In
Abrahamic religions
The Abrahamic religions are a group of religions centered around worship of the God of Abraham. Abraham, a Hebrew patriarch, is extensively mentioned throughout Abrahamic religious scriptures such as the Bible and the Quran.
Jewish tradition ...
(
Judaism
Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in t ...
,
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
and
Islam), Gabriel ();
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none;
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
: ''Gabriel'';
Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none;
Amharic: am, ገብርኤል, translit=Gabrəʾel, label=none; arc, ܓ݁ܰܒ݂ܪܺܝܐܝܶܠ, translit=Gaḇrīʾēl; ar, جِبْرِيل, Jibrīl, also ar, جبرائيل, Jibrāʾīl or ''Jabrāʾīl'', group="N" is an
archangel
Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the hierarchy of angels. The word ''archangel'' itself is usually associated with the Abrahamic religions, but beings that are very similar to archangels are found in a number of other relig ...
with power to announce God's will to men. He is mentioned in the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;["Tanach"](_blank)
'' New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...
, and the
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...
. Many Christian traditions — including
Anglicanism,
Eastern Orthodoxy
Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism.
Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...
, and
Roman Catholicism — revere Gabriel as a
saint.
In the Hebrew Bible, Gabriel appears to the prophet
Daniel to explain his visions (
Daniel 8
Daniel 8 is the eighth chapter of the Book of Daniel. It tells of Daniel's vision of a two-horned ram destroyed by a one-horned goat, followed by the history of the "little horn", which is Daniel's code-word for the Greek king Antiochus IV Epiph ...
:15–26,
9:21–27). The archangel also appears in the
Book of Enoch and other ancient Jewish writings not preserved in Hebrew. Alongside the archangel
Michael, Gabriel is described as the
guardian angel
A guardian angel is a type of angel that is assigned to protect and guide a particular person, group or nation. Belief in tutelary beings can be traced throughout all antiquity. The idea of angels that guard over people played a major role in A ...
of Israel, defending its people against the angels of the other nations.
In the New Testament, the
Gospel of Luke
The Gospel of Luke), or simply Luke (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). tells of the origins, birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Together with the Acts of the Apostles, it makes up a two-vol ...
relates the stories of the
Annunciation, in which the angel Gabriel appears to
Zechariah and the
Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...
, announcing to each the births of
John the Baptist
John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...
and
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...
, respectively (
Luke 1:11–38).
Islam regards Gabriel as an archangel sent by God to various prophets, including
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mo ...
.
The first five verses of the ''
Al-Alaq
Al-ʻAlaq or The Clot ( ar, العلق, ''al-ʻalaq'', also known as "The Clinging Thing" or "The Embryo"), is the 96th chapter ( sūrah) of the Qur'an. It is composed of 19 '' āyāt'' or verses. It is sometimes also known as Sūrat Iqrā ( ...
'', the 96th chapter of the Quran, is believed by Muslims to have been the first verses revealed by Gabriel to Muhammad.
Etymology
"Gabriel" is a Hebrew name generally translated "strength of God", more accurately "my strength is in God", or "God is my strength". This connotes a "man of God".
Ginzberg, Louis
Louis Ginzberg ( he, לוי גינצבורג, ''Levy Gintzburg''; russian: Леви Гинцберг, ''Levy Ginzberg''; November 28, 1873 – November 11, 1953) was a Russian-born American rabbi and Talmudic scholar of Lithuanian-Jewish desc ...
. 1909. '' Legends of the Jewsbr>Vol I : The Creation of The World - The First Things Created
'', translated by H. Szold. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society.
Ancient Judaism
In the Hebrew Bible, Gabriel appears to the prophet
Daniel to explain his visions (
Daniel 8
Daniel 8 is the eighth chapter of the Book of Daniel. It tells of Daniel's vision of a two-horned ram destroyed by a one-horned goat, followed by the history of the "little horn", which is Daniel's code-word for the Greek king Antiochus IV Epiph ...
:15–26,
9:21–27). Later the angel Michael also appears to him (
Daniel 10:13, 21,
Daniel 12,1). These are the first instances of a named angel in the Bible. Gabriel's main function in Daniel is that of revealer, responsible for interpreting Daniel's visions, a role he continues to have in later traditions.
Intertestamental literature
Gabriel is not called an archangel in the canonical Bible. However, the
intertestamental period
The intertestamental period (Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century ...
(roughly 200 BC – 50 AD) produced a wealth of
literature
Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
, much of it having an
apocalyptic orientation. The names and ranks of angels and devils were greatly expanded in this literature, and each had particular duties and status before God. This was the period when Gabriel was first referred to as an archangel.
In
1 Enoch 9:1–3, Gabriel, along with
Michael,
Uriel
Uriel or Auriel ( he, אוּרִיאֵל ''ʾŪrīʾēl'', " El/God is my flame"; el, Οὐριήλ ''Oúriēl''; cop, ⲟⲩⲣⲓⲏⲗ ''Ouriēl''; it, Uriele; Geʽez and Amharic: or ) is the name of one of the archangels who is menti ...
and
Suriel, "saw much blood being shed upon the earth" (9:1) and heard the souls of men cry, "Bring our cause before the Most High" (
9:3). In 1 Enoch 10:1, the reply came from "the Most High, the Holy and Great One" who sent forth agents, including Gabriel—
Gabriel is the fifth of the five angels who keep watch: "Gabriel, one of the holy angels, who is over Paradise and the serpents and the Cherubim" (
1 Enoch 20:7).
When Enoch asked who the four figures were that he had seen:
Early Christianity
New Testament
Gabriel's first appearance in the
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...
, concerns the annunciation of the birth of
John the Baptist
John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...
