The name “angel” under which we usually subsume the entire class of higher spiritual names is not a name deriving from their nature (nomen naturae) but from their office (nomen officci). The Hebrew mal’ak simply means “messenger,” “envoy,” and can also mean a human being sent either by other humans (Job 1:14; 1 Sam. 11:3; etc.) or by God (Hag. 1:13; Mal. 2:7; 3:1). The same thing is true of angelos, which is repeatedly used to denote humans (Matt. 11:10; Mark 1:2; Luke 7:24, 27; 9:52; Gal 4:14; James 2:25). In some translations it is erroneously reproduced by “angel” instead of “messenger” (e.g., Gal. 4:14; Rev. 1:20). In Scripture there is no common distinguishing name for the entire class of spiritual beings, though they are frequently called “sons of God” ([KJV, RSV note] Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7; Ps. 29:1; 89:6); “spirits” (1 Kings 22:19ff; Heb. 1:14); “holy ones” ([Deut. 33:2-3] Ps. 89:5, 7; Zech. 14:5; Job 5:1; 15:15; Dan. 8:13); “watchers” (Dan. 4:13, 17, 23).

Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, Vol. 2, God and Creation (Grand Rapids, Baker Academic, 2004), 450-451.