Raguel (

Greek Greek may refer to: 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 of all kno ...

: Ῥαγουὴλ ';

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

: רְעוּאֵל ''Rəʿūʾēl,'' Tiberian: ''Rŭʿūʾēl'') also known as Akrasiel, Raguil, Raquel, Rakul and Reuel, is an angel mainly of the Judaic traditions. He is considered an Angel of Justice. His name means "

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

shall pasture". This meaning is also related to the Hebrew word "rōʿī" (רֹעִי), meaning shepherd. Raguel is almost always referred to as the

archangel Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the Catholic hierarchy of angels, based on and put forward by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite in the 5th or 6th century in his book ''De Coelesti Hierarchia'' (''On the Celestial Hierarchy'') ...

of justice, fairness, harmony, vengeance, and redemption. In the ''

Book of Enoch The Book of Enoch (also 1 Enoch; Hebrew language, Hebrew: סֵפֶר חֲנוֹךְ, ''Sēfer Ḥănōḵ''; , ) is an Second Temple Judaism, ancient Jewish Apocalyptic literature, apocalyptic religious text, ascribed by tradition to the Patriar ...

'', cap. XXIII, Raguel is one of the seven angels whose role is to watch. His number is 6, and his function is to take vengeance on the world of the luminaries who have transgressed God's laws. Raguel's duties have remained the same across Jewish and Christian traditions. Much like a sheriff or constable, Raguel's purpose has always been to keep fallen angels and demons in check, delivering judgment upon any that over-step their boundaries. He has been known to destroy wicked spirits and cast fallen angels into

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location or state in the afterlife in which souls are subjected to punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history sometimes depict hells as eternal destinations, such as Christianity and I ...

(called

Gehenna Gehenna ( ; ) or Gehinnom ( or ) is a Biblical toponym that has acquired various theological connotations, including as a place of divine punishment, in Jewish eschatology. The place is first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as part of the border ...

in the Hebrew Old Testament and called

Tartarus In Greek mythology, Tartarus (; ) is the deep abyss that is used as a dungeon of torment and suffering for the wicked and as the prison for the Titans. Tartarus is the place where, according to Plato's '' Gorgias'' (), souls are judged after ...

in the Greek New Testament). Raguel is not mentioned in the canonical writings of the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

. However, in ''

2 Enoch The Second Book of Enoch (abbreviated as 2 Enoch and also known as Slavonic Enoch, Slavic Enoch, or the Secrets of Enoch) is a pseudepigraphic text in the apocalyptic genre. It describes the ascent of the patriarch Enoch, ancestor of Noah, throug ...

'', which is generally considered non-canonical, the patriarch Enoch was carried as a mortal to and from

Heaven Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...

by the angels Raguel and

Sariel Sariel (Hebrew and Aramaic: שָׂרִיאֵל ''Śārīʾēl'', "God is my Ruler"; Greek: Σαριηλ ''Sariēl'', ''Souriēl''; Amharic: ሰራቁያል ''Säraquyael'', ሰረቃኤል ''Säräqael'') is an angel mainly from Judaic tradi ...

References

{{Authority control Archangels Angels in the Book of Enoch

See also

References