EARTH, ANGELS OF THE-In the stories and legends of angels, there are said to be certain angels who make as their focus the guidance and oversight of the world. They concern themselves with the well-being of humanity and also watch that the earth continues to go along its proper path in the heavens. According to the seventeeth-century angel expert Thomas Heywood, in his Hierachy of the Blessed Angels (1635), there are four angels of the earth, the famous Michael, Raphael. Uriel, and Gabriel. Each angel has control over one of the four cardinal points of direction: north (Gabriel), south (Uriel), east (Michael), and west (Raphael). In the Jewish tradition, there are seven angels of the earth: Ariel, Tabbashael, Azriel, Arhiel, Arciciah, Horobael, and Admael.

EDEN, GARDEN OF-The earthly Paradise that was the first abode of Adam and Eve until their expulsion from the garden, an event recorded in the Old Testament Book of Genesis. Deriving its name perhaps from the Sumerian word eden, meaning "plain" (or perhaps from a word denoting "pleasure"), Eden was supposedly located in the Near East, close to Israel, its precise locale narrowed by the position of four rivers that formed out of the river that flowed out of Eden and nourished the garden: the Pishon, the Gihon, the Trigris, and the Euphrates, rivers that would seem to place the garden in the fertile crescent. Attempts to locate the garden, however, have (not surprisingly) proven unsuccessful. Beyond the fearsome cherubim (listed often as Metatron or Jophiel), there are a number of associations between angels and the garden. For example, the famed archangel Raphael is said to be the angel responsible for guarding the tree of life; this angel was also named by John Dryden in his poem "State of Innocence, or the Fall of Man," as being the very angry angel who tossed Adam and Eve out of Paradise. In Paradise Lost by John Milton, however, this task was given to the archangel Michael.

EGYPT, ANGEL OF-The angel who is charged with the special protection and guardianship of Egypt. Ranked as one of the guardian angels of nations (see Guardian Angels), this angelic patron has been given various identifications, including Samael (a chief angel of the fallen angels), Mastema (the accusing angel), and Duma. The latter angel is most often considered the proper angel of Egypt. He was most vociferous in defense of his charges, going so far in legend as to empower the accomplished wizards of Egypt to perform the same feats of magic as Moses when the Lawgiver arrived at the court of the pharaoh and tried to impress him enough that the Israelites should be freed from their bondage (an event recorded in the Old Testament Book of Exodus). According to legend, recounted in Louis Ginzberg's The Legends of the Jews, the angel descended to the land of the Nile to give succor to his people upon departure of the Jews, stopping long enough to put a fright into the Israelites by an impressive demonstration in the air. As Jewish custop declares all the guardian angels of nations to have fallen (save, of course, for the ever-redoubtable St. Michael), the angel of Egypt joined denizens of the hoary netherworld; it is unclear whether the Lord ever appointed a successor.

EIAEL-The very helpful angel who is able to teach secrets in occult arts and science. Eiael can be summoned by competent sorcerers, but the person invoking him must be certain to recite the fourth verse of Psalm 36: "He plots mischief while on his bed, he sets himself in a way that is not good; he spurns not evil."

ELDERS-The collective name given to a group of twenty-four beings who sit upon thrones encircling the throne of God, as described by St. John in the Book of Revelation. It is often believed by scholars and interpreters of Revelation that the elders are, in fact, to be counted as great angels, perhaps a secret or distinct order of angelic beings. It is unclear where exactly the elders reside, although the Second Book of Enoch lists them as inhabiting part of the first of the seven heavens; here they act as "rulers of the stellar orders."

