Gabriel

In the Hebrew Bible, Gabriel appears to the prophet Daniel to explain his visions (Daniel 8:15–26, 9:21–27). The archangel also appears in the Book of Enoch and other ancient Jewish writings. Alongside archangel Michael, Gabriel is described as the guardian angel of Israel, defending its people against the angels of the other nations.

Gabriel is most often portrayed in the context of scenes of the Annunciation. In 2008 a 16th-century drawing by Lucas van Leyden of the Netherlands was discovered. George R. Goldner, chairman of the department of prints and drawings at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, suggested that the sketch was for a stained glass window. "The fact that the archangel is an ordinary-looking person and not an idealized boy is typical of the artist", said Goldner.

Islam regards Gabriel (Jibril) as an archangel sent by God to various prophets, including Muhammad. The first five verses of the Al-Alaq, the 96th chapter of the Quran, is believed by Muslims to have been the first verses revealed by Jibreel to Muhammad.

Talmudic rabbis interpreted the "man in linen" as Gabriel in the Book of Daniel and the Book of Ezekiel. In the Book of Daniel, Gabriel is responsible for interpreting Daniel's visions. Gabriel's main function in Daniel is that of revealer, a role he continues in later literature. In the Book of Ezekiel, Gabriel is understood to be the angel that was sent to destroy Jerusalem. According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, Gabriel takes the form of a man, and stands at the left hand of God. Shimon ben Lakish (Syria Palaestina, 3rd century) concluded that the angelic names of Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel came out of the Babylonian exile (Gen. Rab. 48:9). Alongside archangel Michael, Gabriel is described as the guardian angel of Israel, defending this people against the angels of the other nations.

The feast of Saint Gabriel was included by Pope Benedict XV in the General Roman Calendar in 1921, for celebration on 24 March. In 1969 the day was officially transferred to 29 September for celebration in conjunction with the feast of the archangels St. Michael and St. Raphael. The Church of England has also adopted the 29 September date, known as Michaelmas.

Gabriel's horn also makes an appearance in The Eyes of Texas (1903) in which it signifies the rapture. In Marc Connelly's play based on spirituals, The Green Pastures (1930), Gabriel has his beloved trumpet constantly with him, and the Lord has to warn him not to blow it too soon. Four years later "Blow, Gabriel, Blow" was introduced by Ethel Merman in Cole Porter's Anything Goes (1934).

The eccentric English hagiographer and antiquarian, Sabine Baring-Gould (1834–1924) wrote "Gabriel's Message", the English translation of the Basque Christmas carol Birjina gaztetto bat zegoen. The original charol is likely related to the 13th or 14th-century Latin chant Angelus Ad Virginem, which itself is based on the biblical account of the Annunciation in the Gospel of Luke.

One of the oldest out of print sources placing the feast on 18 March, first published in 1608, is "Flos sanctorum: historia general de la vida y hechos de Jesu-Christo...y de los santos de que reza y haze fiesta la Iglesia Catholica..." by the Spanish writer Alonso de Villegas; a newer edition of this book was published in 1794. Another source published in Ireland in 1886 the Irish Ecclesiastical Record also mentions 18 March. There is a painting from 1886 by the Italian artist Diodore Rahoult, on which 18 March also appears.

Saint Gabriel the Archangel's festival day was exclusively celebrated on 18 March according to many sources dating between 1588 and 1921; unusually, a source published in 1856 has the feast celebrated on 7 April for unknown reasons (a note in parentheses states that the day is normally celebrated on 18 March). Writer Elizabeth Drayson mentions the feast being celebrated on 18 March 1588 in her 2013 book "The Lead Books of Granada".