. John's father
Zacharias, a priest of the course of Abia, () was childless because his wife
Elisabeth was barren. An angel appears to Zacharias while he is ministering in the Temple, to announce the birth of his son. When Zacharias questions the angel, the angel gives his name as Gabriel:
After completing his required week of ministry, Zacharias returns to his home and his wife Elizabeth conceives. After she has completed five months of her pregnancy (), Gabriel appears again, now to Mary, to announce the birth of Jesus:
Gabriel only appears by name in those two passages in Luke. In the first passage the angel identified himself as Gabriel, but in the second it is Luke who identified him as Gabriel. The only other named angels in the New Testament are Michael the Archangel (in ) and
Abaddon
The Hebrew term Abaddon ( he, אֲבַדּוֹן ''’Ăḇaddōn'', meaning "destruction", "doom"), and its Greek equivalent Apollyon ( grc-koi, Ἀπολλύων, ''Apollúōn'' meaning "Destroyer") appear in the Bible as both a place of de ...
(in ). Believers are expressly warned not to worship angels in two New Testament passages: and .
Gnosticism
The
heretical
Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...
Christian movement of
Gnosticism
Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish and early Christian sects. These various groups emphasized pe ...
paid special attention to angels as beings belonging to a pantheon of spiritual forces involved in the creation of the world. According to one ancient
Gnostic manuscript, the
Holy Book of the Great Invisible Spirit, Gabriel is a divine being and inhabitant of the
Pleroma
Pleroma ( grc-koi, πλήρωμα, literally "fullness") generally refers to the totality of divine powers. It is used in Christian theological contexts, especially in Gnosticism. The term also appears in the Epistle to the Colossians, which is t ...
who existed prior to the
Demiurge
In the Platonic, Neopythagorean, Middle Platonic, and Neoplatonic schools of philosophy, the demiurge () is an artisan-like figure responsible for fashioning and maintaining the physical universe. The Gnostics adopted the term ''demiurge'' ...
.
Rabbinic Judaism
Gabriel, ( he, גַּבְרִיאֵל, Gaḇrīʾēl) is interpreted by
Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...
ic
rabbi
A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
s to be the "man in linen" mentioned in the
Book of Daniel
The Book of Daniel is a 2nd-century BC biblical apocalypse with a 6th century BC setting. Ostensibly "an account of the activities and visions of Daniel, a noble Jew exiled at Babylon", it combines a prophecy of history with an eschatology ...
and the
Book of Ezekiel
The Book of Ezekiel is the third of the Latter Prophets in the Tanakh and one of the major prophetic books, following Isaiah and Jeremiah. According to the book itself, it records six visions of the prophet Ezekiel, exiled in Babylon, during ...
. Talmudic Judaism understands the angel in the Book of Ezekiel, who was sent to destroy
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, to be Gabriel. According to the ''
Jewish Encyclopedia'', Gabriel takes the form of a man, and stands at the left hand of God.
Shimon ben Lakish
Shim‘on ben Lakish ( he, שמעון בן לקיש; arc, שמעון בר לקיש ''Shim‘on bar Lakish'' or ''bar Lakisha''), better known by his nickname Reish Lakish (c. 200 — c. 275), was an amora who lived in the Roman province of Juda ...
(
Syria Palaestina, 3rd century) concluded that the angelic names of Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel came out of the Babylonian exile (Gen. Rab. 48:9).
[ Alongside archangel Michael, Gabriel is described as the ]guardian angel
A guardian angel is a type of angel that is assigned to protect and guide a particular person, group or nation. Belief in tutelary beings can be traced throughout all antiquity. The idea of angels that guard over people played a major role in A ...
of Israel, defending this people against the angels of the other nations.
Mystical Judaism
In the Kabbalistic tradition, Gabriel is identified with the sephirah
Sefirot (; he, סְפִירוֹת, translit=Səfīrōt, Tiberian: '), meaning '' emanations'', are the 10 attributes/emanations in Kabbalah, through which Ein Sof (The Infinite) reveals itself and continuously creates both the physical realm an ...
of Yesod
Yesod (Hebrew: יְסוֹד ''Yəsōḏ'', Tiberian: ''Yăsōḏ'', "foundation") is a sephirah or node in the kabbalistic Tree of Life, a system of Jewish philosophy. Yesod, located near the base of the Tree, is the sephirah below Hod and ...
. Gabriel also has a prominent role as one of God's archangels in the Kabbalah literature. There, Gabriel is portrayed as working in concert with Michael as part of God's court. Gabriel is not to be prayed to because only God can answer prayers and sends Gabriel as his agent.[
According to ]Jewish mythology
Jewish mythology is the body of myths associated with Judaism. Elements of Jewish mythology have had a profound influence on Christian mythology and on Islamic mythology, as well as on world culture in general. Christian mythology directly in ...
, in the Garden of Eden there is a tree of life
The tree of life is a fundamental archetype in many of the world's mythological, religious, and philosophical traditions. It is closely related to the concept of the sacred tree.Giovino, Mariana (2007). ''The Assyrian Sacred Tree: A Hist ...
or the "tree of souls" that blossoms and produces new souls
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...
, which fall into the Guf, the ''Treasury of Souls''. Gabriel reaches into the treasury and takes out the first soul that comes into his hand. Then Lailah, the Angel of Conception, watches over the embryo until it is born.
Islam
Gabriel ( ar, جِبْرِيل, Jibrīl; also ar, جبرائيل, Jibrāʾīl or ''Jabrāʾīl''; derived from the he, גַּבְרִיאֵל, Gaḇrīʾēl) is venerated as one of the primary archangel
Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the hierarchy of angels. The word ''archangel'' itself is usually associated with the Abrahamic religions, but beings that are very similar to archangels are found in a number of other relig ...
s and as the Angel of Revelation in Islam. He is primarily mentioned in the verses , , and of the Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...
, although the Quranic text doesn't explicitly refer to him as an angel. In the Quran, the archangel Gabriel appears named in and , as well as in , where he is mentioned along with the archangel Michael ( Mīkāʾīl).
