(Redirected from St. Gabriel)
In
Abrahamic religions, 'Gabriel' (''גַּבְרִיאֵל'',
Standard Hebrew ''Gavriʼel'',
Latin ''Gabrielus'',
Greek '',
Tiberian Hebrew ''Gaḇrîʼēl'',
Arabic جبريل ''Jibrīl'' or ''Jibrail'', literally "Master, of God", i.e., a Master, who is "of God") is an
archangel who is thought to serve as a messenger from
God ("angel" literally translates to "messenger" from the
Koine Greek; an "arch" angel is a "primary" or "chief" messenger). He first appears in the
Book of Daniel in the
Hebrew Bible. He is also referred to as the "
Left Hand of God and the embodiment of the
Holy Spirit".
Christians and
Muslims believe him to have foretold the births of
John the Baptist and
Jesus to
Zacharias and the
Virgin Mary respectively, and
Muslims believe he was the medium through which God revealed the
Qur'an to
Muhammad.
In Biblical tradition, he is sometimes regarded as the
angel of death or one of God's messengers. The Talmud described him as the only angel who can speak
Syriac and
Chaldee. In Islam, Gabriel is one of God's chief messengers but other above-mentioned titles are not given to him (for example the angel of death is
Azrael).
In the
Catholic Tradition, he is known as one of the archangels. In
Islam, he is called the chief of the four favoured angels and the spirit of truth, and in some views Gabriel is the same person as the
Holy Spirit. Gabriel also finds mention in the writings of the
Bahá'í Faith, most notably in
Bahá'u'lláh's mystical work ''
The Seven Valleys''.
Judaic references
History and the Hebrew Bible
The name Gabriel first appears in the
Book of Daniel. The setting of the story is the
Babylonian captivity: the Jewish leader
Daniel ponders the meanings of several visions he has experienced in exile, when Gabriel appears to him with a message about the "
End of Days":
★ "…And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, that I sought to understand it; and, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man. And I heard the voice of a man between the banks of Ulai, who called, and said:' 'Gabriel', make this man to understand the vision.' So he came near where I stood; and when he came, I was terrified, and fell upon my face; but he said to me: 'Understand, son of man; for the vision belongs to the time of the end…" ()
Talmud
In the
Talmud, Gabriel appears as the destroyer of the hosts of
Sennacherib in ''Sanhedrin'' 95b, armed "with a sharpened
scythe which has been ready since
Creation." The archangel is also attributed as the one who showed
Joseph the way, the one who prevented
Queen Vashti from appearing naked before
King Ahasverus and his guests, and as one of the angels who buried
Moses. In Talmud ''Yoma'' 77a, however, it is stated that Gabriel once fell into disgrace "for not obeying a command exactly as given, I remained for a while outside the heavenly Curtain." During this 21 day period, the
guardian angel of
Persia,
Dobiel, acted as Gabriel's proxy.
Gabriel is also, according to Judaism, the voice that told
Noah to gather the animals before the great flood; the invisible force that prevented
Abraham from slaying
Isaac; the invisible force that wrestled with
Jacob; and the voice of the
burning bush.
Christian references
Canonical New Testament
In the
New Testament, Gabriel is the angel who reveals to
Zechariah that
John the Baptist will be born to
Elizabeth (), and who visits
Mary to reveal that she will give birth to
Jesus. Gabriel's visit to Mary in the
Gospel of Luke is often called "The
Annunciation" (), an event that is celebrated on
March 25 in the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches. It is also commemorated as the "First Joyful Mystery" of the
rosary.
Gabriel may also be the angel that visited Joseph. After learning about Mary's pregnancy, Joseph considered calling off the marriage, but "an angel of the Lord" appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him that the conception was caused by the Holy Spirit. ()
According to later legend, he is also the unidentified angel in the
Book of Revelation (the Apocalypse of John) who blows the horn announcing the
Judgment Day.
Pseudepigraphy
The
Book of Enoch places the archangel Gabriel as The Left Hand of God, or seated on the left side of God's throne with
Metatron. Gabriel is the ruler of the Cherubim and Seraphim surrounding the throne of the Almighty.
