Archangel Raziel (Circle of Francisco de Zurbarán)

Raziel, ( ''Rāzīʾēl,'' "

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

is my Mystery") also known as Gallitsur ( Hebrew: גַּלִּיצוּר ''Gallīṣūr'') is an

angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...

within the teachings of

Jewish mysticism Academic study of Jewish mysticism, especially since Gershom Scholem's ''Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism'' (1941), distinguishes between different forms of mysticism across different eras of Jewish history. Of these, Kabbalah, which emerged in 1 ...

(of the

Kabbalah Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and Jewish theology, school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "rece ...

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 the ...

) who is the "Angel of Secrets" and the "Angel of Mysteries”. He is also called "Keeper of All Magic." He is one of the angels associated 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 ...

Chokhmah ''Chokmah'' ( Hebrew: חָכְמָה ) is the Biblical Hebrew word rendered as "wisdom" in English Bible versions (LXX '' sophia'', Vulgate ').''Strong's Concordance'H2451 "from H2449 �ָכַם ''chakam'' "wise" wisdom (in a good sense):—ski ...

, alongside

Jophiel The angel Jophiel ( Heb. ''Yōp̄īʾēl'', "God is my beauty"), also called ''Iophiel'', ''Iofiel'', ''Jofiel'', ''Yofiel'', ''Youfiel'', Zophiel ( ''Ṣōp̄īʾēl'', "God is my watchman") and Zuriel ( ''Ṣūrīʾēl'', "God is my rock"), is ...

.Lewis, James R., Oliver, Evelyn Dorothy, Sisung Kelle S. (Editor) (1996), ''Angels A to Z'', Entry: Raziel, pp. 346, 347, Visible Ink Press,

Mysticism and tradition

Various teachings assign Raziel to diverse roles, including that of a

cherub A cherub (; plural cherubim; he, כְּרוּב ''kərūḇ'', pl. ''kərūḇīm'', likely borrowed from a derived form of akk, 𒅗𒊏𒁍 ''karabu'' "to bless" such as ''karibu'', "one who blesses", a name for the lamassu) is one of the u ...

, a member of the

Ophanim The ophanim (Hebrew: ''ʿōp̄annīm'', "wheels"; singular: ''ʿōp̄ān'', “Ofan”), alternatively spelled ''auphanim'' or ''ofanim'', and also called ''galgalim'' (Hebrew: ''galgallīm'', "spheres", "wheels", "whirlwinds"; singular: ''gal ...

, and chief of the Erelim. Raziel, under the alternate name Gallitsur "Revealer of The Rock" is described as the "ruling prince of the 2nd Heaven". He is said to expound the "

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...

's divine wisdom" and protects the ministering angels from the

living creatures In biology, an organism () is any living system that functions as an individual entity. All organisms are composed of cells (cell theory). Organisms are classified by taxonomy into groups such as multicellular animals, plants, and fungi; ...

that uphold the universe.Davidson, Gustav (1967),
A Dictionary of Angels, Including The Fallen Angels
', Entry: Galizur, Free Press, p. 120, Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 66-19757,

Authorship of ''Sefer Raziel HaMalakh''

The famous ''

Sefer Raziel HaMalakh ''Sefer Raziel HaMalakh'', (Hebrew:, "the book of Raziel the angel''"''), is a grimoire of Practical Kabbalah from the Middle Ages written primarily in Hebrew and Aramaic. ''Liber Razielis Archangeli'', its 13th-century Latin translation produc ...

'' ("Book of Raziel the Angel") attributed to this figure is said to contain all secret knowledge, and is considered to be a book of

magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

. He stands close by

's throne, and therefore hears and writes down everything that is said and discussed. He purportedly gave the book to

Adam and Eve Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...

after they ate from the forbidden

tree of the knowledge of good and evil In Judaism and Christianity, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil ( he, עֵץ הַדַּעַת טוֹב וָרָע, ʿêṣ had-daʿaṯ ṭōḇ wā-rāʿ, label=Tiberian Hebrew, ) is one of two specific trees in the story of the Garden ...