Exegetical Quranic literature narrates that Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mo ...
saw the archangel Gabriel in his full angelic splendor only twice, the first time being when he received his first revelation. As the Bible portrays Gabriel as a celestial messenger sent to Daniel, Mary
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religious contexts
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
, and Zechariah, Islamic tradition holds that Gabriel was sent to numerous pre-Islamic Biblical prophets with revelation and divine injunctions, including Adam, whom Muslims believe was consoled by Gabriel some time after the Fall, too. He is known by many names in Islam, such as "keeper of holiness". In Hadith traditions, Jibril is said to have six hundred wings.
Tasks
Muslims believe that Gabriel was mainly tasked with transmitting the scriptures from God to the prophets and messengers, as Asbab al-Nuzul
Occasions or circumstances of revelation (''asbāb'' ''al-nuzūl'', ) names the historical context in which Quranic verses were revealed from the perspective of Traditionalist theology (Islam), traditional Islam. Though of some use in reconstructi ...
or revelation of Al-Baqara
Al-Baqara, alternatively transliterated Al-Baqarah ( ar, الْبَقَرَة, ; "The Heifer" or "The Cow"), is the second and longest chapter ('' surah'') of the Quran. It consists of 286 verses ('' āyāt'') which begin with the "mysterio ...
, Ayah 124, when Muhammad was questioned which angel is revealing the holy scriptures revelation, and Muhammad told the Jews it is revealed by Gabriel who is tasked to it.
Muslims also revere Gabriel for a number of events predating what they regard as the first revelation, narrated in the Quran. Muslims believe that Gabriel was the angel who informed Zachariah ( Zakariyyā) of Yaḥyā's ( John's) birth
Birth is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring, also referred to in technical contexts as parturition. In mammals, the process is initiated by hormones which cause the muscular walls of the uterus to contract, expelling the f ...
, as well as Mary ( Maryam) of the future nativity of Jesus
The nativity of Jesus, nativity of Christ, birth of Jesus or birth of Christ is described in the biblical gospels of Luke and Matthew. The two accounts agree that Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judaea, his mother Mary was engaged to a man ...
; and that Gabriel was one of three angels who had earlier informed Abraham
Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Je ...
(ʾIbrāhīm
, "Friend By God")
, image = Ibrahim (Abraham)1.png
, image_size =
, alt =
, caption = The name ''ʾIbrāhīm'' written in Islamic calligraphy, followed by "Peace be upon him".
, birth_name ...
) of the birth of Isaac
Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was th ...
( ʾIsḥāq) []. Gabriel also makes a famous appearance in the Hadith of Gabriel, in which he questions Muhammad on the core tenets of Islam.
Gabriel is also believed to have delivered punishment from God to the Sodomite
Sodomite may refer to:
* A person who practices sodomy
* A resident of Sodom and Gomorrah, Sodom
* Sodomites (film), ''Sodomites'' (film), a 1998 short film by Gaspar Noé
{{disambiguation ...
by leveling the entire Sodom city with a tip of his wing. According to a Hadith narrated by Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, which is compiled by al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi
Al-Ḥakīm al-Tirmidhī ( ar, الحكيم الترمذي; ), full name Abu Abdallah Muhammad ibn Ali ibn al-Hasan ibn Bashir al-Tirmidhi (d. c. 869) was a Persian Sunni jurist (''faqih'') and traditionist (''muhaddith'') of Khorasan, but is ...
, Gabriel has an ability to regulate Feeling or Perception
Perception () is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the presented information or environment. All perception involves signals that go through the nervous system ...
of human, particularly a feel of happiness or sadness.
Gabriel is believed to have helped Muhammad overcome his adversaries significantly against a demon (''ʻifrīt'') during the Mi'raj
The Israʾ and Miʿraj ( ar, الإسراء والمعراج, ') are the two parts of a Night Journey that, according to Islam, the Islamic prophet Muhammad (570–632) took during a single night around the year 621 (1 BH – 0 BH). With ...
. Gabriel is believed to have helped Muhammad overcome his adversaries during the Battle of Badr, where according to scholars and clerics of Islam, the various hadiths, both authentics and inauthentics, has mentioned that Gabriel, Michael, Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual a ...
, and thousands of best angels from third level of sky, all came to the battle of Badr by impersonating appearance of Zubayr ibn al-Awwam
Az Zubayr ( ar, الزبير) is a city in and the capital of Al-Zubair District, part of the Basra Governorate of Iraq. The city is just south of Basra. The name can also refer to the old Emirate of Zubair.
The name is also sometimes written ...
, a Companions of the Prophet and bodyguard of the prophet. This is deemed as Zubayr personal honor according to Islamic belief. Meanwhile, has recorded in his historiography
Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians ha ...
works of Quran and Hadith revelation in Prophetic biography, that Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas
, image = File:Saad ibn Abi Waqqas Masjid an-Nabawi Calligraphy.png
, alt =
, caption = His name in Arabic calligraphy
, birth_date =
, death_date =
, birth_place = Mecca, Hejaz, Arabia
, death_place ...
testified he saw two unidentified warriors clad in white has protected Muhammad during the Battle of Uhud, That later being confirmed by Muhammad those two unidentified warriors were Jibril and Mikail in disguise.
Moreover, he is believed to have further encouraged Muhammad to wage war and attack the Jewish tribe of Banu Qurayza
The Banu Qurayza ( ar, بنو قريظة, he, בני קוריט'ה; alternate spellings include Quraiza, Qurayzah, Quraytha, and the archaic Koreiza) were a Jewish tribe which lived in northern Arabia, at the oasis of Yathrib (now known as ...
. Another appearance of Gabriel in Islamic religious texts were found in numerous Hadiths during the Battle of Hunayn
:''This is a sub-article to Muhammad after the conquest of Mecca.''
