The angelJophiel (Heb.יוֹפִיאֵל Yōp̄īʾēl, "Beauty of God"),[1][2] also called Iophiel, Iofiel, Jofiel, Yofiel, Youfiel, Zophiel (צֹפִיאֵל Ṣōp̄īʾēl, "God is my watchman")[3] and Zuriel (צוּרִיאֵל Ṣūrīʾēl, "God is my rock"),[4] is an archangel in Christian and Jewishangelology. Jophiel is associated with beauty, art, and wisdom.
According to the pseudepigraphalRevelation of Moses, another name for Jophiel is Dina (Hebrew: דִּינָה Dīnā, "Judgement").[7] In the text, Jophiel/Dina is described as an angel of the seventh heaven, a Cabalistic guardian of the Torah (and wisdom itself), who taught 70 languages to souls at the dawn of creation.[8] The Zohar lists Jophiel as a Great Angel Chief in charge of 53 legions who superintend Torah-readings on the Sabbath.[9] Jophiel is said to be a companion to the angel Metatron.[6]
^The flaming sword is also generally an attribute of the archangel Uriel, but he is more often depicted in Anglican iconography holding a book (scroll) or a solar disc.
2. Angels and ‘angelic entities’ are traditionally neither specifically male or female (note: when Jophiel/Zophiel is historically referenced, the gender is universally most often male, not female). A female depiction is a recent, specific, and subjective attribute incorrectly assumed and likely applied due to the association with beauty and art, as well as an affiliation with ‘Dina’, and the assumption of gender there.
^The Complete Magician's Tables, by Stephen Skinner, Golden Hoard Press, 2006, p.41
Further reading
Fischer, Lynn (1996), Angels of Love and Light [with original paintings of the Seven Beloved Archangels and Their Archeiai by Marius Michael-George], Transformational Media Publications, South Yarmouth, MA