ELIJAH-The ninth-century Hebrew prophet who, with the patriarch Enoch, was one of only two Old Testament figures to be translated to heaven while still living upon the earth: aside from being one of the most revered of all Jewish religious leaders, Elijah is also declared in legend to have been transformed, like Enoch, into an angel. On the basic of this fiery exit, Elijah became the source of a host of tales and traditions. He was, it was said, transformed into an angel and given a large place in the celestial hierarchy. The name most associated with his angelic persona is Sandalphon,, the twin brother of Mettatron (the onetime Enoch) and one of the tallest angels in heaven. In Jewish lore he stands at the crossroads of paradise, waiting eagerly to direct the holy to their places of eternal bliss; he also is reported in the Talmud to act as the recording angel, keeping track of all deeds by the living. Finally, he is nicknamed the "bird of heaven" in recognition of his constant flight from heaven to mediate or participate in earthly affairs. Several stories exist to explain how Elijah might have managed to escape death. One has Elijah actually being the incarnation of an angel, in the same way that Issas was supposedly always an angel. His elevation to heaven was thus more of a return than a transportation. The other tale has him engaged in a fascinating struggle with Death itself. His journey to heaven was apparently opposed by the angel of death, and the lord gave his permission for the angel to stop Elijah before reaching the gates of heaven. The two grappled, and to the angel's surprise, Elijah gained the upper hand. The prophet would have finished off Death entirely had God not intervened. The angel stepped aside, and Elijah went on to become Sandalphon, and angel most concerned with the welfare of humanity. (See also Manna.)

ELOHIM-The Hebrew name for God (Yahweh), the plural of eloha, meaning "god"; while technically a plural word, the singular Elohim was used and understood as the Hebrew conception of the God of Israel, the one true God. In Hebrew texts of the Old Testament, the word Elohim was used variously with other words or conjunctions such as ha- to make entirely clear that this is "the" God and not some other deity or personage. This grammatical addition was considered essential because elohim had also been used for earlier goddesses-its root, in fact, came from the Canaanite word el-and for such beings as angels. The application of elohim (perhaps to be defined as "sons of God") has been given to angels in the sense that they represent God as messengers and thus are equatable or synonymous with God himself. It can be argued, however, that the elohim might constitute their own order or choir, as was maintained by the fifteenth-century scholar Pico della Mirandola. When he compiled his own list of the angelic choirs, he placed the elohim in ninth place.

EMMANUEL-Also Immanuel, in the common understanding of the Hebrew word for "God is with us," which was used by the phophet Isaiah for the child whose eventual birth he predicted (Isaiah 7:14). To Christians, Isaiah's prophecy was fulfilled by the birth of Christ, the Messiah long predicted. "Emmanuel" is also used for several angels. In the lore surrounding the angel of the furnace-the angel who appeared with the condemned Jewish princes Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace. Emmanuel is used as a possible identification for the otherwise nameless angel.

EMPYREAN-The fifth and final heaven of the celestial organization first enunciated by the famed astronomer Ptolemy in the second century. This heaven, deriving its name from the greek empuros ("fire"), is said to be composed of fire and unapproachable light and is the place where resides the throne of God. It is thus the abode of the Lord and his angels.

ENOCH-The seventh-named patriarch of the Old testament Book of Genesis and one of the best-known figures in the field of angelology because of his reputed authorship of the Books of Enoch and his supposed transformation by God into the mighty angel Metatron. One of the so-called antediluvian patriarchs (the patriarchs prior to the Flood of Noah fame), Enoch was the son of Jared and was himself the father of Methuselah, who would live to be 969 years old. Said to be exceedingly pleasing to God, Enoch received the high honor of being taken to heaven. Despite these relatively brief mentionings in Scripture, Enoch (called Idris in the Qur'an and honored as a "truthful man, a prophet" by the Muslims) became the basis of a large body of legends. He is the supposed author of 366 books, collectively termed Enochian literature. The most famous writings bearing his name are the First, Second, and Third Books of Enoch, ranked among the large body of literature termed apocryphal and pseudepigraphical, meaning that they are noncanonical (not accepted into the body of recognized books of the Bible) and are-in the case of the pseudepigrapha-attributed to some person of note and written in the style of genuine biblical books. Most interesting of all the legends is the one in which Enoch was transported to heaven and there transformed into the angel Metatron. Once there, he was, with the divine flourish, made into Metatron, the angel of the face, high priest of the heavenly temple, and one of the supreme angels in all of the celetial hierarchy-not to mention the tallest of angels, with 36 wings and 265,000 eyes. (See Metatron.)