The Battle of Hunayn ( ar, غَزْوَة حُنَيْن, Ghazwat Hunayn) was between the Muslims of Muhammad and the Bedouins of the Qays, including its clans of Hawazi ...
, where the Gabriel stood next to Muhammad.
Other Islamic texts
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or ''Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the main ...
and some Apocryphal literature also supported Gabriel's role as a celestial warrior. Though alternate theories exist, whether the occurrence of the Holy Spirit in the Quran refers to Gabriel or not, remains an issue of scholarly debate. However, a clear distinction between apocryphal and Quranic references to Gabriel is that the former doesn't designate him as the Holy Spirit in the First Book of Enoch, which narrates the story of Gabriel defeating the Nephilim.
Yezidi tradition
Yazidis
Yazidis or Yezidis (; ku, ئێزیدی, translit=Êzidî) are a Kurmanji-speaking endogamous minority group who are indigenous to Kurdistan, a geographical region in Western Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran. The ma ...
consider Gabriel one of the Seven Mysteries, the heptad to which God entrusted the world, and sometimes identified with the archangel Melek Taus
Melek ( hu, Mellek) is a municipality and village in the Nitra District of the south-west of Slovakia, in the Nitra Region
The Nitra Region ( sk, Nitriansky kraj, ; hu, Nyitrai kerület) is one of the administrative regions of Slovakia. It wa ...
.
Medieval Christian traditions
File:Annonciation portail Reims.jpg, Archangel Gabriel at the façade of the Cathedral of Reims
, image = Reims Kathedrale.jpg
, imagealt = Facade, looking northeast
, caption = Façade of the cathedral, looking northeast
, pushpin map = France
, pushpin map alt = Location within France
, ...
, late 13th century.
File:Llanbeblig Hours (f. 1r.) The Annunciation, Gabriel kneeling on one knee.jpg, ''The Annunciation
The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ange ...
'' from the Llanbeblig Book of Hours (late 14th century), showing Gabriel kneeling on one knee.
File:Gabriel from Vysotsky chin (14c, Tretyakov gallery).jpg, Icon
An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...
of Gabriel, Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
, c. 1387–1395 (Tretyakov Gallery
The State Tretyakov Gallery (russian: Государственная Третьяковская Галерея, ''Gosudarstvennaya Tretyâkovskaya Galereya''; abbreviated ГТГ, ''GTG'') is an art gallery in Moscow, Russia, which is considered th ...
)
File:Archangel Gabriel. Tsalenjikha fresco (Georgia, 14th c.).jpg, Archangel Gabriel. A fresco from the Tsalenjikha Cathedral
The Tsalenjikha Cathedral Church of the Transfiguration of Savior ( ka, წალენჯიხის მაცხოვრის ფერისცვალების საკათედრო ტაძარი, tr) is a medieval Georgian O ...
by Cyrus Emanuel Eugenicus. 14th century.
File:0 Venise, statue de l'archange Gabriel - Palais des Doges.JPG, Statue of Archangel Gabriel (15th century), adorning the top of the northwest corner pillar of the Palazzo Ducale in Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
File:Gabriel Archangel Hajdudorog.JPG, Gabriel on the southern deacons' door of the iconostasis in the Cathedral of Hajdúdorog
The Cathedral of Hajdúdorog, officially Greek Catholic Cathedral of the Presentation of Mary in Hajdúdorog ( Hungarian: ''Hajdúdorogi Istenszülő Bevezetése a Templomba Székesegyház)'' is the cathedral of the Archeparchy of Hajdúdorog, H ...
, Hungary
In a famous early work, the "four homilies on the ''Missus Est''", Saint Bernard of Clairvaux
Bernard of Clairvaux, O. Cist. ( la, Bernardus Claraevallensis; 109020 August 1153), venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templars, and a major leader in the reformation of the Benedictine Order through ...
(1090-1153 AD) interpreted Gabriel's name as "the strength of God", and his symbolic function in the gospel story as announcement of the strength or virtue of Christ, both as the strength of God incarnate and as the strength given by God to the timorous people who would bring into the world a fearful and troublesome event. "Therefore it was an opportune choice that designated Gabriel for the work he had to accomplish, or rather, because he was to accomplish it therefore he was called Gabriel."
Feast day
The feast day of Saint Gabriel the Archangel was exclusively celebrated on 18 March according to many sources dating between 1588 and 1921; unusually, a source published in 1856 has the feast celebrated on 7 April for unknown reasons (a parenthetical note states that the day is normally celebrated on 18 March). Writer Elizabeth Drayson
Elizabeth Drayson is Lorna Close Fellow in Spanish at Murray Edwards College, University of Cambridge. She is a specialist in medieval and early modern Spanish literature and cultural history. She produced the first translation and edition of Juan ...
mentions the feast being celebrated on 18 March 1588 in her 2013 book "The Lead Books of Granada".
One of the oldest out-of-print sources placing the feast on 18 March, first published in 1608, is "Flos sanctorum: historia general de la vida y hechos de Jesu-Christo...y de los santos de que reza y haze fiesta la Iglesia Catholica..." by the Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
writer Alonso de Villegas
Alonso de Villegas Selvago, also known as Selvago, which may also have been a second surname, of Genovese origin ( Toledo, 1533 - ''ib''., January 23, 1603) was a Spanish ecclesiastic and writer.
Biography
As a student and later professor of t ...
; a newer edition of this book was published in 1794. Another source published in Ireland in 1886 the ''Irish Ecclesiastical Record
''Irish Ecclesiastical Record'' was an Irish Roman Catholic monthly journal founded by Archbishop later Cardinal Paul Cullen in 1864. ''The Record'' contained articles on theology, liturgy, domestic and international church affairs, catholic so ...
'' also mentions 18 March.
