Definitions
Gabriel [gey-bree-uhl]

Gabriel

[gey-bree-uhl]
Téllez, Gabriel: see Tirso de Molina.
Terra, Gabriel, 1873-1942, president of Uruguay (1931-38). In his early career a member of the Colorado party under the leadership of Batlle y Ordóñez, Terra served in several political and diplomatic posts. He suspended congress in 1933, disbanded the council of administration (a body created by the constitution of 1919 as a check on executive power), and abolished the constitution. After a new constitution, promulgated in 1934, restored presidential authority, Terra was reelected and ruled largely by dictatorial decree. He suppressed a serious revolt in 1935. During his administration, however, the socialization of the republic, begun by Batlle, was continued. He was succeeded by an elected president, Alfredo Baldomir.
Marcel, Gabriel 1889-1973, French philosopher, dramatist, and critic, b. Paris. A leading Christian existentialist, he became a Roman Catholic in 1929. He called himself a "concrete philosopher," indicating a reaction to his early idealism. He saw philosophy not as formulation of a system but rather as a personal reflection on the human situation. He held that the philosopher must be engagé, or personally involved, because existence and the human person are more significant than any abstraction. Involvement must be with other persons. To counter the impersonality of the mechanistic modern world and to recall man to an awareness of the mystery of being, Marcel spoke of the development of the individual in person-to-person dialogue. Human existence finds its earthly satisfaction in a God-centered communion of persons that is characterized by mutual fidelity and hope. His chief works include Metaphysical Journal (1927), Being and Having (1935), The Mystery of Being (1950), Presence and Immortality (1959), and a collection of essays, Philosophy of Existentialism (1961). His best-known plays are Un Homme de Dieu (1925) and Le Chemin de Crete (1936).

See his Tragic Wisdom and Beyond (tr. 1973); studies by S. Cain (1963, repr. 1979), J. B. O'Malley (1967), and K. T. Gallagher (1975).

Lalemant, Gabriel (Saint Gabriel Lalemant), 1610-49, French Jesuit missionary in North America, nephew of Charles Lalemant and Jérôme Lalemant, one of the Jesuit Martyrs of North America. He entered the order in 1630 and was sent to Quebec in 1646. He was assistant to Jean de Brébeuf at a mission among the Huron when a band of Iroquois took the village and tortured the priests to death. Feast: Sept. 26 or (among the Jesuits) Mar. 16.
Hanotaux, Gabriel, 1853-1944, French historian and statesman. Twice minister of foreign affairs (1894-95, 1895-98), he greatly furthered the Franco-Russian rapprochement. His chief fame is as a historian, notably as the author of Contemporary France (4 vol., 1903-8; tr., 4 vol., 1903-9) and Histoire de la fondation de la troisième république (4 vol., 1925-26). He also edited the Histoire de la nation française (15 vol., 1925-27).

See studies by T. M. Iams (1962), and A. A. Heggoy (1972).

Harvey, Gabriel, 1545?-1630?, English author. He studied at Cambridge and became a fellow of Pembroke Hall. There he became friends with Edmund Spenser, who later celebrated Harvey as Hobbinol in The Shepherd's Calendar. In 1578, Harvey became a fellow of Trinity Hall and began the study of law, but the publication of some satirical verses in 1579 involved him in considerable trouble with the authorities, and his appointment as master was recalled. The publication of the Four Letters (1592), a scurrilous post-mortem attack on Robert Greene, involved Harvey in the heated Martin Marprelate controversy, which was terminated in 1599 by the intervention of the government. Much of Harvey's Martinist writings contained personal rebuffs, particularly to Thomas Nashe, who had described Harvey as an arrogant, tactless misfit.

See his complete works edited by A. B. Grosart (3 vol., 1884-85).