(that resulted in their expulsion from the

Garden of Eden In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden ( he, גַּן־עֵדֶן, ) or Garden of God (, and גַן־אֱלֹהִים ''gan-Elohim''), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the Bible, biblical paradise described in Book of Genesis, Genes ...

) so the two could find their way back "home" and better understand their God. Raziel's fellow

s were deeply disturbed by this, and thus stole the book from Adam and threw it into the ocean. God Himself decided not to punish Raziel, but instead retrieved the book by means of the

Rahab Rahab (; Arabic: راحاب, a vast space of a land) was, according to the Book of Joshua, a woman who lived in Jericho in the Promised Land and assisted the Israelites in capturing the city by hiding two men who had been sent to scout the city ...

and returned it to Adam and Eve. According to some sources, the book was passed on through the generations to

Enoch Enoch () ''Henṓkh''; ar, أَخْنُوخ ', Qur'ān.html"_;"title="ommonly_in_Qur'ān">ommonly_in_Qur'ānic_literature__'_is_a_biblical_figure_and_Patriarchs_(Bible).html" "title="Qur'ānic_literature.html" ;"title="Qur'ān.html" ;"title="o ...

(In 3 Enoch believed to have later become the angel

Metatron Metatron ( ''Meṭāṭrōn'', ''Məṭaṭrōn'', ''Mēṭaṭrōn'', ''Mīṭaṭrōn'', ''Meṭaṭrōn'', ''Mīṭṭaṭrōn'') or Mattatron ( ''Maṭṭaṭrōn'') is an angel in Judaism mentioned three times in the Talmud in a few br ...

), who may have incorporated his own writings into the tome. From Enoch, the archangel

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. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...

gave it to

Noah Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5– ...

, who used the wisdom within to build

Noah's Ark Noah's Ark ( he, תיבת נח; Biblical Hebrew: ''Tevat Noaḥ'')The word "ark" in modern English comes from Old English ''aerca'', meaning a chest or box. (See Cresswell 2010, p.22) The Hebrew word for the vessel, ''teva'', occurs twice in t ...

. ''The Book of Raziel'' was said to have come into the possession of King

Solomon Solomon (; , ),, ; ar, سُلَيْمَان, ', , ; el, Σολομών, ; la, Salomon also called Jedidiah (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , Modern Hebrew, Modern: , Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yăḏīḏăyāh'', "beloved of Yahweh, Yah"), ...

,Raziel, Book of
a
jewishencyclopedia.com
/ref> and a number of texts claiming to be this volume have appeared.

In popular culture

* In japanese

light novel A light novel (, Hepburn: ''raito noberu'') is a style of young adult novel primarily targeting high school and middle school students. The term "light novel" is a ''wasei-eigo'', or a Japanese term formed from words in the English languag ...

series ''

Date A Live is a Japanese light novel series written by Koushi Tachibana and illustrated by Tsunako. Fujimi Shobo published 22 volumes from March 2011 to March 2020 under their Fujimi Fantasia Bunko imprint. Yen Press holds the license to publish the li ...

'', Raziel is the name of a spiritual weapon (referred to as Angels within the series), belonging to Nia Honjou. Raziel is a book containing all knowledge of past and present, as well as capable of manifesting anything written in it as reality. * In

Cassandra Clare Judith Lewis (née Rumelt; born July 27, 1973), better known by her pen name Cassandra Clare, is an American author of young adult fiction, best known for her bestselling series The Mortal Instruments (series), ''The Mortal Instruments''.'' Per ...

The Shadowhunter Chronicles ''The Shadowhunter Chronicles'' is a media franchise based on the writings of American young adult fiction writer Cassandra Clare, which currently encompasses six series of novels, three short-story collections, five graphic novels, one film, a t ...

, the angel Raziel is responsible for the creation of the race of Shadowhunters by mixing his blood with mortal men. He also appears as a character within the narrative of the original hexalogy.

References

External links

''The Full Hebrew only Sefer Raziel Amsterdam Edition in pdf free download '' (PDF)
{{Angels in Abrahamic religions Individual angels Angels in Judaism

Mysticism and tradition

Authorship of ''Sefer Raziel HaMalakh''

In popular culture

See also

References

External links