The angel Jophiel (Heb. יוֹפִיאֵל Yōp̄īʾēl, "Beauty of God"),[1][2] also called Iophiel, Iofiel, Jofiel, Yofiel, Youfiel, Zophiel (צֹפִיאֵל Ṣōp̄īʾēl, "God is my watchman")[3] and Zuriel (צוּרִיאֵל Ṣūrīʾēl, "God is my rock"),[4] is an archangel in Christian and Jewish angelology. Jophiel is associated with beauty, art, and wisdom.
Jophiel | |
|---|---|
 Sanctus Jophiel, stained-glass window at St Michael's Church, Brighton, England. | |
| Archangel | |
| Venerated in | Judaism, Anglicanism |
| Feast | 29 September |
| Attributes | Flaming sword |
| Patronage | Art, artists |
Beliefs in religions and ceremonial magic
editAccording to the pseudepigraphal Revelation of Moses, another name for Jophiel is Dina (Hebrew: דִּינָה Dīnā, "Judgement").[7] In the text, Jophiel/Dina is described as an angel of the seventh heaven, a Cabalistic guardian of the Torah (and wisdom itself), who taught 70 languages to souls at the dawn of creation.[8] The Zohar lists Jophiel as a Great Angel Chief in charge of 53 legions who superintend Torah-readings on the Sabbath.[9] Jophiel is said to be a companion to the angel Metatron.[6]
C. E. Clement, in her book Angels in Art, names Jophiel as the teacher of Ham, Japheth, and Shem.[6] Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa[10] and Thomas Rudd likewise name Jophiel as the teacher of Shem.[11]
In the Anglican tradition, Jophiel is recognized as an archangel. Jophiel is often depicted in iconography holding a flaming sword,[note 1] such as the stained glasses at St Michael's Church in Brighton, St Peter and St John's Church in Kirkley,[12] Holy Trinity Church in Coventry,[13] and a mural at St. John's Episcopal Church in Memphis, Tennessee.[14]
Jophiel is an Archangel of the Kabbalah (although some systems put Raziel in Jophiel’s place) and in several listings, including that of the early medieval theologian Pseudo-Dionysus.[15] The Calendarium Naturale Magicum Perpetuum lists Jophiel as the angel of the Sephira Binah,[16] as do the Key of Solomon variant "The Veritable Clavicles of Solomon,"[17] and the Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses,[18] both latter works derived from the Calendarium.[19] Agrippa attributes Jophiel to Saturn, while Paracelsus assigns Jophiel to Jupiter.[6] Rudd attributes the Zodiac to Jophiel[20] along with the Sephira Binah instead of Zaphkiel.[21] Athanasius Kircher names Jophiel as Angelus pulchritudinis, "angel of beauty".[22] According to Robert Ambelain, Jophiel is in charge of the Cherubim, particularly the Shemhamphorasch angels Haziel, Aladiah, Lauviah, Hahaiah, Iezalel, Mehahel, Hariel, and Hakamiah.[23]
In John Milton’s epic poem, Paradise Lost, the Archangel Jophiel is depicted as the “cherubim with the swiftest wings.”
See also
edit- List of angels in theology
- Yufin-Yufafin in Mandaeism
Notes
edit2. Angels and ‘angelic entities’ are traditionally neither specifically male or female (note: when Jophiel/Zophiel is historically referenced, the gender is universally most often female, not male).
References
edit- ^ "Strong's Hebrew Concordance - 3308. yophi".
- ^ "Inflection of יוֹפִי". Pealim.
- ^ "Strong's Hebrew Concordance - 6822. ṣō·w·p̄eh".
- ^ "Strong's Hebrew Concordance - 6697. ṣū·rî".
- ^ Lawrence, Robert M. (1898), The Magic of the Horse-Shoe, With Other Folk-Lore Notes, Chapter III: The Number Seven at sacred-texts.com
- ^ a b c d Davidson, Gustav (1967), A Dictionary of Angels, Including The Fallen Angels, Entry: Iofiel, Free Press, p. 150, Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 66-19757, ISBN 9780029070505
- ^ "Strong's Hebrew Concordance - 1783. Dinah".
- ^ Gaster, Moses (1893), "Hebrew Visions of Hell and Paradise," in the Journal of The Royal Asiatic Society, p. 579, at www.sacred-texts.com
- ^ Davidson, Gustav (1967), A Dictionary of Angels, Including The Fallen Angels, Entry: Iofiel, Free Press, p. 320, Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 66-19757, ISBN 9780029070505
- ^ Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, Three Books of Occult Philosophy, Book III, Part 1, ed. Joseph Peterson, hosted at Twilit Grotto Esoteric Archives.
- ^ A Treatise on Angel Magic, by Thomas Rudd, ed. Adam McLean, p.25 & 204, (two editions):
- Phanes Press, 1990
- Red Wheel/Weiser, 2006
- ^ K, Simon (17 September 2009). "Kempe: Jophiel". flickr.com. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
- ^ Glass Angel (2011). "Coventry - Holy Trinity Church". flickr.com. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
- ^ "Christ Triumphant (High Altar)". www.stjohnsmemphis.org. Archived from the original on 23 June 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
- ^ Davidson, Gustav (1967), A Dictionary of Angels, Including The Fallen Angels, Appendix, Free Press, p. 338, Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 66-19757, ISBN 9780029070505
- ^ The Magical Calendar, by Johann Baptist Grossschedel (two editions):
- ed. Adam McLean, Phanes Press, 1994, p. 91;
- ed. Joseph Peterson, hosted at Twilit Grotto Esoteric Archives
- ^ The Veritable Clavicles of Solomon, anonymous, ed. Joseph Peterson, hosted at Twilit Grotto Esoteric Archives
- ^ The Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses (part 2), anonymous, ed. Joseph Peterson, hosted at Twilit Grotto Esoteric Archives
- ^ The Magical Calendar, Peterson edition introduction
- ^ Rudd, McLean, pp.100 (2006 ed), p.101 (1990 ed)
- ^ Rudd, McLean, p.204 (1990, 2006)
- ^ "Cabala Hebraeorum" in Oedipus Aegyptiacus, by Athanasius Kircher, ed. Joseph Peterson, hosted at Twilit Grotto Esoteric Archives
- ^ The Complete Magician's Tables, by Stephen Skinner, Golden Hoard Press, 2006, p.41
Further reading
edit- Fischer, Lynn (1996), Angels of Love and Light [with original paintings of the Seven Beloved Archangels and Their Archeiai by Marius Michael-George], Transformational Media Publications, South Yarmouth, MA
- "Jophiel," Pearls of Wisdom, Volume 7 Number 43, 1994, The Summit Lighthouse, Copyright © 1997 Church Universal and Triumphant
- "Seven Beloved Archangels Speak," 1954, The Bridge to Freedom