Gabriel

Biblical Occurrences

Gabriel is one of the few angels whose names are recorded in the Bible. In the Protestant Bible, Gabriel and Michael are the only angels mentioned by name.

• Daniel 8: After Daniel sees the vision of the ram and the he-goat, a voice says, "Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision" (Daniel 8:16). Gabriel explains that the ram represents the kings of Media and Persia and that the goat is the king of Grecia (Daniel 8:20–21).
• Daniel 9: While Daniel is praying for the restoration of Jerusalem, Gabriel comes to him "about the time of the evening oblation" (Daniel 9:21) and delivers the prophecy of the "seventy weeks" (Daniel 9:24–27).
• Luke 1: Gabriel appears to the priest Zacharias in the temple, announces that his son John will be born, and identifies himself with the words "I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God" (Luke 1:19). Because Zacharias does not believe, he is struck mute. In the sixth month, Gabriel is sent to Mary in Nazareth and tells her that she will conceive a son by the Holy Spirit and is to call his name Jesus (Luke 1:26–35). This scene is known as the Annunciation.

Background and Meaning of the Name

Gabriel is a Hebrew name containing the element El, meaning "God." It is commonly interpreted as "God is my strength" or "warrior (mighty man) of God." The Book of Daniel describes Gabriel as one having "the appearance of a man" and as "the man Gabriel" (Daniel 8:15; 9:21).

Significance in the Whole of Scripture

Every role Gabriel plays in the Bible involves delivering God's revelation and explaining its meaning. In Daniel he conveys prophecies concerning future events and the Anointed One, and in Luke he announces the births of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ. For this reason, many interpreters understand the same angel who delivered the word concerning the Messiah in the Old Testament to have announced its fulfillment in the New Testament. Interpreters differ, however, on whether the "seventy weeks" should be understood as a prophecy about Jesus Christ, as a reference to the history of the Maccabean period, or, as in dispensationalism, as connected with the end times.

Interpretations and Points of Discussion

• Whether Gabriel is an archangel: The only figure called an "archangel" in the Bible is Michael (Jude 1:9). The practice of calling Gabriel an archangel derives from Jewish pseudepigraphal works such as 1 Enoch and from later church tradition. The Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church commemorate Gabriel as an archangel, whereas Protestants generally understand him as a messenger of God within the limits of what Scripture says.
• The trumpet-blowing angel: The idea that Gabriel will blow the trumpet at the Second Coming is widespread, but 1 Thessalonians 4:16 speaks only of "the voice of the archangel, and … the trump of God" and does not give a name.
• The greeting to Mary: Gabriel's greeting (Luke 1:28) forms the opening of the Catholic "Hail Mary." Protestants do not regard this verse as a basis for praying to Mary but read it as an announcement of the grace God bestowed on her.
• Some interpreters identify the unnamed angel in Daniel 10 as Gabriel, but the text does not give his name.

In the Korean Church

Luke 1 is frequently read and preached during Advent and Christmas, and Gabriel commonly appears in Sunday school Christmas pageants as the angel who brings the news to Mary.