The feast of Saint Gabriel was included by Pope Benedict XV
Pope Benedict XV (Latin: ''Benedictus XV''; it, Benedetto XV), born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, name=, group= (; 21 November 185422 January 1922), was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His ...
in the General Roman Calendar
The General Roman Calendar is the liturgical calendar that indicates the dates of celebrations of saints and mysteries of the Lord (Jesus Christ) in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, wherever this liturgical rite is in use. These cele ...
in 1921, for celebration on 24 March. In 1969 the day was officially transferred to 29 September for celebration in conjunction with the feast of the archangels St. Michael and St. Raphael. The Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
has also adopted the 29 September date, known as Michaelmas
Michaelmas ( ; also known as the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, the Feast of the Archangels, or the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels) is a Christian festival observed in some Western liturgical calendars on 29 September, ...
.
The Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...
and those Eastern Catholic Churches
The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous ('' sui iuris'') particular churches of t ...
which follow the Byzantine Rite celebrate his feast day ( Synaxis of the Archangel Michael and the Other Bodiless Powers) on 8 November (for those churches that follow the traditional Julian Calendar
The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on , by edict. It was designed with the aid of Greek mathematicians and astronomers such as Sosigenes of Alexandr ...
, 8 November currently falls on 21 November of the modern Gregorian Calendar
The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...
, a difference of 13 days). Eastern Orthodox commemorate him, not only on his November feast, but also on two other days:
* 26 March is the "Synaxis
{{For, the moth genus, Synaxis (moth)
A synaxis ( el, σύναξις "gathering"; Slavonic: собор, ''sobor'') is a liturgical assembly in Eastern Christianity (the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the ...
of the Archangel Gabriel" and celebrates his role in the Annunciation (eavetaking of the Annunciation),
* 13 July is also known as the "Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel", and celebrates all the appearances and miracles attributed to Gabriel throughout history. The feast was first established on Mount Athos when, in the 9th century, during the reign of Emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
Basil II
Basil II Porphyrogenitus ( gr, Βασίλειος Πορφυρογέννητος ;) and, most often, the Purple-born ( gr, ὁ πορφυρογέννητος, translit=ho porphyrogennetos).. 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar S ...
and the Empress Constantina Porphyrogenitus and while Nicholas Chrysoverges was Patriarch of Constantinople, the Archangel appeared in a cell near Karyes
Karyes (Greek: Καρυές, before 1930: Αράχωβα - ''Arachova'') is a village of the Peloponnese peninsula, which is located in the southern part of Greece. The Peloponnese is made up of a number of states and Karyes belongs to the state ...
, where he wrote with his finger on a stone tablet the hymn to the Theotokos, " It is truly meet...".
Saint Gabriel the Archangel is commemorated on the vigil
A vigil, from the Latin ''vigilia'' meaning ''wakefulness'' ( Greek: ''pannychis'', or ''agrypnia'' ), is a period of purposeful sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching, or an observance. The Italian word ''vigilia'' has become gener ...
of Annunciation (24 March) by Antiochian Western Rite Vicariate
The Antiochian Western Rite Vicariate (AWRV) is a Western rite vicariate of parishes and missions "that worship according to traditional Western Christian liturgical forms" within the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America of ...
and ROCOR
The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (russian: Ру́сская Правосла́вная Це́рковь Заграни́цей, lit=Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, translit=Russkaya Pravoslavnaya Tserkov' Zagranitsey), also called Ru ...
Western Rite
Latin liturgical rites, or Western liturgical rites, are Catholic rites of public worship employed by the Latin Church, the largest particular church ''sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church, that originated in Europe where the Latin language once ...
.
The Coptic Orthodox Church celebrates his feast on 13 Paoni
Paoni ( cop, Ⲡⲁⲱⲛⲓ, ''Paōni''), also known as Payni ( grc-gre, Παϋνί, ''Paüní'') and Ba'unah. ( ar, بؤونه, ''Ba'una''), is the tenth month of the ancient Egyptian and Coptic calendars. It lasts between June 8 and July 7 of ...
, 22 Koiak
Koiak (; cop, Ⲕⲟⲓⲁⲕ, []), also known as Choiak ( grc-gre, Χοιάκ, ''Khoiák'') and Kiyahk. ( cop, Ⲕⲓⲁϩⲕ, ''Kiahk'', []; ar, كياك or ), is the fourth month of the ancient Egyptian and Coptic calendars. It lasts between ...
and 26 Paoni
Paoni ( cop, Ⲡⲁⲱⲛⲓ, ''Paōni''), also known as Payni ( grc-gre, Παϋνί, ''Paüní'') and Ba'unah. ( ar, بؤونه, ''Ba'una''), is the tenth month of the ancient Egyptian and Coptic calendars. It lasts between June 8 and July 7 of ...
.
The Ethiopian Church
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን, ''Yäityop'ya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan'') is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. One of the few Chris ...
celebrates his feast on 18 (in the Ethiopian calendar) December, with a sizeable number of its believers making a pilgrimage to a church dedicated to "Saint Gabriel" in Kulubi and Wonkshet on that day.
Additionally, Gabriel is the patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...
of messengers, those who work for broadcasting and telecommunications such as radio and television, postal workers, clerics, diplomats, and stamp collectors.
Gabriel's horn
A familiar image of Gabriel has him blowing a trumpet blast to announce the resurrection of the dead at the end of time. However, though the Bible mentions a trumpet blast preceding the resurrection of the dead, it never specifies Gabriel as the trumpeter. Different passages state different things: the angels of the Son of Man ( Matthew 24:31); the voice of the Son of God (John 5
John 5 is the fifth chapter of the Gospel of John of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It relates Jesus' healing and teaching in Jerusalem, and begins to evidence the hostility shown him by the Jewish authorities.Plummer, A. (1902)Cambri ...
:25-29); God's trumpet ( I Thessalonians 4:16); seven angels sounding a series of blasts ( Revelation 8- 11); or simply "a trumpet will sound" (I Corinthians
The First Epistle to the Corinthians ( grc, Α΄ ᾽Επιστολὴ πρὸς Κορινθίους) is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-author ...