Bethlen, Gabriel, 1580-1629, prince of Transylvania (1613-29). He was chief adviser of Stephen Bocskay and was elected prince after the assassination of Gabriel Báthory. A Protestant, though tolerant toward all religions, he allied himself (1619) with the Protestant Frederick the Winter King and overran Hungary, of which he was elected king (1620). After Frederick's defeat at the White Mt. (1620), Bethlen signed with Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II the Treaty of Nikolsburg (1621), by which he renounced the royal title but retained control of seven Hungarian counties and received the rank of prince of the empire. He continued his relations with the Protestant powers opposing the emperor in the Thirty Years War and married the sister of the elector of Brandenburg; however, he kept the interests of Transylvania paramount. He was a wise administrator and encouraged the development of law and learning.
Johnston, Gabriel, 1699-1752, colonial governor of North Carolina (1734-52). An efficient and popular Scot, he nevertheless had constant difficulties with the assembly over quitrents and other financial matters and several times dissolved that body. During his administration numerous land grants to immigrants were issued, free schools were established, and Wilmington was developed.
Metsu or Metzu, Gabriel, 1630?-1667, Dutch genre painter, b. Leiden. In 1657 he moved to Amsterdam, where he remained for the rest of his life. In his youth he painted biblical subjects, such as Woman Taken in Adultery (Louvre), which show Rembrandt's influence. His true gift was for genre, and he is best known for his quiet, charming interiors that reveal the influence of Dou, his teacher. His work is distinguished by fine draftsmanship and exquisite handling of light and texture. Among his well-known works are Music Lesson (The Hague); Duet (National Gall., London); Mother with a Sick Child (c.1660, Amsterdam); Music Lesson, Visit to the Nursery, and Tavern Scene (all: Metropolitan Mus.).
Metzu, Gabriel: see Metsu, Gabriel.
Gabriel, archangel, the divine herald. In the Bible he appears to Daniel (twice), to Zacharias, and to the Virgin Mary in the Annunciation (Dan. 8.16; 9.21; Luke 1.19,26,27). Christian tradition makes Gabriel the archangel trumpeter of the Last Judgment (1 Thes. 4.16). In Islam, Gabriel revealed the Qur'an to Muhammad, becoming the angel of truth. In art and literature Gabriel is mainly treated as the angel of the Annunciation. In the Annunciation he often carries a lily, properly the symbol of the Virgin. He is often represented on churches with trumpet raised and facing east, ready to proclaim the second coming of Christ. Feast: Sept. 29 (jointly with other archangels).
Gabriel, Jacques Ange, 1698-1782, French architect of the classical tradition. Descendant of a long line of architects, he ranks as one of the most distinguished French architects of his century. His work is characterized by classical repose, purity of form, and restraint. In 1742 he succeeded his father, Jacques Gabriel (1667-1742), as first architect to the king. For 30 years he worked for Louis XV at Versailles, Compiègne, and other royal residences. In 1753 he designed Place Louis XV (now Place de la Concorde) in Paris. He designed also the twin palaces north of the square and (1748) the theater of the palace of Versailles. In 1751, Gabriel commenced the vast École militaire in Paris and in 1755 began work on the unfinished parts of the Louvre, which he later had to suspend. In 1768 he finished the Petit Trianon in the gardens of Versailles.
García Márquez, Gabriel, 1928-, Colombian novelist, short-story writer, and journalist, b. Aracataca. Widely considered the greatest living Latin American master of narrative, García Márquez won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1982. He began his literary career while a law student in Barranquilla, publishing stories in local magazines. He left Colombia in the late 1950s and has since lived in many places, later in life mainly in Mexico City. Drawing on his own history and that of his family, town, and nation and reflecting the influence of writers such as Jorges Luis Borges, Miguel Angel Asturias, and Alejo Carpentier, his work focuses on the physical and moral travail of coastal Colombia, which is given universal meaning in his books.

His two masterpieces One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967, tr. 1970), his best-known work, and Love in the Time of Cholera (1985, tr. 1988), present his central themes of violence, solitude, and the overwhelming human need for love. García Márquez's style marks a high point in Latin American magic realism; it is rich and lucid, mixing reality and fantasy. Among his other works are Leaf Storm and Other Stories (1955, tr. 1972), No One Writes to the Colonel and Other Stories (1958, tr. 1968), Innocent Erendira and Other Stories (1972, tr. 1978), The Autumn of the Patriarch (1975, tr. 1976), The General in His Labyrinth (1989, tr. 1990), Of Love and Other Demons (1994, tr. 1995), and Memories of My Melancholy Whores (2004, tr. 2005). His nonfiction work News of a Kidnapping (1996, tr. 1997) chronicles drug-related abductions in Colombia. Living to Tell the Tale (2002, tr. 2003) is the first of a projected three-volume autobiography.

