1 Enoch 9:1
1 And then Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and Gabriel looked down from heaven and saw much blood being shed on the earth, and all lawlessness being committed on the earth. 2 And 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."'
Numbers Rabbah 2:10
AggadahTherefore, it is stated: The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding He established the heavens (Proverbs 3:19). Just as the Holy One, blessed be He, created four cardinal directions and four tribal standards corresponding to them, so did He place around His Throne four angels—Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, and Raphael. Michael was on His right, corresponding to Reuben. Why is he called Michael (“Who is like God”)? Because when Israel crossed the Red Sea, Moses sang: Who is like unto You, O Lord (Exodus 15:11), and when he completed the Torah he said: There is none like God, O Jeshurun (Deuteronomy 33:26).
Notes and References
"... A complement of four, and later seven, named archangels (here “holy ones”) appears first in 1 Enoch 9–10 and then becomes something of a staple in Jewish and Christian literature. Their existence and the number four were doubtless inferred from the four living creatures in the throne vision of Ezekiel 1–2, and they are implicit in Zechariah 1. The later literature makes an association with Ezekiel 1–2 explicit. In the action of 1 Enoch 9–10, however, the four are not placed at the throne. They go forth from heaven, view the world, approach the divine throne with their petition in behalf of humanity, and are then dispatched to the world to act in God’s behalf ... "A tradition that appears several times in rabbinic literature explicitly identifies Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, and Raphael as the four “angels” surrounding God’s throne (Numbers Rabbah 2:10; Pesikta Rabbati 44; Pirqei de-Rabbi Eliezer 4). Here and in Apocalypse of Moses 40:1 Uriel replaces Sariel ..."
Nickelsburg, George W. E. A Commentary on the Book of 1 Enoch Chapters 1-36, 81-108 (p. 207) Fortress Press, 2001