“... The next unit, 37 which is interrupted by various other pieces, presents the hierarchy of the angels who reside in the direct environs of the divine throne: Rekhavi'el, who is placed in charge of the wheels of the Merkavah; I:Iayyli'el, in charge of the four holy crea- tures with their respective four faces; Keruvi'el, in charge of the Keruvim; Ophanni'el, in charge of the Ophannim; Seraphi,el, in charge of the Seraphim; an angel of uncertain etymology, in charge of the heavenly book archives; and finally, as the climax, the well- known "guardians and holy ones" ('irin and qedishin) from Daniel 4:10.14: Their region is opposite the throne of glory, their loca- tion opposite the Holy One, blessed be he, so that their region radiates like the throne of glory and the brilliance of their appearance is comparable to the brilliance of the Shekhinah .... And not only this, the Holy One, blessed be he, does nothing in his world without first taking counsel with them; only thereafter does he act, as is writ- ten: This sentence is decreed by the watchers ['irin]; this verdict is commanded by the holy ones [qedishin] [Daniel 4:14].38 The Heavenly Praise With the exception of the angels placed in charge of the book archives, as well as the guardians and holy ones connected to the di- vine court of law, the main task of all the other angelic princes men- tioned here is to impel their subordinate angels to praise God. Thus it is said of I:Iayyli'el, the angel placed in charge of the four holy creatures, 39 that he "strikes the creatures with flaming blows, adorns them when they recite praise, hymn, and knowledge, and following the 'Holy, holy, holy' [Isaiah 6:3] impels them to say [the re~onse] 'Blessed be the glory of the Lord in his place' [Ezckiel3: 12].' 0 Sim- ...”