Archangel Metatron
Updated: Jan 15, 2022

Metatron is an angel in Judeo-Islamic mythology, mentioned in a few brief passages in the Aggadah and in mystical Kabbalistic texts within the Rabbinic literature. The name Metatron is not mentioned in the Torah and how the name originated is a matter of debate. In Islamic tradition, he is also known as Mīṭaṭrūsh, the angel of the veil. In folkloristic tradition, he is the highest of the angels and serves as the celestial scribe or “recording angel”.
In Jewish apocrypha and early kabbalah, “Metatron” is the name that Enoch received after his transformation into an angel.
Origins
Among the pseudepigrapha 1 Enoch: Book of Parables presents two figures: the son of man and Enoch. At first, these two characters seem to be separate entities. Enoch views the son of man enthroned in Heaven. Later, however, they prove to be one and the same. Many scholars believe that the final chapters in the Book of Parables are a later addition. Others think they are not and that the son of man is Enoch’s heavenly double similarly to the Prayer of Joseph where Jacob is depicted as an angel. The Book of Daniel displays two similar characters: the Ancient of Days and the one like a man. Parts of the text in Daniel are Aramaic and may have been changed in translation. The Septuagint reads that the son of man came as the Ancient of Days. All other translations say the son of man gained access to the Ancient of Days and was brought before that one.
The identification of Metatron with the gnostic 3 Enoch, where the name first appears, is not explicitly made in the Talmud although it does refer to a Prince of the World who was young but now is old. However, some of the earliest kabbalists assumed the connection. There also seems to be two Metatrons, one spelled with six letters (מטטרון), and one spelled with seven (מיטטרון). The former may be the transformed Enoch, Prince of the Countenance within the divine palace; the latter, the Primordial Metatron, an emanation of the “Cause of Causes”, specifically the tenth and last emanation, identified with the earthly Divine Presence. Furthermore, the Merkabah text Re’ uyot Yehezkel identifies the Ancient of Days from the Book of Daniel as Metatron.
Scholem’s scholastic analysis
Many scholars see a discontinuity between how Enoch is portrayed in the early Enoch literature and how Metatron is portrayed. Scholars commonly see the character of Metatron as being based on an amalgam of Jewish literature, in addition to Enoch, Michael, Melchizedek, and Yahoel among others are seen as influences.
Gershom Scholem argues Metatron’s character was influenced by two streams of thought. One of which linked Metatron with Enoch, while the second was a fusing of different obscure entities and mythic motifs. Scholem argues that this second tradition was originally separate but later became fused with the Enoch tradition. He points to texts where this second Metatron is a primordial angel and referred to as Metatron Rabbah. Scholem theorizes that the two Hebrew spellings of Metatron’s name are representative of these two separate traditions. In his view the second Metatron is linked to Yahoel. Scholem also links Yahoel with Michael. In the Apocalypse of Abraham Yahoel is assigned duties normally reserved for Michael. Yahoel’s name is commonly seen as a substitute for the Ineffable Name.
In 2 Enoch, Enoch is assigned titles commonly used by Metatron such as “the Youth, the Prince of the Presence and the Prince of the World.” However we do not see Enoch referred to as the Lesser YHWH. In 3 Enoch, Metatron is called the lesser YHWH. This raises a problem since the name Metatron does not seem to be directly related to the name of God YHWH. Scholem proposes this is because the lesser YHWH is a reference to Yahoel. In Maaseh Merkabah the text reasons that Metatron is called the lesser YHWH because in Hebrew gematria Metatron is numerically equivalent to another name of God Shaddai. Scholem does not find this convincing. Scholem point to the fact that both Yahoel and Metatron were known as the lesser YHWH. In 3 Enoch 48D1 Metatron is called both Yahoel Yah and Yahoel. In addition to being one of the seventy names of Metatron from 3 Enoch 48D. Yahoel and Metatron are also linked in Aramaic incantation bowl inscriptions.
Talmud
The Babylonian Talmud mentions Metatron by name in three places: Hagigah 15a, Sanhedrin 38b and Avodah Zarah 3b.
Hagigah 15a describes Elisha ben Abuyah in Paradise seeing Metatron sitting down (an action that is not done in the presence of God). Elishah ben Abuyah therefore looks to Metatron as a deity and says heretically: “There are indeed two powers in Heaven!” The rabbis explain that Metatron had permission to sit because of his function as the Heavenly Scribe, writing down the deeds of Israel. The Talmud states, it was proved to Elisha that Metatron could not be a second deity by the fact that Metatron received 60 “strokes with fiery rods” to demonstrate that Metatron was not a god, but an angel, and could be punished.
