According to the Babylonian
Talmud, Raphael (
Rəfāʾēl,
Tiberian:
Răp̄āʾēl) was one of the three angels who appeared to
Abraham in the oak grove of
Mamre in the region of
Hebron (Genesis 18; Bava Metzia 86b);
Michael, as the greatest, walked in the middle, with
Gabriel to his right, and Raphael to his left (Yoma 37a). Each was commanded to carry out a specific mission, Gabriel to destroy
Sodom, Michael to inform
Sarah that she would give birth to
Isaac, Raphael to heal Abraham from his recent
circumcision and save
Lot.
Rashi writes, "Although Raphael's mission included two tasks, they were considered a single mission since they were both acts that saved people." The
Life of Adam and Eve lists him with the archangels Michael, Gabriel,
Uriel, and Joel, and the medieval
Jewish philosopher Maimonides included his name in his
Jewish angelic hierarchy. In
Midrash Konen, it is revealed that Raphael was originally once named Libbiel (
Hebrew: לִבִּיאֵל
Lībbīʾēl; Meaning: "God is my heart"). In the Midrash,
God takes council with His
Angels before he creates
Adam the first Man. The Angels were not all of one opinion however, with differing views and reasons. The Angel of Love and Angel of Justice both favoured Man's creation as he would be affectionate and loving, alongside practicing Justice. The Angel of Truth and the Angel of Peace opposed his creation however, as he would be full of lies and be quarrelsome. To invalidate his protest, God cast the Angel of Truth down from Heaven to Earth, and when the others cried out against the treatment of their companion, He said, "Truth will spring back out of the earth." Before their objections, God had only told the Angels of the good there would be among Humans, but not of the evil too. Despite not knowing the whole truth, the Angels were nevertheless prompted to cry out: "What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that Thou visitest him?" God replied: "The fowl of the air and the fish of the sea, what were they created for? Of what avail a larder full of appetizing dainties, and no guest to enjoy them?" And the Angels could not but exclaim: "O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth! Do as is pleasing in Thy sight." For not a few of the Angels their opposition bore fatal consequences. When God summoned the band under the Archangel Michael, and asked their opinion on the creation of man, they answered scornfully: "What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that Thou visitest him?" God thereupon stretched forth His little finger, and all were consumed by fire except their Chief Michael. And the same fate befell the band under the leadership of the Archangel Gabriel; he alone of all was saved from destruction. The third band consulted was commanded by the Archangel Libbiel. Taught by the horrible fate of his predecessors, he warned his troop: "You have seen what misfortune overtook the Angels who said 'What is man, that Thou art mindful of him?' Let us have a care not to do likewise, lest we suffer the same dire punishment. For God will not refrain from doing in the end what He has planned. Therefore it is advisable for us to yield to His wishes." Thus warned, the Angels spoke: "Lord of the world, it is well that Thou hast thought of creating man. Do Thou create him according to Thy will. And as for us, we will be his attendants and his ministers, and reveal unto him all our secrets." Thereupon God changed the Archangel Libbiel's name to Raphael, the Rescuer, because his Host of Angels had been rescued by his sage advice. He was appointed the Angelic Prince of Healing, who has in his safe-keeping all the celestial remedies, the types of the medical remedies used on Earth. In the
Midrash Tanhuma,
Satan becomes envious of the righteous R. Matthew bar Heresh after seeing him sitting occupied in
Torah study, without looking at anyone's wife or any other woman. Believing it to be impossible for a righteous man to exist in the world without sin, Satan asks
God how He views Rabbi Matthew; He sees him as completely righteous. Satan then asks for permission to test R. Matthew, which is granted to him. Satan then takes the form of a beautiful woman upon finding the
Rabbi studying Torah. After seeing that Satan would continue to try and tempt him from all sides; he used hot pins to blind himself lest his
evil inclination prevail. Satan then trembled in dismay and reported back to God. Immediately upon hearing this, God called Raphael, Prince of the Healing Arts, commanding him to heal the eyes of R. Matthew bar Heresh. When Raphael goes to R. Matthew and reveals his identity and mission, the Rabbi states that he does not wish to be healed. Raphael then returns to God informing Him of this. Upon hearing this God commands Raphael to tell the Rabbi not to fear, for his evil inclination will not prevail. When he heard this from the mouth of the angel, he accepted his healing and was not afraid. In Rabbeinu Bahya, a commentary on the Torah written by
Rabbi Bahya ben Asher (1255–1340), the Camp of
Ephraim, situated to the west of the
Tabernacle (Numbers 2:18), corresponded to the celestial camp headed by the archangel Raphael supported by the angels Zavdiel and Achziel. It is also said that this was the camp that
Moses alluded to when he prayed that
Miriam be healed from her
tzaraath by saying "please God heal her" (Numbers 12:13). He appealed to the attribute represented by Raphael. It is said in
Kav HaYashar by Rabbi
Tzvi Hirsch Kaidanover (1648–1712), that when the angels appointed to bring infirmity and sickness upon people behold the angel Raphael, they take fright and flee. Then Raphael extends healing to the invalid. In the Beginning of Wisdom, an introduction to
kabbalistic thought composed by Rabbi Aharon Meir Altshuler (1835–1905) in
Warsaw between 1887–1893; Raphael is said to correspond to the
Sephirah of
Tiphereth (Beauty). He is said to act as an intermediate conduct between
Chesed (Kindness) corresponding to
Michael, and
Din (Judgement) corresponding to
Gabriel.
Uriel (alternatively named
Nuriel) is also said to act as an intermediate conduct alongside Raphael. It is further explained that when he inclines toward Chesed he is called Uriel, but when he inclines toward Din he is called Nuriel. In the same context, the
Sefer HaBahir calls Raphael the "Prince of Peace" (
Hebrew: שַׂר־שָׁלוֹם
Śar Šālōm). The text states that his reconciliation between Michael, the prince to God's right, and Gabriel, the prince to God's left is the meaning of the verse, "He imposes peace in His heights" (Job 25:2). With Raphael being the Archangel of Air that establishes peace between Fire and Water. In kabbalistic
astrology, Raphael is most commonly associated with the
Sun (alongside Michael) and the planet
Mercury. The
Zohar also associates him with the image of man in the
tetramorph of the four holy
living creatures of the Prophet
Ezekiel's vision, alongside the
zodiac sign of
Aquarius, and in relation to the image of man; the Sephirah of
Malkhuth (Kingdom) and the
Earth. As well as Tiphereth and Malkhuth, the Zohar also has Raphael corresponding to the Sephirah of
Hod (Majesty), the
Euphrates river (
Hebrew: פְרָת
Pərāt,
Tiberian:
Părāṯ; the fourth river of
Eden in
Genesis) the left leg of the body, and the
Israelite Tribe of
Ephraim. The text states: "The fourth (river) is Hod (Majesty), the "left leg" (referred to in what was said of
Jacob, that "he halted on his left thigh"), and from it shall drink the camp of Raphael, whose mission is to heal the ills of the captivity, and with it the tribe of Ephraim and his two accompanying tribes (
Manasseh and
Benjamin)." This practice is also referred to in
Rebbe Nachman of Breslov's (1772–1810) Likutei Etzot. In this work, he refers to the invocation of the Four
Archangels as "
binding the chariot". ==Christianity==