Seraphiel is the prince placed over the Seraphim in chapter 26 of 3 Enoch. In this account, Metatron describes him to Rabbi Ishmael as an immense and radiant heavenly ruler whose responsibilities include teaching the Seraphim their praise.
The leader and the heavenly song
3 Enoch 26:8, in Hugo Odeberg’s edition, explicitly connects Seraphiel’s name with his appointment over the Seraphim. He presides over them by day and night and teaches forms of song, praise and sanctification. The office is therefore both supervisory and concerned with worship.
The same chapter describes four Seraphim and gives them six wings and four faces. Those details belong to this particular visionary text. They should not be assumed to reproduce every account of Seraphim in Jewish or Christian writing.
A body filled with light
Verses 3–7 describe Seraphiel through striking comparisons: an angelic face, an eagle-like body, fiery radiance, a sapphire upon his head, many eyes and a brilliant crown. His height is compared with the seven heavens in verse 4. Odeberg’s commentary notices that the descriptions of the body do not form an entirely consistent anatomical picture.
There is also a useful caution in the apparatus: the phrase describing a swift scribe at the opening is absent from two witnesses, and Odeberg advises against building much on that isolated expression. Seraphiel’s clearly stated charge over the Seraphim is better supported than an elaborate role as heavenly archivist inferred from one variant.
Explore related entries
Read Metatron, Sandalphon, the guide to angelic orders, the angel names A–Z index, or the guide to source traditions.