In Sanhedrin 38b one of the minim tells Rabbi Idith that Metatron should be worshiped because he has a name like his master. Rabbi Idith uses the same passage Exodus 23:21 to show that Metatron was an angel and not a deity and thus should not be worshiped. Furthermore, as an angel Metatron has no power to pardon transgressions nor was he to be received even as a messenger of forgiveness.
In Avodah Zarah 3b, the Talmud hypothesizes as to how God spends His day. It is suggested that in the fourth quarter of the day God sits and instructs the school children, while in the preceding three quarters Metatron may take God’s place or God may do this among other tasks.
Yevamot 16b records an utterance, “I have been young; also I have been old” found in Psalm 37:25. The Talmud here attributes this utterance to the Czar of the World/Eternity, whom the rabbinic tradition identifies as Metatron.
Kirkisani
The tenth century Karaite scholar Jacob Qirqisani believed that rabbinic Judaism was the heresy of Jeroboam of the Kingdom of Israel. He quoted a version of Sanhedrin 38b, which he claimed contained a reference to the “lesser YHVH.” Gershom Scholem suggests that the name was deliberately omitted from later copies of the Talmud. However, Qirqisani may have misrepresented the Talmud in order to embarrass his Rabbanite opponents with evidence of polytheism. Extra-talmudic mystical texts such as Sefer Hekhalot do speak of a “lesser YHWH”, apparently deriving the concept from Exodus 23:21, which mentions an angel of whom God says “my name [understood as YHVH, the usual divine Proper Name] is in him”.
Merkabah and later mystical writings
Metatron also appears in the Pseudepigrapha including Shi’ur Qomah, and most prominently in the Hebrew Merkabah Book of Enoch, also called 3 Enoch or Sefer Hekhalot (Book of [the Heavenly] Palaces). The book describes the link between Enoch, son of Jared (great grandfather of Noah) and his transformation into the angel Metatron. His grand title “the lesser YHVH” resurfaces here. The word Metatron is numerically equivalent to Shaddai (God) in Hebrew gematria; therefore, he is said to have a “Name like his Master”.
Metatron says, “He
[the Holy One]
… called me, ‘The lesser YHVH’ in the presence of his whole household in the height, as it is written, ‘my name is in him.'” (12:5, Alexander’s translation.) The narrator of this book, supposedly Rabbi Ishmael, tells how Metatron guided him through Heaven and explained its wonders. 3 Enoch presents Metatron in two ways: as a primordial angel (9:2–13:2) and as the transformation of Enoch after he was assumed into Heaven.
And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him. [Genesis 5:24 KJV.]
This Enoch, whose flesh was turned to flame, his veins to fire, his eye-lashes to flashes of lightning, his eye-balls to flaming torches, and whom God placed on a throne next to the throne of glory, received after this heavenly transformation the name Metatron.
The Zohar calls Metatron “the Youth”, a title previously used in 3 Enoch, where it appears to mean “servant”. It identifies him as the angel that led the people of Israel through the wilderness after their exodus from Egypt (again referring to Exodus 23:21, see above), and describes him as a heavenly priest.
In the later Ecstatic Kabbalah, Metatron is a messianic figure.
Apocalyptic texts
In the Apocalypse of Zerubbabel Metatron is not identified as Enoch. Instead he is identified as the archangel Michael. The text also records that Metatron in gematria is the equivalent of Shadday. While he also appears in other apocalyptic writings he is most prominent in the Apocalypse of Zerubbabel. In these writings he plays the role of heavenly interlocutor delivering knowledge about the coming messianic age.
Islam
The earliest account of Metatron within Islamic scriptures might derive directly from the Quran itself. Uzair, according to Surah 9:30-31 venerated as a Son of God by Jews, is another name for the prophet Enoch, who was also identified with Metatron in Merkabah Mysticism. Islamic heresiologists repeatedly accused Jews for venerating an angel as a lesser god (or an Incarnation of God), especially for celebrating Rosh Hashanah. The name itself is attested early in Islam by Al-Kindi and Al-Masudi. In a Druze text about cosmology, he is mentioned among the canonical Archangels in Islamic traditions. Al-Suyuti identifies him as the angel of the veil and only he knows about that which lies beyond. He is also frequently mentioned in the magical works by Ahmad al-Buni, who describes Metatron as wearing a crown and a lance, probably constituting the Staff of Moses. In other magical practices, he is invoked to ward off evil jinn, demons, sorcerers and other magical threats.