15:52).[S. Vernon McCasland, "Gabriel's Trumpet", ''Journal of Bible and Religion'' 9:3:159–161 (August 1941) ] Likewise the early Christian Church Fathers do not mention Gabriel as a trumpeter; and in Jewish and Muslim traditions, Gabriel is again not identified as a trumpeter.
The earliest known identification of Gabriel as a trumpeter comes from the Hymn of the Armenian Saint Nerses Shnorhali, "for Protection in the Night":
The sound of Gabriel's trumpet on the last night, make us worthy to hear, and to stand on your right hand among the sheep with lanterns of inextinguishable light; to be like the five wise virgins, so that with the bridegroom in the bride chamber we, his spiritual brides may enter into glory.
In 1455, in Armenian art
Armenian art is the unique form of art developed over the last five millennia in which the Armenian people lived on the Armenian Highland. Armenian architecture and miniature painting have dominated Armenian art and have shown consistent deve ...
, there is an illustration in an Armenian manuscript showing Gabriel sounding his trumpet as the dead climb out of their graves.
Evangelical Christian traditions
The image of Gabriel's trumpet blast to announce the end of time became was taken up in Evangelical Christianity
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual exper ...
, where it became widespread, notably in Negro spirituals
Spirituals (also known as Negro spirituals, African American spirituals, Black spirituals, or spiritual music) is a genre of Christian music that is associated with Black Americans, which merged sub-Saharan African cultural heritage with the ex ...
.
An early example occurs in John Milton's '' Paradise Lost'' (1667):
Betwixt these rockie pillars Gabriel sat
Chief of the Angelic guards (IV.545f)...
He ended, and the Son gave signal high
To the bright minister that watch'd, he blew
His trumpet, heard in Oreb since perhaps
When God descended, and perhaps once more
To sound at general doom. (XI.72ff).
It is unclear how the Armenian conception inspired Milton and the spirituals, though they presumably have a common source.
Latter-day Saints
In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...
(aka the Mormons), Gabriel is believed to have lived a mortal life as the prophet Noah. The two are regarded as the same individual; Noah being his mortal name and Gabriel being his heavenly name.[.]
Art, entertainment, and media
Angels are described as pure spirits.[Gorgievski, Sandra. ''Face to Face with Angels: Images in Medieval Art and in Film'']
McFarland (2010) The lack of a defined form allows artists wide latitude in depicting them. Amelia R. Brown draws comparisons in Byzantine iconography between portrayals of angels and the conventions used to depict court eunuchs. Mainly from the Caucasus, they tended to have light eyes, hair, and skin; and those "castrated in childhood developed a distinctive skeletal structure, lacked full masculine musculature, body hair and beards...." As officials, they would wear a white tunic decorated with gold. Brown suggests that "Byzantine artists drew, consciously or not, on this iconography of the court eunuch." Some recent popular works on angels consider Gabriel to be female
Female ( symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete during sexual reproduction.
A female has larger gametes than a male. Females ...
or androgynous.
Gabriel sculptures
File:Gabor arkangyal.jpg, Archangel Gabriel Millennium Monument at Heroes' Square in Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
File:Bermatingen St Georg Heiligenfigur.jpg, Archangel Gabriel in the church of St. Georg in Bermatingen
File:Waldburg Pfarrkirche Verkündigung Engel.jpg, Archangel Gabriel in the church of St. Magnus in Waldburg
Waldburg is a town in the district of Ravensburg in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It is the home of Waldburg Castle, a medieval castle that sits atop the large hill in the town. The castle dates from the twelfth century, when Waldburg was a ...
File:Annonciation portail Reims.jpg, Archangel Gabriel at the façade of the Cathedral of Reims
, image = Reims Kathedrale.jpg
, imagealt = Facade, looking northeast
, caption = Façade of the cathedral, looking northeast
, pushpin map = France
, pushpin map alt = Location within France
, ...
File:To the victims of the german occupation.jpg, Archangel Gabriel at the Liberty Square, Budapest
File:Archanděl Gabriel z Nedvědic, AJG Hluboká nad Vltavou.jpg, Archangel Gabriel of Nedvědice
Festivals
*Baltimore's "Little Italy
Little Italy is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian culture. There are ...
" has for over 80 years hosted an annual "end of summer" St. Gabriel Festival that features a procession with a statue of the saint carried through the streets.
Film
*In ''Liliom
''Liliom'' is a 1909 play by the Hungarian playwright Ferenc Molnár. It was well known in its own right during the early to mid-20th century, but is best known today as the basis for the Rodgers and Hammerstein 1945 musical ''Carousel''.
P ...
'' (1930), Gabriel is portrayed by Harvey Clark.
*In ''The Green Pastures
''The Green Pastures'' is a play written in 1930 by Marc Connelly adapted from ''Ol' Man Adam an' His Chillun'' (1928), a collection of stories written by Roark Bradford. The play was the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1930. It had th ...
'' (1936), Gabriel is portrayed by Oscar Polk
Oscar Polk (December 25, 1899 – January 4, 1949) was an American actor. He portrayed the servant Pork in the film '' Gone with the Wind'' (1939).
Career
His most memorable scene in that film comes when Pork discloses to Scarlett O'Hara, port ...
.
*In '' Heaven Only Knows'' (1947), Gabriel was portrayed by William Farnum
William Farnum (July 4, 1876 – June 5, 1953) was an American actor. He was a star of American silent film cinema and became one of the highest-paid actors during that time.
Biography
Farnum was born on July 4, 1876, in Boston, Massachuse ...
.
*In ''The Littlest Angel'' (1969; television film), Gabriel is portrayed by Cab Calloway.
