Names and angels

On this page Divine names

Divine names 4
Angels 4
Words of the Cross 6

Divine names

IHVH

Yod He Vau He

יהוה

The four-letter name; the translations write “the LORD”.

Liber O spells it letter by letter, I H V H, and tells the reader to pronounce it “Ye-ho-wau”. The Golden Dawn's text has the four letters' names vibrated instead. The disagreement is set out with the pentagram ritual.

Where the spelling and meaning come from (2)

Hebrew: יהוה canonical

The Masoretic text writes the four consonants with the vowels of Adonai, as a sign that Adonai is read in its place.

יְהֹוָ֞ה אֱלֹהֵ֣י אֲבֹתֵיכֶ֗ם … זֶה־שְּׁמִ֣י לְעֹלָ֔ם

Miqra according to the Masorah · 2013 · Exodus 3:15 ↗

The LORD, the God of your fathers … this is My name for ever, and this is My memorial unto all generations.

The Holy Scriptures: A New Translation · 1917 · Exodus 3:15 ↗

Meaning: The personal name of the God of Israel, read aloud as Adonai traditional

the so-called Tetragrammaton, Yhwh, the distinctive personal name of the God of Israel

Names of God entry, 1905 · 1905 · Biblical Data: YHWH ↗

when the Tetragram became too holy for utterance Adonai was substituted for it

Adonai entry, 1901 · 1901 · Pronunciation ↗

Spoken in Banishing Pentagram, Invoking Pentagram.

ADNI

Adonai

אדני

“My Lord” — the word read aloud in place of the four-letter name.

Where the spelling and meaning come from (2)

Hebrew: אֲדֹנָי canonical

אַתָּה גִבּוֹר לְעוֹלָם אֲדֹנָי

The Metsudah Siddur (Hebrew text) · 1981 · Amidah, second blessing (“Divine Might”) ↗

Meaning: “My Lord” traditional

literally "my Lord," the plural form of Adon, that is, "Lord" or "Lordship"

Adonai entry, 1901 · 1901 · entry heading ↗

אֲדֹנִי, אֲדֹנַי, אֲדֹנָי are variations of Mass. pointing to distinguish divine reference fr. human

A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament · 1906 · s.v. אָדוֹן ↗

Spoken in Banishing Pentagram, Invoking Pentagram.

AHIH

Eheieh

אהיה

“I AM” — the name given to Moses at the burning bush.

Where the spelling and meaning come from (2)

Hebrew: אֶהְיֶה canonical

אֶֽהְיֶ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר אֶֽהְיֶ֑ה

Miqra according to the Masorah · 2013 · Exodus 3:14 ↗

Meaning: “I AM” canonical

And God said unto Moses: ‘I AM THAT I AM’; and He said: ‘Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel: I AM hath sent me unto you.’

The Holy Scriptures: A New Translation · 1917 · Exodus 3:14 ↗

Spoken in Banishing Pentagram, Invoking Pentagram.

AGLA

Agla

אגלא

The initials of Atah gibor le-olam, Adonai: “Thou, O Lord, art mighty for ever”.

Where the spelling and meaning come from (2)

Hebrew: א ג ל א — the first letters of אַתָּה גִבּוֹר לְעוֹלָם אֲדֹנָי canonical

AGLA is not a word but four initials, so its Hebrew is the line it abbreviates.

אַתָּה גִבּוֹר לְעוֹלָם אֲדֹנָי מְחַיֵּה מֵתִים אַתָּה רַב לְהוֹשִֽׁיעַ

The Metsudah Siddur (Hebrew text) · 1981 · Amidah, second blessing (“Divine Might”) ↗

Meaning: “Thou, O Lord, art mighty for ever” — the first four words of the Amidah's second blessing traditional

A cabalistic sign used as a talisman. It is a combination of the initial letters of "Attah Gibbor Le'olam Adonai," the first four words of the second benediction of Shemoneh 'Esreh

AGLA entry, 1901 · 1901 · entry ↗

Thou, O Lord, art mighty for ever, thou quickenest the dead, thou art mighty to save.

The Standard Prayer Book · 1915 · p. 54 (the weekday Amidah) ↗

the four letters A G L A inscribed upon wooden dishes, together with Christian crosses, were used as a talisman against fire, the letters being said to signify: Allmächtiger Gott, Lösche Aus ("Almighty God, extinguish the flames")

A second reading, made in German, which shows the letters travelling without the prayer behind them.

AGLA entry, 1901 · 1901 · entry, on Güdemann ↗

Spoken in Banishing Pentagram, Invoking Pentagram.

Angels

Raphael

רפאל

The angel of healing, “as his name implies”.

Raphael on the Tree →

Where the spelling and meaning come from (2)

Hebrew: רְפָאֵל canonical

In the Hebrew Bible the name is a man's, a Levite gatekeeper. As an angel's name it stands in Tobit and 1 Enoch.