Etymology
There are numerous possible etymologies for the name Metatron. However, some scholars, such as Philip Alexander, believe if the name Metatron originated in Hekhalot-Merkabah texts (such as 3 Enoch), then it may be a magic word like Adiriron and Dapdapiron.
Hugo Odeberg, Adolf Jellinek and Marcus Jastrow suggest the name may originate from either Mattara “keeper of the watch” or the verb Memater “to guard, to protect”. An early derivation of this can be seen in Shimmusha Rabbah, where Enoch is clothed in light and is the guardian of the souls ascending to heaven. Odeberg also suggests that the name Metatron might be taken from the Old Persian name Mithra. Citing Wiesner, he lays out a number of parallels between Mithra and Metatron based on their positions in heaven and duties.
Metatron seems to be made up of two Greek words for after and throne, meta thronos, taken together as “one who serves behind the throne” or “one who occupies the throne next to the throne of glory”. The two words do not appear separately in any text known to Gershom Scholem, who therefore dismisses the idea with the words “this widely repeated etymology…has no merit.”
The word synthronos is used as “co-occupant of the divine throne”; however, like the above etymology, it is not found in any source materials. It is supported by Saul Lieberman and Peter Schäfer, who give further reasons why this might be a viable etymology. The Latin word Metator (messenger, guide, leader, measurer) had been suggested by Eleazar of Worms (c. 1165 – c. 1230), Nachmanides, and brought to light again by Hugo Odeberg. When transliterated into the Hebrew language, we get מטיטור or מיטטור. Gershom Scholem argues that there is no data to justify the conversion of metator to metatron. Philip Alexander also suggests this as a possible origin of Metatron, stating that the word Metator also occurs in Greek as mitator–a word for an officer in the Roman army who acted as a forerunner. Using this etymology, Alexander suggests the name may have come about as a description of “the angel of the Lord who led the Israelites through the wilderness: acting like a Roman army metator guiding the Israelites on their way”. Another possible interpretation is that of Enoch as a metator showing them “how they could escape from the wilderness of this world into the promised land of heaven”. Because we see this as a word in Hebrew, Jewish Aramaic, and Greek, Alexander believes this gives even more strength to this etymology.
Other ideas include μέτρον (metron, “a measure”). Charles Mopsik believes that the name Metatron may be related to the sentence from Genesis 5:24 “Enoch walked with God, then he was no more, because God took him.” The Greek version of the Hebrew word “to take” is μετετέθη (he was transferred). רון (RON) is a standard addition to מטטרון (Metatron) and other angelic names in the Jewish faith. According to Mopsik, מטט (MTT) is a transliteration from the Greek μετετέθη.
In the entry entitled “Paradigmata” in his study, “‘The Written’ as the Vocation of Conceiving Jewishly”, John W McGinley gives an accounting of how this name functions in the Bavli’s version of “four entered pardes”. This account maintains that “Ishmael ben Elisha” is a rabbinically sanctioned cognomen for Elisha ben Abbuyah (the “Akher” of the Bavli’s account). This hypothesis explains why the generators of the “chambers” portion of the Heikhalot literature make “Ishmael ben Elisha” the major protagonist of their writings even though this Rabbi Ishmael was not directly mentioned in the Bavli’s account (in the Gemara to tractate Khaggigah) of “The Work of the Chariot”.
Solomon Judah Loeb Rapoport in Igrot Shir suggests that Metatron is a combination of two Greek words which mean to “change” and “pass away” referring to Chanoch (Enoch) who “changed” into an angel and “passed away” from the world.
5 Things You Need to Know About Metatron
1. Metatron Was Involved In the Formation of the Sacred Geometry Structure of the Cosmos
Archangel Metatron holds the crystalline sacred geometry template of the matrix, and also the template for the awakened earth.
He is one of the angels directly involved in creating the structure of Creation, and therefore holds the template for living an awakened life.
He can support you in aligning with this higher template accessible through resonance.
As a result of his connection with the geometric structure of the cosmos, the hidden script behind creation, seeing geometric forms in conjunction with Metatron’s presence can be one of the calling cards that he’s with you.