Feast Days
To
Roman Catholics,
Orthodox, and
Anglicans he is ''St. Gabriel the Archangel'', known to some as the
patron saint of communications workers. With
Michael and
Raphael, his feast day is celebrated on
September 29.
Among the Eastern Orthodox, in addition to the September feast, he is also commemorated on
March 26 and
July 13. March 26 is the ''
Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel'' and celebrates his role in the Annunciation. July 13 is also known as the ''Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel'', but celebrates all of appearances and miracles attributed to Gabriel throughout history. The feast was first established on
Mount Athos in the ninth century, during the reign of
Emperor Basil II and the Empress Constantina Porphyrogenitus and Patriarch Nicholas Chrysoverges, on the occasion of the appearance of the Archangel Gabriel in a cell near
Karyes where he wrote on a stone tablet with his finger, the hymn to the
Theotokos, "It is truly meet..." (see ''
Axion Estin'').
[1]
Latter-Day Saint view
In
Latter-day Saint theology, Gabriel lived in this mortal life as the patriarch
Noah. Gabriel and Noah are regarded as the same individual; Noah being his mortal name and Gabriel being his heavenly name.
See also:
Noah,
Michael (archangel) ~
Adam
Islamic references
The
Arabic name for Gabriel is 'Jibril', 'Jibrīl', 'Jibreel', 'Jabrilæ' or 'Djibril' (جبريل , جبرائيل, , [dʒibrɛ̈ʔiːl], or [dʒibriːl])
Muslims believe Gabriel to have been the
angel who revealed the
Qur'an to the
prophet Muhammad.
Gabriel's physical appearance is described in the
Hadith ():
Narrated By Abu Ishaq-Ash-Shaibani: I asked Zir bin Hubaish regarding the Statement of God: "And was at a distance Of but two bow-lengths Or (even) nearer; So did (God) convey The Inspiration to His slave (Gabriel) and then he (Gabriel) Conveyed (that to Muhammad). () On that, Zir said, "Ibn Mas'ud informed us that the Prophet had seen Gabriel having 600 wings."
Gabriel is regarded with the same respect by Muslims as all the Prophets, and upon saying his name or referring to him a Muslim repeats: " upon him be peace".
Gabriel's primary tasks are to bring messages from God to His messengers. As in Christianity, Gabriel is said to be the angel that informed
Mary (Arabic
Maryam) of how she would conceive Jesus (
Isa):
She placed a screen (to screen herself) from them; then We sent to her Our ''Ruh'' [angel Jibrael (Gabriel)], and he appeared before her in the form of a man in all respects. She said: "Verily! I seek refuge with the Most Beneficent (God) from you, if you do fear God." (The angel) said: "I am only a Messenger from your Lord, (to announce) to you the gift of a righteous son." She said: "How can I have a son, when no man has touched me, nor am I unchaste?" He said: "So (it will be), your Lord said: 'That is easy for Me (God): And (We wish) to appoint him as a sign to mankind and a mercy from Us (God), and it is a matter (already) decreed, (by God).' "
(Quran, )
Muslims believe Gabriel to have accompanied
Muhammad in his
ascension to the heavens, where Muhammad is said to have met previous messengers of God, and was informed about the
Islamic prayer (Bukhari ). Muslims also believe that Gabriel descends to Earth on the night of
Laylat al-Qadr ("The Night of Destiny"), a night in the last ten days of the holy month of
Ramadan in the
Islamic calendar.
Angelology and the occult
Gabriel is sometimes associated with the color
Red, the direction
West (or
North), or the element
Fire; his horse is named ''
Haizum''. Gabriel is also variously identified as the angel of
annunciation,
resurrection, mercy, vengeance, death, and revelation. Furthermore, the archangel has also been identified in various sources to be one of the "
Seven Archangels who stand in the presence of God"; he is also claimed variously to be a tafsarim (chief angelic prince) of the cherub, virtue, power, archangel, and angel celestial orders. The governor of the Moon and Monday also are ascribed to Gabriel; finally, the archangel is also the ruler of
Shamayim, the First Heaven.
