Jophiel

Lore & Background

According to the pseudepigraphal Revelation of Moses, Jophiel is also called Dina, meaning 'Judgement.' In that text, Jophiel/Dina is described as an angel of the seventh heaven, a guardian of the Torah and wisdom itself, who taught 70 languages to souls at the dawn of creation. The Zohar lists Jophiel as a Great Angel Chief in charge of 53 legions who superintend Torah-readings on the Sabbath, and Jophiel is said to be a companion to the angel Metatron. C. E. Clement names Jophiel as the teacher of Ham, Japheth, and Shem, while Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa and Thomas Rudd name Jophiel as the teacher of Shem.

Reader's Guide

Jophiel holds significance across Christian and Jewish angelology, as well as in ceremonial magic. In the Anglican tradition, Jophiel is recognized as an archangel and is often depicted in iconography holding a flaming sword, as seen in stained glass at St Michael's Church in Brighton, St Peter and St John's Church in Kirkley, Holy Trinity Church in Coventry, and a mural at St. John's Episcopal Church in Memphis, Tennessee. In Kabbalah, Jophiel is an archangel of the Sephira Binah, though some systems place Raziel in Jophiel's place. The Calendarium Naturale Magicum Perpetuum lists Jophiel as the angel of Binah, as do the Key of Solomon variant 'The Veritable Clavicles of Solomon' and the Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses. Agrippa attributes Jophiel to Saturn, while Paracelsus assigns Jophiel to Jupiter. Rudd attributes the Zodiac to Jophiel along with Binah instead of Zaphkiel. Athanasius Kircher names Jophiel as Angelus pulchritudinis, 'angel of beauty.' According to Robert Ambelain, Jophiel is in charge of the Cherubim, particularly the Shemhamphorasch angels Haziel, Aladiah, Lauviah, Hahaiah, Iezalel, Mehahel, Hariel, and Hakamiah. In John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost, Jophiel is depicted as the 'cherubim with the swiftest wings.'

Did You Know?

• Jophiel is also called Zophiel, meaning 'God is my watchman,' and Zuriel, meaning 'God is my rock.'
• In the Revelation of Moses, Jophiel is named Dina and taught 70 languages to souls at the dawn of creation.
• Jophiel is often depicted holding a flaming sword in Anglican iconography.
• In Paradise Lost, the angel with the swiftest wings is Zephon, not Jophiel—Jophiel does not appear in the poem.