Sandalphon is a great angel of the divine chariot in rabbinic and mystical lore. The Talmud describes him as standing behind the Merkabah, taller than his fellow angels by the span of a five-hundred-year journey, binding crowns for his Maker. From this the aggadah develops his role as the angel who gathers the prayers of Israel, weaves them into a garland, and adjures the wreath to rise and settle upon the head of God. Later Kabbalistic angelology links him closely with Metatron, sometimes as his twin or brother, the two of them counted the loftiest of the heavenly host. Sources differ on the origin and meaning of his Greek-sounding name.