Seraphiel (
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
שׂרפיאל, meaning "Prince of the High Angelic Order") is the name of 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 inclu ...
in the
apocrypha
Apocrypha are works, usually written, of unknown authorship or of doubtful origin. The word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to writings which were kept secret because they were the vehicles of esoteric knowledge considered ...
l
Book of Enoch.
Protector of
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 ...
, Seraphiel holds the highest rank of the Seraphim with the following directly below him,
Jehoel. In some texts, he is referred to as the Angel of Silence. Eponymously named as chief of the
Seraphim, one of several for whom this office is claimed, Seraphiel is one of eight judge angels and a prince of the
Merkabah
Merkabah ( he, מֶרְכָּבָה ''merkāvā'', "chariot") or Merkavah mysticism (lit. Chariot mysticism) is a school of early Jewish mysticism, c. 100 BCE – 1000 CE, centered on visions such as those found in the Book of Ezekiel chapter ...
.
[Davidson, Gustav (1967), ]
A Dictionary of Angels, Including The Fallen Angels
', Free Press, p. 267, Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 66-19757, In
3 Enoch
The Third Book of Enoch ( he, ספר חנוך לר׳ ישמעאל כ׳׳ג , abbreviated as 3 Enoch) is a Biblical apocryphal book in Hebrew. 3 Enoch purports to have been written in the 2nd century, but its origins can only be traced to the 5th c ...
, Seraphiel is described as an enormous, brilliant angel as tall as the seven heavens with a face like the face of angels and a body like the body of eagles. He is beautiful, like lightning and the light of the morning star. As chief of the seraphim, he is committed to their care and teaches them songs to sing for the glorification of God. In magical lore, Seraphiel is one of the rulers of Tuesday and also the planet Mercury. He is invoked from the North.
[Barrett, Francis (1801)]
''The Magus''
p. 119, a
sacred-texts.com
/ref>
Israfil could likely be his counterpart in Islam, one of the Archangels and an angel of music with a similar name of the same meaning.
References
Angels in the Book of Enoch
{{christianity-stub