See biography by G. Martin (2009); I. Stavans, Gabriel García Márquez: The Early Years (2010); P. A. Mendoza, The Fragrance of Guava: Conversations with Gabriel Garcia Márquez (1982); studies by K. McNerney (1989), M. Wood (1990), H. Oberhelman (1991), M. Bell (1993), J. Mellen (2000), and C. Kline (2002); collections of critical essays ed. by G. R. McMurray (1987), B. McGuirle and R. A. Cardwell (1987), J. Ortega (1988), R. Fiddian (1995), and H. Bloom (rev. ed. 2007).

García Moreno, Gabriel, 1821-75, president of Ecuador (1861-65, 1869-75), b. Guayaquil. A conservative with deep religious convictions, he gradually came to believe that Ecuadorans could only be united as a nation through their common Roman Catholic faith. As president he promulgated new constitutions (1861, 1869), signed (1862) a concordat with the church by which the civil power became the guarantor and executor of the church's independence and granted to it control over education, and ultimately established an authoritarian government in which Roman Catholic influence was paramount. A storm of liberal opposition was vigorously suppressed. Between terms as president he retained his hold by installing puppets. He was reelected in 1869 and granted additional privileges to the clerics; he also took extraordinary powers for himself. He is remembered more for his strong views and personality than his ability as an administrator who put his country on a sound financial basis and introduced a number of important material reforms. He was assassinated.
Max, Gabriel, 1840-1915, German painter and illustrator, b. Prague; son and pupil of the sculptor Josef Max (1803-54). A student of psychology and anthropology, Gabriel Max is best known as a painter of mystical subjects. Characteristic of his ethereal style is The Last Token (Metropolitan Mus.).
Miró, Gabriel: see Miró Ferrer, Gabriel.
Miró Ferrer, Gabriel, 1879-1930, Spanish novelist and short-story writer. One of the Generation of '98, he achieved his powerful individual style through unusual combinations of words and cadences. His novels are sensuous in tone, haunting, and evocative. Their themes are the beauty and cruelty of nature and of man. Among them are Figuras de la pasión del Señor (1916, tr. Figures of the Passion of Our Lord, 1924), his masterpiece Libro de Sigüenza (1917), and Nuestro Padre San Daniel (1921, tr. Our Father, San Daniel, 1933).
Montgomery, Gabriel, seigneur de Lorges, comte de, c.1530-1574, French soldier. Captain of the Scottish guards of King Henry II of France, he accidentally killed the king in a tournament in 1559. Disgraced at court, he retired first to Normandy, then to England, where he was converted to Protestantism. He returned to France and there fought (1562-70) with distinction on the Protestant side in the Wars of Religion. He returned again in 1574, but was captured and put to death. The name is also spelled Montgommery.

Segment of the Pacific Coast Ranges, southern California, U.S. Many peaks exceed 9,000 ft (2,700 m); the highest is San Antonio Peak, or Old Baldy, at 10,080 ft (3,072 m). The range also includes Mount Wilson Observatory, northeast of Pasadena. The mountains are largely within the Angeles National Forest.

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orig. Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, photograph by Lewis Carroll, 1863

(born May 12, 1828, London, Eng.—died April 9, 1882, Birchington-on-Sea, Kent) British painter and poet. Son of Gabriele Rossetti and brother of Christina Rossetti, he trained at the Royal Academy but vacillated between painting and poetry. As an informal pupil of Ford Madox Brown, he absorbed Brown's admiration for the German Nazarenes. In 1848, with several friends, he formed the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, a group of painters treating religious, moral, and medieval subjects in a naturalistic style. Rossetti expanded the Brotherhood's aims by linking poetry, painting, and Social Idealism and by treating “Pre-Raphaelite” as synonymous with a romanticized medieval past. When his oil paintings were severely criticized, he turned to watercolours based on literary works, which he could more easily sell to acquaintances, and became very successful. The group broke up in 1852, but Rossetti revived it in 1856 with Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris. After the death of his long-ailing wife in 1862, possibly by suicide, literary themes gave way to pictures of women, particularly Morris's wife, Jane. His poetry, including the sonnet sequence “The House of Life,” was widely admired. He broke with Morris in 1875 over his love for Jane and spent his later years as an alcoholic recluse.

