Archangel

In the Bible, the archangels are a special and important group of angels. After the Babylonian exile, the idea arose in Judaism that there was a hierarchy among the angels. At the top of this hierarchy were the archangels. They are not named in the Old Testament, but do occur in the Deuterocanonical books, and are mentioned twice in the New Testament (1 Thessalonians 4:16; Jude 1:9).

There are various traditions concerning the precise number of archangels. The number seven is often mentioned. According to the book of Enoch they are named Uriel, Raphael, Raguel, Michael, Sariel, Gabriel and Ramiel. Of these seven, only Michael and Gabriel feature in the biblical canon.