Raphael in Jewish Mythology

11 myths

Each story names the sources it was written from.

Myth 4 min

Two Prayers Reached the Throne at the Same Moment

Tobit prayed for death in Nineveh. Sarah prayed for death in Media. Both prayers reached the throne of glory at once, and one angel answered them both.

TobitSarahRaphaelPrayerAngelsHealingGodBlindnessExile
Myth 5 min

Raphael Unmasks Himself at the Edge of Heaven

They set half the silver in front of the guide who had walked every mile. He told them to bless God, then said he had never swallowed.

RaphaelAngelsTobitApocryphaRevelationDivine
Myth 6 min

Obyzouth Faced Solomon and Named Raphael as the Angel Who Stops Her

She was a woman's head with no body, hair hanging wild. She told Solomon to wash his hands before he asked her name. He got up and washed.

ObyzouthSolomonRaphaelDemonsProtectionTemple
Parshat Vayera 4 min

How Tobiyyah Tried to Pay an Angel Half His Fortune

Tobiyyah offers the man who guided him home half the silver he carried, and the man refuses, then names himself one of the seven.

Book Of TobitTobitRaphaelAngelsTobiyyahHospitality
Parshat Vayechi 6 min

Matia ben Heresh Burns Out His Eyes Against Satan's Temptation

Satan built a face no man could resist and set it in the rabbi's doorway, so Matya took white-hot nails and burned out his own eyes.

SatanRaphaelYetzer HaraSelf SacrificeMatia Ben HereshTemptationMidrashMatiaEyesDiscipline
Myth 7 min

The Stranger Who Walked Tobias to Media Was an Angel

Tobias went looking for a road guide to distant Media and hired a traveler named Azariah, never guessing the man was an angel.

TobitRaphaelAngelsApocryphaExileDisguise
Myth 5 min

Asmodeus Trod Clay While Solomon Built the Temple

Asmodeus said his business was wrecking marriages. Solomon chained him and made him haul water jars, ten at a time, past fish liver burning on a reed.

SolomonAsmodeusTempleDemonsRaphaelBeelzeboul
Myth 5 min

Tobit's Mother Waited on the Road for an Angel

Hannah sat on the highway until she saw Tobiyah and a stranger. Raphael carried gall for blind eyes while Tobit taught his son to pay wages before nightfall.

TobitRaphaelHannahExileHealing
Myth 5 min

Raguel Weeps Then Names Seven Dead Husbands

Tobiyyah reaches Ecbatana with Raphael hidden beside him. Raguel weeps for joy, then warns that seven grooms died before they could touch Sarah.

TobitTobiyyahRaguelSarahRaphaelMarriageMourningDemon
Myth 5 min

Tobit Holds His Shavuot Dinner for the Poor

In Nineveh on the Feast of Weeks Tobit will not eat until his son finds a hungry kinsman, and later the son runs home with healing.

TobitTobiasShavuotNinevehExileRaphaelCharityHealing
Myth 5 min

Labbiel Saves His Host and Receives a New Name

Earlier angel bands fell for mocking man. Labbiel yields, becomes Raphael the healer, and Ben Nez pins the south wind so the world can stand.

LabbielRaphaelBen NezAngelsCreationHealing