Angels in Jewish Mythology

518 myths · Page 3 of 18

The heavenly host in Jewish tradition: Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and the countless angels who serve as messengers, warriors, and guardians.
Parshat Beshalach 6 min

The Angel of God Turned Behind the Camp at the Sea

The angel moved from the front of the camp to the rear, set itself between Israel and Pharaoh's chariots, and a different Name rode with it.

AngelsExodusJudgmentDivine NamesDivine PresenceTheologyEgypt
Myth 5 min

Elijah Ascended to Heaven and Became the Angel Sandalphon

The fiery chariot took Elijah to heaven and that was not the end. He became Sandalphon, the angel who weaves Israel's prayers into garlands for God.

ElijahAngelsMessiahProphecySoulAdam EveParadiseTransformationMessianic
Myth 6 min

The Black Dog That Blocked Rabbi Ishmael's Mother Eight Times

A black dog blocked Rabbi Ishmael's mother eight times on the dark path from the bath. Then Gabriel came down to the door wearing her husband's face.

AngelsGabrielMiraclesPrenatalMagicWisdomMartyrdom
Myth 7 min

Joshua ben Levi and the Leap Over the Wall of Eden

Granted one final wish by Heaven, Joshua ben Levi asked to see his place in Eden, then took the angel's knife and leaped over the wall alive.

AfterlifeAngelsDeathParadiseHeavenMiraclesTzaddik
Myth 6 min

The Manna That Vanished Into the Limbs of Israel

Bread fell from heaven and Israel gorged like horses, but the manna left nothing behind. It vanished into their limbs and became them.

MannaWildernessMiraclesMosesTorahAngels
Myth 6 min

The Princes of Heaven Stood Before the Judge Who Exiled Adam

Adam broke one commandment and lost the Garden. The host of heaven, who never tasted hunger, still answers to the same Judge.

Adam EveJudgmentAngelsCreationDivine Justice
Myth 6 min

Adam Searched Cain's Face and Found Nothing of Himself

Adam searched Cain's face for his own likeness and found nothing. A hundred and thirty years passed before a son carried his image.

Adam EveAngelsGarden Of EdenSinCreation
Parshat Yitro 5 min

Every Word at Sinai Stopped Israel's Breath

At Sinai, every divine word drove Israel's soul from its body. Dew revived them, and angels carried them back to the mountain again.

SinaiTorahMosesAngelsRevelationCommandments
Parshat Yitro 5 min

Ha-Satan Searched Creation for the Hidden Torah

Moses came down from heaven with Torah, and Ha-Satan, the Accuser, could not find it. Earth, sea, depth, and death all denied him.

TorahMosesSinaiAngels
Myth 5 min

Metatron Outranked Every Angel and Still Kept the Name Youth

Metatron carried seventy names through heaven, but the name Youth kept the mighty angel tied to service, speed, and human memory.

AngelsEnochMetatronDivine ThroneHeaven
Myth 7 min

Rabbi Shimon Sent a Demon Into the Emperor's Palace in Rome

A Roman counselor found a way to repeal every decree against the Jews without losing face. He argued that the Sabbath would keep them poor.

DemonsMessiahExilePrayerEnd TimesAngels
Myth 5 min

Two Walls of Angels Cry Out for Souls at Gehinnom's Gate

Inside the gate the angel Dumah waits. A soul arriving there has to say aloud its own name, its father's house, and the sin that brought it there.

AfterlifeAngelsJudgmentGehinnomElijah
Myth 6 min

Moses Begged to Cross the Jordan as a Bird or a Fish

A voice out of heaven gave him five hours. He spent them offering trades: wings, fins, a cloud, and finally his own body in pieces.

MosesDeathPrayerAngelsJudgment
Parshat Vayetzei 5 min

Jacob Slept While Doeg's Slander Chased David

Doeg sent words after David like arrows. Jacob slept with a stone beneath his head, and heaven changed the guard above him.

JacobAngelsTorahTempleSin
Parshat Vayetzei 7 min

Laban Chased Jacob to Gilead and God Got There First

Jacob swore that whoever had taken Laban's gods would not live. He did not know his wife was sitting on them in a camel basket ten feet away.

