Name Those Angels

Q

My question is a two part one. First, exactly how many Archangels are there? Besides Michael and Gabriel, the only other one that I’m aware of is Raphael, and very little mention is made of him. Is there any particular reason why this is so?

A

Michael is the only angelic being who is expressly called an archangel in Scripture. Gabriel is always referred to as an angel. Raphael is not mentioned in Scripture, but does appear in the Greek version of the apocryphal book of Tobit. And the one we know as Lucifer is called a cherub in Ezekiel 28:14. Some Hebrew traditions hold that there are a total of 7 archangels and include the four we’ve named here among them. The other three are most often called Uriel, Raguel, and Sariel.

As far as why there is so little mention of them, the Bible was written to man and is about mankind. Angels appear only as God’s messengers and as ministering spirits, (Hebrews 1:14) and with the exceptions noted above are not named.