Art
In chronological order (to see each item, follow the link in the footnote):
[2]
★ ''Archangel Gabriel'' (Triptych), early 10th century,
Benaki Museum
★ ''The Archangel Gabriel'',
Pisan, c. 1325/1350,
National Gallery of Art
★ ''The Archangel Gabriel'',
Masolino da Panicale, c. 1420/30,
National Gallery of Art
★ ''Justice between the Archangels Michael and Gabriel'',
Jacobello del Fiore, 1421
★ ''Merode Altarpiece'' (Triptych),
Robert Campin, c. 1425,
Metropolitan Museum of Art
★ ''The Angel Gabriel'',
Agostino di Duccio, c. 1450
★ ''Annunciation'',
Leonardo Da Vinci, c. 1475
★ ''The Angel Gabriel'',
Neroccio d'Landi, c. 1490
★ ''The Angel Gabriel'', late 15th-early 16th century, Flemish,
National Gallery of Art
★ ''The Angel Gabriel'',
Ferrari Gaudenzio, 1511,
National Gallery, London
★ ''Gabriel delivering the Annunciation''
El Greco, 1575 (pictured above)
★ ''Go Down Death'',
Aaron Douglas, 1934
Popular culture
★ The eccentric English hagiographer, antiquarian and father of 15 children,
Sabine Baring-Gould (1834-1924), wrote a
Basque Christmas carol, ''Gabriel's Message'', which was probably based on the 13th or 14th century Latin
chant ''Angelus Ad Virginem'' which itself is based on the Biblical account of the
Annunciation in the
New Testament Gospel of Luke.
★ In his
epic poem ''
Paradise Lost'',
John Milton made Gabriel chief of the angelic guards placed over
Paradise.
★ In
Constantine,
Tilda Swinton portrays Gabriel as an
androgyne. In the
Shin Megami Tensei series of videogames, Gabriel is portrayed as the only female
Seraph and, in the second installment, stands apart from the other Seraphim when their goals diverge from God's.
See also
★
Angel
★
Archangel
★
Michael (archangel)
★
Raphael (archangel)
★
Uriel (archangel)
★
Angels in Islam
★
Holy spirit
★
Fleur de lys
★
Annunciation
★
List of names referring to El
Notes
1.
2. Links to images of Gabriel
Bibliography
★ Bamberger, Bernard Jacob, (March 15,
2006). ''Fallen Angels: Soldiers of Satan's Realm.'' Jewish Publication Society of America. ISBN 0-8276-0797-0
★ Briggs, Constance Victoria,
1997. ''The Encyclopedia of Angels : An A-to-Z Guide with Nearly 4,000 Entries.'' Plume. ISBN 0-452-27921-6.
★ Bunson, Matthew, (
1996). ''Angels A to Z : A Who's Who of the Heavenly Host.'' Three Rivers Press. ISBN 0-517-88537-9.
★ Cruz, Joan C.
1999. ''Angels and Devils.'' Tan Books & Publishers. ISBN 0-89555-638-3.
★ Davidson, Gustav. ''A Dictionary of Angels: Including the Fallen Angels''. Free Press. ISBN 0-02-907052-X
★ Graham, Billy,
1994. ''Angels: God's Secret Agents.'' W Pub Group; Minibook edition. ISBN 0-8499-5074-0
★ Guiley, Rosemary, 1996. ''Encyclopedia of Angels.'' ISBN 0-8160-2988-1
★ Kreeft, Peter J.
1995. ''Angels and Demons: What Do We Really Know About Them?'' Ignatius Press. ISBN 0-89870-550-9
★ Lewis, James R. (
1995). ''Angels A to Z.'' Visible Ink Press. ISBN 0-7876-0652-9
★ Melville, Francis,
2001. ''The Book of Angels: Turn to Your Angels for Guidance, Comfort, and Inspiration.'' Barron's Educational Series; 1st edition. ISBN 0-7641-5403-6
★ Ronner, John,
1993. ''Know Your Angels: The Angel Almanac With Biographies of 100 Prominent Angels in Legend & Folklore-And Much More!'' Mamre Press. ISBN 0-932945-40-6.
External links
★
Catholic Encyclopedia
★
Jewish Encyclopedia
★
Sarah's Archangels
★
Icons of Archangel Gabriel
★
Entheomedia.org
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