Raphael

Also known as San Rafa, Raphael the Archangel, Saint Raphael, Saint Raphael the Archangel

archangel featuring in Book of Tobit

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Raphael is an archangel who appears in the Book of Tobit, an ancient religious text, where he guides and protects the main character on a journey. He matters as an important figure in Jewish and Christian tradition, representing divine aid and healing (his name means "God heals").

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Image: St Gabriel La Martorana Palermo 2008-08-27.jpg

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Commons category: Archangel Raphael
P6482: Raphael
native label: רפאל

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Article

Raphael ( UK: /ˈræfeɪəl/ RAF-ay-əl, US: /ˈræfiəl, ˈreɪf-/ RA(Y)F-ee-əl; "God has healed") is an archangel first mentioned in the Book of Tobit and in 1 Enoch, both estimated to date from between the 3rd and 2nd century BC. In later Jewish tradition, he became identified as one of the three heavenly visitors entertained by Abraham at the Oak of Mamre. He is not named in either the New Testament or the Quran, but later Christian tradition identified him with healing and as the angel who stirred waters in the Pool of Bethesda in John 5:2–4, and in Islam, where his name is Israfil, he is understood to be the unnamed angel of Quran 6:73, standing eternally with a trumpet to his lips, ready to announce the Day of Judgment. In Gnostic tradition, Raphael is represented on the Ophite Diagram. Raphael is an archangel of healing.

Origins in post-exilic literature