Egyptian-Hebrew stream·The Book of Enoch (1 Enoch)·Book I — Book of the Watchers·Chapter IX — Intercession of the Four Archangels
Michael, Uriel, Raphael, Gabriel cry to the Most High
The four archangels bring before the Most High the lamentation of the souls of the perished. They name the corruption: the Watchers' descent, the teaching of forbidden arts, the blood that cries from the earth.
Source context
- Theme
- Intercession of the archangels Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and Gabriel before the throne of God on behalf of humanity's suffering under the Watchers
- Soul-faculty
- Sentient Soul
Steiner
not engaged in the GA corpus
Cross-tradition
- Kabbalistic angelologyThe four archangels as throne-attendants and cosmic intercessors — each assigned a cardinal direction and a sphere of human welfare — shows cross-tradition congruence with Kabbalistic hierarchies of the Merkabah tradition, where Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel stand at the four faces of the divine chariot.
- Zoroastrian Amesha SpentasThe functional differentiation of the four archangels as guardians of distinct domains (healing, judgment, moisture/earth, fire) shows cross-tradition congruence with the Zoroastrian Amesha Spentas, six beneficent immortals each presiding over a distinct cosmic sphere.
- Mesopotamian intercession theologyThe dramatic structure of lesser divine beings ascending to report human suffering to a supreme deity and await remedial decree shows cross-tradition congruence with Babylonian lamentation liturgies in which personal gods intercede at the assembly of the great gods.
Chapter IX
CHAPTER IX.
1And then Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and Gabriel looked down from heaven and saw much blood being shed upon the earth, and all lawlessness being wrought upon the earth. 2. And they said one to another: 'The earth made †without inhabitant cries the voice of their crying† up to the gates of heaven. 3 ⌈⌈And now to you, the holy ones of heaven⌉⌉, the souls of men make their suit, saying, "Bring our cause before the Most High.".' 4. And they said to the Lord **of the ages**: 'Lord of lords, God of gods, King of kings, 〈and God of the ages〉, the throne of Thy glory (standeth) unto all the generations of the ages, and Thy name holy and glorious and blessed unto all the ages! 5. Thou hast made all things, and power over all things hast Thou: and all things are naked and open in Thy sight, and Thou seest all things, and nothing can hide itself from Thee. 6. Thou seest what Azâzêl hath done, who hath taught all unrighteousness on earth and revealed the eternal secrets which were (preserved) in heaven, which men were striving to **learn**: 7. And Semjâzâ, to whom Thou hast given authority to bear rule over his associates. 8. And they have gone to the daughters of men upon the earth, and have slept with the women, and have defiled themselves, and revealed to them all kinds of sins. 9. And the women have borne giants, and the whole earth has thereby been filled with blood and unrighteousness. 10. And now, behold, the souls of those who have died are crying and making their suit to the gates of heaven, and their lamentations have ascended: and cannot **cease** because of the lawless deeds which are wrought on the earth. 11. And Thou knowest all things before they come to pass, and
[paragraph continues] Thou seest these things and Thou dost suffer them, and Thou dost not say to us what we are to do to them in regard to these.'
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