krūvîm, likely borrowed from a derived form of Akkadian: ??? karābu "to bless" such as ??? kāribu "one who blesses", a name for the lamassu) is one of the unearthly beings who directly attend to God, according to Abrahamic religions.

(Bible) A celestial being having three pairs of wings.

A winged celestial being.

Seraphim(Christianity) The first of the nine orders of angels in medieval angelology.

Cherubim(Christianity) The second of the nine orders of angels in medieval angelology.

(biblical) A six-winged angel; one of the highest choir or order of angels in Christian angelology, ranked above cherubim, and below God. They are the 5th-highest order of angels in Jewish angelology. A detailed description can be found at the beginning of [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Bible_%28World_English%29/Isaiah#Chapter_6 Isaiah chapter 6].

A putto.

One of an order of celestial beings, each having three pairs of wings. In ecclesiastical art and in poetry, a seraph is represented as one of a class of angels.

A person, especially a child, with an innocent or chubby face.

An angel of the first order; usually portrayed as the winged head of a child

(biblical) A winged creature attending God, described by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite (short=yes) as the second highest order of angels, ranked above thrones and below seraphim; similar to a lamassu in the pre-exilic texts of the Hebrew Bible, more humanoid in later texts.

An artistic depiction of such a being, typically in the form of a winged child or a child's head with wings but no body.

(figuratively) A person, especially a child, seen as being particularly angelic or innocent.

A mysterious composite being, the winged footstool and chariot of the Almighty, described in Ezekiel i. and x.

A symbolical winged figure of unknown form used in connection with the mercy seat of the Jewish Ark and Temple.

One of a order of angels, variously represented in art. In European painting the cherubim have been shown as blue, to denote knowledge, as distinguished from the seraphim (see Seraph), and in later art the children's heads with wings are generally called cherubs.

A beautiful child; - so called because artists have represented cherubs as beautiful children.

A sweet innocent baby

An angel of the second order whose gift is knowledge; usually portrayed as a winged child