Children and sensitive individuals like the star children, are especially receptive to living in alignment with these higher templates, and so Metatron is known to work with and support them.
He can help children, and all who are receptive and willing to transcend karma, clear limiting beliefs and align with higher timelines.
2. The Angel of Life and Overseer of the Akashic Records
Metatron is commonly referred to as an “Angel of Life”. This is due to his role with the Akashic records.
The Akashic Records contain accounts of everything that happens within the vast multi-dimensional spheres of Heaven and Earth.
As the Angel of Life, he can help you search the Akashic Record to uncover past soul wisdom, as well as future timelines, and trajectories.
This knowledge can help you sync with the highest timeline for your soul journey that is perhaps not the timeline you are currently on due to past choices, programming, limiting beliefs, past life traumas, or parallel incarnations.
With awareness, and by making changes in the present you can adjust your trajectory.
3. “Packed Thought-forms” And Spiritual Downloads
Archangel Metatron is an incredibly advanced, and high vibrational being. As such, his highest communication happens in the form of “packed thought forms” or divine downloads of spiritual power and wisdom that are vast and multi-dimensional.
Packed thought-forms can be realized in their full extent by elevating your awareness above the level of normal understanding.
Meditation can help you to elevate awareness so you can tune in to the higher perspectives of divine love, embodiment of your divine truth, and the complete guidance of Metatron.
When you’re not aware at a higher level of divine consciousness, Metatron may communicate in the following ways:
Through feeling
Through an impulse to take action.
Through a thought pattern/intuitive nudge
When you receive communication in the above ways, there is more available for you to tune into.
Metatron may support you in unlocking this higher level of divine communication by activating your crown chakra so your awareness can elevate into higher energy centers of divine communication and the deeper meaning of messages and teachings he’s conveying can be revealed.
Crown Chakra tingles are a common experience you may have when your crown chakra is opening.
4. The Metatron Cube
One of the gifts Metatron has revealed to humanity is a Merkaba Star called Metatron’s cube or sometimes called the Metatron symbol.
It’s a geometric, multidimensional form that is made of light, color, sound, spiritual fire and frequency.
13 spheres of creation create the Merkaba star and unlock entire levels of understanding, healing, and experience.
The nature of the cube is very multidimensional. There’s an immense amount of knowledge and understanding you can receive through it.
Metatron’s cube holds the script of Creation, the secrets of the universe and the template for reality.
It can be used as a vehicle for multidimensional travel into the higher spheres.
Can be used as a 12D Archangel Metatron Protection Shield
It has powerful healing ability.
How to Use The Merkaba Star For Healing
Meditate on a picture of the Metatrons cube to help clear the pathways of psychic perception, clear and elevate your mind and raise the vibration of your thoughts.
Visualize the Merkaba Star around you to bring healing to your entire being.
5. Divine I Am Pillar of Light
Metatron is focused on serving humanity in the ascension process and in creating heaven on earth.
One of the ways he does this is supporting us in accessing our Divine I Am Presence through the Ascension Pillar of Light.
The Ascension Pillar is a core of light at the center of your being that expands around you.
It anchors you to the crystalline core of earth below, and flows up through your open heart, up along the center of your being, out crown at the top of your head connecting you to the Source of All That Is.
Metatron is available to help you activate it through a top down initiation.
Activate Your Pillar of Light
Tune in to the presence of Archangel Metatron way above your head. You may sense him as a brilliant orb of divine light.
Allow the divine light to shine upon you like spotlight from above, opening your higher energy centers, flowing in through your crown, through your heart, through your abdomen, and anchoring down all the way to the crystalline core of earth.
Activating your pillar of light empowers you to be of service at a higher level in the highest interest of all.
Interestingly, when connecting with higher light grounding is also so important!
Archangel Metatron Prayer
Breathe, direct your awareness inward and speak or think:
Beloved Source of All That Is. The One
Beloved Solar Logos, Christ Light.
Beloved Holy Spirit. Beloved guardian angels, beloved archangels,
Beloved Archangel Metatron…
Thank you for your presence here and now.
Thank you for so many blessings in my life.
Thank you for stepping forward now in a clear and profound way so I may receive your guidance and experience the healing power and gifts you bring.
Help me to see and know the next steps I can take to more fully connect with your insight, and open to the higher divine thought forms and downloads available.
To anchor the light of Source, and the light of the higher realms into the here and now.
So I may be of service at a higher level in the highest interest of all.
Thank, and so it is.