Nuriel (Fire) is the angel of hailstorms, as reported in Jewish legend, and was encountered by Moses in the second heaven. Nuriel manifests in the form of an eagle issuing from the side of Hesed (Kindness). He is grouped with Michael, Shamshiel, Seraphiel, and other great angels and is characterized as a “spell-binding power.”
The Zohar pictures Nuriel as the angel who governs Virgo. He is said to be three hundred parasangs (about 1,200 miles) tall, with a retinue of fifty myriads (500,000) of angels. His height is exceeded only by the erelim, the watchers, Af and Hemah, and by the tallest hierarch in heaven, known as Metatron. Nuriel is mentioned in Gnostic
lore as one of seven subordinates to Jehuel, prince of fire. In the book Hebrew Amulets, Schrire reports that his name can be found engraved on oriental amulets.
FURTHER READING:
- Davidson, Gustav. A Dictionary of Angels: Including the Fallen Angels. 1967. Reprint.New York: Free Press, 1971.
- Schrire, T. Hebrew Amulets. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1966.
SOURCE:
Angels A to Z 2nd Edition – Written by Evelyn Dorothy Oliver & James R. Lewis – Copyright © 2008 by Visible Ink Press