JacobLabanRachelAngelsProtectionPatriarchsCreationHeaven
Parshat Vayera 5 min

Samael Failed to Stop Abraham and Isaac Twice

The voice on the road came dressed as pity. Old man, it said, will you really slaughter the son you got at a hundred? Abraham kept walking, so it tried Isaac.

SamaelAbrahamIsaacSacrificeAngels
Myth 5 min

Abraham's Dream by the Nile and What Pharaoh Paid for It

Men with axes came for the cedar, and the palm tree beside it spoke up for its own root. Abraham woke and told Sarah to call herself his sister.

AbrahamSarahEgyptAngelsPatriarchsDreams
Myth 5 min

Moses Defended the Torah Before the Angels Then Taught It Four Times

The Torah was black fire on white fire, and the angels called it theirs. Moses asked whether their fathers were in Egypt. Then they gave him gifts.

MosesTorahSinaiAngelsAaronTeachingLegends Of The Jews
Parshat Vayishlach 6 min

Jacob Wrestled All Night at Jabbok and Woke as Israel

Jacob crosses the Jabbok alone at night and struggles until dawn with a being who will not say its name but gives him a new one.

JacobPatriarchsIsraelWrestlingJubileesEsauTempleLegends Of The JewsMichaelAngelsHeavenly CourtGinzbergPrayerCovenantAngelJabbokPeniel
Myth 6 min

Moses Walked Through Seven Heavens and Came Back Changed

In the fifth heaven the angels were snow below and fire above, and the snow never melted. Higher up, Sandalfon was so vast that Moses lost his balance.

MosesAngelsHeavenSinaiTorah
Myth 8 min

Moses Drew a Circle on the Ground and Refused to Die

God ordered every gate in heaven shut, because the old man's prayer was cutting up through them like a sword and nothing could slow it down.

MosesDeathAngelsPrayerAfterlifeGinzbergCreation
Parshat Bereshit 5 min

The Seven Things Adam Lost When He Left the Garden

The angels nearly bowed to Adam, mistaking him for God. He was formed in the first hour and driven out by the twelfth. Then his skin stopped glowing.

AdamCreationParadiseExileKabbalahAngels
Myth 6 min

Jacob Was an Angel Who Came to Earth and Forgot

The angels who walked him out of his father's house climbed the ladder all night to compare his sleeping face against the one carved into the Throne.

JacobAngelsCreationIsraelIdentityWrestling
Myth 4 min

Moses Arrived in Heaven and the Angels Panicked

Thirty thousand angels escorted Moses through the heavens to receive the Torah. The escort was not an honor guard. It was crowd control.

MosesHeavenAngelsTorahAscentMetatron
Myth 6 min

God Destroyed Two Angel Armies to Create One Human

Two whole companies were gone before Boel's turn came. He pulled his own host aside and told them exactly what to say when the question reached them.

AdamAngelsCreationBook Of RazielFirst Man
Myth 5 min

Jacob's Face Was Engraved on the Throne and the Angels Sang His Name

He was a fugitive sleeping on a stone. Overhead, the angels were already praising God by his name, and what he saw woke him in fear.

JacobPatriarchsHeavenDivine ThroneAngelsLadder
Parshat Vayera 7 min

Three Angels at Abraham's Tent Each Carried One Task

God pierced a hole into Gehinnom (afterlife of judgment) that morning to make the heat unbearable. Then He told the angels they were all going down to visit a.

AbrahamAngelsSodomHospitalityBinding Of IsaacPatriarchsWorshipHonorTorahTargum Pseudo JonathanGenesisJacobLaban
Myth 5 min

Elijah Sold Himself and Built a Palace Overnight

A poor father prayed for death instead of hunger. Elijah appeared, let himself be sold for eighty denarii, and turned bondage into rescue.

ElijahAngelsMiraclesTzedakahAngel Of Death
Parshat Bereshit 6 min

The Angels Nearly Called Adam Holy and God Stopped Them

The ministering angels were one breath from crying Holy over the new man, using the word kept for God alone. God put Adam to sleep in front of them.

AdamEveAngelsCreationDivine NamesGarden Of Eden
Myth 5 min

Moses Learned God's Secret Name and the Angels Panicked

God taught Moses the Ineffable Name. When the angels understood what a human being now carried, they turned on him. Moses spoke the name. The angels froze.

MosesAngelsIneffable NameMessiahPromised Land