Raguel — “the Friend of God” — is the archangel of justice, harmony, and order among the angels in Jewish tradition: the angel who oversees the conduct of the other angels and ensures they act justly, the watcher who brings the wayward to account, the guardian of fairness and divine order in the heavens. He is the justice of heaven, even among the angels themselves.
The Friend of God
Raguel (Raguil, Reuel, “the friend of God”) is the archangel of justice, fairness, harmony, and order — named in the Book of Enoch as one of the holy angels, “who takes vengeance on the world of the luminaries” and watches over the conduct of the heavenly host. His distinctive office is the oversight of the other angels: Raguel is the angel who ensures that the angels themselves behave justly and in accordance with the divine order, who watches over their conduct and brings to account any who stray. He is, in a sense, the guardian of justice and harmony within heaven itself.
The Watcher of the Angels
Raguel’s role as the overseer of the angels makes him a unique and important figure — the angel of angels’ justice, the one who maintains order, fairness, and right conduct among the celestial host, and who, in the apocalyptic traditions, plays a part in the final judgment, bringing the fallen and the wayward (even fallen angels) to account. He is associated with harmony, balance, and the resolution of disputes, the angel who restores fairness and order where it has been broken.
The Justice of Heaven
Raguel is invoked for justice, fairness, harmony, balance, and the resolution of conflict — the angel who upholds what is right and brings the wayward to account. He is counted in some traditions among the seven archangels who stand before the Throne, his sphere being justice and the oversight of the heavenly order. As the “friend of God” who guards the justice of the angels, he holds an important place. In Raguel, Jewish tradition gave form to justice and harmony among the angels — the archangel who oversees the conduct of the heavenly host, ensures they act justly, brings the wayward to account, and upholds the fairness and order of heaven itself, the friend of God and the justice of the angels.