Archangel Metatron: meaning, role, and origin
Metatron is the scribe angel: the one who writes and keeps memory, closest to the throne in Jewish mysticism.
- writing
- memory
- passage
Metatron at a glance
For you, he evokes the power of writing: keeping a record of what you live through to understand it better.
- Name
- Unknown etymology (several hypotheses, no agreement)
- Named by
- Later sources
- Texts
- Babylonian Talmud, Hagigah 15a
Archangels are not calculated; Lenain’s 72 angels, however, can be read in your date of birth.
Who is the archangel Metatron?
Metatron is not named in the Bible. He appears in the Babylonian Talmud, where a sage sees him seated in heaven as a scribe, and where the rabbis stress that he is only an angel, not a second power beside God. The book called 3 Enoch, a text of Merkabah mysticism, relates that Enoch, taken up to heaven, was transformed into Metatron.
From these texts comes his image as the highest angel, scribe and keeper of secrets. Modern angelology has widely adopted it and often makes him the first of the archangels: this is a recent construction, not a biblical datum.
Texts that name this archangel
| Text | Role in the text |
|---|---|
| Babylonian Talmud, Hagigah 15a | Elisha ben Abuyah sees him seated in heaven, as a scribe |
| Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 38b; Avodah Zarah 3b | An angel, and not a second divine power |
| 3 Enoch (Sefer Hekhalot) | Enoch transformed into Metatron; Merkabah mysticism |
According to the traditions
Jewish tradition
The Talmud cites him several times, and the Sefer Hekhalot, or 3 Enoch, makes him the guide of Rabbi Ishmael through the heavenly palaces.
Kabbalah
The Kabbalah takes up his identification with Enoch, which the Talmud does not make explicitly; some kabbalists accepted it.
Modern angelology
The Talmud also credits him with the teaching of children; modern angelology often makes him the chief of all the archangels.
The name
The origin of his name remains unknown. A Latin word, metator, has been proposed, or the Greek “beside the throne,” without any hypothesis winning agreement among scholars.
How the archangel is depicted
No set ancient iconography.
Good to know
- His name appears neither in the Torah nor in the Bible.
His rank as “first of the archangels” comes from modern books; the ancient texts make him a scribe angel, whom the Talmud refuses to raise to the rank of God.
Archangel Metatron: your questions
Is Metatron in the Bible?
No. His name appears neither in the Torah nor anywhere else in the Bible. He is found in the Babylonian Talmud, in the tractates Hagigah, Sanhedrin, and Avodah Zarah, then in the Book of 3 Enoch and in Jewish mysticism.
Is Metatron the prophet Enoch?
That is what the Book of 3 Enoch relates: Enoch, son of Jared, taken up to heaven, becomes the angel Metatron there. The Talmud does not make this connection explicitly; several kabbalists later accepted it.
What does the name Metatron mean?
No one knows for certain. The hypotheses range from a Latin word, metator, to the Greek “beside the throne,” by way of Hebrew roots linked to guarding; none has won out.
And what about your own angels?
Metatron keeps memory. Lenain, for his part, divides the year among 72 angels: which ones are yours by birth?
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