Archangel Raphael
Archangel Raphael (/ˈræfiəl/, "God has healed") is an archangel first mentioned in the Book of Tobit and in the Book of Enoch, both estimated to date from between the 3rd and 2nd century BCE.
In later Jewish tradition, he became identified as one of the three heavenly visitors entertained by Abraham at the Oak of Mamre. He is not named in either the New Testament or the Quran, but later Christian tradition identified him with healing and as the angel who stirred waters in the Pool of Bethesda in John 5:2–4, and in Islam, where his name is Israfil, he is understood to be the unnamed angel of Quran 6:73, standing eternally with a trumpet to his lips, ready to announce the Day of Judgment.
Raphael is said to guard pilgrims on their journeys, and he is often depicted holding a staff. He is also often depicted holding or standing on a fish, which alludes to his healing of Tobit with the fish's gall. Early mosaics often show him and the other archangels in the clothing of a Byzantine courtier.
Name
His name derives from the Hebrew root רפא (r-p-ʾ) meaning "to heal," and can be translated as "God has healed." In Tobit he goes by the name Azariah (Hebrew: עֲזַרְיָה/עֲזַרְיָהוּ ʿĂzaryāh/ʿĂzaryāhū, "Yah/Yahu has helped") while disguising himself as a human. Raphael was once named Libbiel (Hebrew: לִבִּיאֵל Lībbīʾēl; Meaning: "God is my heart").
Abilities
Raphael acts as a physician and is capable of expelling demons. He is recorded as using an extraordinary fish to bind the demon Asmodeus and to heal Tobit's eyes, while in the Book of Enoch, he is "set over all disease and every wound of the children of the people." He further binds the armies of Azazel and throws them into the valley of fire.
Biblical history
In the Bible, Raphael was one of the three angels who appeared to Abraham in the oak grove of Mamre in the region of Hebron (Genesis 18). Archangel Michael, as the greatest, walked in the middle, with Archangel 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.
The New Testament names only two archangels or angels, Michael and Gabriel (Luke 1:9–26; Jude 1:9; Revelation 12:7), but Raphael, because of his association with healing, became identified with the unnamed angel of John 5:1–4 who periodically stirred the pool of Bethesda "[a]nd he that went down first into the pond after the motion of the water was made whole of whatsoever infirmity he lay under". The Catholic Church accordingly links Raphael with Michael and Gabriel as saints whose intercession can be sought through prayer.
Occult traditions
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 Raphael corresponds to the Sephirah of Hod (Majesty).
Raphael rules over the day Wednesday.
It is also customary in Judaism to invoke Raphael as one of the Four Archangels after one recites the Shema before going to bed; with Michael by your right side, Gabriel by your left side, Uriel before you, and Raphael behind you.
Appearances on earth
The Archangel Raphael is said to have appeared in Cordova, Spain, during the 16th century; in response to the city's appeal, Pope Innocent X allowed the local celebration of a feast in the Archangel's honor on May 7, the date of the principal apparition. Saint John of God, founder of the Hospital order that bears his name, is also said to have received visitations from Saint Raphael, who encouraged and instructed him. In tribute to this, many of the Brothers Hospitallers of St. John of God's facilities are called “Raphael Centers” to this day.
The 18th century Neapolitan nun, Saint Maria Francesca of the Five Wounds is also said to have seen apparitions of Raphael.