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(born Feb. 21, 1924, Kutama, Southern Rhodesia) First prime minister (1980–87) and executive president (from 1987) of Zimbabwe. With Joshua Nkomo, Mugabe led a Marxist-inspired guerrilla war that forced the white-dominated government of Ian Smith to accept universal elections, which Mugabe's party, Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), easily won. He formed a coalition government with Nkomo's Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), but he removed Nkomo in 1982. In 1984 the two parties were merged as ZANU–Patriotic Front, as Mugabe moved to convert Zimbabwe from a parliamentary democracy into a one-party socialist state. His rule was marked by violence and intimidation and by a decreasing tolerance of political opposition.

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(born Feb. 21, 1924, Kutama, Southern Rhodesia) First prime minister (1980–87) and executive president (from 1987) of Zimbabwe. With Joshua Nkomo, Mugabe led a Marxist-inspired guerrilla war that forced the white-dominated government of Ian Smith to accept universal elections, which Mugabe's party, Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), easily won. He formed a coalition government with Nkomo's Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), but he removed Nkomo in 1982. In 1984 the two parties were merged as ZANU–Patriotic Front, as Mugabe moved to convert Zimbabwe from a parliamentary democracy into a one-party socialist state. His rule was marked by violence and intimidation and by a decreasing tolerance of political opposition.

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(born Feb. 28, 1940, Montona, Italy) Italian-born U.S. automobile-racing driver. He became interested in racing in Italy before moving to the U.S. in 1955. His notable wins include the United States Automobile Club (USAC) championship (1965–66, 1969), the Daytona Beach 500 stock-car race (1967), the Sebring Grand Prix (1967, 1970), the Indianapolis 500 (1969), and the Formula I world driving championship (1978). He retired from competition in 1994.

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(born Nov. 19, 1853, Beaurevoir, France—died April 11, 1944, Paris) French politician and historian. An archivist in the foreign ministry from 1880, he advanced rapidly and was appointed foreign minister in 1894. He oversaw French colonial expansion in French West Africa, Madagascar, and Tunisia. In 1898 he advocated a strong stand at Fashoda (see Fashoda Incident). He also championed a Franco-Russian alliance. His large body of historical writings centred on early modern institutional history and contemporary diplomatic affairs.

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or Gabriel Prosser

(born circa 1775, near Richmond, Va.—died September 1800, Richmond, Va., U.S.) American slave who planned the first slave rebellion in U.S. history. Born to an African-born mother, he grew up as the slave of Thomas H. Prosser. In 1800 the deeply religious Gabriel planned a slave insurrection to create an independent slave state in Virginia with himself as king. Intending to attack Richmond and kill all whites except Frenchmen, Methodists, and Quakers, he assembled 1,000 slaves outside the city on August 30, but a violent rainstorm washed out bridges and scattered the rebels. Before they could reassemble, Gov. James Monroe learned of the plot and ordered out the state militia. Gabriel and 34 others were arrested, tried, and hanged.

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orig. Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, photograph by Lewis Carroll, 1863

(born May 12, 1828, London, Eng.—died April 9, 1882, Birchington-on-Sea, Kent) British painter and poet. Son of Gabriele Rossetti and brother of Christina Rossetti, he trained at the Royal Academy but vacillated between painting and poetry. As an informal pupil of Ford Madox Brown, he absorbed Brown's admiration for the German Nazarenes. In 1848, with several friends, he formed the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, a group of painters treating religious, moral, and medieval subjects in a naturalistic style. Rossetti expanded the Brotherhood's aims by linking poetry, painting, and Social Idealism and by treating “Pre-Raphaelite” as synonymous with a romanticized medieval past. When his oil paintings were severely criticized, he turned to watercolours based on literary works, which he could more easily sell to acquaintances, and became very successful. The group broke up in 1852, but Rossetti revived it in 1856 with Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris. After the death of his long-ailing wife in 1862, possibly by suicide, literary themes gave way to pictures of women, particularly Morris's wife, Jane. His poetry, including the sonnet sequence “The House of Life,” was widely admired. He broke with Morris in 1875 over his love for Jane and spent his later years as an alcoholic recluse.

