What is the role of the archangel Gabriel, as it is described in the Book of Daniel?

The angel came to Daniel to interpret for him the vision he saw by the River Ulai: “And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, who called and said: ‘Gabriel, make this man understand the vision’ (Dan. 8:15–16). Daniel the prophet sought the meaning of this vision, and found before him “one having the appearance of a man” — most likely the Word of God before His incarnation, since He has the authority to order Archangel Gabriel to interpret the vision for Daniel. “So he came near where I stood … I was afraid and fell on my face, but he said to me: ‘Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end.’ Now, as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep with my face to the ground, but he touched me, and stood me upright; and he said: ‘Look. I am making known to you

what shall happen in the latter time of the indignation; for at the appointed time the end shall be” (Dan. 8:17–19).

There is another mention of the name of the archangel Gabriel in Dan. 9:20–23: “Now while I was speaking, praying … the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering. And he informed me, and talked with me, and said: ‘O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand. At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved. Therefore, consider the matter, and understand the vision.’” The literal meaning of the Hebrew word “beloved” is “the man whom God desires,” that is, the place of God’s joy. God, who loves all humanity, rejoices greatly in those who enjoy a deep relationship with Him, and He takes pleasure in revealing His divine mysteries to them.

For the first time we hear that angels have wings and can fly. He appeared to Daniel in the appearance of a man, which is why he says, “the man Gabriel.” In this way, God assures humanity of His appreciation and affection for us; for He does not send angels merely to serve humans, but He even gives them our human form so we may easily have dealings with them. St. Jerome says, “It is said that ‘ he flew ,’ since he appeared in the form of a man.”⁶⁹⁶

Daniel studied the prophecies of Jeremiah the prophet and understood the timing of the return from exile; yet he was in need of a greater understanding, so that his heart might let go of hope for the return to Canaan and turn instead to the return to heaven , which would come about through the work of the Messiah. He prophesied to him of the coming of Christ the redeemer, the fulfilment of redemption and salvation, and the destruction of the temple and the holy places (Dan. 9:23, 27).

The angel served Daniel in an angelic manner: “Suddenly a hand touched me, which made me tremble on my knees and on the palms of my hands” (Dan. 10:10). It is apparent that Daniel saw this vision while bowed down to the ground on his knees and hands and relied on this heavenly aid to rise again. The hand that wrote on the wall and terrified King Belshazzar (Dan. 5:24–25) was the same hand that touched Daniel and strengthened him both to arise and to understand. Some consider this heavenly hand to be a type of the divine incarnation, since the Lord Christ works divinely with us and grants us understanding and wisdom as well as redemption and salvation.

St. Jerome says, “The angel appeared in the form of a man and laid his hand on Daniel the prophet who was kneeling on the ground. The angel bore this [human] form so that Daniel might not be terrified.”⁶⁹⁷

696 St. Jerome, PL 25:680A.

697 St. Jerome, PL 25:697G.

The appearance of angels in human form reveals heaven’s respect for humanity. They have no physical bodies, yet they are not loathe to appear in human form. Thus do they proclaim the heavenly beings’ desire to enter into friendship with us.

St. Jerome comments on the expression “beloved” saying, “The term is apt, for every saint possesses a beauty of soul and is beloved of the Lord.”⁶⁹⁸

Daniel abased himself in repentance before his God, through his personal relationship with God, whom he considered his own God, and hence was worthy of God sending him an angel, for “the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him” (Ps. 34:7).

Was the archangel Gabriel incapable of resisting the devil who incited the spirit of violence and hatred in Cambyses against the faithful? Or was he incapable of resisting the wicked king himself? Why did God send him the archangel Michael (Dan. 10:12–14)? I do not think that the words of the archangel Gabriel here lessen his status or his power in any way. Rather, they reveal the spirit of cooperation that exists even among heavenly beings. They also reveal God’s care for His people; He sends more than one of His archangels for the sake of His people. Jonathan says, “Nothing restrains the Lord from saving by many or by few” (1 Sam. 14:6).

The archangel Gabriel saved Daniel the prophet from the lion’s den and shut their mouths, so they would not hurt him: “Then Daniel said to the king: O king, live forever! My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouth, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you” (Dan. 6:21–22).

In the tradition of the Apostolic Churches of the East and West, it is said that the archangel Gabriel was the one who took Habakkuk the prophet from the land of Israel and the borders of Nazareth to Daniel the prophet in the lions’ den in the land of the Chaldeans (Dan. 12:33– 39). It was he who brought the glad tidings to the Virgin Mary about the incarnation of God the Word from her (Luke 1:26–35). He was the angel who brought the glad tidings to the shepherds of the birth of the Lord Christ (Luke 2:8–14). He was the angel who instructed the Magi not to return to King Herod after they worshipped the newborn Christ and presented their gifts to Him. He accompanied Christ in His childhood, serving Him, and accompanied the holy family on their trip to Egypt and their journey back home to Israel. And he appeared to the Lord Christ in the garden of Gethsemane during His passion and said to Him, “Yours is the power” (Luke 22:43).

In the Jewish tradition — according the Targum, which is the Aramaic translation of the Old Testament along with its interpretation that was customarily read in Jewish synagogues at the time of the second temple and later — the archangel Gabriel was the man who led Joseph to his brothers, when he was sent by his father Jacob to see if all was well with them: “Now a certain man found him, and there he was, wandering in the field. And the man asked

698 St. Jerome, PL 25:697G.

him, saying, ‘What are you seeking?’ So he said, ‘I am seeking my brothers. Please tell me where they are feeding their flocks.’ And the man said, ‘They have departed from here, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ So Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan.” (Gen. 37:13–17). In this tradition, it is also the archangel Gabriel who helps the archangel Michael to bury the body of Moses and hide it from the children of Israel (Deut. 34:6). And he is the angel sent by the Lord to kill the one hundred and eighty-five thousand soldiers of the army of Sennacherib (2 Kings 19:35; Job 32:21; Isa. 37:36).

When Abraham, the father or the fathers, hosted the Lord by the terebinth trees of Mamre (Gen. 18:1–23; Heb. 13:2), the archangel Gabriel was one of the two angels accompanying Him, together with the archangel Michael. Later, these two angels went to Lot and rescued him and his family from the destruction that came upon Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19:1– 22).