Metatron (Hebrew מטטרון or מיטטרון) is the name of an angel in Judaism and some branches of Christianity and Islam.
There are no references to him in the Jewish Tanakh (Old Testament), Christian Scriptures (New Testament), or the Qur’an.
Metatron is another name for the Angel of the LORD – the One who appeared to Moses and said, categorically, “I AM WHO I AM.
Although he is mentioned in a few brief passages in the Talmud, Metatron appears primarily in medieval Jewish mystical texts and other post-scriptural esoteric and occult sources.
In Rabbinic tradition, he is the highest of the angels and serves as the celestial scribe, though there is no consensus as to his genesis, nor is there a Christian consensus on his position in the hierarchy of angels.
Metatron is identified with the term “lesser YHVH”, which is the Lesser Tetragrammaton, in a Talmudic version as cited by the Karaite scholar Kirkisani.
The word Metatron is numerically equivalent to Shaddai (God) in Hebrew gematria; therefore, he is said to have a “Name like his Master.”
There also seem to be two spellings of Metatron, one spelled with six letters (מטטרון), and one spelled with seven (מיטטרון).
** 6 is the number of man. 7 is the number of the divine.
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.
Who is Metatron? He is the highest archangel, esteemed more than any other of God’s hosts. The letters [of his name] are the great mystery.
You may translate the letters vav, hay which is [part of] the name of God…
He rules over all, the living things below and the living things above. This is hidden in them and taken from them.
“Indeed, so similar is Metatron to God and so alike his trappings and authority and power, that one is left with the impression that we have a figure here who is so like God that he virtually acts as the very embodiment of divinity
Metatron’s position in the heavenly world is briefly and accurately summed up in the title ‘The lesser YHWH’; he is the HIGHEST of the archangels and GOD’S VICE-REGENT.
Like the Holy One himself, he has a throne and presides over a celestial law court” (p.243).
In a Dead Sea scroll (11Qmelch) the personage known as Melchizedek “appears as being exalted over all the angels,” and it is stated that He will “preside over a heavenly assize and exact punishment, with the help of the other angels” (p.249).
The Qumran community apparently regarded Melchizedek as the high priest of the heavenly Temple.
Thus Metatron is the same personage as Melchizedek – and the apostle Paul identifies Melchizedek as none other than the One who became Jesus Christ!
Paul writes that Melchizedek, to whom Abraham paid a tithe of all (Gen.14:18-20), was “without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but MADE LIKE the Son of God, REMAINS a priest continually” (Heb.7:1-3).
This person had no parents, humanly speaking. He was KING of Salem, or Jerusalem, meaning, “king of peace” (verse 2). His name, itself, means “King of righteousness.”
He pre-existed the Universe, having no “beginning of days.” He is an ETERNAL being, having “no end of life.”
Thus His beginning had to be BEFORE CREATION, as “days” are defined as a product of the earth turning on its axis causing night and day.
“The angel Metatron, Prince of the Divine Presence, Prince of Torah, the angel, Prince of Wisdom; the angel, Prince of Understanding; the angel, Prince of Glory; the angel, Prince of the Palace; the angel, Prince of Kings; the angel, Prince of Rulers; the angel, Prince of the exalted, lofty, great and honored Princes, who are in heaven and earth, said, YHWH the God of Israel is my witness . . . .” (3 Enoch 48D:5-6).
“I made honor, majesty, and glory his garment; beauty, pride, and strength his outer robe, and a kingly crown . . .
I bestowed on him some of my majesty, some of my magnificence, some of the splendor of my glory, which is on the throne of glory, and I called him by MY NAME, The Lesser YHWH, Prince of the Divine Presence, knower of secrets.’
*** Scripture says that God does not share his glory with mankind, so this would remove Enoch, or any mortal, as a candidate.
Every secret I have made known to him in love, every mystery I have made known to him in uprightness.
“As it is written, ‘So the word that goes from my mouth does not return to me empty: he carries out my will.’ It does not say here, ‘I carry out,’ but, ‘he carries out,’ which teaches us that Metatron stands and carries out every word and every utterance that issues from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be he, and executes the decree of the Holy One” (3 Enoch 48C:1-10).
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