Tobit 12:15
Deuterocanon
13 And that time when you did not hesitate to get up and leave your dinner to go and bury the dead, 14 I was sent to you to test you. And at the same time God sent me to heal you and Sarah your daughter-in-law. 15 I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who stand ready and enter before the glory of the Lord." 16 The two of them were shaken; they fell face down, for they were afraid. 17 But he said to them, "Do not be afraid; peace be with you. Bless God forevermore.
Date: 225-175 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Testament of Solomon 24
Pseudepigrapha
24 I then compelled him by the name of the Lord of Hosts, saying, 'Respect God, Asmodeus, and tell me by which angel you are thwarted.' He responded, 'By Raphael, the archangel who stands before God’s throne. The smoke of a fish's liver and gall, burned over the ashes of a tamarisk, drives me away.' I further questioned him, asking him not to withhold anything from me, since I am Solomon, son of David, King of Israel. 'Tell me the name of the fish that you fear.' He replied, 'It is called the Glanos and is found in the rivers of Assyria; that is why I frequently roam there.'
Date: 100-900 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Texts in Conversation
Tobit and the pseudepigraphal Testament of Solomon share a tradition in which the angel Raphael, not named in the Hebrew Bible, is portrayed as one of the highest-ranking angels, a figure described in Tobit as one of seven who stand before God and later identified as an archangel in the Testament. This tradition developed during the Second Temple period, reflecting an expanded angelology in which morengels were named, ranked, and assigned distinct functions within the divine realm.
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Notes and References
"... It is important to note that Gabriel is not called an Archangel in either Scripture or the Apocrypha. In the New Testament he says he is one of the angels that stands in the presence of God. He is typically classed as an Archangel due to his association with Michael in intertestamental literature, and a few references such as 2 Enoch 21:3-6 to him as an Archangel. Raphael from the Apocrypha is classed as an Archangel many times as well. Although Tobit does not use the term specifically, it does call him one of the seven holy angels who stands before the presence of God (Tobit 12:15). He is, like Gabriel, listed with Michael in the Pseudepigrapha, and called an Archangel directly in the Testament of Solomon 5:9-10 (24) in a clear reference to the Book of Tobit ..."
Tuschling, R.M.M.
Angels and Orthodoxy: A Study in Their Development in Syria and Palestine from the Qumran Texts to Ephrem the Syrian
(p. 91) Mohr Siebeck, 2012
* 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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