Although there are plenty of list and unnamed angel mentioned in both the Torah and the New Testament Bible , Archangel Raphaelis probable one of themost recognizedby scholar as well as casual readers of ancient mythology .
But what is Raphael ’s tale , and what lay down him so important in the Judeo - Christian canon ? Also , who are the archangel ?
The Catholic Churchrefers to the existenceof seven archangels : Gabriel , St. Raphael , St. Michael , Uriel , Camael , Jophiel and Zadkiel . However , not all of these angels are named or recognized by all religious religious sect . Eastern Orthodox churches recognize up to eight archangels , while the most commonly agreed upon names are Raphael , Michael and Gabriel .
Although indirectly referenced in the Torah , the official title of Angelica Archangelica did n’t show up until the time of the New Testament . However , the archangels are widely agreed to be a high class of guardian Angel which served God directly and occasionally come down to Earth to swear out his will .
The Angel Raphael in the Torah
The first historically recognise textual matter feature Archangel Raphael is theBook of Tobitin the Old Testament or Jewish Torah .
The Book of Tobit is about a blind serviceman , also named Tobit . He is an Israelite life the settlement of Media in what would now be modern - day Iran . feel overcome by his disability , Book of Tobit prays for death , but God or else post Archangel St. Raphael to issue forth to his assist in human soma .
With the holy person ’s guidance , Tobit ’s son Tobias trip to the village of Ecbatana and meets a char named Sarah . Sarah had likewise prayed for death because she was stalk by a brawny demonAsmodeus , who would kill any potential manlike suitors .
Raphael advises Tobit to perform healing miracle which he claims can heal his cecity as well as expel Sarah ’s demon .
With the demon snuff it , Tobias marries Sarah and returns home . God heals his Father of the Church ’s blindness as Raphael reveals his true angelical phase to the mathematical group , submit , " I am Raphael , one of the seven saint who stand in the glorious comportment of the Lord , ready to function him . "
He tells them to praise God and to carry on the Judaic tradition to make respectable on the angel ’s grace via healing summons .
Relationship with Archangel Michael and Gabriel
concord to theHebrew Talmud , which was written well after the Torah and after the execution of Jesus Christ , Michael , Raphael and Gabriel were the firstthree holy beingswho visited Abraham in ancient times .
This is an event which is important to the institution of Judaism , and important to all Abrahamic religion .
By include archangel in its origin fib , the intention of the Talmud may be to give more weighting to these figures introduced in former component of the Torah , as well as to integrate some former Christian mythos into its own canon .
Relationship with Fallen Angels
Raphael is also reference in the Book of Enoch , a popular Judaic text from the third century C.E. which now deliberate noncanonical by most Jewish and Christian sect .
However , Enoch has shown to be a clean breathing in on some parts of the New Testament . These have also charm the widespread word-painting of angel in pop culture .
" I Enoch " ( thefirst Book of Enoch ) calls Raphael " the holy man of the spirits of men . " This could potentially think that Raphael portion out a affinity with mankind uncommon for most other angels . His deputation is to " heal the Earth which the fall angels have sully , " or in wide-eyed terms , to utilize his bring around king to deport agents of Lucifer .
Enoch also names directly the seven archangel , but thenames render differfrom those recognized by the Catholic Church . The names used in the Book of Enoch are :
Raphael Depicted in Christianity
Along with Michael and Gabriel , Archangel Raphael today is recognize as an iconic anatomy by Catholics as well as Orthodox Christian denominations . He has been granted sainthood in addition to his status as an archangel , often depicted holding a Pisces the Fishes in painting , which is what he fed Book of Tobit to help bring around his blindness .
Catholics recite a vulgar prayerto celebrate Raphael :
Raphael Depicted in Islam
In Muslim tradition , the name Archangel Rafael is typicallytranslated to Israfil . The name Israfil is not specifically given in the Quran , but he is believed to be described as a tall , musical archangel who is the leader of all angels .
Islamic paintings unremarkably show Israfil with four wings , playing a trump along the mountaintops to denote the presence of God .
Archangel Michaeland Archangel Gabriel also have equivalents in the Quran , with some scholars believing that it was Raphael ( Israfil ) who had first visited the prophet Muhammed in Islamic canon .
