Archangel Gabriel: The Revealer: Angels Of Jewish Lore (Part 8): Angelology

Gabriel, the power of God, the revealer, the angelic enunciator, the prince of truth, the angel of resurrection, the spirit of peace and of mercy. It is he who is lord over the moon, the benign spirit of aspirations and dreams, he who rules over the element of water. He is the governor of the first heaven, the chief ruling prince of the order of angels, the lord of the angelic guards over paradise. The Zohar calls him the supervisor of dreams, Beritz Magus calls him the ruler of the martyrs, the eleventh order of the blessed spirits, and the Kabbalah calls him the angel of Yesod, the foundation of the Sephiroth. He is the angel of the north and of the north wind, the ruling prince of Mondays and of the month of January. Gabriel originated from the law of the Babylonians. To the Ethiopians, he is known as Gadril. To the Muslims, he is known as Jabril, the angel with 140 pairs of wings, who dictated the Koran to the prophet Muhammad. And to the Persians, he is known as Sofush, the mighty messenger and punisher. The Persian magi would always tell the story of warning, that on the day of judgment, the two angels, Sofush and Mithra, will stand on the bridge of Al-Sirat. Two angels, Gabriel and Metatron, will stand on the bridge of Al-Sirat, a bridge finer than a strand of hair, and sharper than the edge of a sword. There, will they await the souls of the dead, to examine every one of them crossing. Mithra shall hold the scale in his hands, Metatron shall hold the scale in his hands, and with it, he shall weigh the deeds wrought by a soul during their lifetime. If found worthy, the soul shall be allowed into paradise, and if unclean, they shall be passed on to Sofush, passed on to Gabriel, who shall then cast them into the fires of hell. If one didn't look closely, one would take Gabriel to be a female archangel, for he has a face so beautiful and feminine, with long flowing locks of golden hair, and often carrying a trumpet when he is not wielding a sword. He is the angelic governor of the zodiac sign Aquarius, or the water-bearer, and is one of the seventy amulet angels invoked during childbirth. In the Talmud called Sotar, Gabriel is said to be a genius of languages, for he taught Joseph seventy languages overnight. And in the traditions of the Jews, he is one of the subordinate princes of death under Metatron, presiding specifically over the lives of young adults. Gabriel was the angel who appeared to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the burning furnace, protecting them from the merciless flames. He was the angel who punished the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, dealing death and destruction to their cities. He was the angel who facilitated the coronation of Esther as queen, by inspiring Queen Vashti's refusal to appear naked before King Ahasuerus and his guests. It was he who announced the birth of Christ, the virgin Mary's god-child. Although a proficient and prominent angel, Gabriel's battle skills are neither as excellent as that of Michael, nor are they as flawless as that of Metatron, for he does not fare well against powerful opponents in combat. He is known to have been defeated more than once, both by the fellow angel, Tobiel, and the great Egyptian mages, Janus and Jombas. Perhaps, it matters not, for he is not by nature a warrior angel, and the battlefields are not where his primary duties lie.