God names Adam, and Adam gets to name all the animals in the Garden of Eden. In the Bible, superiors give names to inferiors. After making an offering to God, they ask the angelic name, and are told, “How can you ask my name, for it is a wonder?” Here, Manoah and his childless wife pray for a child and an angel appears to them to announce the future birth of the hero Samson. Jacob demanded to know the being’s name and was told, “Why do you ask my name?” In the quest for the name, it is Jacob who gets a new one, and the mysterious stranger does not reveal his.Ī similar story appears in Judges 13:1-18. When he demands a blessing, the unknown figure asks Jacob’s name and on hearing it, renames Jacob as Israel, or “he who struggles with God.” For example, in Genesis 32:23-30, the patriarch Jacob meets a supernatural figure who wrestles with him and Jacob cannot prevail. Spanish missionaries brought the names of all three of these angels to the place names of many of our cities, particularly in California.īut it is also worth noting that interest in the names of other angels is also in the Bible, and people were not allowed to learn them. Interestingly, Raphael got a lot of post-biblical interest and he appears in a number of apocryphal books, as well as the Quran and the Mormon text “Doctrines and Covenants.” In Catholic Bibles, the angel Raphael, or “it is God who heals,” is sent to a young chap named Tobias who is on a long adventure, described in the Book of Tobit. Gabriel, whose name means “God is my strength,” appears in the Gospel of Luke, bringing the good news to the Virgin Mary that she will bear the Christ. (Revelation 12:7) He gets a cameo appearance in the Quran as well. He appears again in the Revelation, making war on the ancient “dragon” who makes war in heaven. He appears in the New Testament as well, and in Jude 1:9 is apparently promoted to the rank of archangel. The name of the angel Michael means “who is like God?” and Michael appears three times in the Book of Daniel. Very few angels are given names in the Bible, and when they are, it is a name that points to the power of God and not the angel itself. So it’s a good idea to be careful about exactly whom one might be addressing. They are presented as defenders, ones who comfort or warn, and so many people find the concept of angels quite comforting.īut it is worth remembering that the monotheistic faiths of the West also recognize the existence of fallen angels, or angels who became demons. I suspect that people like them because they are painted as kind, beautiful and powerful.īecause the founders or sources of revelation of different religions like Moses, Muhammad and Jesus made quite strong and even severe demands on their followers, the angels that appear in those faith traditions that came about because of these men often do not. Nonetheless angels are always a popular topic in religious circles and I have been sent many letters on the subject. The New Testament several times warns Christians from being too interested in angels. While the Bible, and Scriptures from other religions, do indicate that there are angelic messengers out there, only a handful are given proper names. To give a quick answer, I believe most clergy would say it is a very poor idea, even a spiritually dangerous idea, to make up a name for an angel and address it thus. In the Catholic tradition it is a long-standing custom to pray to one’s guardian angel. Can you give me some clarification on this? What about the idea of asking that one’s guardian angel’s name be revealed, rather than assigning a name, asking that a name be made known? I’ve heard of this before and it got my curiosity.Ī This question came to your professor online and was put to me by a pair of college students. Q I have been told that one should not give or assign a name to one’s guardian angel.
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