Theology: A Who's Who of Heaven & Hell

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Need spiritual help in stealing a woman's garter? Try a prayerful summons to the angel Baltazard, who, according to the Jewish cabala, has a special gift for such pranks. In case he fails, other spirits might help—perhaps Vassago, an angel with unique ability to ferret out a lady's secrets.

According to medieval Jewish scholars, there are 301,655,722 angels—the bodiless spirits who stand midway in the chain of being between God and man. In A Dictionary of Angels (Free Press; $15), Poet-Anthologist Gustav Davidson, 72, has put together a wacky and wonderful compendium of angelic lore, including brief biographies of 3,406 angels whose names, habits and histories are recorded in the Bible, rabbinical and cabalistic literature, writings of the church fathers and poetry.

Holder of the Keys. Although Jesus frequently encountered angels—such as the ones who ministered to him after the 40 days' fast in the desert—the Bible mentions only three by name. By common agreement of angelologists, these three—Michael, Gabriel and Raphael—rank at the very top of God's celestial hierarchy. Michael, whose heavenly hosts tumbled Satan and his evil legions into hell, is the holder of the keys to heaven. Gabriel presides over paradise and, according to none other than Mohammed, was the angel who at God's command dictated the Koran. Raphael, who escorted Tobias on his journey to Media, has a host of spiritual assignments: chief of the order of virtues, ruling prince of the second heaven, the guardian angel of science and knowledge, the healer of human disease. Of almost equal importance, says Davidson, is Uriel, archangel of salvation, often credited with warning Noah of the Flood. Despite their hierarchical importance, none of these four is the largest angel: that honor, according to the Zohar, goes to Metatron, whose height was equal to the breadth of the world—although other angelic experts insist that Aupiel was several hundred parasangs larger.

Somewhat less is known about the fallen angels than those who still reside in heaven, but Davidson nonetheless provides some background on 103 of Satan's allies. Focalor, a mighty duke who commands 30 legions of demonic spirits, has the special mission of sinking ships of war. Mammon is hell's ambassador to England. Rabdos can stop planets in their course. One of the least fortunate of devils is Azza, who is eternally destined to be suspended between heaven and earth as punishment for having sexual intercourse with mortal women.

70,000 Mouths. Throughout history, artists have been content to portray angels as slightly girlish young men in white robes and eagle-sized wings. The tradition does less than justice to some of the more majestic celestial creatures—especially those recorded in Islamic folklore. The Angel of Mohammed, for example, has 70,000 heads, each of which has 70,000 faces, each face having 70,000 mouths, each mouth 70,000 tongues, each tongue capable of speaking 70,000 languages—all the better to praise God by.