Learn more about Rossetti, Dante Gabriel with a free trial on Britannica.com.

(born Feb. 28, 1940, Montona, Italy) Italian-born U.S. automobile-racing driver. He became interested in racing in Italy before moving to the U.S. in 1955. His notable wins include the United States Automobile Club (USAC) championship (1965–66, 1969), the Daytona Beach 500 stock-car race (1967), the Sebring Grand Prix (1967, 1970), the Indianapolis 500 (1969), and the Formula I world driving championship (1978). He retired from competition in 1994.

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Gabriel (; Latin: Gabrielus; Greek: Γαβριήλ, Gabriēl; Arabic: جبريل, Jibrīl or جبرائيل Jibrail; Aramaic: Gabr-el, man of God; literally "Master, of God", i.e., a Master, who is "of God"; or "my master is God") is generally considered to be an archangel in Abrahamic religions, who serves as a messenger from God. He first appears in the Book of Daniel in the Hebrew Bible. In Biblical tradition, he is sometimes regarded as the angel of death or one of God's messengers.

Christians and Muslims believe him to have foretold the births of John the Baptist and Jesus.

Islam further believes he was the medium through whom God revealed the Qur'an to Muhammad, and that he sent a message to most prophets, if not all, revealing their obligations. He is called the chief of the four favoured angels and the spirit of truth, and in some views Gabriel is the same as the Holy Spirit.

Gabriel also finds mention in the writings of the Bahá'í Faith, most notably in Bahá'u'lláh's mystical work Seven Valleys.

Christian references

Canonical New Testament

In the Gospel of Luke, Gabriel reveals to the Jewish Pharisee and Priest Zechariah that John the Baptist will be born to Zechariah's wife Elizabeth and visits Elizabeth's cousin Mary to reveal that she will give birth to Jesus.

Gabriel's visit to Mary is often called "The Annunciation" an event that is celebrated on March 25 in the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic churches. It is also commemorated as the "First Joyful Mystery" of the rosary.

Gabriel's annunciation to Mary has been one of the most frequent subjects of Christian art in general, and a key element in Roman Catholic Marian art. The scene has been depicted by masters such as Sandro Botticelli, Leonardo de Vinci, Caravaggio, Duccio and Murillo, among others.

According to later legend, he is also the unidentified angel in the Book of Revelation (the Apocalypse of John) who blows the final trumpet announcing Judgment Day .

Pseudepigraphy

According to Enoch 9:1-2 Gabriel, along with Michael, Raphael, Uriel and Suriel hear the cries of humanity under the strain of the Nephilim. It was their beseeching of 'the Ancient of Days' [Yahweh], that prompted God to call Enoch to prophethood.

After Enoch informed the Watchers of their fall from Grace, Yahweh sent the archangels to earth to complete various tasks. Gabriel was to 'Go to the biters, to the reprobates, to the children of fornication, the offspring of the Watchers, from among men; bring them forth and excite them against one another. Let them perish under mutual slaughter; for length of days shall not be theirs.' Enoch 10:13. And so, Gabriel instigated wars among the Giants (the children of the Watchers).

Enoch 20:7 says that Gabriel presides over 'Ikisat'. Which appears to be a proper noun of some type. While Enoch 40:9 states that Gabriel presides over 'all that is powerful'.

Enoch 53:6 shows us that Gabriel, among his brethren, shall be strengthened during the Battle of Armageddon.

Enoch 71:13 seems to imply that Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Phanuel always travel with Yahweh when he moves from His Throne. Though Michael is the only confirmed archangel, Gabriel is generally considered to be an archangel due to his prominent roles in the bible. Raphael and Phanuel are implied to be archangels throughout the book of Enoch, which is not a book within the traditional cannonized Bible.

And that Head of Days came with Michael and Gabriel, Raphael and Phanuel, thousands and ten thousands of angels without number.

Feast Days

The feast of Saint Gabriel was included for the first time in the General Roman Calendar in 1921, for celebration on 24 March. In 1969 it was transferred to 29 September for celebration together with St. Michael and St. Raphael. The Church of England has also adopted the 29 September date.

The Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite celebrate his feast day on 8 November (for those churches which follow the traditional Julian Calendar, 8 November currently falls on 21 November of the modern Gregorian Calendar, a difference of 13 days). Eastern Orthodox commemorate him, not only on his November feast, but also on two other days: 26 March is the "Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel" and celebrates his role in the Annunciation. 13 July is also known as the "Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel", and celebrates all the appearances and miracles attributed to Gabriel throughout history. The feast was first established on Mount Athos when, in the ninth century, during the reign of Emperor Basil II and the Empress Constantina Porphyrogenitus, while Nicholas Chrysoverges was Patriarch of Constantinople, the Archangel appeared in a cell near Karyes, where he wrote with his finger on a stone tablet the hymn to the Theotokos, "It is truly meet..." (see Axion Estin).

The Ethiopian Church celebrates his feast on 28 December, with a sizeable number of its believers making a pilgrimage to a church dedicated to "Saint Gabriel" in Kulubi on that day.

Latter-Day Saint view

In Latter-day Saint theology, Gabriel lived in this mortal life as the patriarch Noah. Gabriel and Noah are regarded as the same individual; Noah being his mortal name and Gabriel being his heavenly name. See also: Noah, Michael (archangel) ~ Adam

Islamic references

The Arabic name for Gabriel is Jibril, Jibrīl, Jibreel, Jabrilæ or Djibril (جبريل , جبرائيل, dʒibræːʔiːl, [dʒibrɛ̈ʔiːl], or [dʒibriːl]) Muslims believe Gabriel to have been the angel who revealed the Qur'an to the prophet Muhammad.

Gabriel's physical appearance is described in the Hadith ():

Narrated By Abu Ishaq-Ash-Shaibani: I asked Zir bin Hubaish regarding the Statement of God: "And was at a distance Of but two bow-lengths Or (even) nearer; So did (God) convey The Inspiration to His servant (Gabriel) and then he (Gabriel) Conveyed (that to Muhammad). On that, Zir said, "Ibn Mas'ud informed us that the Prophet had seen Gabriel having 600 wings."
Gabriel is regarded with the exact same respect by Muslims as all of the Prophets, and upon saying his name or referring to him a Muslim repeats: "upon him be peace". Gabriel's primary tasks are to bring messages from God to His messengers. As in Christianity, Gabriel is said to be the angel that informed Mary (Arabic Maryam) of how she would conceive Jesus (Isa):

She placed a screen (to screen herself) from them; then We sent to her Our Ruh [angel Jibrael (Gabriel)], and he appeared before her in the form of a man in all respects. She said: "Verily! I seek refuge with the Most Beneficent (God) from you, if you do fear God." (The angel) said: "I am only a Messenger from your Lord, (to announce) to you the gift of a righteous son." She said: "How can I have a son, when no man has touched me, nor am I unchaste?" He said: "So (it will be), your Lord said: 'That is easy for Me (God): And (We wish) to appoint him as a sign to mankind and a mercy from Us (God), and it is a matter (already) decreed, (by God).' "
(Quran, )

Muslims believe Gabriel to have accompanied Muhammad in his ascension to the heavens, where Muhammad also is said to have met previous messengers of God, and was informed about the Islamic prayer (Bukhari ). Muslims also believe that Gabriel descends to Earth on the night of Laylat al-Qadr ("The Night of Great Value"), a night in the last ten days of the holy month of Ramadan in the Islamic calendar which is believed to be the night in which the Quran was first revealed.

Judaic references

History and the Hebrew Bible

The name Gabriel first appears in the Book of Daniel. The setting of the story is the Babylonian captivity: the Jewish leader Daniel ponders the meanings of several visions he has experienced in exile, when Gabriel appears to him with a message about the "End of Days":

  • "...And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, that I sought to understand it; and, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man. And I heard the voice of a man between the banks of Ulai, who called, and said:' Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.' So he came near where I stood; and when he came, I was terrified, and fell upon my face; but he said to me: 'Understand, son of man; for the vision belongs to the time of the end..." ()

Narad : Gabriel's counterpart in Hinduism

Although Gabriel does not occur phonetically or etymologically in Hindu texts, the central task of Gabriel which is an important messenger of God is performed in Hinduism by Narada. Mentioned as one of the greatest devotees of Vishnu he travels the three worlds singing the praise of the Lord and is welcomed everywhere with respect. It was Narada who narrated the Ramayana to Maharshi Valmiki and asked Maharshi Ved Vyas to write the Mahabharata.

