Texts in Conversation
1 Enoch and Tobit follow Jewish traditions not in the Hebrew Bible of angels mediating between humans and God. In 1 Enoch, the angels intercede for martyrs by bringing their case to God, and in Tobit, Raphael delivers Tobit and Sarah's prayers to heaven.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
1 Enoch 9:3
Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
1 Then Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and Gabriel looked down from heaven and saw much blood being shed on the earth, and all the lawlessness being committed on the earth. 2 They said to one another: 'The earth, left without inhabitants, cries out, and the voice of their crying reaches the gates of heaven.' 3 'And now to you, the holy ones of heaven, the souls of men plead, saying, "Present our case before the Most High."' 4 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 Your glory stands through all generations, and Your name is holy and glorious and blessed through all ages!
Date: 300 BCE – 100 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
Tobit 12:12
Deuterocanon
12 And now, when you did pray and Sarah, I did bring the memorial of your prayer before the glory of the Lord: and when you did bury the dead, likewise. 13 And when you did not delay to rise up, and leave your dinner, but did go and cover the dead, 14 then I was sent to you to try you; and at the same time God did send me also to heal Sarah your daughter-in-law. 15 I am Raphael, one of the seven angels, which stand and enter before the glory of the Lord.
Date: 225–175 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... In almost all the strata of 1 Enoch, angels play a crucial role as intercessors for humanity. Essential in all cases is a judgment context and a concern that the righteous get their due (which is often not the case at the present time) ... The closest parallel to the Enochic texts occurs in Tobit 3:16–17 and 12:12–15. As in Job, at stake is the innocence of the suffering righteous—Tobit and Sarah. Raphael is one of seven holy angels, who present a “reminder” of the prayers of the “holy ones” in the presence of the glory of the Great One and Holy One. As such an intercessor and as the divinely sent healer who will adjudicate the situation, Raphael corresponds to the angelic intercessors and agents of judgment described in 1 Enoch 9–10 ..."
George W. E. Nickelsburg, A Commentary on the Book of 1 Enoch Chapters 1-36, 81-108 (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2001), 208–209.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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