*In horror film '' The Prophecy'' (1995), Gabriel (portrayed by Christopher Walken) searches for an evil soul on Earth during an end-of-days angelic civil war. He is also a character in '' The Prophecy II'' (1998) and '' The Prophecy 3: The Ascent'' (2000).
*In ''Mary, Mother of Jesus
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...
'' (1999; television film), Gabriel is portrayed by John Light.
*In the fantasy/horror film ''Constantine
Constantine most often refers to:
* Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I
*Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria
Constantine may also refer to:
People
* Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...
'' (2005), Tilda Swinton
Katherine Matilda Swinton (born 5 November 1960) is a British actress. Known for her roles in independent films and blockbusters, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition t ...
portrays an androgynous archangel Gabriel.
*In the action/horror film ''Gabriel
In Abrahamic religions ( Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብ ...
'' (2007), the eponymous character (portrayed by Andy Whitfield) fights to save the soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...
s in purgatory
Purgatory (, borrowed into English via Anglo-Norman and Old French) is, according to the belief of some Christian denominations (mostly Catholic), an intermediate state after physical death for expiatory purification. The process of purgatory ...
by defeating the evil fallen angel
In the Abrahamic religions, fallen angels are angels who were expelled from heaven. The literal term "fallen angel" never appears in any Abrahamic religious texts, but is used to describe angels cast out of heaven"Mehdi Azaiez, Gabriel Said ...
s.
*In the apocalyptic supernatural action film ''Legion
Legion may refer to:
Military
* Roman legion, the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army
* Spanish Legion, an elite military unit within the Spanish Army
* Legion of the United States, a reorganization of the United States Army from 179 ...
'' (2010), Kevin Durand
Kevin Serge Durand (born January 14, 1974) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for portraying Vasiliy Fet in ''The Strain'', Joshua in '' Dark Angel'', Martin Keamy in ''Lost'', Fred J. Dukes / The Blob in '' X-Men Origins: Wolverine'', Barry ...
plays the role of Archangel Gabriel, the leader of the angel army, and the main antagonist. The story was continued in the TV series ''Dominion
The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire.
"Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 192 ...
'' .
Games
*2005: Spanish role-playing game ''Anima: Beyond Fantasy'' - Gabriel is as the humans know one of the seven "Beryls" (godlike beings of light) and is identified with the archangel of the same name. She has associated love, friendship, arts, and peace.
*In the Japanese role-playing game ''Shin Megami Tensei'' - Gabriel is one of the Demons the player can summon to assist in battle.
*In the video game ''El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron'', based on the Book of Enoch, Gabriel is featured alongside Michael, Raphael, and Uriel as a guide for Enoch on his quest. All four archangels take the form of swans while on Earth. Gabriel is depicted as female in this interpretation and implied to be an angel of wisdom. She is associated with the Veil weapon Enoch uses.
*In ''Ultrakill'', a retro first-person shooter, Gabriel is featured as one of the bosses and a primary story character.
*In ''The Binding of Isaac (video game)'', a roguelike dungeon crawler, the player is able to fight Gabriel and Uriel to obtain their key pieces in order to fight Mega Satan.
Literature
* In his Epic poetry, epic poem '' Paradise Lost'', John Milton made Gabriel chief of the angelic guards placed over Garden of Eden, Paradise
* The Hebrew poem "Elifelet" (אליפלט) by Nathan Alterman, put to music and often heard on the Kol Yisrael, Israeli Radio, tells of a heroic, self-sacrificing Israeli soldier being killed in battle. Upon the protagonist's death, the angel Gabriel descends to Earth, in order to comfort the spirit of the fallen hero and take him up to Heaven
* The main character of Salman Rushdie's ''The Satanic Verses'' (1988) believes that he is the modern incarnation of Gabriel.
*In the Japanese light novel series ''No Game No Life'' (2012), Jibril is a member of the Flügel race and was a member of the Council of 18 Wings, a prominent section in the government. She is depicted as loving knowledge and books.
* In volume 3 of the Japanese light novel series ''The Devil Is a Part-Timer!'', an archangel named Gabriel appeared and is the guardian of the Sephirah Yesod
Yesod (Hebrew: יְסוֹד ''Yəsōḏ'', Tiberian: ''Yăsōḏ'', "foundation") is a sephirah or node in the kabbalistic Tree of Life, a system of Jewish philosophy. Yesod, located near the base of the Tree, is the sephirah below Hod and ...
.
* In the Japanese light novel ''High School DxD'' features Gabriel as one of the Four Great Seraph whom are the highest ranking Seraph alongside Michael, Uriel and Raphael. In the novel, Gabriel is depicted as a female angel with immense angelic beauty and is given the titles of "The Strongest Woman in Heaven" and "The Most Beautiful Woman in Heaven".
* In August Wilson's ''Fences (play), Fences'' (1985), the mentally handicapped character Gabriel believes with every fibre of his soul that he is the Archangel Gabriel. He carries around a trumpet on him always, and strives to chase away the "hellhounds". In the last scene of the play, he calls for Saint Peter to open up the gates.
Music
* The eccentric English Hagiography, hagiographer and antiquarian, Sabine Baring-Gould (1834–1924) wrote "Gabriel's Message", the English translation of the Basque music, Basque Christmas carol ''Birjina gaztetto bat zegoen''. The original charol is likely related to the 13th or 14th-century Latin chant ''Angelus ad virginem, Angelus Ad Virginem'', which itself is based on the biblical account of the Annunciation in the Gospel of Luke
The Gospel of Luke), or simply Luke (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). tells of the origins, birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Together with the Acts of the Apostles, it makes up a two-vol ...
.
* In "My Own Prison" by Creed (band), Creed, Gabriel is mentioned as deciphering the visions to the main character in the song.
* "Sugar Baby (Bob Dylan song), Sugar Baby", the last track on Bob Dylan's ''Love and Theft (Bob Dylan album), Love and Theft'' album, contains this reference:
* "Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel" by Polish black metal band Behemoth (band), Behemoth.