עׇ֠תְנִ֠י וּרְפָאֵ֨ל

Miqra according to the Masorah · 2013 · 1 Chronicles 26:7 ↗

The word occurs as a personal name in I Chron. xxvi. 7 (A. V. and R. V. "Rephael"), but it is not found as the name of an angel in the canonical books, as are the names of Michael and Gabriel.

Raphael entry, 1906 · 1906 · entry ↗

Meaning: The angel of healing, “as his name implies” traditional

Raphael, as his name implies, is the angel of healing diseases and wounds (Enoch, xc. 9)

Raphael entry, 1906 · 1906 · One of the Seven Archangels ↗

Spoken in Banishing Pentagram, Invoking Pentagram.

Gabriel

גבריאל

“Man of God” — or, in Jastrow, “Divine Strength”.

Gabriel on the Tree →

Where the spelling and meaning come from (2)

Hebrew: גַּבְרִיאֵל canonical

גַּבְרִיאֵ֕ל הָבֵ֥ן לְהַלָּ֖ז אֶת־הַמַּרְאֶֽה

Miqra according to the Masorah · 2013 · Daniel 8:16 ↗

‘Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.’

The Holy Scriptures: A New Translation · 1917 · Daniel 8:16 ↗

Meaning: “Man of God”, or “Divine Strength” contested

The dictionaries read the first half of the name differently. Both readings are given; neither is chosen.

n.pr.m. (man of Ēl) an archangel Dn 8:16; 9:21

A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament · 1906 · s.v. גַּבְרִיאֵל ↗

Γαβριήλ, "man of God"

Gabriel entry, 1906 · 1906 · entry heading ↗

Gabriel, name of an angel (Divine Strength).

A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature · 1903 · s.v. גַּבְרִיאֵל ↗

Spoken in Banishing Pentagram, Invoking Pentagram.

Michael

מיכאל

“Who is like God?” — a question, not a statement.

Michael on the Tree →

Where the spelling and meaning come from (2)

Hebrew: מִיכָאֵל canonical

וְהִנֵּ֣ה מִֽיכָאֵ֗ל אַחַ֛ד הַשָּׂרִ֥ים הָרִאשֹׁנִ֖ים

Miqra according to the Masorah · 2013 · Daniel 10:13 ↗

but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me

The Holy Scriptures: A New Translation · 1917 · Daniel 10:13 ↗

Meaning: “Who is like God?” traditional

Michael, 𝔊 Μειχαηλ, Μιχαηλ (Who is like God? cf. מִיכָיָהוּ, and Assyrian proper names, as Mannu-kî-Rammân, ‘Who is like Rammân?’

A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament · 1906 · s.v. מִיכָאֵל ↗

The signification of the name (= "Who is like El"?) was recognized by the Talmudists

Michael entry, 1906 · 1906 · Biblical Data ↗

Spoken in Banishing Pentagram, Invoking Pentagram.

Auriel

Uriel

אוריאל

“Flame of God” or “my light is God” — or, the Jewish Encyclopedia insists, “the fire of God”.

Liber O and the Golden Dawn spell him Auriel; the Hebrew Bible, where the name is a man's, and the Jewish Encyclopedia spell him Uriel. He is the only one of the four the Tree does not carry.

Where the spelling and meaning come from (3)

Hebrew: אוּרִיאֵל canonical

In the Hebrew Bible Uriel is a man's name, a Levite. The angel is named in 1 Enoch and 2 Esdras, which survive in other languages, so this is the name's Hebrew spelling rather than the angel's own attestation.

תַּ֤חַת בְּנוֹ֙ אוּרִיאֵ֣ל בְּנ֔וֹ

Miqra according to the Masorah · 2013 · 1 Chronicles 6:9 ↗

Tahath his son, Uriel his son, Uzziah his son, and Shaul his son.

The Holy Scriptures: A New Translation · 1917 · 1 Chronicles 6:9 ↗

Meaning: “Flame of God” or “my light is God” — or “the fire of God”, and not light contested

The Hebrew word the Jewish Encyclopedia prints at each ellipsis is set as an image on its site and could not be quoted.

n.pr.m. (flame of Ēl or my light is Ēl

A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament · 1906 · s.v. אוּרִיאֵל ↗

a demand closely connected in concept with the name "Uriel" (= "the fire of God"), for its derivation from … (= "light of God," "glory of God" …) is erroneous

The Jewish Encyclopedia rejects the reading from light that BDB offers as one of two.

contradicts Uriel entry, 1906 · 1906 · entry ↗

Later authorities, however, brought his name into association with … (= "light"), misled in part by the legend that Uriel instructed (enlightened) Ezra.

Uriel entry, 1906 · 1906 · entry ↗

Note: One of the four chief angels who “preside over the four quarters” traditional

Of the four chief angels, Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel, who preside over the four quarters of the globe (Jensen, "Kosmologie der Babylonier," p. 163), and who are frequently grouped together, Uriel is generally, but not invariably, mentioned last

Uriel entry, 1906 · 1906 · entry ↗

Spoken in Banishing Pentagram, Invoking Pentagram.