THE 72 NAMES: ORIGIN

Apart from Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, who are explicitly named in the Bible, the other archangels and angels seem to have fallen into anonymity, a state endorsed by a Church that appears to openly condemn the piety they inspire. This is without taking into account the Christian Kabbalah, which would rename them after the 72 ‘breaths’ of Jewish Kabbalah.

Gradually, these names came to refer to genii and then to angels, endowed with specific qualities that influence the nature of humans born within their ‘sphere of influence’. What’s more, they are distinguished from one another because the ending of their names has gradually become a reliable indicator for distinguishing ‘female’ angels from ‘male’ angels. The latter are said to have names ending in ‘-el’ (Jeliel, Aniel, Lecabel), whilst the former are said to have names ending in ‘-iah’ (Pahaliah, Seheiah, Mumiah). However, apart from the fact that these endings signify the word ‘God’, they do not specifically belong to any gender, whether masculine or feminine.

It is therefore amusing to note that, in a sense, the 72 angels as we know them today are a construct of the Kabbalists for various reasons.

Finally, let us add that the major archangels – whose relatively masculine appearance cannot be disputed – have names ending in ‘-el’. It therefore seems to be commonly accepted that this suffix is decidedly masculine!