* The 1996 garage/house song "Gabriel" by Roy Davies Jnr (featuring vocals from Peven Everett) is about the archangel Gabriel. In the chorus, Everett can be heard singing "Gabriel play" in reference to Gabriel's trumpet. A trumpet is also heard in the song right after this line is sung.
Visual art
:''See also commons:Gabriel, Gabriel gallery in Commons''.
Daniel 8
Daniel 8 is the eighth chapter of the Book of Daniel. It tells of Daniel's vision of a two-horned ram destroyed by a one-horned goat, followed by the history of the "little horn", which is Daniel's code-word for the Greek king Antiochus IV Epiph ...
:15 describes Gabriel as appearing in the "likeness of man" and in Daniel 9:21 he is referred to as "the man Gabriel". David Everson observes that "such anthropomorphic descriptions of an angel are consistent with previous...descriptions of angels," as in Genesis 19:5.
Gabriel is most often portrayed in the context of scenes of the Annunciation. In 2008 a 16th-century drawing by Lucas van Leyden of the Netherlands was discovered. George R. Goldner, chairman of the department of prints and drawings at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, suggested that the sketch was for a stained glass window. "The fact that the archangel is an ordinary-looking person and not an idealized boy is typical of the artist", said Goldner.
In chronological order (to see each item, follow the link in the footnote):
* ''Archangel Gabriel'' (Triptych), early 10th century, Benaki Museum
* ''The Archangel Gabriel'', Pisan, c. 1325–50, 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), Annunciation'', Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1475
* ''The Angel Gabriel'', Neroccio d'Landi, c. 1490
* ''The Angel Gabriel'', late 15th or 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 (artist), Aaron Douglas, 1934
The Military Order of Saint Gabriel was established to recognize "individuals who have made significant contributions to the U.S. Army Public Affairs community and practice." The medallion depicts St. Gabriel sounding a trumpet, while the obverse displays the Army Public Affairs emblem.
Television
*''The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series), The Twilight Zone'' (1960) episode "A Passage for Trumpet" – The down-and-out musician Joey Crown (Jack Klugman) meets an enigmatic trumpet player named "Gabe" (played by John Anderson (actor), John Anderson), in what has been described as Rod Serling's version of ''It's a Wonderful Life''.
*''Supernatural (U.S. TV series), Supernatural'' (2005) – Gabriel, portrayed by Richard Speight Jr., is a runaway archangel who kills people he deems evil, also interacting with List of angels in Supernatural, other angels, including his siblings Michael, Raphael, and Lucifer.
*''Dominion
The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire.
"Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 192 ...
'' (2014) – Gabriel, portrayed by Carl Beukes, is the series antagonist, who plans to kill the Archangel Michael and annihilate humanity.
*''Now Apocalypse'' (2019) – Gabriel, portrayed by Tyler Posey, is an enigmatic trumpet player who has a passionate tryst with series protagonist Ulysses Zane before warning him about an impending apocalypse.
*Amazon Prime miniseries ''Good Omens (miniseries), Good Omens'' (2019) – Gabriel is portrayed by Jon Hamm. The show is based on Good Omens, the novel by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.
See also
References
Notes
Citations
Further reading
*
*
*
*Bamberger, Bernard J. (2006).
Fallen Angels: Soldiers of Satan's Realm
'. Philadelphia, PA: Jewish Publication Society. .
*Briggs, Constance Victoria (1997).
The Encyclopedia of Angels: An A-to-Z Guide with Nearly 4,000 Entries
'. New York, NY: Plume. .
*Bunson, Matthew (1996).
Angels A to Z: A Who's Who of the Heavenly Host
'. New York, NY: Crown Trade Paperbacks. .
*Cruz, Joan C. (1999).
Angels and Devils
'. Rockford, IL: Tan Books & Publishers. .
*Davidson, Gustav (1994).
A Dictionary of Angels: Including the Fallen Angels
'. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. .
*Dennis, Geoffrey (2007).
The Encyclopedia of Jewish Myth, Magic, and Mysticism
'. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publications. .
*Graham, Billy (1994).
Angels: God's Secret Agents
'. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publications. .
*Guiley, Rosemary (1996).
"G". Encyclopedia of Angels (1st ed.)
'. New York, NY: Facts on File, Inc. pp. 69–70. . .
*Guiley, Rosemary (2004).
Encyclopedia of Angels (2nd ed.)
'. New York, NY: Facts on File, Inc. . .
*Kreeft, Peter J. (1995).
Angels and Demons: What Do We Really Know About Them?
'. San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press. .
*Lewis, James R.; Oliver, Evelyn Dorothy (2008-05-01).
Angels A to Z (2nd ed.)
'. Detroit, MI: Visible Ink Press. pp. 156–157. .
*Melville, Francis (2001).
The Book of Angels: Turn to Your Angels for Guidance, Comfort, and Inspiration (1st ed.)
'. Hauppauge, NY: Barron's Educational Series. .
*Ronner, John (1993).
Know Your Angels: The Angel Almanac With Biographies of 100 Prominent Angels in Legend & Folklore-And Much More!
'. Murfreesboro, TN: Mamre Press. .
*
External links
* Archangel Correspondence
Last accessed 24 March 2017.
* ''Catholic Encyclopedia''
Last accessed 24 March 2017.
* Celdrán, José Alfredo González, and Ruck, Carl A. P
Last accessed 24 March 2017.
* Christian Art
Icons of the Archangel Gabriel.
Last accessed 24 March 2017.
* Jewish Encyclopedia.com
Gabriel.
Last accessed 24 March 2017.
Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. Last accessed 24 March 2017.
{{Authority control
Gabriel,
Angels in the Book of Enoch
Archangels
Archangels in Christianity
Archangel in Judaism
Archangels in Islam
Book of Daniel
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