Who is…
Gabriel
Hebrew: גַּבְרִיאֵל —transliteration: Gabriel —literal meaning: man of El —He is a champion of God. —occurrences: 2 (both in the book of Daniel)
Greek: Γαβριήλ —transliteration: Gabriél —occurrences: 2 (in the book of Luke)
This word is used as a proper name of the archangel who was sent to Daniel (Dan. 8:16) to explain his vision of the ram and the he-goat, and to communicate the prediction of the 70 weeks (Dan. 9:21-27). He is an archangel.
Now it happened when I, Daniel, had seen the vision, that I sought to understand it; and behold, standing before me was one who had the appearance of a man. And I heard the voice of a man between the banks of Ulai, and he called out and said, “Gabriel, give this man an understanding of what has appeared.”
So he came near to where I was standing, and when he came I was terrified and fell on my face; but he said to me, “Son of man, understand that the vision pertains to the time of the end.” —Daniel 8:15-16
Gabriel also announced the birth of John the Baptist (Luke 1:11), and of the Messiah (26).
He describes himself in the words, “I am Gabriel, who stand in the presence of God” (Luke 1:19 KJV).
He also announced the coming pregnancy of Mary with Jesus, the Messiah.
Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth
And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” —Luke 1:26, 28
More information
- What is an archangel?
- Angels in the Bible
- What else does the Bible teach about angels?
- Who is Michael?
- Who is Mary, the mother of Jesus the Christ