as ‘an angel of Satan’. The idea that the Devil has angels of his own is attested also in Mt 25:41 (τῷ διαβόλῳ καὶ τοῖς ἀγγέλοις αὐτοῦ) and Rev 12:7, 9 (ὁ δράκων … καὶ οἱ ἄγγελοι αὐτοῦ … ὁ καλούμενος Διάβολος, καὶ ὁ Σατανᾶς).273 In the present context the demonic angel`s function is to give Paul a beating,274 repeatedly. As with the ‘thorn’, the expression ἵνα με κολαφίζῃ is figurative, but perhaps to a lesser degree than the former image. Whereas, if Paul`s affliction