Raziel
Jewish mythology (rabbinic–kabbalistic) · numen · Jewish mythology (rabbinic–kabbalistic) traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
Raziel, 'the secret of God', is the angel of hidden knowledge in Jewish mystical tradition. He stands close by the divine throne, where he overhears and records all that is decreed, and is keeper of the mysteries of creation. Legend holds that after the expulsion from Eden he took pity on Adam and gave him a book engraved with the secrets of the heavens, medicine and the ordering of time, which passed down through Enoch, Noah and Solomon. This tradition gave rise to the medieval grimoire Sefer Raziel HaMalakh, a compendium of practical Kabbalah bearing his name.
Domains
- wisdom secrets
Powers
- keeps the secrets of creation
- delivers the book of mysteries to Adam
Epithets
- מַלְאַךְ הַסּוֹדוֹת — angel of secretsGershom Scholem, Kabbalah (1974), p. 187 (secondary)
Sources
- Raziel is the angel of divine secrets who stands by the throne of God and revealed to Adam a book of hidden knowledge, the eponymous Sefer Raziel HaMalakh.: Sefer Raziel HaMalakh (Amsterdam, 1701) (primary); Gershom Scholem, Kabbalah (Keter, 1974), pp. 186-187 (secondary); Howard Schwartz, Tree of Souls (Oxford University Press, 2004), pp. 116, 526 (secondary)