ENOCH, BOOKS OF-Three so-called pseudepigraphical works that were supposedly written by or under the influence of the antediluvian patriarch Enoch, who was taken up to heaven by the Lord, an event described in the Book of Genesis (5:24); pseudepigraphical writings are those that are noncanonical (meaning not accepted into the body of biblical books) and were composed in a style intending to resemble or appear as authentic biblical literature, often assuming the title of some personage known to the audience. In the case of the Books of Enoch, the actual writers or compilers chose a figure who was the source of many legends and tales, the most notable being his transformation by God into the truly powerful angel Metatron. While decidedly uncanonical, the three books remain fascinating and colorful reading, as well as treasures of detail and fanciful images concerning angels.

1 ENOCH-Known also as the Ethiopic Book of Enoch from the fact that the only surviving complete manuscript of it is in Ethiopic , this is the oldest of the three Enoch books, dating to the mid-second century B.C., although it actually comprises various sections, each dated differently: "The Book of Noah"; "Similitudes"; "The Dream Visions"; "Apocalypse of the Weeks"; and "The Book of the Heavenly Luminaries." Aside from material on Gehenna and heaven and the nature of evil, the text is full of stories and accounts of angels. The writer covers the fall of angels, the names of the archangels, and the fire of the luminaries of heaven. The reader thus encounters such angelic personages as Raguel, Uriel, Gabriel, Raphael, Michael, and Saraqael.

2 ENOCH-Known also as the Slavonic Book of Enoch because the only extant version is a Slavonic translation of the Greek original text, this specific edition dates to the seventh century A. D., although it is based on a much older Jewish text of the first century. A.D. While similar in some ways to the first book of Enoch and perhaps using it as a source, the Slavonic Enoch details Enoch's journey through the seven heavens, the life of Enoch's successors, especially Methuselah, and then gives a forecast of the Great Flood that encompassed the world in later generations. There are descriptions of angels residing in the heavens.

3 ENOCH-Also called the Hebrew Apocalypse of Enoch, this is a Jewish writing dating probably to the second century A.D. It was supposedly written by the noted Rabbi Ishmael, a brilliant scholar of Palestine during the early second century A.D. He reputes to recount his journey to heaven, where he beheld the very throne of God, along with the hosts of angels. His information was granted to him by the archangel Metatron, the onetime patriarch Enoch. This work remains perhaps the single greatest compendium of angelic lore, including a comprehensive assemblage of angels, archangels, and holy creatures, such as the watchers and holy ones.

EPHEMERA-A very unusual type of angel (plural ephemerae) that has a divinely appointed life span of barely a day or even hours. The ephemera (whose name means "short lived") comes into existence at the start of the day. It has but one purpose: to chant the "Te Deum," the great song of praise to God. Once completing this chant of glorious adoration, the ephemerae are snuffed out of existence, being subsumed or reassumed into the divine light. These angels are similar to many other angels appearing in lore whose sole-and honored-duty is to chant or sing ceaselessly in praise of God. (See Singing, Angelic.)

ERELIM- The hebrew equivalent of the angelic order or choir of the thrones. The name erelim means "the valiant (or courageous) ones." (See Thrones for details.)

ESERCHIE-An angel (although some say this stands for God) who appeared in the legends surrounding Moses. According to these stories, Eserchie was called upon by Moses to assist him in inflicting at least two of the plagues sent by God upon the Egyptians. The first was the turning of the waters of the Nile into blood, and the second was the plague of frogs. Both events are recorded in the Old Testament Book of Exodus (7:20-24; 8:1-15), although Scripture does not mention Eserchie. As it was, neither plague proved sufficient to convince the pharaoh to permit the Jews to depart Egypt, in part because the gifted court magicians themselves were able to perform the same remakable feats. In angel lore, this episode is especially interesting because the magical acts by the Egyptian wizards were accomplished by the so-called Angel of Egypt, the guardian of Egypt who was ever working for the interests of the people whose angelic patron he was, even if that meant working against God's Chosen People or a fellow angel.

ETHNARCHS-The name given to those angels who have authority as guardians or protectors of the nations of the world (For details, see under Guardian Angels.)

EXAEL-One of the ten angels mentioned in the First Book of Enoch who descended to earth and took wives. They also taught mortals about "magical medicine, incantations, the cutting of roots, and...plants."

EXOUSIA-The orginal Greek name for angels-in the New Testament. Exousia is translated variously as virtue or power, leaving open as to which exact angelic order it refers, as both powers and virtues are considered angelic choirs. St. Paul, for example, wrote about the angels, whom he called powers (exousia).

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