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12th-century icon of Archangel Gabriel from Novgorod.

In Abrahamic religions, Gabriel (גַּבְרִיאֵל, Standard Hebrew Template:Semxlit, Latin Gabrielus, Greek Γαβριήλ, Tiberian Hebrew Template:Semxlit, Arabic جبريل Jibrīl or Jibrail, literally "Master, of God", i.e., a Master, who is "of God") is an angel 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".^{[citation needed]} 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, and Muslims also believe he sent a message to most, if not all, prophets revealing their obligation.

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 as the Holy Spirit.^{[citation needed]} 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…" (Daniel 8:15–17)

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

Gabriel delivering the Annunciation. Painting by El Greco (1575)

In the Gospel of Luke, Gabriel reveals to Zechariah that John the Baptist will be born to Elizabeth (Luke 1:5–20) and visits Mary to reveal that she will give birth to Jesus. Gabriel's visit to Mary is often called "The Annunciation" (Luke 1:26–38), 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.

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.

Icon of Gabriel, Byzantium, ca. 1387–1395 (Tretyakov Gallery)

Feast Days

To Roman Catholics, Orthodox, and Anglicans he is St. Gabriel the Archangel, known to some as the patron saint of musicians who play brass instruments. With Michael and Raphael, his feast day is celebrated on September 29 and November 8 for the Eastern Orthodox Christians.

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

File:Muhammad 5.jpg

Fourteenth-century Persian miniature of the Angel Gabriel

The Arabic name for Gabriel is Jibril, Jibrīl, Jibreel, Jabrilæ or Djibril (جبريل , جبرائيل, IPA: [dʒibræːʔiːl], [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 (Template:Bukhari-usc):

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). (^{[Quran 53:9]}) 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, ^{[Quran 19:17]})

Muslims believe Gabriel to have accompanied Muhammad in his ascension to the heavens, where Muhammad also is said to have met previous messengers of God, and was informed about the Islamic prayer (Bukhari Template:Bukhari-usc). 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.

In the tradition of Hermetic Qabalah, Gabriel is one of the four archangels invoked during the Lesser, Greater and Supreme Rituals of the Pentagram. He appears in the Western Cardnal direction and is the Angel whose mastery is that of Water. The western pentagram is as follows, with the Water Banshing/Invoking and the Enochian "Hcoma" and "Empeh Arsel Gaoil" with the spiritual and Elemental pentagrams. The zodiac associated with Gabriel is Cancer, or the sigil of the Crab.

Working with Planetary magic in the Hermetic tradition, Gabriel is the angelic ruler of the Sephira Yesod, which roughly translates to Foundation... the Emanation located at the genital region of the Adam Kadmon and thus the Tree of life upon the middle pillar. To invoke Gabriel into the circle it would be proper to cast the hexagram of the moon for example on monday at 1am, 8am, 3pm or 10pm with the vibration of "Shaddai El Chai" some form of a lunar tincture would assist in the opening of this hexagram, for example, dew from the morning grass, or moon blood (menstrual blood, which has an ambiguous associated with the moon).

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 AnnunciationEl 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 video games, 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.
In the Prophecy Christopher Walken plays the angel Gabriel who is now jealous of humans for being God's favorite and wishes to kill them all.
In Piers Anthony's "Incarnations of Immortality" series, books six and seven (For Love of Evil and And Eternity) Gabriel is the mightiest of Angel's, Heaven's "number two". He creates the deal with Parry (Satan, the Incarnation of Evil) concerning Niobe, Luna, Orlene and the status of the Incarnation of Good.

Notes

^ Velimirovic, Bishop Nikolai (1985), "July 13: The Holy Archangel Gabriel", Prologue from Ochrid, Birmingham, UK: Lazarica Press, ISBN 978-0948298059, retrieved 2007/07/31 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
^ "Links to images of Gabriel". The Text This Week. Retrieved 2007-02-12. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

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

[1] Velimirovic, Bishop Nikolai (1985), "July 13: The Holy Archangel Gabriel", Prologue from Ochrid, Birmingham, UK: Lazarica Press, ISBN 978-0948298059, retrieved 2007/07/31 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)

[2] "Links to images of Gabriel". The Text This Week. Retrieved 2007-02-12. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

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