Art

In chronological order (to see each item, follow the link in the footnote):

Popular culture

  • The eccentric English hagiographer and antiquarian, Sabine Baring-Gould (1834-1924), wrote a Basque Christmas carol, Gabriel's Message, which was probably based on the 13th or 14th century Latin chant Angelus Ad Virginem which itself is based on the Biblical account of the Annunciation in the New Testament Gospel of Luke.
  • In his epic poem Paradise Lost, John Milton made Gabriel chief of the angelic guards placed over Paradise.
  • In an episode of The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series), entitled A Passage for Trumpet, Trumpet player Joey Crown (played by Jack Klugman) makes a decision to live or die with the help of a trumpet player who later turns out to be the angel Gabriel.
  • In Star Trek, Dr. McCoy quipped that just once he would like to transport down to a primitive planet and say, "Behold, I am the Archangel Gabriel!"
  • In Constantine, Tilda Swinton portrays Gabriel as an androgyne. Gabriel betrays God and joins forces with the Devil's son.
  • In the Shin Megami Tensei series of video games, Gabriel is portrayed as the only female Seraph and, in the second installment, stands apart from the other Seraphim when their goals diverge from God's.
  • In The Prophecy trilogy, the angel Gabriel, played by Christopher Walken, is jealous of humans for being God's favorites and wishes to kill them all. In the second one he is banished to be a human and it causes him to change his opinion of them. After helping Danyael out through the third movie he is granted a second chance as an angel and ascends to Heaven once again.
  • In 2007, the Australian film Gabriel tells the story of an 'Arc' Angel who fights to bring light back to purgatory - a place where darkness rules - and save the souls of the city's inhabitants. Actor Andy Whitfield portrays the title role.
  • The film Van Helsing refers to the lead character, Van Helsing, as 'the left hand of God'. The antagonist, Count Vladislaus Draguelia, i.e. Count Dracula, refers to Van Helsing as 'Gabriel', to which Van Helsing responds 'how do you know me?'.

See also

Notes

Bibliography

  • Bamberger, Bernard Jacob, (March 15, 2006). Fallen Angels: Soldiers of Satan's Realm. Jewish Publication Society of America. ISBN 0-8276-0797-0
  • Briggs, Constance Victoria, 1997. The Encyclopedia of Angels: An A-to-Z Guide with Nearly 4,000 Entries. Plume. ISBN 0-452-27921-6.
  • Bunson, Matthew, (1996). Angels A to Z: A Who's Who of the Heavenly Host. Three Rivers Press. ISBN 0-517-88537-9.
  • Cruz, Joan C. 1999. Angels and Devils. Tan Books & Publishers. ISBN 0-89555-638-3.
  • Davidson, Gustav. A Dictionary of Angels: Including the Fallen Angels. Free Press. ISBN 0-02-907052-X
  • Graham, Billy, 1994. Angels: God's Secret Agents. W Pub Group; Minibook edition. ISBN 0-8499-5074-0
  • Guiley, Rosemary, 1996. Encyclopedia of Angels. ISBN 0-8160-2988-1
  • Kreeft, Peter J. 1995. Angels and Demons: What Do We Really Know About Them? Ignatius Press. ISBN 0-89870-550-9
  • Lewis, James R. (1995). Angels A to Z. Visible Ink Press. ISBN 0-7876-0652-9
  • Melville, Francis, 2001. The Book of Angels: Turn to Your Angels for Guidance, Comfort, and Inspiration. Barron's Educational Series; 1st edition. ISBN 0-7641-5403-6
  • Ronner, John, 1993. Know Your Angels: The Angel Almanac With Biographies of 100 Prominent Angels in Legend & Folklore-And Much More! Mamre Press. ISBN 0-932945-40-6.

Galleries of Gabriel in art

Roman Catholic Marian art paintings

Statues of Gabriel

External links

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