Zaphkiel is associated with Binah and Saturn in Renaissance occult angelology. The English translation of Agrippa’s Three Books of Occult Philosophy checked here prints the name Zaphchiel. Its setting is a correspondence between divine names, the Sephirot, angelic orders and the heavenly spheres.
Zaphkiel in Agrippa III.10
Agrippa’s third numeration is printed as Prina, with Binah supplied in brackets in the digital edition. The surrounding explanation concerns providence and understanding. Its influence passes through the order of Thrones, called Aralim, and through the sphere of Saturn, giving form to unsettled matter.
The passage names Zaphchiel as a particular intelligence and calls him the ruler of Noah. It also names Iophiel as the ruler of Sem. Preserving those details gives a firmer account of the passage than a modern personality portrait assembled around the idea of contemplation.
Reading the correspondence in context
The same chapter connects other numerations and planets with different intelligences: Zadkiel with Hesed and Jupiter, and Camael with Geburah and Mars. These comparisons show how Zaphkiel fits within Agrippa’s particular system.
Agrippa combines Kabbalistic terminology with explicitly Christian theological interpretation. His scheme should therefore be identified as that of a Renaissance Christian occult author, rather than presented as the sole angelic hierarchy of Judaism.
Other texts may place a differently named angel over Saturn. A shared planet does not automatically establish identity with Cassiel, nor does Agrippa’s chapter by itself establish every later spelling, etymology or devotional association attributed to Zaphkiel.
Explore related entries
Read Camael, Zadkiel, Cassiel, the angel names A–Z index, or the guide to source traditions.