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Raphael (archangel)

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For other uses, see Raphael (disambiguation).

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Raphael (Standard Hebrew רפאל, "God has healed", "God Heals", "God, Please Heal", and many other combinations of the two words, Arabic: Israfil, اسرافيل) is the name of an archangel of Judaism and Christianity, who performs all manner of healing. The Hebrew word for a doctor of medicine is Rophe connected to the same root word as Raphael.

The angels mentioned in the older books of the Hebrew Bible are without names. Indeed, Rabbi Simeon ben Lakish of Tiberias (A.D. 230-270), asserted that all the specific names for the angels were brought back by the Jews from Babylon, and modern commentators would tend to agree.

Of seven archangels in the angelology of post-Exilic Judaism, only Michael, mentioned as archangel (Daniel 12:1), and Gabriel are mentioned by name in the scriptures that came to be accepted as canonical. Raphael mentioned by name in the book of Tobit, came to be accepted as canonical by Catholics. Four others, however, are named in the 2nd century BC Book of Enoch (chapter xxi): Uriel, Raguel, Sariel, and Jarahmeel.

1 Raphael in Christianity
2 Raphael in Islam
3 Raphael in Angelology and the Occult
4 Raphael in the Book of Enoch
5 Raphael in Fiction
6 See also

[edit] Raphael in Christianity

The name of the archangel Raphael appears only in the apocryphal Book of Tobit (Tobias). Tobit is considered canonical by Catholics, Orthodox and some Protestants. Raphael first appears disguised in human form as the travelling companion of the younger Tobias, calling himself "Azarias the son of the great Ananias". During the adventurous course of the journey the archangel's protective influence is shown in many ways including the binding of the demon in the desert of upper Egypt. After the return and the healing of the blindness of the elder Tobias, Azarias makes himself known as "the angel Raphael, one of the seven, who stand before the Lord" (Tobit, xii, 15). Compare the unnamed angels in John's Apocalypse viii, 2.

Regarding the healing powers attributed to Raphael, we have little more than his declaration to Tobit (Tobit, 12) that he was sent by the Lord to heal him of his blindness and to deliver Sarah, his daughter-in-law, from the devil (Asmodeus) that was the serial killer of her husbands.

As the main character of the Book of Tobit, which is included in the Septuagint but assigned an apocryphal status by Protestant churches, many Protestant groups do not acknowledge Raphael.

Raphael is not often the patron of Christian churches. Some exceptions are St. Raphael's Cathedral in Dubuque, Iowa –- seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque, St. Raphael's Cathedral Parish in Madison, Wisconsin –- seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Madison, Saint Raphael's Parish Church, Stalybridge, Cheshire in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Shrewsbury, St. Raphael's church (and mission) in San Rafael, California, and Sankt Raphael in Garbsen, Germany.

He has made only a light impression on Catholic geography: Saint Raphaël, France and Saint Raphaël, Quebec, Canada; San Rafaels in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Peru, the Philippines and in Venezuela as San Rafael de Mohán and San Rafael de Orituco. In the United States, San Rafaels inherited from Mexico survive in California (where besides the city there are San Rafael Mountains), in New Mexico, and in Utah, where the San Rafael River flows seasonally in the San Rafael Desert.

In the New Testament, only the archangels Gabriel and Michael are mentioned by name (Luke, i, 19, 26; Epistle of Jude, 9). John 5:1-4, refers to the pool at Bethesda, where the multitude of the infirm lay awaiting the moving of the water, for "an angel of the Lord descended at certain times into the pond; and the water was moved. And he that went down first into the pond after the motion of the water was made whole of whatsoever infirmity he lay under". Because of the healing role assigned to Raphael, this particular angel is generally associated with the archangel.

Raphael is sometimes shown (usually on medallions) as standing atop a large fish or holding a caught fish at the end of a line. This is a reference to Book of Tobit (Tobias), where he told Tobias to catch a fish, and then uses the galbladder to heal Tobit's eyes, and to drive away Asmodeus by burning the heart and liver.

[edit] Raphael in Islam

According to the Hadith, Israfil (Raphael in Arabic) is the Angel responsible for signalling the coming of Judgment Day by blowing a horn and sending out a "Blast of Truth". Unlike Jibrail(Gabriel) and Mikail(Michael), this archangel was not mentioned by name in the Quran.

[edit] Raphael in Angelology and the Occult

According to the occultist Johannes Trithemius (1462–1516), Raphael is one of the 7 angels of the Apocalypse (this opinion is derived from Enoch 20) and numbered among the 10 holy sefiroth. Furthermore, Raphael is also denoted as one of the 7 Archangels who stand in the presence of God, as well as a ruler of the Cherubim and Archangel classes in the heavenly hierarchy. The Archangel, alongside Zarachiel, also holds dominion over Raquia, the Second Heaven.

Modern occultists sometimes associate Raphael with the color yellow or gold, the direction East (or West), the element Air, and the Suit of Swords of the Tarot in traditions loosely derived from reports of Kabbalism. According to Francis Barrett (The Magus, vol. II, 1801), Raphael has also been denoted as the angel of science and knowledge, as well as the preceptor angel of Isaac. Other titles attributed to Raphael include the angel of prayer, love, joy, light, as well as the guardian of both the Tree of Life and of humanity.

In Stregheria, Raphael's Grigori counterpart is Aldebaran.

[edit] Raphael in the Book of Enoch

Raphael allegedly bound Azazel under a desert called Dudael according to Enoch 10:5-7:

And again the Lord said to Raphael: 'Bind Azazel hand and foot, and cast him into the darkness: and make an opening in the desert, which is in Dudael, and cast him therein. And place upon him rough and jagged rocks, and cover him with darkness, and let him abide there for ever, and cover his face that he may not see light. And on the day of the great judgement he shall be cast into the fire.

[edit] Raphael in Fiction

The archangel Raphael appears to the character Anthony Van Horne in the first chapter of the novel, Towing Jehovah, by the award-winning science fiction writer, James Morrow.

The archangel Raphael, as well as Michael, Uriel, and Gabriel, appear in the video-game Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne, by Atlus, as optional enemies as well as usable party members.

The angel Raphael, as well as many other prominent angels appear in John Milton's Paradise Lost. Where he is assigned by God to re-warn Adam concerning the sin of eating of the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He also expounds to Adam the war in heaven in which the Archangel Lucifer fell and became Satan and the creation of Earth